85 Play-Based Fine Motor Skill Activities

If your child finds it hard to tie their shoes, hold a pencil, or open up tricky snack packages, they aren’t alone. These are all tasks that use fine motor skills, and those skills take time to build.

Fine motor development plays a role in many areas of our lives and our children’s lives. 

Kids rely on these small hand movements for so many things. Dressing themselves, playing with their favorite toys, building with blocks, and trying new crafts are all activities that depend on fine motor skills.

These skills start to build in infancy. You see the earlier stages of development when a baby starts reaching for toys, grabbing fingers, and raking finger foods off their highchair tray. Then, as children grow, they become more precise and coordinated.

Fine motor skills continue developing into adolescence and beyond as hands mature and the tasks we complete become more complex.

If your child finds fine motor tasks challenging, there’s good news. One of the most effective ways to support this kind of development is through play! Play-based hands-on activities give children the chance to build strength and fine motor control in a fun, low-pressure way.

This article includes 85 play-based activity ideas that support fine motor skills at every age and stage. But before we get into those, let’s first take a look at what fine motor skills actually are and why they involve more than just the hands.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

What Are Fine Motor Skills?

Fine motor skills are all of the small movements that involve the hands, fingers, and wrists working together. These movements are used anytime you’re doing something with your hands that needs control, precision, or strength.

Fine motor skills aren’t just one skill; they include several abilities that all work together.

Here’s a closer look at what those are:

Key Parts of Fine Motor Development

• Hand strength: Kids need hand strength for all sorts of things, like squeezing glue bottles, opening containers, using scissors, and pushing down with enough pressure to write or draw clearly.
• Pincer grasp: This is the ability to pick up small objects using the tips of the thumb and index finger. You see it when a toddler picks up a piece of cereal or when an older child fastens a zipper or unclips a buckle.
• Wrist control: Your child needs to have a stable wrist to child hold tools like crayons, forks, or toothbrushes at the right angle. It also helps with endurance—if their wrist is floppy or weak, their hands will get tired more easily.
• Finger isolation: This means being able to move only one finger at a time while your other fingers stay still. This is needed for tasks like pressing buttons on a remote, pointing and touching on a tablet, or even typing on a keyboard.
• Bilateral coordination: Bilateral coordination is the ability to use both sides of your body in a coordinated fashion. There are several types of bilateral movements, and you can read more about them here. When it comes to fine motor skills, we’re often referring to leading hand and supporting hand movements.
  
  This is when you use one hand to stabilize an item while your dominant hand does more skilled work, for example, holding paper steady with one hand while cutting with the other. Or using one hand to twist open a bottle while the other hand holds it steady.
• In-hand manipulation: This is a more advanced skill. It’s the ability to move an object around in your hand without using the other hand. For example, turning a pencil around to use the eraser or shifting a small toy from your palm to your fingers so you can place it carefully.
• Hand-eye coordination: We often rely on our eyes to guide our hands—like placing puzzle pieces, stringing beads, or hitting a ball with a bat. Kids need to be able to track what they see and match their movements to it.
• Tactile perception: Now we’re talking about using our hands without necessarily relying on our eyes. Tactile perception is how you feel what the hands are doing and make adjustments without needing to look. For example, reaching into a bag and finding the crayon without pulling out five other things first because you know what a crayon feels like.

So, as you can see, there are many skills involved that work together when it comes to using our hands in a smooth and coordinated way. When any of these motor skills are still developing, it can make many tasks feel harder, maybe even frustrating for your child.

Luckily, the more we practice using our hands, the better we get.

Let’s look at a wide range of play-based activities that you can set up at home to support your child’s fine motor development while keeping it fun.

Play-Based Fine Motor Skill Activities for Kids

If you want to help your child build fine motor skills, all you have to do is find ways to keep them engaged and curious while playing in ways that require these skills.

When your child is engaged in a fine motor skill activity, they’re more likely to repeat it, thus repeating the kinds of movements that are strengthening those tiny muscles and motor patterns.

If you want to make the activities engaging, you have to make them fun.  

Indoor Fine Motor Invitations

You can set up low-prep, hands-off fine motor invitations for indoor fine motor play and just leave them out on a tray at the table or in a craft station and let your child explore and discover them on their own.

