25 Fine Motor Skill Activities for Kids (2023)
Fine motor skill activities are fun for your kids!
Practicing fine motor skills will help your kids ability to do things like tie their shoes, button their shirts and zip their jackets! Which are all really important everyday life skills!
Let’s get started with my 25 Fine Motor Skill Activities for Kids.
Activity #1: Q-Tip ABC’s
Q-tip painting is a fun fine motor skill activity for kids! It’s a great way to also work on handwriting too!
This is a fun alphabet and tracing activity! The kids will have a blast painting with Q-tips to create the letters!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- paper
- washable paint
- Q-tips
- markers
- paint tray
B. Set-up
Using markers, write the letters of the alphabet on paper. I chose to do the colors of the rainbow to also work on color matching skills!
Dump some paint into a paint tray.
C. Activity
Have your kids dip the Q-tips into the paint. They will match up the color marker with the color paint and create the letter using the Q-tip!
One thing I would change that I didn’t do, was to create arrows on each letter to show your little one how to form the letter correctly.
This is a great way to practice writing skills and involve some art too!
RELATED: Alphabet Activities for Preschoolers
Activity #2: Jellyfish Fruit Loop Threading
We LOVE using Fruit Loops for activities. Adding this fun snack in is always a huge hit.
This fine motor jellyfish activity is a great way to work on threading and fine motor skills!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- art tray
- Fruit Loops
- pipe cleaners
- tape
- paper
B. Set-up
Create a jellyfish shape out of paper and crayons! Let your little one color the jellyfish!
Grab some pipe cleaners and tape them to the back of the jellyfish.
C. Activity
Your child should work on color sorting by threading the correct color Fruit Loop on the pipe cleaners!
You can have them sort the Fruit Loops by color first, or they can just grab them from a bowl and place them on the pipe cleaner.
RELATED: How to Teach your Toddler Colors
Activity #3. Pasta Straining
Want to know the EASIEST activity to pull off that your child will love?
Add dried spaghetti noodles into a colander! I had no clue that my little guy was going to be so enthralled with this activity. I appreciate the activities that I can pull off with things that I have in my pantry.Â
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- colander
- dried spaghetti noodles
B. Set-up
Flip the colander upside down and grab the noodles
C. Activity
Have your little ones start to put the pasta noodles inside the colander!
Explain to your child that they don’t have to push down hard because then the noodles will break off. This happened several times with my son until I showed him how to do this correctly!
They can also try to pull them out once they are all in to extend the activity further!
Activity #4: Rainbow Cutting Craft
Cutting activities are important for kids to work on and they improve fine motor skills!
This simple rainbow craft is adorable and it works on cutting skills in a fun way for the kids.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
B. Set-up
Create a cloud shape and cut it out! Then, create the rainbow by cutting strips of colored paper.
Attach the colored paper to the back of the cloud by using tape or a glue stick. Lastly, draw some lines on the strips. You can create them as easy or hard as you’d like depending on the skills of your little one.
C. Activity
Have your child use scissors to cut along the lines you created! They should try to stay on the lines the best they can.
To make it easier for them to cut, tape down the cloud to a flat surface.
RELATED: Kindergarten Activities for Kids
Activity #5: Bead Threading
Here’s another threading activity for you, but this has an added element of counting!
This bead color sorting activity works on color recognition, number recognition, counting, sorting, and fine motor skills! That’s pretty amazing.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
B. Set-up
Write each number out on a piece of paper and cut them out and tape them down. We only had room for 8 on our tray, but you can do as many as you want!
Tape down the different colored pipe cleaners that you want to use at the top
C. Activity
Show your child how to string the beads on the pipe cleaner. Depending on how old they are, you can do this activity together, working on counting out loud, or you can have them do it on their own to see how they do it and talk about it afterward!
RELATED: Number Recognition Activities for Kids
Activity #6: Geoboard Alphabet Activity
Do you remember using these boards as kids? I remember loving when my teacher pulled them out so we could play and create with them!
Work on creating letters with the geoboard! This is not only a wonderful way to work on letter-building skills, but it’s a great fine motor activity for kids!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- geoboard letter printable
- rubberbands
- geoboards
Click HERE to grab your Geoboard Lower Case Letter Printable.
B. Set-up
Use my geoboard letter worksheets to help your little ones build the letters! Print off the letter Z and any other letter you want to work on.
C. Activity
Your little one will use the rubber bands to build the letter Z. Younger ones can use the worksheets to help guide them on building the letter. Older children can be challenged by trying to do it on their own!
RELATED: Free Alphabet Printables for Kids
Activity #7: Hedgehog Wrapping Craft
This hedgehog craft is the perfect fine motor activity for your kids!
