I am a klutz. I will walk into the side of doorways as I enter a room, bump the side of the dining table as walk past it on my way to the kitchen, and dancing?! Forget that! But… I am a pianist. My mother was a piano teacher and I was playing Fur Elise by the age of four. So, what I lack in gross motor skills, I thankfully make up for in my fine motor skills.

I am ever mindful to encourage and foster my children’s fine motor skills because I know the impact it will have on their writing skills.

As I mentioned in my previous post, (our prewriting activity – painting with cotton swabs), we don’t fill our days with loads of prewriting worksheets. Instead, they have built up their prewriting skills mainly through play. Hours of building up their fine motor skills through:

• Creative Play
• Art Activities
• Messy Play
• Outdoor Play
• Play Dough

Here are 20 fun and creative fine motor activities for kids. Happy playing, because #playmatters.

	← Prewriting Activity, Cotton Swab Painting via Lessons Learnt Journal → Tweezers Fine Motor Activity via Lessons Learnt Journal
	← Fine Motor Tap Tap Set via Lessons Learnt Journal → Rosewater Play Dough via Lessons Learnt Journal
	← No Glue Collage via Lessons Learnt Journal → Paper Mache Bowls via Lessons Learnt Journal
	← Tin Foil Pasta via Lessons Learnt Journal → Drawing Circles via Lessons Learnt Journal
	← Patty Pan Mobile via Lessons Learnt Journal → Exploring Painting Tools via Lessons Learnt Journal
	← Play with Pom Poms and a Mirror via Buggy and Buddy → Weaving for Kids via Highhill Education
	← Cutting with a Knife via Living Montessori Now → DIY Tugging Box via Laughing Kids Learn
	← Pom Pom Rainbow Collage via Danya Banya → Montessori Inspired Toddler Activities via Racheous
	← Pipe Cleaners on a String via Learn with Play At Home → Hungry Monster Color Sorters via Two-Daloo
	← Printable Pre-writing Cards via My Little Bookcase → Leaf Threading via Octavia and Vicky

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Most of these ideas are from our Kids’ Co-Op. If you have a child focused post to share, be sure to come back and visit the Kids’ Co-Op link up here at Lessons Learnt Journal, (published and live here every Wednesday at 10PM CST or Thursday 2PM AEST).

More Activities for Preschoolers

Three to Five: Playful Preschool is stuffed to the brim with tried, tested and loved playful learning ideas for preschoolers. There are 25+ ideas for preschoolers, ten printable resources and additional links to over 50 more activities. A great resource for parents. Download your copy here.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment; I’d love to hear from you.
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The post 20 Fine Motor Activities by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

When kids are involved in creating art, they are surrounded by many opportunities for them to develop their fine motor control. Fine motor skills refers to the strengthening of small muscles in the hand which are used in fine movements. These skills are demonstrated in grasping, manipulating and hand-eye coordination.

Encouraging children to build up their fine motor skills is important. Poor fine motor skills can affect the legibility of their handwriting, which contributes to the development of their literacy / communication skills. The stronger their fine motor skills, the easier it will be for them to manipulate and control a range of materials and tools. The easier they find handwriting, the less obstacles there will be to the (already complex) process of learning to write.

Exploring Painting Tools

Here’s a very simple, open ended art activity for kids, that builds up their fine motor skills.

You’ll need:

• A3 sized paper (or larger)
• A selection of paints
• A selection of unusual things to paint/print with. We have used a few bottle cleaning brushes, plastic forks, plastic knives, sponge nerf gun bullets, novelty shaped sponges.

Divide the piece of paper into four by folding it into quarters.

Paint each quarter using a different painting tool. Experiment with different ways to use the tools.

I also let the boys mix up their own colours – (eventually we got that standard brown/grey paint happening).

What are some painting tools your kids enjoy using?

More Activities for Preschoolers

Three to Five: Playful Preschool is stuffed to the brim with tried, tested and loved playful learning ideas for preschoolers. There are 25+ ideas for preschoolers, ten printable resources and additional links to over 50 more activities. A great resource for parents. Download your copy here.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment; I’d love to hear from you. If you are new here, you might like to receive updates direct to your email. We have many fun ideas to share.

The post Fine Motor Activities: Exploring Painting Tools by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

Encouraging children to build up their fine motor skills is important. Poor fine motor skills can affect the legibility of their handwriting, which contributes to the development of their literacy / communication skills. The stronger their fine motor skills, the easier it will be for them to manipulate and control a range of materials and tools.

How to make a Black and White Collage

Materials:
black cardboard
white paper
marker / pencil
scissors
glue

1. Draw several lines from the top to the bottom of the paper. These lines could be straight or curved.

2. Cut the white paper on the marked lines.

3. Spread out the white strips across the black cardboard.

4. Glue the white strips in place.

Fine Motor Skills Promoted

This fine motor activity, creating a black and white collage, provides children with opportunities to develop their fine motor skills with the actions of gripping, holding, cutting, squeezing, patting and pasting.

Their fine motor skills are also developed as they use various tools: scissors, markers and glue sticks.

In this particular activity, they are working with different surfaces: paper and cardboard, some wet and some dry. The variety of surfaces provides further scope for developing their fine motor skills.

More Activities for Preschoolers

Three to Five: Playful Preschool is stuffed to the brim with tried, tested and loved playful learning ideas for preschoolers. There are 25+ ideas for preschoolers, ten printable resources and additional links to over 50 more activities. A great resource for parents. Download your copy here.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment; I’d love to hear from you. If you are new here, you might like to receive updates direct to your email. We have many fun ideas to share.

The post Fine Motor Activities: Black & White Collage by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.