Fine Motor Threading Activity

A fun way to strengthen hands and fingers is by introducing a fine motor threading activity to your preschoolers. I’ve shared how we’ve threaded macaroni to make a rainbow necklace, and how we’ve introduced a plastic sewing needle when threading small pasta. However, some young children’s fingers might not be strong enough for those threading activities, so we like to start with pipe cleaner threading. We came up with an easy way to make your own simple threading board!

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This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

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What you will need:

A piece of styrofoam

Pipe Cleaners

Anything you want to thread onto the pipe cleaners

For toddlers:

Use dowels instead of pipe cleaners and thread large stringing beads.

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Assembling the fine motor board:

Cut the pipe cleaners to desired length and poke into the styrofoam. Yes, it’s that easy.

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As we started exploring our new threading board, we helped them by holding onto the pipe cleaner while they threaded the beads.

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Then, we showed them how to use their helper hand (non-dominant) to hold the pipe cleaner while their work hand (dominant) pushed the beads through the pipe cleaner.

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Variations:

For younger children, use larger items to thread. We had some larger pieces from a stacking toy that we used. Find items that can be threaded through pipe cleaners.

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More fine motor fun:

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More activities for young children:

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