Spray Away
Fill an empty spray bottle with water. Show your toddler how to spray out a mist with their index finger on the lever. And then let him go to town! May be more appropriate for outside play!
Sponge Splash
Another outside goodie. Give your toddler a bowl of water (unless you get bored with the spill it fight...then use his baby pool!) with a variety of sponges in it. Show him how to squeeze the water out of the sponge with his fingers. This is a great fine motor activity!
Tear It Up
No worries if your little one can't quite manage scissors...give him pieces of paper and teach him how to tear it up! Which is not just fun...it's fine motor fun!
Self Contained
Save your empty (washed of course) containers and lids. Keep these in a special box where your toddler can learn to match lids & containers. And if they're screw tops...even better!
Pinchy Pins
One of the great toddler fine motor activities! Take a medium square of corrugated cardboard (anybody have diaper boxes on hand?) and a few clothes pins. Show your little fine motor worker how to pinch the pins open to pull off of the cardboard. And how to pinch open to clip them back on.
Playdough Palooza
Playdough is a wonderful tactile activity for toddlers...although in my house it's mandatory outside play! If you have an oral-non-peanut-allergic-seeker in your home...try homemade dough. Use cookie cutters to create fun shapes and build those fine motor muscles!
If you've got a fine motor activity that your toddler loves...please share it in the comments section!
**All these ideas were plagerized from my local Early Intervention team...but hey they left the handout at my place. They're not innocent. They know I blog! ::wink::**
Fill an empty spray bottle with water. Show your toddler how to spray out a mist with their index finger on the lever. And then let him go to town! May be more appropriate for outside play!
Sponge Splash
Another outside goodie. Give your toddler a bowl of water (unless you get bored with the spill it fight...then use his baby pool!) with a variety of sponges in it. Show him how to squeeze the water out of the sponge with his fingers. This is a great fine motor activity!
Tear It Up
No worries if your little one can't quite manage scissors...give him pieces of paper and teach him how to tear it up! Which is not just fun...it's fine motor fun!
Self Contained
Save your empty (washed of course) containers and lids. Keep these in a special box where your toddler can learn to match lids & containers. And if they're screw tops...even better!
Pinchy Pins
One of the great toddler fine motor activities! Take a medium square of corrugated cardboard (anybody have diaper boxes on hand?) and a few clothes pins. Show your little fine motor worker how to pinch the pins open to pull off of the cardboard. And how to pinch open to clip them back on.
Playdough Palooza
Playdough is a wonderful tactile activity for toddlers...although in my house it's mandatory outside play! If you have an oral-non-peanut-allergic-seeker in your home...try homemade dough. Use cookie cutters to create fun shapes and build those fine motor muscles!
If you've got a fine motor activity that your toddler loves...please share it in the comments section!
**All these ideas were plagerized from my local Early Intervention team...but hey they left the handout at my place. They're not innocent. They know I blog! ::wink::**
Comments
Fine motor is small muscles... hand control, pinching, grasping, manipulating objects, etc.
Tactile/fine motor- shaving cream on a mirror, toast tongs to pick up beads, threading beads on a shoelace, squishy balls to work on hand strength (there are some with "hairs" on them so you get tactile too!), fingerpaints
If I think of more, I will come back.