fine motor activities for toddlers (2024)

If you're looking for fine motor activities for toddlers then we have a huge collection of ideas for you! It's amazing how quickly your toddler's fine motor skills will improve with these fun and easy crafts and activities.

Fine Motor Activities for Toddlers

Fine motor skills and fine motor activities are words you'll hear a lot from educators and I've often been asked in our Facebook group about why we put such a focus on this area.

The experts in this area are ocuptational therapists and that's not a qualification that I hold, however in my role as an early childhood teacher this is an area that we focus a lot on.

Lately I (along with my colleagues) have seen an increase in the amount of children who struggle to hold a pencil, use scissors and perform basic fine motor skills that you would expect when they start school. This article from ABC Newsdiscusses this same issue.

What do we mean by fine motor skills?

Fine motor skills are skills that require the use of the smaller muscles of the hands. Gross motor skills are the larger movements (like throwing and catching) whereas fine motor skills include pinching, grasping, holding a pencil, buttoning their clothes, using scissors etc. Like any other skill, this is something that needs to be repeated and practiced.

How can I help my toddler improve their fine motor skills?

The good part about fine motor skills is that it is fun and easy to add more of them to your toddler's day! Some easy ways to improve fine motor activities are:

Playdough - manipulating the play dough uses lots of the smaller muscles in the fingers and hands. You don't have to make your own - this set is always great value and will last for months.

Drawing and coloring - start early with these great toddler crayons and work up to smaller ones.

Encourage the use of scissors - so many children get to kindergarten and have never used scissors. A pair of toddler safe ones like these is a great place to start. Using scissors is a tricky skill that takes a lot of practice and I encourage you to start sooner rather than later.

Do crafts! Crafts naturally incorporate cutting, gluing and drawing which are all great fine motor skills.

Threading or lacing items -start with larger items like cut up toilet roll holders or pool noodles and work your way down to smaller items like beads. One of the best threading toys we bought were these. We started by using pipe cleaners as they were easier to thread. This set was great for building and stacking games too.

Sensory Play - there are so many ways that sensory play and sensory bins help with fine motor. You can find a huge collection of sensory bins HERE.One of my favorite fine motor sets is this one and is perfect for sensory bins and sensory play. You can get this set HERE on Amazon and it's cheap!Ok, let's get started on our activities! I'd love for you to share some pics in our Facebook group or over on Instagram (use #MyBoredToddler )

Fine Motor Activities for Toddlers

Pasta Threaded Straws

There are a lot of skills that go into threading. The rigid form of these strawsmakesthis activity a great introduction to threading. Without thechallenge of holding the straw in place, threading the pasta is much easier and a great confidence booster for beginners! See the full pasta threading activity HERE.

Make building up thoseall-importantfine motor skills fun with this easy to set up and inexpensive activity! See how to set up the activity HERE.

Toilet Roll Haircuts

Crazy hair, loads of emotions and lots of bright colours make this activity fun and engagingfine motor activityfor your toddler. Make use of those empty toilet rolls lurking in your recyclables and turn them into Crazy Hair Toilet Tubes!

More Fine Motor Activities for Toddlers

Gadgets and Gears Fine Motor Play

Hearts Fine Motor Practice - Simple Fun for Kids

Zig Zag Fine Motor Sensory Play - Best Toys 4 Toddlers

Fine Motor Play with Recyclables - Teach Me Mommy

Montessori Inspired Window Washing Activity - Stir the Wonder

Straws and Spools Fine Motor Activity

Fine Motor Skills with Crazy Straws - Powerful Mothering

Matchstick Colour Drop - The Imagination Tree

Fine Motor Play with Flip Top Lids

Felt Button Snake - Apple Green Cottage

DIY Sensory Board Ideas - Extremely Good Parenting with Kara Carrero

FAQs

Fine motor activities for toddlers? ›

Provide interesting experiences which help children practice fine motor skills. Cooking, gardening, sewing, fixing and making things are all good examples of activities that involve using tools and small movements with accuracy and precision.

