Hide and seek: Place small beads, toys, counters, marbles, etc. into dough and roll dough into ball: chn have to use finger skills to pull pieces out of dough and remove all dough from the pieces.
Free cutting: leave different materials on table (paper, plastic, card, felt, etc and allow (watch and assess) children to cut different materials in any way they wish.
Tennis ball squeeze: cut a 2-inch slit in a tennis ball and glue on googly eyes above the slit make a face. Place small beads/counters/ spiders/cheerios on the table and ask children to squeeze ball to open ‘mouth’ and collect objects.
Cotton bud painting: place paint tray and cotton buds on table. Give each child a shape pattern sheet (attached) and model how to dot around the lines with paint, applying pressure as needed.
Cheerio stack: place dry spaghetti pieces upright into a lump of playdough. Challenge children to place as many cheerios as they can onto the spaghetti piece without breaking it.
Making snails: give each child a piece of dough and ask them to roll it into a sausage shape using 1 or 2 hands. Model how to roll it up into a snail shape and add googly eyes to finish. Make a variety of sizes.
Straight lines (thick): (sheet attached or draw with thick marker on scrap paper). Model how to hold paper in one hand while cutting along the thick black lines. Remind chn to try to keep their scissors on the thick black line.
Bottle squirting: collect washing up liquid and sports top bottles and fill with coloured water (food dye), Children practise squeezing to empty bottles into sink or basins.
Marble painting: Place a cake baking tin on a sheet of paper, draw around the base, cut shape out and place inside tin. Add a few drops of paint onto sheets, put 2 marbles into tin and roll around practising balancing skills.
Skittles: use bought packet of skittles or collect water bottles and fill with rice/sand/water and get children to try to knock them over with a ball. Practise underarm throwing and aiming for a target.
Play-Doh / homemade dough – rolling / pulling / squeezing / pinching – encourage your child to help you to make some homemade dough. A recipe for homemade dough can be found at: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/playdough-recipe
Adding a scent such as mint or lavender helps to create a very inviting sensory activity
Colouring – using small thick crayons to colour on different materials e.g. paper or card over sandpaper/bubble wrap/corrugated card
Sponge Art – dipping your sponges of different sizes / textures into paint and pressing onto card to create a picture - squeezing to wring out water and paint is great for strengthening hands and forearms
Finger / hand / foot painting – as above but have sensory fun encouraging your child to use different body parts
Making musical instruments – using anything that you may have that will encourage making noise by banging with hand or beater etc. For instance, biscuit tin covered in paper or decorated with feathers / buttons, rice in a carton to shake etc.
Marble Art – using a tray (I find a biscuit tin works well) lined with paper – allow your child to dip marbles into different colour paints drop into the tray / tin and roll around to create fun, colourful finished pieces of art. Slightly bigger balls can be used also if easier to manipulate
Egg carton and fruit / vegetable stamping – using different sizes and textures of objects or food that can be easily grasped and held to dip in paint and stamp with is a fun way to develop fine motor skills .
Shaving cream art – a very sensory fun activity that allows for arm / hand gross motor development. Squirt foam on appropriate surface, using hands and arms to mix in paint / food colour if desired, and enjoy feeling and watching what happens to the foam. Can be used to make handprints on paper too.
Baking and decorating – what could be more fun than a yummy finished product for all to enjoy!
Cutting and using scissors – often using card instead of paper helps with practising this skill Lots more good ideas can be found through the Bright Hub Education website: https://www.brighthubeducation.com/special-ed-inclusionstrategies/125732-guide-to-modified-art-activities-and-lesson-plans/