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You are here: Home / Home Activities / 55+ Ways to Strengthen Fine Motor Skills at Home

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55+ Ways to Strengthen Fine Motor Skills at Home

March 15, 2020 by Sheryl Cooper

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Last Updated on July 3, 2024 by Sheryl Cooper

Inside: It’s easy to strengthen fine motor skills at home with toddlers and preschoolers. I’ve put together over 55 fun activities that your kids will love!

Fine motor development is an important part of the toddler and early childhood years. In order to learn how to draw and write, the hands must be strong enough to hold writing tools.

Fine motor is also necessary for independence. Think about zipping a coat, buttoning pants, opening a door, getting a glass of water. These all require fine muscle control.

Bonus: I’ve created a free printable checklist for you to download. Scroll down towards bottom of this page for the link.

55+ Ways to Strengthen Fine Motor Skills at Home

55+ Ways to Strengthen Fine Motor Skills at Home

Note: This is Post #1 in a series of At-Home activities for parents and caregivers. Make sure to also see our other posts in this At-Home series:

  • 15+ Shapes Activities and Printables for Home
  • 25+ Color Activities and Printables for Home
  • 20+ Fun and Easy Toddler Activities for Home
  • Building Math Skills at Home

According to some studies, children are entering kindergarten lacking fine motor skills. And then the question is asked how? How can we help our young children build strong hands? I hear this question often from my own preschool parents. And so I thought I’d put together a list of fine motor skills activities that can easily be done at home.

This collection of fine motor skills activities is geared for children ages 2-5. Some will be more suitable for younger children, some for older. Choose the activities you feel are best for your children and build on them as they are ready.

The Activities

Add basters to a tub of water or the bathtub.

Transfer water to an ice cube tray.

Squeeze watercolors on a vertical surface.

Use dot markers on a white board.

Use cut straws to make a necklace.

Thread beads onto pipe cleaners.

55+ Ways to Strengthen Fine Motor Skills at Home

Pick up plastic caps with tongs.

Paint with Q-Tips.

Press small items onto sticky paper.

Squeeze playdough through the holes of a citrus or garlic press.

Press circle stickers onto the letters of your name. (Busy Toddler)

Thread beads on matching colored feathers. (The OT Toolbox)

get the hands ready for writing
55+ Ways to Strengthen Fine Motor Skills at Home

Sort cereal by color and transfer the pieces with tweezers. (The Resourceful Mama)

Place buttons on drawn lines and zigzags. (Learning 4 Kids)

Drop pom poms through a cardboard tube. (The Imagination Tree)

Use gloves while putting pieces together. (Stir the Wonder)

Hammer tees into styrofoam blocks. (Modern Preschool)

Transfer blocks to a muffin tin using a spatula. (Busy Toddler)

Use a hole punch with paper. (The Resourceful Mama)

55+ Ways to Strengthen Fine Motor Skills at Home

Push sticks through holes. (Playdough to Plato)

Thread pasta with straws. (Laughing Kids Learn)

Wrap rubber bands around cut pool noodles. (And Next Comes L)

Pick up small plastic animals and match them. (Inspiration Laboratories)

Color on sandpaper. (I Can Teach My Child)

Drop watercolors onto coffee filters using a medicine dropper. (Messy Little Monster)

Push pipe cleaners through holes in a cardboard box. (The OT Toolbox)

55+ Ways to Strengthen Fine Motor Skills at Home

Cut paper for a fun decoupage activity. (Mama Smiles)

Make patterns while pounding golf tees. (Buddy and Buddy)

Draw in colored sand. (Buggy and Buddy)

Practice cutting skills with these free printable patterns. (Fun with Mama)

Use different tools to drop pom poms. (Crafty Kids at Home)

Count and smash playdough. (Stir the Wonder)

Use a water pistol for painting outdoors. (Messy Little Monster)

55+ Ways to Strengthen Fine Motor Skills at Home

Draw on erasable wall decals. (Artsy Momma)

Transfer pom poms into the cups of an egg carton. (The Stay-at-Home Mom Survival Guide)

Wrap rubber bands around a can. (HOAWG)

Push pipe cleaners into playdough and add beads. (Fun with Mama)

Clip clothespins onto numbered cards. (Fun with Mama)

String buttons onto pipe cleaners. (Preschool Powol Packets)

Peel masking tape off a table. (The Stay-at-Home Mom Survival Guide)

Collect your toys and wrap them in paper.

Thread straw pieces onto pipe cleaners to make an octopus. (Buggy and Buddy)

55+ Ways to Strengthen Fine Motor Skills at Home

Drop colored rock salt into a jar to make a rainbow. (KC Edventures)

Tie a knot. (HOAWG)

Use the thumb to press beads into playdough. (The OT Toolbox)

Create a pouring station. (Busy Toddler)

Drop Beads through the holes in the lid of a jar. (Modern Preschool)

Stretch rubber bands around pine cones. (The Imagination Tree)

55+ Ways to Strengthen Fine Motor Skills at Home

Balance pom poms on cut pool noodles using tweezers. (Learning 4 Kids)

Build a sponge tower. (Toddler Approved)

Push Q-Tips through cut straw pieces. (Mess for Less)

Pinch clothespins on a basket. (School Time Snippets)

Stack foam blocks in water. (Still Playing School)

Draw on tinfoil that is covered with shaving cream. (Pocket of Preschool)

Drop pony beads onto small sticks. (School Time Snippets)

Put rubber bands around the bottom of a muffin tin. (And Next Comes L)

Squeeze and drop watercolors from pipettes onto colored dots. (You Clever Monkey)

55+ Ways to Strengthen Fine Motor Skills at Home

More Fine Motor Resources

You’ve asked about these particular subjects, so here they are:

Vestibular Activities (The OT Toolbox)

What is Tactile Defensiveness (Touch Sensitivity)? (Griffin Occupational Therapy)

Stages of Pencil Grasp Development (OT Mom)

 

55+ Ways to Strengthen Fine Motor Skills at Home

Free Printable Fine Motor List

Click on the photo below for the pdf download:

preschool fine motor skills printable list

Pom Pom Alphabet Cards Printables
tpt dot art stamping sheets shapes

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Filed Under: Fine Motor, Home Activities, preschool, Preschool Fine Motor, Toddler Fine Motor, Toddlers Tagged With: fine motor, home activities, preschool, toddlers

About Sheryl Cooper

Sheryl Cooper is the founder of Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds, a website full of activities for toddlers and preschoolers. She has been teaching this age group for over 25 years and loves to share her passion with teachers, parents, grandparents, and anyone with young children in their lives.

Previous Post: « Easy Color Learning Activities for Home
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. donna allen

    January 4, 2017 at 5:46 am

    great idea thank you so much

  2. Nahida Akter

    May 1, 2020 at 4:00 pm

    Awesome activities. I love your theme and ideas.
    I highly appreciate your all activities.

    • Sheryl Cooper

      June 6, 2020 at 7:10 pm

      So happy you find them useful!

  3. Payal

    May 9, 2020 at 11:24 am

    Thanks a bunch for compiling this wonderful wonderful list of motor skills. It can last me the whole year. I am so glad I stumbled upon your blog. I love the fact that there are so many activities that can be done with products available readily at home. I live in an area that is in a state of lockdown so that’s really important for me.

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