They will love wrapping the yarn to create these cuddly little guys. I loved this craft because it was something different the kids have never done before.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- cardboard
- colored yarn
- pom poms
- box cutter
- tape
- googly eyes
- marker
- glue
B. Set-up
Draw a hedgehog shape on cardboard. Cut it out using a box cutter.
Glue the googly eye and add a smile and little markings for the hedgehog’s feet! Lastly, glue different colored poms on the nose to work on color matching skills!
C. Activity
Tape a piece of yarn to the back of the hedgehog and have the kids start wrapping it around repeatedly. They will do this step until the whole hedgehog is covered in the yarn!
Since it’s made out of cardboard, the spikes will hold the yarn in place! When they are all done wrapping, they can place another piece of tape on the back of the cardboard and cut the piece of yarn!
RELATED: Letter H Crafts and Activities
Activity #8: Alphabet Color Coding
Want to try a beginner color-coding activity that’s perfect for preschoolers? I love that it works on several skills with just 1 easy setup as well!Â
This fine motor activity works on color recognition, color matching, number recognition, and letter building!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- cardboard
- plastic bottle caps
- Sharpie
- dot stickers
- pom poms
- kid-friendly tweezers
B. Set-up
Inside the bottle caps, place a dot sticker with the numbers 1-3 written on them. Older children can have more numbers and colors!
Create the letter Y on the cardboard with the bottle caps in a mixed-up order. Write what each number signifies on the side; you can use a pom too for younger ones. Older kiddos can work on color sight word recognition.
C. Activity
Have your child use the key to place the correct colored pom in each bottle cap to create the letter Z! This works on letter building, color recognition, and number recognition!
Want to add in some fine motor skills? Have them use tweezers to pick up and place the poms inside the caps!
RELATED: Alphabet Activities for Preschoolers
Activity #10: Tape Resist Art
I love how tape resist art turns out! It’s so cool to see the outline of the object when you are done!
When the kids rip and pull the tape off at the end, they are building those fine motor skills.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- colored masking tape
- watercolors
- paintbrush
- art tray
- cardstock paper
B. Set-up
Create an upper and lower case letter M on the piece of cardstock paper with the masking tape! Also, grab some water for the watercolors.
C. Activity
Paint around both of the letters. When they are done, they can pull off the tape gently! They can see the outline of the letters! They will love seeing what they created!
RELATED: Letter M Crafts and Activities
Activity #11: Fine Motor Boards
This activity isn’t a DIY, and believe me sometimes you don’t have time to create every activity, which I totally get!
These fine motor boards are amazing because they work on essential life skills that kids will be expected to know how to do before school starts.
Work on lacing, buttoning, zipping, buckling, tying, and snapping with these boards. I especially like these because they are small and be taken on the go since they are small.
Suggestions
1. For young kids, start with the zipping and snapping boards; I just got these, and my son is two, and those are the boards we are working on now.
2. Preschoolers can try all of the boards! The tying and the lacing activities will be challenging, make sure to encourage them to keep trying and don’t get frustrated.
Activity #12: Beginning Sound Clips
This fine motor activity for kids is a great way to learn and review beginning sounds!
I love this activity because it’s bright, colorful and the kids get excited to see what pictures are on each board.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- FREE Beginning Sound Clip printable
- clothespins
- cardboard (optional)
- tape (optional)
- cardstock paper
Click HERE for your FREE Beginning Sound Clip printable
B. Set-up
Print off the letters you want to work on. You can cut out the paper and tape them to a piece of cardboard if you want to! This helps the clips stay in place a bit better.
C. Activity
The kids will identify each picture around the letter. They will make the beginning sound of each image.
When they find a picture with the sound of the letter in the middle, they will open a clothespin and place it on the picture!
This is a great first step to reading!
Activity #13: Fruit Loop Fish Activity
This threading craft is cute and fun for the kids to work on some color matching and fine motor skills.
They can even get a little snack out of the deal too :).
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Fruit Loops
- art tray
- pipe cleaners
- googly eyes
- marker
B. Set-up
Bend a pipe cleaner slightly to begin to make the fish, but don’t close it because the kids need to add in the Fruit Loops.
Have the kids sort out the Fruit Loops by color in bowls. We did this activity on an art tray, if you don’t have one you can always do it on paper.
C. Activity
The kids will use color matching skills to thread on the Fruit Loops on the right colored pipe cleaner. Once they get enough on, you can close the pipe cleaner and turn it into a fish!
Place it on the art tray or a piece of paper and add a googly eye and a mouth to make a fish face!
Continue this for all the colors of Fruit Loops! This is a yummy and fun way to work on those fine motor skills!