These are great because they don’t involve any demands; they’re just an invitation to explore and try new skills without any pressure to do something a certain way.

Bead & Button Buffet

Skills: Pincer grasp, hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination

Set out:

• Pipe cleaners, laces, or shoelaces
• Beads, buttons, pasta with holes
• Small bowls or muffin tins for sorting

Let your child freely string, sort, and create.

Mini Tools & Tongs Station

Skills: Hand strength, wrist control, crossing midline

Set out:

• Mini tongs, tweezers, scoops
• Pom-poms, mini erasers, cereal loops
• Ice cube trays or silicone molds

Offer a “transfer challenge” or just let them move objects from container to container.

Shoe-Tying Play Center

Skills: Direct shoe-tying prep

Set out:

• Real or toy shoes with laces
• Lacing cards or boards
• Ribbons, cords, or yarn

Let them play with tying, threading, and wrapping, but with no pressure to do it “right.” They’re just exploring how laces work. If you’re looking for advice to help your child learn to tie their shoes, check out this article for some super easy tricks!

Putty & Treasure Hunt Tray

Skills: In-hand manipulation, finger isolation, strength

Set out:

• Therapy putty or homemade playdough
• Tiny toys, coins, or beads hidden inside
• A small bowl to collect “treasures.”

Encourage them to squish and dig for items and then sort them however they like.

Clip & Snap Station

Skills: Bilateral coordination, grasp patterns

Set out:

• Clothespins, chip clips, binder clips
• A clothesline (taped between chairs or on a wall)
• Paper shapes, fabric squares, or playing cards

They can hang things up, clip by color, or make up their own sorting game.

Sticky Wall Sticker Sorting

Skills: Pincer grasp, visual-motor precision, bilateral coordination

Tape a large piece of contact paper to the wall—sticky side out. Put a bowl of small stickers nearby (color dots, foam shapes, or themed stickers).

Invite your child to sort them onto the sticky wall by color, shape, or create their own scene. You can even draw sections or outlines to encourage matching. It’s like a vertical puzzle for their fingers.

Wrap and Weave Station

Skills: Wrist rotation, bilateral coordination, crossing midline

Offer some cardboard shapes, wooden blocks, or sticks, along with balls of colorful yarn or ribbon. Let kids wrap, twist, and weave to their heart’s content. They might turn a block into a “present,” create patterns or build a web. There’s no right or wrong way—just lots of hand work.

Tiny Mail Delivery

Skills: In-hand manipulation, pincer grasp

Cut a slit in the top of a shoebox and label it “Mail.” Next to it, place tiny folded notes or small laminated cards. Kids can fold, roll, or crumple “mail” and push it through the slot. Add a toy mailbox for pretend play.

Bonus: give them a mini clipboard and pen to “log deliveries.”

Hole Punch & Thread

Skills: Hand strength, visual-motor coordination

Grab some cardstock and let your child use a single-hole punch to punch around the edges. Then, offer yarn or shoelaces to thread in and out of the holes. It becomes an impromptu lacing card—one they made themselves.

Bubble Wrap Pop Race

Skills: Finger isolation, pressure control

Lay out strips of bubble wrap and challenge your child to pop them using only their index finger and thumb. You can race to finish a row or do it in a pattern. Add a story: “The ants are under the bubble wrap! Squish them before they escape!”

Outdoor Fine Motor Play Invitations

When kids are playing outside, it becomes even more natural and intuitive. There are so many ways to work on fine motor skills outside without it ever even feeling like practice.

Nature Loose Parts Table

Skills: Grasp, manipulation, sorting

Set out:

• Leaves, sticks, rocks, flowers
• Baskets, trays, or jars
• Tweezers or tongs (optional)

Let your child sort, create patterns, or make potions and nature soup.

Water Play Station

Skills: Hand strength, squeeze control, coordination

Set out:

• Squeeze bottles, spray bottles, sponges
• Bowls, funnels, and cups
• Optional: small toys to “bathe” or “rescue.”

This builds the same squeeze-and-release pattern used in tying laces.