What are the activities for fine motor skills? ›

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What is fine motor movement for toddlers? ›

Your child's fine motor skills will develop through every day actions and at playtime with activities that involve grasping, holding, and pressing. They also will perfect the pincer grasp first through feeding and then through play and eventually by dressing themselves.

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What are fine motor activities for 3 5 years old? ›

Play-dough and putty are often used as part of the heavy work component of a sensory diet. They can also help improve a child's fine motor skills. Encourage your child to squeeze, stretch, pinch and roll “snakes” or “worms” with the play clay. You can even have your child try to cut the play-dough with scissors.

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What are fine motor tasks examples? ›

Examples of fine-motor skills include brushing your teeth, holding a pencil/pen to write, using a fork or spoon to feed yourself, cutting with a knife, buttoning a shirt, zipping a zipper, typing on a computer, cutting with scissors, turning a key in a lock, turning a doorknob, turning the pages of a book, and tying ...

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Is lego good for fine motor skills? ›

Legos: Legos are excellent for working on fine motor skills as it develops grasp along with intrinsic hand strength having to push them together and pull them apart. Legos also improve hand-eye coordination and bilateral coordination since a child has to use both upper extremities to manipulate the pieces.

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What skills should a toddler have? ›

From ages one to three, your child has many developmental milestones. These milestones are skills like showing greater independence and recognizing themselves in pictures or a mirror. It's also things like putting words together, talking in sentences and exploring new objects and people around them.

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What are examples of fine motor skills for a 4 year old? ›

Fine Motor 4 Years Old

Use a spoon or fork.
Tie shoes.
Button clothes.
Write his/her name.
Draw shapes.
Color inside the lines.
Hold a pencil correctly at the age appropriate time.

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Is coloring a fine motor skill? ›

Manipulating crayons improves a child's dexterity and fine motor skills. Coloring improves hand-eye coordination, which is essential in learning to write letters. Kids learn about force with crayons. A mark can be light or very dark depending on the amount of pressure they use when they draw.

What are fine motor activities for early years? ›

Some fun Early Years fine motor skills activities you can do with your children are:

Practice pencil control skills with your kids with a Draw a Monkey Pencil Control Activity. ...
Get kids to practice cutting out 2D shapes with this Witch Shape Cutting Skills Activity. ...
Threading activities are brilliant practice.

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What are fine motor activities for 3 4 year olds? ›

Suggested objects to help develop fine motor skills at 3 to 4 years: Bricks (more complex/interlocking) Early roleplay (dressing and undressing dolls, food play with plastic cutlery and a variety of cutters, washing dolls' clothes and pegging them out to dry, or doctors and builders' tools)

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What are fine motor skills for 5 6 year old? ›

Follow your child's fine motor skill development from age 5 to 6. Fine motor skill development allows your child to use the little muscles in their hands and fingers to pick up and handle small objects. It also involves learning to use both hands at the same time to perform manual tasks.

What activities can 3 5 year olds do? ›

3- to 5-year-olds:

Like to run, jump, climb and balance.
Act out adult jobs with costumes and props.
Begin to share and take turns.
Hate to lose and are not ready for competitive play.
Enjoy simple number and letter activities.
Have more interest in group pretend play.
Like nature, science, time and learning how things work.

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Which is the best example of a fine motor skill? ›

Final answer: Feeding yourself with a spoon is the best example of a fine motor skill as it requires hand-eye coordination, finger dexterity, and precise movements to scoop up food and bring it to the mouth.

How do you promote fine motor skills in the classroom? ›

Strengthen hand grasp by using a hole-punch, making paper balls and squeezing sponges. Spraying with trigger type spray bottles. Provide opportunities for practicing timed grasp and release with tools other than scissors. Try using tweezers or tongs to sort cotton balls, blocks, play dough or balls.

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What are fine motor functional tasks? ›

Fine motor skills are essential for performing everyday skills like self care tasks (e.g. clothing fastenings, opening lunch boxes, cleaning teeth, using cutlery) and academic skills (e.g. pencil skills of drawing, writing and colouring, as well as cutting and pasting).

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