Easy Toddler Focused Fine Motor Activities to do at Home!

Fine motor strength and coordination development are crucial for multiple reasons. They set the groundwork for daily activities such as for dressing, feeding, and hygiene. They are important for academic success as prerequisite skills for coloring, cutting, and writing. Fine motor skills help enhance cognitive growth by using visual-spatial awareness and problem solving skills when engaging in fine motor activities. Fine motor strength and coordination can help boost independence and can improve focus and attention with tasks involving concentration and precision.

The following fine motor activities are geared more toward toddlers, though can be used with older kids, especially if they need to work on improving their fine motor skills. Use your creativity and adjust these activities as needed to meet your kiddo’s needs. Remember, safety is key, so be aware of your kiddo’s tendencies while using certain tools and be aware of things that may be choking hazards.

Bilateral Coordination (using both hands)

• Playdough or modeling clay using both hands. Roll it out like a snake using your hands or use a rolling pin to flatten out the playdough.
• Play with toys that have pieces that fit together such as Legos, Mr. Potato Head, Tinker toys.
• Crumple up sheets of paper with your hands into crumped balls. Pile them up to crash through. Use them to throw at targets or into containers.
• Wring out wash cloths or sponges when bathing or playing in water.
• Use child-safe scissors to practice cutting along straight lines.
• Finger paint with shaving cream, pudding, or paint. Think of ways to add texture such as adding cereal, raisins, or sand.
• Open lids on small jars, turning to open and close. Get out the “Tupperware” type containers for them to play with, opening and closing, and putting things within. Use them to sort items.
• Use clothes fasteners such as buttons, snaps, zippers, Velcro on clothes you already have. Have them practice “dressing” up dolls or their stuffed animals.
• Play musical instruments involving both hands such as drumming, using a tambourine, or xylophone.
• Use hands and fingers to go through motions to songs such as “Itsy-bitsy spider” & “wheels on the bus.”
• Pop bubbles by clapping hands together or pinching with fingers. Blow them around so they have to reach in different directions.
• Tear paper into strips or pieces to make craft projects.
• Use tube pasta, cereal, or beads to string onto yarn, pipe cleaners or a straw.

Hand-Eye Coordination

• Trace around or inside cookie cutters or around cardboard cut-outs or templates you may have.
• Color with markers, crayons, pencils, or paints. Have your kiddo paint sitting, standing, or laying on their stomach.
• Use “do-a-dot” ink blotters to make patterns. “Google” templates to print out and use.
• Play balloon games hitting it back and forth without letting it touch the ground.
• Play catch. Throw items at targets. Find safe items to use such as bean bags, balls, stuffed animals.
• Use stickers to place and follow a pattern. Use a sticker book.
• Trace around various shapes using a finger.
• Make a design with white glue and sprinkle with glitter or other medium.
• Use sidewalk chalk to draw pictures or patterns outside.
• Make a road with painters tape for your kiddo to drive their toy cars along whether on the floor or up the walls.

Fine Motor Dexterity

• Work on simple puzzles with larger pieces and/or wooden peg puzzles.
• Look at books and read together, letting your kiddo turn the pages.
• Place small items into containers using fingers to pinch items to place.
• Use tongs or tweezers to pick up and place items into containers.
• Put a slot in a plastic container big enough to place buttons or coins within.
• Use a magnetic “Doodlepad” to draw on.
• Play with wind-up toys.
• Play with Lego or Duplo blocks. The smaller ones will be more difficult to push & pull apart.
• Use a squirt gun or spray bottle outside, in the bath, or during water play.
• Use scissors to cut strips or “log rolled” pieces of playdough into smaller pieces.
• Place pipe cleaners or uncooked spaghetti noodles in the holes of an upside down colander.

Fine Motor Strength

• Use clothes pins to pinch and place around containers. Put different colors on each clothespin to sort and place on the proper container.
• Squeeze squishy fidgets or sponges.
• Hold a cup or container in each hand pouring any medium from one to the other using water, sand, water beads, rice, beans, etc.
• Use a hole punch to squeeze holes in construction paper. Make a pattern and use yarn to lace or thread through the holes.
• Have your kiddo help in the garden or yard digging holes and pulling weeds using their hands or a shovel.
• Have your kiddo help in the kitchen pouring and stirring with your supervision.
• Teach your kiddo to snap their fingers, then snap to the beat of music.

As you can see by the fine motor activities listed, there are multiple aspects when it comes to fine motor skills. Even though these activities are broken down into specific categories, there is a crossover in the skills that are being used. For example, pinching clothespins works on fine motor strength, but can also incorporate bilateral coordination when the other hand is holding the container to place the clothespins upon. Fine motor dexterity and hand-eye coordination are also in use while pinching the clothespin to place onto a specific location. So even though you may think you are working on a specific fine motor skill, you are probably incorporating other aspects. There are many fine motor activities out there! Take these activities, adjust them as needed, be creative, and remember to have fun!