Mud Kitchen or Sand Tray

Skills: Bilateral coordination, hand stability, in-hand movement

Set out:

• Spoons, scoops, and tongs
• Muffin tins, bowls, toy pots
• Mud, sand, rice, or soil

They’re practicing motor planning, crossing midline, and sequencing—all relevant for multi-step tasks like tying shoes.

Clothespin Hunt

Skills: Finger strength, pressure modulation

Clip clothespins around the yard or on a fence.

Let your child find and collect them all—no rules, just play.

Backyard Bug Hunt

Skills: Pincer grasp, hand-eye coordination, exploration

This one’s a personal favorite of mine. Grab a bug viewer kit, or just use a plastic container, a magnifying glass, and tweezers.  

Head out into the backyard, flip over rocks, lift leaves, and gently collect any bugs you find.

Talk about what you see. Build a tiny “bug hotel” with sticks, leaves, and dirt.

The whole activity naturally supports gentle grasping and close observation—perfect fine motor and sensory integration work wrapped into outdoor play.

Arts & Crafts (Low-Prep & Fun)

Arts and crafts are also fun when you aren’t expected to create something specific. So, if your child does have a hard time with fine motor skills, their art projects might not come out the way that they want them to, which can be really disappointing.

But, when there’s no expectation of what something is supposed to look like, then it takes that pressure off, and it’s more fun to just explore and create (and build skills!).

So, keep in mind your child’s abilities, skills, and interests when choosing arts and crafts activities.

Mini Scroll Maker

Skills: Finger dexterity, bilateral coordination

Set out strips of paper, markers, and tiny rubber bands or yarn. Kids can decorate the paper, roll it into little scrolls, and secure them.

These can become “ancient messages,” “wizard spells,” or “secret scrolls.”

Bonus: hide them around the house for a treasure hunt.

Paint With a Cotton Swab

Skills: Pincer grasp, fine motor control

Instead of a paintbrush, give your child cotton swabs and let them dot-paint on a template or create their own designs. It’s especially good for making flowers, fireworks, or bugs with lots of tiny dots.

DIY Button Snake

Skills: Bilateral coordination, hand strength

Sew a button onto one end of a ribbon and lay out felt squares with slits in the middle. Kids “feed” the button through each square. It’s a portable, screen-free toy that mimics the exact motions of buttoning and lacing.

Crayon Peel and Melt

Skills: Finger isolation, sensory awareness

Set out broken crayons and let your child peel off the wrappers. It’s oddly satisfying and surprisingly hard work for little fingers.

Use the peeled crayons to create melted crayon art or rubbings over textured surfaces.

Sticker Dot Storyboards

Skills: Grasp precision, sequencing

Create a simple story scene on paper (like a path, tree, or road) and give your child tiny dot stickers to “fill it in.” Maybe the stickers are berries, stepping stones, or fireflies—they get to decide.

Diamond Art Kits (or Sticker Mosaics)

Skills: Precision, pincer grasp, visual tracking

These sparkly sticker-by-number sets are great practice for developing fine motor control.

If your child likes repetition and detail, diamond painting can be a calming way to strengthen those small muscles. They’re also a great quiet time activity for kids who enjoy them.

Start with simpler sticker mosaics for younger kids—same skill, less frustration.

Sculpt With Air-Dry Clay

Skills: Hand strength, bilateral coordination

Clay is heavier than playdough, which means more resistance—perfect for strengthening little hands. Let your child roll balls, flatten pancakes, poke holes, and build whatever they imagine. Add beads, buttons, or shells to push in as decorations.

Watercolor & Salt Sprinkle

Skills: Grip and control, light touch

Let your child paint with watercolor, then sprinkle salt over the wet paint to watch it change texture.

The sprinkle movement supports finger isolation and modulation.

Paper Strip Collage

Skills: Cutting, gluing, bilateral coordination

Cut strips of paper ahead of time and place them in a tray. Offer glue sticks and a canvas. No “goal”—just layering, patterning, and sticking.

Mix up different types of paper, too, like thin tissue paper and thicker construction paper. It’s fun to see what kids gravitate towards when they’re free to explore their creativity.

Tiny Stamp Factory

Skills: Precision grip, strength, planning

Set out mini stamps and small ink pads (or repurpose LEGO bricks as stamps!) along with small pieces of paper or cardboard.

