Fun Ideas

Small movements of the hand are fine motor skills and they are crucial to holding a pencil. If your child needs extra practice to strengthen fine motor skills, here are some activities you can try at home:

• Cut out pictures from newspapers or magazines.
• Put together small beads and play with toys that teach building skills.
• Knead and build with dough or clay.
• Hide small objects in the dough and have your child find them.
• Play pegboard games.
• Play with any toys that involve manipulation of small pieces.
• Use a water bottle to squirt water on the sidewalk.
• Have a cotton ball race across the table with your child.
• Finger-paint on a paper plate with sand or shaving cream.
• Use small marshmallows and toothpicks to form letters.
• String, popcorn, buttons, beads to make necklaces.
• Use a hole-punch to create a design on a piece of paper.
• Clip clothespins to a container.
• Apply lace to cards.
• Gather small objects from around the house (small buttons, beads, etc.). Place them in a container, have your child pick them off the floor with a pair of tweezers, and place them back in the container.