RELATED: Letter F Activities and Crafts
Activity #15: Q-Tip Sun Craft
This fine motor activity is cute and simple to set up! It’s sure to bring some smiles to your face!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- paper
- washable paint
- Q-tips
- markers
- paint tray
B. Set-up
Place a bowl down on a piece of paper and trace it using a pencil.
Create the lines for the sun all around the circle. Use a marker to color the lines whatever colors you want the sun to be.
C. Activity
The kids will use Q-tips to color match and trace the lines you created with paint! This activity also works on creating patterns.
Encourage your little one to stay on the lines as much as possible!
Add on a face once the paint has dried!
RELATED: Letter S Crafts and Activities
Activity #15: Ripping A Rainbow
Ripping pieces of paper is a fun and simple fine motor activity!
My kids had a blast ripping the paper to create these beautiful rainbows. I know yours will too!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- construction paper
- white cardstock
- glue stick
- pencil
- scissors
B. Set-up
Draw a rainbow shape on white paper and cut it out.
Have your child rip a bunch of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple pieces of construction paper into small pieces.
C. Activity
The kids will use a glue stick to paste on the ripped paper to create a rainbow!
Such a simple and fun fine motor activity!
Activity #16: Alphabet Play Dough Mats
Whenever I pull out the Play-Doh, the kids play for it for at least a half-hour. You know, that’s kind of a big deal, right? Most of the time, it’s longer than that, but at least a half-hour!
When the kids roll, cut, and piece together the play dough, they are working on those fine motor skills!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- My Letter Play-Doh mats
- Play-doh
- dry erase folders
Click HERE to grab your Letter Play-Doh Mats! (Upper and Lower case letter included)
B. Set-up
Print off the letters that you want to work on! Then, place them inside a dry-erase folder for your little ones to build on. This way, it won’t get the sheet dirty, and you can save and redo it repeatedly.
C. Activity
Your little ones should roll and create the letters using Play-Doh. You can have them match the colors that are on the sheet, or you can use whatever color you’d like. They should try to create the letter by following the lines!
RELATED: ABCDeeLearning’s TpT Store
Activity #17: Sticker Lines
Peeling stickers and using small muscles in your fingers to place them in a specific spot is an excellent fine motor activity!
Plus, how colorful and fun does this activity look? We didn’t even finish the lines, so I could show you how to draw each of the lines, and it looks terrific!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- easel paper/regular paper
- dot stickers
- markers
- do-a-dot markers
B. Set-up
On a piece of paper, draw several different types of lines (zig-zag, curvy, straight, castle, and loopy).
Tape the piece of paper down to a flat surface!
C. Activity
Have your child place a dot sticker on the lines and tell them to try to get them close to each other to follow the entire line or as close to it as possible.
For older kids, start the line for them and create a pattern or colors that you want them to follow.
Activity #18: Ocean Jell-O Dig
Jell-O digs are a fan favorite around here. I love them because they taste safe for the kids it helps work on their fine motor skills.
This ocean bin is a perfect addition to an ocean-themed unit to learn about ocean animals!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- sensory bin
- Jell-O (2 packs)
- ocean themed animals
- kid-friendly tweezers
B. Set-up
Make the blue Jell-O by following the directions on the box. I recommend grabbing two packs to have enough Jell-O to cover the animals.
Put the Jell-O inside the sensory bin then, place the animals in the Jell-O before putting it in the fridge.
C. Activity
Once the Jell-O is ready, have the kids use tweezers to grab each of the animals out! Talk about what each animal is when they are attempting to grab it out.
Once they are all done, enjoy a little snack 🙂
RELATED: 40 Sensory Activities for Kids
Activity #19: Water Letter Tracing
Tracing with water is a great introduction to writing skills! The kids will have a blast using water to erase the lines.
Tracing is the PERFECT fine motor activity for kids who are ready to start forming letters.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- chalkboard placemats
- chalk
- water
- paintbrush
B. Set-up
Write the letter that you want to work on, on the chalkboard. I created the letters then made dotted lines inside and outside the letter so they knew what lines in order.
C. Activity
Have the kids dip their paintbrushes into a cup of water. They will start painting the lines away to create each letter!
They should try to stay in the lines as much as possible! However, don’t worry if they don’t get it exactly right, you want to encourage them to keep trying-handwriting can be a discouraging thing for kids.
Doing fun activities like this will help them learn and gain confidence!
Activity #20: Dinosaur Count and Feed
Feeding activities have become a BIG hit around here! They work great for fine motor skills, color recognition, and counting skills.
I love when activities work on several learning skills at once!
How to do this activity
1. Materials you need
- Count and Feed Dinosaur Printable
- poms
- sensory bin
- plastic cups
- tape
- laminator(optional)
- scissors
- knife
- kid-friendly tweezers
Click HERE for your Count and Feed Printable
2. Set-up
In a sensory bin, dump a whole bunch of different colored poms! Print off the characters and the counting cards. Cut out the characters, punch a hole in their mouth using a knife, and then cut the inside part of the mouth open. Tape the characters to a cup.