Kids can create cards, patterns, or “orders” in their pretend store.

Games & Challenges

Some kids love a challenge. If that’s your child, the more gamified something feels, the more likely it is that they will stay engaged (and ask to do it again).

So here are some fine motor challenges and games that kids can play solo or with a sibling or caregiver.

These are great for those competitive kids who love a challenge.

Coin Stack Tower Challenge

Skills: In-hand manipulation, pincer grip, hand stability

Give your child a small stack of coins and challenge them to build the tallest tower possible. The catch? They can only use one hand.

For an added twist, time each round and try to beat the previous score.

Clothesline Relay

Skills: Bilateral coordination, crossing midline

String a clothesline across a doorway or between two chairs. Set out a pile of socks or paper shapes with clothespins.

Kids have to race to clip everything onto the line using just one hand at a time—or alternate hands for an extra challenge.

Pom-Pom Push Race

Skills: Finger isolation, strength, coordination

Cut small holes in a shoebox lid (just big enough for a pom-pom to squeeze through). Give your child a pile of pom-poms and have them race to push each one through the hole using only one finger.

Use a timer to turn it into a “beat your best time” game, or compete against each other to see who can get all their pom poms into the box first.

Mini Figure Rescue Mission

Skills: Precision grip, bilateral control

Wrap tiny toys in rubber bands or pipe cleaners like they’re stuck in a spider web. Kids have to “rescue” them using only tweezers or tongs—no fingers allowed!

The Great Bead Drop

Skills: Pincer grasp, visual tracking

Give your child a pile of pony beads and a narrow-necked bottle (like a spice jar). Challenge them to drop each bead in one at a time using their fingers or tweezers. Add a twist by calling out colors: “Find a red one! Now blue!”

Cotton Ball Spoon Walk

Skills: Hand-eye coordination, balance, grip control

Balance a cotton ball on a spoon and walk it across the room! Make it more challenging by adding obstacles, such as pillows or taped lines to cross.

Try it with eyes closed or one leg up for older kids.

Paper Flick Football (Mini Version)

Skills: Thumb and index finger strength, motor planning

Make tiny triangle “footballs” from folded paper and flick them across a table toward a goal. This is great for older kids who like cause-and-effect or competition, and it secretly strengthens the same muscles used for pencil grip and shoelace tying.

Clothespin Tag

Skills: Grip strength, speed, strategy

Each player gets 3–5 clothespins clipped to their shirt. The goal? Steal as many clothespins as you can from others while protecting your own. It’s chaotic, giggly, and full of midline-crossing and grip work.

“Perfection”

Skills: Speed, shape matching, precision grip

This fast-paced game challenges kids to fit all the tiny shapes into their matching spots before the board pops. This builds visual-spatial skills and shape recognition and requires both speed and accuracy.

Don’t worry about beating the timer at first. Just use it as a shape puzzle and let kids explore the pieces with no pressure. Some kids do find the timer overwhelming, but others are into the challenge!

“Operation”

Skills: Pincer grasp, hand stability, in-hand manipulation

Another classic game with built-in skill-building. Removing tiny plastic “body parts” with tweezers without touching the edges? That’s top-tier fine motor practice. “Operation” requires kids to use steady hands, plan movements carefully, and self-regulate frustration—especially when that buzzer goes off.

Bonus tip: If your child finds the buzzer stressful, you can take out the batteries and just use it as a calm, steady-hand game.

Water Play

Water play is a favorite for many kids. It’s naturally calming and sensory-rich, and it offers tons of opportunities to practice fine motor skills.

Any time your child is scooping, squeezing, pouring, squirting, or picking up slippery objects, they’re working on their fine motor development!

Squeeze & Spray Station

Skills: Grip strength, finger isolation, pressure control

Fill up small spray bottles and squirt bottles and let your child go wild—spraying outdoor surfaces, toy animals, windows, or chalk drawings. You can even draw targets and make it a game.

Squeezing a spray bottle works the same muscles needed for pinching and pulling laces tight when you are learning to tie your shoes.

Eyedropper Color Mixing Lab

Skills: Precision, pincer grasp, bilateral coordination

Set out small cups of water dyed with food coloring, an ice cube tray or muffin tin, and a couple of eyedroppers. Let your child mix colors, fill compartments, or pretend they’re making “potions.”

The control needed to squeeze and release the dropper is the perfect prep for writing.

Pom-Pom Rescue

Skills: Pincer grasp, in-hand manipulation

Float craft pom-poms in a bin of water and give your child tweezers, a slotted spoon, or tongs to rescue them. Add a little pretend play flair by turning it into a mission: “These are stranded sea creatures! Save them!”

Squirt Toy Target Practice

Skills: Hand strength, bilateral coordination

Use small bath squirt toys to aim at floating targets or taped-up pictures. Squeezing squirt toys is fantastic for strengthening hand muscles, and it’s even more fun and effective when there’s a goal to aim for.

You can use toy ducks, foam shapes, or even floating plastic lids as the targets.

Dinky Car Wash

Skills: Grip strength, bilateral coordination, sequencing

Set up a mini car wash for your child’s toy cars (or any waterproof figures). You just need:

• A tub of soapy water
• Toothbrushes, sponges, or small cloths
• A rinsing bin
• A drying station with towels

Let your child scrub, rinse, and shine each vehicle like a real detailer. This activity hits all the fine motor essentials:

• scrubbing = wrist motion and strength;
• squeezing = hand control;
• drying = coordination and sequencing.

Bonus: Add signs, make a price list, or create a pretend car wash “business” for extra pretend play layers.

Sponge Squeeze Race

Skills: Full-hand grip, bilateral work

Give your child a sponge and two bowls—one filled with water, the other empty. The challenge? Transfer all the water using only the sponge.

They’ll soak, squeeze, repeat… and build endurance and strength in their hands and wrists along the way.

Ice Excavation Dig

Skills: Finger isolation, fine motor planning

Freeze small toys or objects inside a block of ice (use a food container or muffin tin). Give your child pipettes, salt, warm water, and tools like spoons or small hammers to “rescue” the frozen treasures.

This activity is great for both motor control and focus.

Funnel & Pour Station

Skills: Hand-eye coordination, bilateral control

Set up containers, funnels, pitchers, and cups of different sizes.

Pouring water from one into another might seem simple, but it takes skill to line it up, hold steady, and stop at the right moment. Want to make it extra fun? Add glitter or small floating objects.

Orbeez Transfer Challenge

Skills: Precision, bilateral coordination

Set out a muffin tin or ice cube tray beside a bin of water beads and give your child a spoon, dropper, or tiny cup. Their goal? Move one Orbeez into each section—without using their fingers. It’s slippery, silly, and sneaky fine motor work.

Sewing & Lacing Activities

Sewing and lacing activities are slow and rhythmic, which makes them calming for many children. So, they don’t just help build fine motor skills, but can also be regulating.

Lace Cards with Yarn

Skills: Bilateral coordination, visual tracking

Punch holes around a cardboard shape or use pre-made lacing cards. Offer your child a plastic yarn needle or shoelace and let them “sew” around the edges.

Sew on Burlap with a Plastic Needle

Skills: Threading, planning, hand strength

Burlap’s loose weave is perfect for beginner sewing. Use embroidery floss or yarn, along with a large, blunt plastic needle.

Kids can stitch random patterns or shapes—it doesn’t have to be pretty! You’re building skill through exploration.

Button Threading Chain

Skills: Pincer grasp, grip control

Sew a button onto a ribbon or shoelace. Then provide felt shapes or paper pieces with slits in the middle to “button” on one by one.

Sew a Paper Plate Monster

Skills: Motor planning, fine hand control

Punch holes all around a paper plate. Offer yarn or string, and let your child lace around the edge to create “fur” or “spikes.”

Glue on googly eyes felt teeth, or whatever other monster features you want.

Pasta Necklace Workshop

Skills: Eye-hand coordination, grasp refinement

The perfect gift for Mother’s Day or Grandma’s birthday…a pasta necklace.

Dye dry pasta with food coloring (optional), then invite your child to string it onto yarn, pipe cleaners, or shoelaces.

Add beads or cut-up straws, too, if you want more variety.

You can even make a “pattern challenge” for older kids, but keep it loose and creative.

