10 fine motor activities for preschoolers

Last Updated on July 6, 2018 by Rachel Cooper

I could write forever about fine motor activities for preschoolers, but will narrow this post down to 10 of our favorites. For those of you who’ve followed my blog for awhile now, you know I love simple.

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One frequent question parents ask during preschool conferences is, “How can I help my child get ready to write?” Providing your child with activities that work the hands and fingers are the best way to prepare your child for writing. Here are some easy and fun ways!

1. Scooping and Pouring

This can be as easy as putting something small in one bowl and having your child scooping and pouring it into another bowl. Any plastic storage container would work well. (Hint: one with a lid would allow youth store it in a closet for future use.)

2. Using Paint Brushes

Small children love to brush anything on paper.Tempera paint, watercolors, even glue! When my children were small, I often provided them with tinted glue (glue mixed with food coloring or paint) and any objects that they could stick to glue. Our kitchen table doubled as an art table and they loved it!

3. Cookie Cutter Stamping

Grab your cookie cutters and a tray of paint and watch your child enjoy stamping! Don’t be surprised if the cookie cutter slides back and forth on the paper, too. That’s part of the fun!

4. Drawing with Markers

There are so many different colors of makers out there and kids love them! They are portable, too, so you can pull these out with a pad of paper at a restaurant, while waiting for an appointment, and while traveling in the car.

5. Sprinkling

Sprinkling small items is great exercise for the fingertips! One of our toddler and preschool favorites is sprinkling rice onto glue. You don’t even need the glue and paper, though. Provide a tub of rice or other small materials and watch as the finger sprinkle them.

7. Squeezing

If you have medicine droppers handy, clean them out and use them for transferring water from one container to another! You can also use clear plastic pipettes.

7. Stamps and Ink Pads

This was another favorite of my own children, and all of my preschoolers have enjoyed it as well. Provide children’s washable ink pads and small stamps with paper.

8. Threading

Threading is such an easy way to encourage fine motor development, and very relaxing as well. Keep a box of lacing beads or straws available with lacing yarn for some quiet time.

9. Brushing with Q-Tips

Holding a Q-Tip (cotton swab) is a wonderful way to develop that pincer grasp. We love to use them with glue and watercolors and even on the easel!

10. Wadding Paper

Provide small pieces of tissue paper and encourage your child to wad it into a ball with the thumb and fingers. Our preschoolers then like to press them into glue.