10 different activities that you can do with your child at home for cheap. All these activities will help your toddler and preschooler develop his most important “Fine Motor Skills” . These activities are fun, engaging and hands-on. So, I’m sure you will have fun playing with your child too.
- Playdoh
Manipulating playdoh with their finger muscles by making balls , rolling them , creating different shapes and forms with the doh will work great on fine motor skills. For a side tip, playdoh works great for those hyperactive kids as well ,who don’t want to sit still for a minute. Giving them some playdoh, and manipulating it will make them feel calm and more relaxed. Playdoh works great because its a very tactile material and the moulding and creating action requires a lot of pressure from the tiny hands.
2. Scooping and Pouring
Scooping and Pouring or Transferring work(as it is called in Montessori) can be done with all the utensils that are found in our very own kitchen. Dry materials such as rice,pasta, grains, cereals,seeds,oats, etc. and wet pouring like water can be used for transferring work. It is wise to start with the Dry pouring first, and then once the child masters this, the child can do wet pouring.
3. Threading
Threading beads like these big wooden or plastic ones into some wool , ribbons or pipe-cleaners is again a fine motor skills activity. This activity uses the pincer grasp of the fingers and also works for developing bilateral co-ordination.
4. Lacing
Lacing, just as threading, is a classic activity for Fine motor Skills. Manipulating the string in and out of the holes takes a lot of effort for little fingers. It strengthens dexterity, hand-eye coordination, and the pincer grasp. Sometimes this activity can be frustrating for them when the string falls out of the hole before they can grab it with the other hand; it builds patience and perseverance.
5. Paper Cutting
Cutting out in all forms helps young children to develop their fine motor skills – and it’s fun, too! Provide the correct scissors for your child’s age and ability, and then find a correct activity to start with in this video which discusses all about scissor skills for toddlers and preschoolers. Start with the thick straight lines and work up to the dotted lines before moving onto the more difficult shapes!
6.Pasting
Pasting paper with glue on another paper or just pasting stickers from the sticker sheet are both great activities for Fine Motor Skills improvement.
7. Painting
Painting as much as it is a creative outlet for many people, it can be a great pre-writing activity for your child which will also enhance the development of fine motor skills.
8. Scribbling on Slate/Chalkboard or Scribbling with crayons and markers on Paper
Scribbling on a slate is a first step in learning hand-writing. It’s the first pre-writing activity for a preschooler, just starting to write.
9. Stacking and Knocking Blocks
The process of stacking and knocking of blocks works great as another fine motor skills activity. This is the best exercise for the little hands of a toddler.
10. Sensory Play
Sensory play is so versatile and is a big topic, which we will cover on later at some point. Sensory play with materials can enhance the development of tiny muscles in the fingers of our toddler’s hands. Sensory plays can be started as young as one year olds , keeping in mind that they don’t mouth the materials.
Hope you liked these activities and got some inspiration for your toddler and/or preschooler! Do let me know in the comments below, which ones are your favs!
Thanks
-Deevyanka