45 Best Fine Motor Activities for Kids with PDF (2024)

Table of Contents

• 45 Fine Motor Activities
• Fine Motor Development
• What is Bilateral Coordination?
• Ocular Motor Skills and Hand-Eye Coordination
• Recap: Download Your Fine Motor Activities PDF
• Fine Motor Skills PDF Download Here

45 Fine Motor Activities

In this free fine motor skills activities PDF printable you’ll find 45 fun activities to strengthen fine motor skills.

When engaging in these activities, try to encourage your child to pinch objects between their thumb and index finger.

3. Use Glue Sticks

Hand your child a glue stick.

• Glue colored scrap papers onto poster board.
• Or glue feathers onto paper.

4. Toothpicks

Place toothpicks into different colored clay. This adds the bonus of deep sensory pressure (proprioception) to the finger joints. This type of sensory input can be used as an emotional regulation strategy.

5. Straws

Cut straws into smaller pieces and have your child push them into different colored Play-Doh.

6. Make Play-Doh Creations

Play-Doh is an excellent tool for developing fine motor skills and also for supporting the sensory needs of autistic and other neurodivergent kids. Have your child roll Play-Doh between the palms of their hands to create Play-Doh snakes.

In our home, my son enjoys creating Veggie Tales characters during his Play-Doh sessions. If your child likes farm animals, check out this Printable Pig Playdough Mat.

7. Play with Rubber Bands

Have your child place rubber bands around jars, cans, etc.

8. Set the Table

Have your child help set the table and strengthen fine motor skills by learning to fold napkins. Be sure to have them press and “seal” the napkin crease with their pointer finger.

9. Silverware Sort

While they’re in the kitchen, depending on their developmental level, a preschooler can help sort the silverware. Holding multiple pieces of silverware in their hands supports the small muscles of the hands.

Additionally, they’re learning sorting skills and strengthening visual discrimination skills.

10. Grab the Condiments

Continuing in the kitchen, at every opportunity, allow your child to pop open all the condiment tops. (Without using their teeth.)

11. Turkey Basters

Use turkey basters in the tub, sink, or water table.

12. Beading

Place beads on a pipe cleaner or other string to make bracelets. If manipulating yarn or string is too cumbersome, try S’getti Strings. It’s thicker and has more tension which makes it easier to work with.

13. Dot Stickers

Use dot stickers to spell your child’s name on posterboard or paper. In fact, peeling and placing stickers of any kind is an excellent fine motor activity.

14. Clothespins

Clip clothespins onto numbered card stock. Practice math and strengthen small muscles in the hands and fingers.

15. Sort Cereal

Sort colored cereal using large kid tweezers.

16. Hammer Golf Tees

Hammer golf tees into styrofoam. You may want to use a kid’s hammer or a small mallet.

17. Pop Bubble Wrap

Pup bubble wrap or pop-fidgets between fingers.

18. Thread Buttons

Thread pipe cleaners or string through buttons.

19. Shaving Cream Drawing

Draw or write in shaving cream. Spray shaving cream on a cookie sheet or spray it on a shower wall for shower fun. You can even have your kiddo try shaving cream painting for more fun!

20. Draw on the Doors

Use dry-erase markers on glass windows or doors. It’s so easy to clean and is fun for kids.

21. Jigsaw Puzzles

Puzzles are excellent brain-building tools. Manipulating jigsaw puzzle pieces is an excellent fine motor skill for kids of all ages. Plus, there are numerous cognitive benefits of working on puzzles.

22. Knob Puzzles

Have younger children play with knob puzzles that have small knobs for pincher grasp practice.

23. Perler Beads

We love Perler Beads in our home. The activity supports creativity and fine-tunes finger dexterity and ocular-motor (eye) skills. Your child may want to learn How to Make Perler Bead Suncatchers too.

24. Pom-Poms

No, not the cheerleading kind. Use craft pom-poms for crafting. Or have your child drop Pom Poms through the opening of empty water bottles.

25. Junk Mail

Hand your child a pair of safety scissors and your latest junk mail. Have them cut it into small pieces and dispose of it for you.

26. Silly Putty

Silly Putty is an excellent sensory toy and is perfect for fine motor development. Have your child squeeze and manipulate Silly Putty for tactile sensory input and to strengthen hand and finger muscles.

(If you’d like to avoid the mess, I suggest at the kitchen table).

27. Connect the Dots

Work on Connect the Dots activities using different writing tools based on your child’s developmental level.

• Crayons
• Twistable Crayons
• Pencils
• Markers
• Pens

Different writing utensils offer variety in friction and pressure needed to write effectively. Depending on your child’s skills, allow them to choose the writing tool of their choice. As another alternative, try these Star Wars color by number printables.

28. Coins and Piggy Bank

Have your child place coins through the slot of a piggy bank.

30. LiteBrite

Grab an old LiteBrite (if you have one from childhood) or grab a new one. LiteBrite is one of the most colorful and visually calming creative toys. The small light-up pegs are perfect for strengthening fine motor skills.

Use the enclosed idea cards to support your child’s ocular motor skills. Having to scan back and forth between the model and the LiteBrite board works those eye muscles.

