Fine Motor Skills Activities for Children

Fine motor skills are vital for all people because humans use them to complete even the most basic tasks. Tasks like shoe-tying, eating, and opening containers require such skills. Children develop their fine motor skills at varying rates, but you can help your little ones by having them participate in the following activities:

Sponge Play

Almost everyone has a sponge in the house somewhere. Thus, you don’t even have to leave your house to get started. You can set up an activity to improve fine motor skills with one sponge and two bowls.

Add water to one bowl and leave the other one dry. Next, dip the sponge into the water bowl to absorb the liquid. Then move the sponge over top of the other bowl and squeeze the water out of it. Do this process a few times to show your children how to do it. Then watch as they perform the fun process repeatedly. They’ll never even know they’re learning how to improve fine motor skills. All they’ll know is that they’re having a blast. 

Painting

Finger painting is an activity that can be exhilarating for you and your children. It provides several benefits as well as fine motor skill development. Try doing hand brush painting so they’ll learn how to handle paintbrushes more steadily. Then switch over to finger painting because it will allow them to work all the muscles at once and get dirty without any repercussions.

Your children will develop stronger hand-eye coordination and open their minds to artistry. You never know what you’ll help them unleash. You might discover that one of your little ones is the next Pablo Picasso! 

Silly Putty Fun

Silly putty can work well for improving your children’s fine motor skills. It’s versatile enough to work all the muscles in their little hands while simultaneously giving them a sensory blast. Hand your kids some putty and encourage them to roll, cut, squeeze, and build things with it. Additionally, you can have them put the putty into pre-cut shapes to see if they can keep it inside the lines. 

Stress Ball Use

Let’s face it; little kids love those squishy stress balls many people use to get through rough workdays and complicated lives. They really do alleviate stress, and they feel pretty good in their hands. Another benefit they offer is muscle strengthening, which improves fine motor skills. Thus, you can hand your children stress balls and tell them to practice squeezing them for exercise. 

Coin Stacking 

You don’t have to invest a lot of money in helping your kids develop their fine motor skills. You can do it using the cash you already have. Round up all the quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies in your possession, and have your little one try to build stacks with the change. It’s an excellent way to get those small muscles working, and it helps with hand-eye coordination as well. 

You’re now aware of how to stimulate fine motor development in your children. Try some of the methods mentioned above and evaluate their progress over time.