The resistance from the clothespins strengthens our pincer grasp. Just make sure that children are squeezing the pins with their thumb and index finger (they can also add their middle finger if the strength is not there). All other fingers must be tucked in the palm of their hand.

Example: Pick up pompoms to count or sort. Write uppercase letters on clothespins and have children match them to a card with its lowercase match.

Have children use a neat pincer grasp (thumb and index finger only, all other fingers tucked in the palm of the hand) to pick up tiny items.

Example: Find tiny items around your home to pick up and place into a container. These tiny items can include beads, beans, cheerios, mini shaped erasers (our favorite), and mini Legos.

The resistance of the dough helps strengthen little fingers. There are so many ways to use dough!

Example: Hide items in the dough and have children dig them out with little fingers. Make little balls using the thumb, index and middle finger only. Roll the dough to create letters and numbers. Use dough to teach cutting. Make stamps and imprints. Use cookie cutters.

An important skill to improve fine motor skills involves Nesting and Retrieving small items.

Nesting: Use thumb and index finger to pick up a coin/button. Then move item into the palm of your same hand. Then hold. How many items can you hold before dropping?

Retrieving: Hold coins/buttons in the palm of your hand and “wiggle” fingers to retrieve one item at a time from the palm of your same hand to the tip of the thumb and index finger.

Example: Use coins/buttons to count, sort, or stack.

Important skills to improve fine motor performance involves grasping, in-hand manipulation and bilateral coordination skills.

Stringing beads promotes mature grasp patterns. Large beads help promote a grasp pattern that we use to hold a pencil and small beads promote a mature pincer grasp. In-hand manipulation skills are utilized by picking up a bead, turning it in one hand to find the hole (rotational movement) and placing it onto the string (shifting movement). Bilateral coordination skills are incorporated by using two hands to complete this activity.

Example: String beads on a pipe cleaner, spaghetti, string or ribbon. Use beads to count or follow a pattern.

An important skill to develop is tactile discrimination.

Tactile Discrimination: Children use their fingers only to feel for items without visually monitoring what their fingers are doing. This is useful when fastening buttons on oneself. We are more efficient closing buttons without visually monitoring our fingers.

Example: Hide items in bins for sorting, counting, or categorizing! Have an alphabet game where you hide each letter and ask children to find all letters of the alphabet or hide all sorts of small figurines. Make it more fun by hiding items in water beads!!

Peeling stickers is a great way to use little fingers and improve pincer grasp. Use stickers with numbers, letters, colors, animals etc… No Stickers? Take a roll of tape and cut triangles out to use as stickers. Painter's tape works great!!

Example: Draw fun shapes/lines or find a coloring book and have your child peel the stickers from the sticker page and outline the shapes.

Easels: One of the best tools to use to strengthen the wrist and position fingers correctly in preparation for handwriting is an easel. Put all worksheets on easels. Draw, color, or paint on an easel. No easel? Tape paper on the wall or under a table.

For extra fun: Giant Window Paint Activity

Place a dotted worksheet on a cork board or carpeted mat. Use pushpins to poke the dots. Children use a neat pincer grasp (thumb and index finger only, all other fingers tucked in the palm of the hand) to hold the pin. Extra-large push pins for little kids work great, but you can use a variety of sizes.

Example: Draw a shape on construction paper, have children push on the outline of the shape to “cut” out the figure. Make letters by poking holes, or work on counting with a dot-to-dot picture.

Supplies: Dry Spaghetti, Play-doh, and Cheerios, Fruit Loops, or Apple Jacks

Steps: Place spaghetti very carefully into a ball of play-doh. Then place the cereal ever so carefully onto the top of the spaghetti, taking it all the way down!

Too easy? No problem! Have a Cheerio Spaghetti Tower Challenge. Who can fill up their spaghetti the fastest without breaking it?!

Supplies:

Kitchen Whisk and Pom-Poms or Cotton Balls

Steps:

Fill your whisk with pom-poms/cotton balls. Have child use a neat pincer grasp (thumb and index finger only, all other fingers tucked in the palm of the hand) to pull out the "trapped" pom-poms.

Too easy? No problem! Use tweezers to pull out the pom-poms. Or use other items such as small socks, cut up sponges, or pipe cleaners

Supplies:

Pom-Poms or Cotton Balls and Yarn or String

Steps:

1. Set a target in the middle of the kitchen table using string or yarn

2. Place the pom-poms/cotton balls around the table (make some close to the target and others farther away)

3. Flick the pom-poms/cotton balls towards the target, using only your index finger and thumb

4. Try to get the pom-poms/cotton balls inside the target or as close as you can!!

Too easy? No problem! Alternate flicking the pom-poms with your other fingers and your thumb.

First, have your child find a favorite plastic toy!

Next, wrap 6 or 7 rubber bands onto the toy. Only loop them twice around to start, in order to make it easier for them to pull off once they get ahold of the rubber band.

Too easy? No problem! Use more rubber bands or loop them around more than twice!