31. Edible Jewelry

String Cheerios onto yarn to create edible jewelry.

32. Legos

Building with Legos is hands-down one of the easiest ways to strengthen those small muscles in the eyes and the fingers.

For neurodivergent kids who enjoy Legos (ADHD, Autism), the activity can be used as a calming emotional regulation activity.

33. Lacing Cards

Lacing cards are cardboard or wooden cards designed just for kids. They’re a great tool to develop lacing skills that enhance fine motor development.

TheseHungry Caterpillar Lacing Cardsare adorable.

Sale

The World of Eric Carle(TM) The Very Hungry…

• LACE UP WITH VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR & FRIENDS: The beloved caterpillar makes its return in this fun…

Buy on Amazon

34. Lace Shoes

Learning to tie your shoes is a big feat in fine motor development.

Further, tying shoes can be especially challenging for autistic and other neurodivergent children. It’s one skill that occupational therapists work on with kids who struggle with motor coordination.

This Learn to Tie Shoeby Melissa and Doug is a great way to introduce the skill to your child. Or simply grab a shoe with long laces and practice tying step by step.

40. Sensory Bins

Sensory bins serve many purposes. This fun activity is great for providing needed tactile input while using the tiny muscles of the wrists, hands, and fingers.

• Fill a sensory bin with colored rice and hide small toys in it.
• Have your child use small tweezers or even just their hands to find the hidden objects.

This activity supports visual discrimination and strengthens ocular motor skills.

41. Crunch Paper One-Handed

Strengthen your child’s in-hand manipulation skills using a sheet of paper. Have your child work on crunching one piece of paper using only one hand.

43. Learn to Crochet

Recently, my family and I went to a local fall festival. We met a young lady who blew us away with her crocheting skills. The stuffed toys she crocheted captured my kids’ attention and we ended up supporting her small business big time.

In our conversation, her mother shared how helpful crocheting has been for her daughter’s mental health and her fine motor dexterity.

For older kids, why not introduce them to crocheting instead of forcing extra handwriting practice? Here are some other easy art project ideas to inspire you.

44. Sidewalk Chalk

Drawing with sidewalk chalk is a great way to enjoy the outdoors while strengthening hand grasping.

45. Braiding

For older kids- especially those with motor coordination issues- learning to braid can be a great way to strengthen fine motor skills.

• Start simple by braiding three pieces of yarn.
  • Tape the three pieces together on one end.
  • Then have your child say, “Right to the middle. Left to the middle,” while crossing over one at a time.
  • The auditory processing can help move the process along.

Fine Motor Development

Learning to manipulate things using the small muscles of the hand and wrists is one of many fine motor development milestones. Nothing exists in a vacuum. And this is true for the development of motor skills.

As such, large gross motor skill development lays the foundation for strong fine motor skills. Gross motor skills involve the larger muscles of the body including the arms, legs, and core muscles. Ultimately, the ability to move throughout the world allows young children to develop their motor skills.

Core Strength and Handwriting

A child who lacks adequate core strength, for example, can have challenges holding a pencil and writing properly. This is because the body has to expend much more fuel to maintain the proper body position. That process drains cognitive and physical fuel which limits the child’s ability.

It’s important to note the challenges with gross motor skills are common in autistic and other neurodivergent kids. They often need explicit support to integrate motor skills.

As always, if you’re concerned about your child’s developing motor skills, please consider occupational therapy.

What is Bilateral Coordination?

Ever heard the term bilateral coordination but are not so sure what it is or why it matters? Bilateral coordination(integration) refers to efficiently using both sides of the body to coordinate an action.

For example, when talking about writing, children need strong bilateral coordination. This refers to using one hand to hold the paper in the proper position while using the dominant writing hand to execute the act of writing.

Related:

Motor Skills in Autism: Why Your Child’s Cerebellum Matters

Ocular Motor Skills and Hand-Eye Coordination

Typically, when we think of fine motor skills, we refer to the coordination of the small muscles of the wrists, hands, and fingers. As such, we often associate handwriting with the ultimate goal of fine motor skills.

However, other critical fine motor skills include the use of the small muscles of the eyes. These are referred to asocular motor skills.

To expand on this idea, writing with a pencil requires the integration of the small muscles of the handANDthe eyes. We refer to this as hand-eye coordination.

Recap: Download Your Fine Motor Activities PDF

Now that we’ve reviewed some fine motor activity ideas, I hope you feel better equipped to support your child or your students. Think outside the box and go with what works for your kids.

Use their interest to drive engagement and learning. (Hint, interest increases dopamine and dopamine creates motivation.)

Please grab your free downloads of these Fine Motor Activities and have some fun. So, friend, what did I miss? In this with you!

Fine Motor Skills PDF Download Here

I Want the FREE Fine Motor Skills PDF Download

Seek Professional Medical Advice

This is NOT medical advice. I’m not a doctor, but an educator with a passion for researching, learning, health, and supporting the neurodivergent community. As such, this is for educational purposes only. I encourage you to learn as much as you can by learning, reading, and seeking the insight of multiple experts. Please discuss your healthcare decisions with a trusted healthcare provider.