3. Activity
Have your little ones use the counting cards to see what color and how many of each color they should place inside the character’s mouth. They can use kid-friendly tweezers to add some fine motor skills, or you can just have them use their hands. They should tell you the number and count out loud how many they are placing inside!
RELATED: Dinosaur Activities for Preschoolers
Activity #21: Caterpillar Sensory Bag
Sensory bags are a mess-free and fun way to get some fine motor skills in!
We are actually pretty obsessed with sensory bags over here. The kids always have a good time using them.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- ziplock bag
- hair gel
- water
- poms
- FREE caterpillar pattern resource
- masking tape
- rubbing alcohol
- cotton ball
Click HERE to grab your FREE Caterpillar printables
B. Set-up
Erase the label to the bag by using a cotton ball and rubbing alcohol!
In a ziplock bag, dump a bottle of cheap hair gel and 1/4 cup of water! Add some colored poms!
C. Activity
Print off my worksheet to work on some caterpillar pattern skills!
Tape the sensory bag to a flat surface with the printable underneath it. Have the kids scoot the poms to color match the patterns!
You can also use my number caterpillars to work on counting skills!
Activity #22: Alphabet Popsicle Stick Match
I love being able to reuse items like an egg carton for learning activities!
Pushing these popsicle sticks in their little slots on the egg carton is a fun fine motor activity!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- egg carton
- knife
- popsicle sticks
- marker
B. Set-up
Flip over an egg carton and create slits using a knife (the adult needs to do this part).
Write the letters you want to review on the sides of the carton and on the popsicle sticks.
C. Activity
Work on upper to lower case letter matching or just match up the same letters! Have the kids push the popsicle sticks in the correct slots to match up the letters.
This is a fun challenge to practice the alphabet and test those fine motor skills!
Activity #23: Water and OilÂ
What a fun fine motor and science activity!
Squeezing these droppers is a fun way to strengthen those little muscles in your child’s fingers.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- oil
- water
- cups
- fine motor droppers
- food coloring
- baking pan
B. Set-up
In a baking pan, add some oil and lay it down on a flat surface. Then, in cups, add some water and food coloring (mix it up with a spoon).
C. Activity
Have the kids use droppers to suck up the colored water mixture and squirt it into the oil. Make observations about what happened when the two mixed together!
Try this with multiple colors for even more fun.
RELATED: BEST Sensory Bins for Kids
Activity #24: Alphabet Mats
I have FREE alphabet mats that are perfect for some fine motor play!
These mats can be used in a variety of different ways. Pretty much any little supply you have on hand can be used to create the letters.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- free alphabet mat printables
- play dough
- poms
- pipe cleaners
- mini erasers
- dry erase marker
- buttons
- mini marshmallows
Grab your FREE Letter Mats HERE
Interested in grabbing some Wild Dough for 15% off? Use the code ABCDEE15 at checkout!
B. Set-up
Print off the letters you want to work on! Then, get the supplies out that you want your little one to build the letters with.
C. Activity
Have your child identify the letter before beginning!
They can choose which supply they want to build with. You don’t have to use all the supplies, you can even just choose one if you want.
They should try to stay on the lines as much as possible. There are also numbers located inside each letter to show what order it’s supposed to be created in. They should follow those numbers to learn how to create each letter correctly.
RELATED: Teaching Resources
Activity #25: Alphabet Handwriting Sheets
At the end of the day, one of the reasons we are working on fine motor skills is to be able to write.
I have FREE alphabet writing sheets for you to try out with your child. Letters A-Z are available!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Alphabet worksheets
- pencil
- reusable folder (optional)
- dry erase marker (optional)
Click HERE for your FREE Alphabet Writing Sheets
B. Set-up
Print off the letters you want to work on. This can just be used as a one-time worksheet or you can place the sheet in a reusable folder.
This way, you can use the same sheet repeatedly and use a dry erase marker instead of a pencil. This is also nice in case they make a mistake, you can just erase it and try again without a huge mess.Â
C. Activity
Have your kids trace the letters first at the top before attempting to make them on the line.
The first line should be used to make the upper case letter and the second line is for the lower case letter.
Encourage your child to make the letters like they did when they traced them. They should also try to stay within the black bold lines.
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
Fine motor skills are essential for kids’ development, self-esteem, and success in their school work.
The good news is, is that huge strides can be made to increase fine motor skills by doing fun activities that they will enjoy doing. All you need to do is start implementing these lessons at home!
If you have any fine motor activities that have worked for you and your family, please share them with our community by commenting below!
Happy Learning!
