Summer Fine Motor Activities for Preschoolers

Inside: Summer fine motor activities for preschoolers – a fun collection of ideas that get the hands ready for writing!

Summer is a great time to get those hands ready for writing!

Especially when you can provide simple and fun ideas that young children love.

While putting together summer fine motor activities for preschoolers, I looked for a variety of ideas that would build multiple skills.

This means not only are they strengthening their hands, but they are also working on other important skills such as gross motor, math, literacy, music, and more!

More to read: 17+ of the Best Fine Motor Activities that Involve Squeezing

Summer Fine Motor Activities for Preschoolers

Each of these summer fine motor activities strengthen the hands, getting them ready for writing. Most use simple materials you might already have on hand!

These activities are perfect for a summer camp or while your children are at home.

Pick and choose which ones you’d like to try this week and save the rest for later!

Art

Colored Waterfalls

Supplies: Cups of paint, droppers, paper, vertical surface

Toddler Fish Craft

Supplies: Fish-shaped paper (free template included), dish of paint, spool

Scissors

Summer Cutting Activity

Supplies: Scissors, free summer cutting printable

Sun Cutting Cards

Supples: Scissors, free sun cutting printable cards

Finger Play

Swimming Finger Play (Promoting Success)

Gross Motor

Swimming Pool Ball Painting (The Artful Parent)

Supplies: Wading pool, large sheet of butcher paper, several balls dipped into paint

Literacy

ABC Fishing (Busy Toddler)

Supplies: Laundry basket, alphabet magnetic letters, magnetic wand

Math

Fish Counting Activity

Supplies: Free printable, buttons or pom poms

Sun Counting Activity

Supplies: Free provided printable

Watermelon Number Activity (Frugal Fun 4 Boys and Girls)

Supplies: Watermelon playdough (recipe provided), black beans, free provided printable

Music

Old MacDonald Had an Ocean (Preschool Alphabet)

Supplies: Paper or journal, drawing materials

Playdough

Lemonade Playdough (Teaching Mama)

Supplies: Lemonade playdough recipe (provided in post)

Science

Ice Egg Dinosaur Science Experiment (Preschool Powol Packets)

Supplies: Balloons, small dinosaurs, water

Sensory Bin

Shimmery Summer Sensory Bin

Supplies: Dyed rice, small sparkly objects, small containers with lids

Snack

Homemade Soft Pretzels (Housing a Forest)

Water Table

Squeezing and Squirting Water Bin

Supplies: Mini basters, pouring utensils, water in some sort of bin

More summer collections:

35+ Summer Literacy Ideas

4th of July Crafts for Kids

35+ of the Best Toddler Summer Activities

Summer Lesson Plans

I’ve teamed up with other early childhood teachers and homeschoolers to put together these hands-on summer lesson plans for toddlers and preschoolers!

Easy to follow lesson plans that include activity modifications and adaptations to meet the needs of all learners.

For more information, click on the graphics below: