How to Improve a Child's Fine Motor Skills

Some children have great difficulty with fine motor skills. Basic things such as writing, picking up tiny objects or buttoning and zipping clothing can be a great challenge. If these skills are not addressed, a child with weak fine motor skills might have difficulty at school.

Things You'll Need

• Piggy bank
• Pennies
• Tennis ball container
• Scissors
• Water
• Assorted buttons
• Peg board
• Pegs
• Timer
• Stickers
• Sticker book
• Lacing cards

Instructions

1. Fill piggy banks with pennies. Give your child a piggy bank and a few rolls of pennies. Ask your child to pick up each penny and put it in the bank. This activity forces your child to practice her "pincer" grasp, by putting her thumb and index finger together to pick up each penny. It is the same grasp used to hold a pencil correctly. Reward your child by letting her spend the money, once the bank is full.

2. Make a button drop game. Take an empty tennis ball container and remove the label. Cut a slit in the lid that resembles a coin slot on a piggy bank. Remove the lid from the container and fill it with water. Place the lid back on the container and give your child a bowl of buttons. Have your child drop each button into the container through the coin slot. Your child will enjoy watching the buttons drop to the bottom of the container as she improves her "pincer" grasp.

3. Place pegs on a peg board. Provide your child with a peg board and pegs. Ask your child to insert each peg into a hole on the board. Turn it into a game by adding a timer. Your child will enjoy using the timer to see how fast she can get the pegs into the hole. This activity requires your child to focus on precise movements of her small muscles, which improves her fine motor skills.

4. Put stickers in a sticker book. Buy your child a sticker book and an assortment of stickers. Get your child to remove each sticker from the sheet and place it in the book. This activity really strengthens the small muscles of the hands because it is very difficult for children to remove the stickers from the sheets that they come on. Use smaller stickers to make the exercise more challenging. Be sure to find stickers that your child likes to keep his interest in the activity.

5. Do lacing activities on lacing cards. Purchase your child a set of lacing cards at the local educational supply store or find them online at Lakeshore Learning. Have your child complete each card by pushing the lace through a hole, pulling the lace tight, and pushing it through the next hole. Begin with cards that have simple patterns and move to more difficult cards as your child's fine motor skills improve.

6. Try Play Dough activities. Pulling, stretching, rolling and pounding Play Dough is a fun way to help your child strengthen the small muscles in his hands.

Tips & Warnings

• Plan craft activities. Anytime your child colors, uses markers, operates scissors or squeezes a glue bottle, she is improving her fine motor skills.

• Monitor your child's frustration levels as he does fine motor activities. Many children with weak fine motor skills find these activities very frustrating and challenging. Reward your child with a special treat for successfully completely each activity.