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Fine motor skills are essential not only for writing, but playing an instrument, participating in sports, and getting dressed. Stumped for suggestions to exercise your little ones fine motor muscles? Make it fun with these ideas.
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1. Lacing Cards 
I thought these look like so much fun, but my daughter (4.5 years) has no interest at all. My boys, however (2.5 years) love them. The animals are made of heavy cardboard, with different colored laces to ‘sew’ through the holes. You could also make your own with craft foam or heavy cardstock.
2. Play Dough
Manipulating clay or play dough helps to work hand muscles used in writing skills. Your little ones can use cookie cutters, or roll the dough into tiny balls.
Making Play Dough at home is easy and fun …. this way, you can choose your own colors, and even add scents. (how about pink peppermint, or lemon yellow?)
3. Using Scissors
We’ve used everything from the Kumon Workbooks
to simply handing Rachel the coupon section and asking her to ‘cut Mommy some coupons’. It may be difficult for children at first, but with practice, they’ll become a cutting whiz.
4. Puzzle Play
Puzzles help with fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and reasoning. In my home, the boys love them, and are much more skilled than their older sister. This Bug Catching Game
is one of our favorites.
5. Amazing Art Work
Whether your children choose crayons, markers, or paint, artwork can have a dual purpose – expressing creativity, as well as a fun way to improve fine motor skills.
Looking for something a little different? How about Do-A-Dot Markers
?
These are a huge hit in my house, and we use them to learn letters as well. There are some wonderful Do a Dot Marker printables available for free – I like to print mine on cardstock, since the markers can sometimes run through standard paper.
What are your favorite ideas? Finger painting, building with blocks or stringing beads? Be sure and leave a comment so we can learn from you.
When she’s not training for her first 5K, Dianna can be found at The Kennedy Adventures. She tackles fitness, family and her Catholic faith.
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Play Dough and art are our favorite ways of developing those skills. I tried to get the children into puzzles, but they just weren’t having it!
It’s funny — my boys love puzzles, and my daughter is just NOW getting interested, at 4.5 yrs old.
Floor puzzles are a great way to get the kids involved. They have quite a few to choose from at walmart and may help for those kids who tend to give up quickly.
Two of my three kids love stringing pony beads on pipe cleaners. These they then twist or combine into different shapes or figures. If you use the semi-translucent beads you can hang them in the windows and call them suncatchers. 🙂
Funny you should mention that …. my three children were crazy busy with beading today at a Santa breakfast! They LOVED it
I have a little plastic tub with a hole punch and some scrap papers that I let my little ones use. It makes a mess, but we just sweep up when they’re done. They LOVE it.
I also let them have any little stickers I’m not using an just decorate paper; scoop beans; and play with tangrams.