Ribbon Weaving Board

Skills: Bilateral coordination, crossing midline

Cut slits in a piece of cardboard and tape ribbons or paper strips on one side. Let kids weave them in and out, creating a simple mat. You can switch to fabric or felt pieces to increase the challenge later.

Bead Bracelets on Pipe Cleaners

Skills: Pincer grasp, hand-eye coordination, patterning

It’s almost as solid a gift choice as the pasta necklace; perhaps you can accessorize with both?

Offer a tray of pony beads and colorful pipe cleaners. Kids can create patterns, spell their names, or just go freestyle.

Pipe cleaners are easier to thread than string, making this great for beginners or younger kids. Once full, twist it into a bracelet.

Gimp Keychains (Boondoggle / Lanyard Crafts)

Skills: Sequencing, bilateral coordination, tension control

Yes, they’re back. Those plastic lace keychains we all made in summer camp are actually amazing for fine motor development. Learning the box or spiral stitch teaches planning, grip control, and consistent hand tension.

Start with two colors and a basic box pattern—and let YouTube tutorials do the teaching if needed.

Bonus: Kids love gifting these to friends, which makes them extra motivating… so you’d better keep lots of supplies on hand.

Cutting & Scissors Play

Using scissors requires leading hand and supporting hand bilateral coordination, hand strength, coordination, endurance, wrist control, pressure control… There are so many fine motor skills at play when it comes to using scissors!

That’s why it’s a great idea to introduce scissors play to kids from an early age and to incorporate it into various types of play activities.

Make sure you choose scissors that are better age-appropriate, and always supervise your child as they’re learning scissor skills to make sure that they don’t hurt themselves.

Cut Spaghetti Noodles

Skills: Pressure modulation, tool coordination

Cook spaghetti, let it cool, and place it in a bowl. Invite your child to snip it into bits with kid scissors. It’s squishy, slippery, and oddly delightful. You can make a sensory “soup” or just let them explore.

Straw Snipping Station

Skills: Grip strength, stability, precision

Offer a bunch of colorful plastic straws and let your child snip them into different lengths. Save the pieces—they’re great for threading later. You can even create a counting challenge: “Cut this straw into 5 pieces!”

Play-Doh Haircuts

Skills: Hand strength, scissor control, bilateral coordination

Roll Play-Doh into a ball and stick spaghetti noodles into it vertically.

Then, offer scissors and let your child give the “porcupine” a haircut.

Or shape Play-Doh into cylinders and cut them like sausages, worms, or hair strands. It’s safe and satisfying and builds strength without the stress of following a line.

Foldable Animal Cut & Paste (Printable)

Skills: Precision cutting, sequencing, visual-spatial skills

Use these adorable animal cut-and-fold templates to turn cutting into a full-blown craft project. Each animal (like a rabbit, pig, or penguin) includes folding flaps that your child cuts, folds, and tapes to make a 3D model.

It’s a fun way to practice cutting and following multi-step directions—while making something fun they can actually play with.

Snip-a-Rainbow

Skills: Snipping control, color awareness

Offer your child strips of colored paper in all shades of the rainbow. Let them snip the strips into pieces and then glue the cuttings into a rainbow collage or pattern.

Paper Plate Pizza Shop

Skills: Curved line cutting, hand control

Cut paper plates into wedges and invite your child to decorate them like pizzas using cut-out toppings (pepperoni, mushrooms, etc.).

Add a menu or run a pretend pizza shop!

Cutting out the curved toppings adds a challenge in a playful way.

Magazine Mystery Hunt

Skills: Visual tracking, fine scissor control

Give your child a theme (animals, shoes, foods, one of their favorite interests) and a stack of magazines or junk mail.

Their mission? Find and cut out as many matching items as they can. Cut them all out and then make a collage on a piece of poster board.

Paper Doll Factory

Skills: Curved cutting, detail control, sequencing

Paper dolls provide a timeless way to practice scissor skills while allowing your child to immerse themselves in pretend play and storytelling. Start with a set like the Cut-Out Paper Dolls Coloring Book, where kids can color, cut, and dress the dolls themselves.

The combo of coloring + cutting + folding taps into a wide range of fine motor skills, and there’s a built-in creative reward at the end.

