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!
This activity literally takes just minutes to put together and is always a success at our place! Such a simple fine motor activity idea!
Pom Pom Whisk Activity
This toddler activity ticks so many boxes. It’s sensory, involves problem solving skills, cause and effect, logical thinking and even involves some all-important, fine motor skill development. Setting up is a breeze and can be done within minutes. See how we played with the pom pom whisk HERE.
Pom Pom Rescue
Tongs are great for building fine motor strength, dexterity and hand eye coordination. It only takes a few minutes to set up this Sensory Pom Pom Rescue – a fun fine motorsensory tray. See how to set up your pom pom rescue activity HERE.
Sensory Salt Drawing
This sensory writing activity is a great pre-writing fine motor activity idea - if you don't use salt you can do the same activity with sand or rice. See how to make your sensory salt tray HERE.
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
Visual Motor Color Match - The OT Toolbox
Toddler Fine Motor Activity - Pom Poms and Containers
Simple Outdoor Waving Loom - The Inspired Treehouse
Button Color Sorting Activity - Schooling a Monkey
Cotton Bud Play - Adventures and Play
Postman Pat. A Shoebox and Jar Lid Play - Emma Owl
Play Dough Spaghetti and Cheerios Fine Motor Activity
Rainbow Waving Art - The Typical Mom
Pipe Cleaners and Straws - Beauty through Imperfection
5 Tray Play Ideas with Mother Goose - The Keeper of the Memories
Fine Motor Button Tree - The Train Drivers Wife
Simple DIY Colour Sorting and Fine Motor Activity - Learn with Play at Home
Fine Motor Toy - Color Matching Flowers - Moms and Crafters
Dropper Painting for Kids - Laughing Kids Learn
Pom Pom Drop - Crafty Kids at Home
Cotton Ball Rainbow - Fireflies and Mud Pies
Fine Motor Octopus - Buggy and Buddy
Snowy Owls - Red Ted Art
Felt Cat Themed Button Snake - Uno Zwei Tutu
Montessori Inspired Toddler Play - Mama Smiles
Monster Clips - Hands On As We Grow
Sensory Activity with Pinecones in the Sandbox - Preschool Toolkit
Pinted Dry Beans Mosaic - Twittchetts
Pom Pom Color Matching Game - Raising Little Superheroes
Craft Foam Window Puzzle - Frogs and Fairies
Pumpkin Washing Station - Natural Beach Living
Paper Roll Tube and Ribbon Threading Busy Bag - 3 Princesses and 1 Dude
Colored Waterfalls - Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds
Water Bead Pick Up Game - Play and Learn Every Day
Plastic Egg Fine Motor Activity - Something 2 Offer
Simple Clothspin Activity - School Time Snippets
Pounding Practice - What Do We Do All Day
Cap Twist-off Board - Happy Toddler Playtime
I hope your toddler enjoyed these toddler fine motor activities.Make sure you share your photos in ourFacebook Groupand over onInstagram. Use#MyBoredToddlerand tag@myboredtoddlerso we can all see!
Some more activities you might enjoy are:
Sensory Bins for Toddlers
Dinosaur Activities for Toddlers
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