Bonus: Store the dolls and outfits in an envelope or little box so kids can revisit their creations again and again.

Building & Construction

Building is a naturally motivating way for kids to strengthen fine motor skills—especially when the pieces are tiny, stackable, or require squeezing and snapping. It’s also great for bilateral coordination, motor planning, and creativity.

Lego Free Build Station

Skills: Finger strength, precision grip, visual planning

There’s a reason Lego is an OT favorite. Snapping bricks together and pulling them apart works all the tiny hand muscles that support writing, dressing, and utensil use.

Skip the instructions (unless you want to complete a guided Lego set), just set out a tray, and let your child explore, sort, and build anything they imagine.

Magnetic Tile Architecture

Skills: Grip strength, hand-eye coordination

Magna-Tiles or Picasso Tiles are easier to grasp and pull apart than LEGO but still challenge kids to use both hands together and control placement. Try building enclosures for animals, houses for toys, or translucent towers on a sunny windowsill.

Toothpick & Marshmallow Builders

Skills: Pincer grasp, bilateral coordination

Offer mini marshmallows or soft modeling clay and toothpicks.

Kids can build shapes, bridges, or abstract sculptures.

Bonus challenge: build as tall as you can before it falls!

DIY Screw Board

Skills: Wrist rotation, hand strength

Drill holes into a thick board and partially screw in bolts. Provide real screwdrivers or child-safe tools, and let your child twist, turn, and remove the screws.

This is real-life fine motor work disguised as a toy!

Cereal Box Engineering

Skills: Cutting, taping, structure creation

Collect empty cereal boxes and cardboard tubes and let your child turn them into buildings, vehicles, or robots using scissors and tape. Add buttons, bottle caps, or stickers for finishing touches.

Finger Play

Fine motor practice doesn’t always have to involve scissors or beads…sometimes, all you need is for your child’s hands to move in rhythm.

Fingerplay songs and action rhymes are a playful, screen-free way to strengthen finger isolation, coordination, and motor planning.

Finger play is great for lots of other skills, too, like spatial awareness, and phonological awareness. The repetition builds motor memory and reinforces brain pathways through movement and sound.

Try out these songs and fingerplays to encourage fine motor development:

• The Itsy Bitsy Spider
• Open Shut Them
• Baby Shark
• The Goldfish Song
• Wave Your Scarf
• Banana Dance
• Here is the Beehive

Fine Motor Toys & Tools

There are tons of ready-to-go kids’ toys that are perfect for strengthening little hands and developing fine motor skills and coordination.

Here are some toys and tools to add to your kiddo’s toy collection for even more play-based practice!

• Lacing Beads – Great for beginners to practice threading and hand-eye coordination
• Pop Tubes – Fun to pull, twist, and snap (perfect for fidgety fingers)
• Play-Doh Tools – Scissors, rollers, stampers, and slicers make hand work fun
• Training Chopsticks or Tweezers – Use them to pick up pom-poms, cereal, or beads
• Learning Resources Fine Motor Tool Set – Includes scoops, squeezers, twist tools, and droppers
• GeoBoards with Rubber Bands – Stretch bands into shapes or patterns
• Button Art Kits – Snap colorful buttons into place to complete pictures
• Kids’ Sewing Kits or Plastic Canvas Sets – Beginner-friendly for stitching and threading
• Water Wow! Reusable Painting Books – Strengthen grip while “painting” with water
• Peg Boards & Stackers – Build patterns, towers, or sort by color
• Toys with Screws and Bolts – Twist, tighten, and build real-world motor skills
• Magnetic Mazes with Wands – Trace paths using a magnet wand to move pieces
• Bead Mazes & Wire Tracks – Slide, spin, and loop beads along twisty wires

Building fine motor skills shouldn’t feel like work. The best way to help develop those small yet mighty muscles in your child’s hands is through creative, playful, and low-pressure activities.

Most of the time, your child won’t even realize they are practicing something so important.

Activities like snipping noodles, threading beads, constructing marshmallow towers, or running a toy car wash are all excellent options.

Every squeeze, pinch, scoop, twist, and snip contributes to your child’s increased control, coordination, and confidence!

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