30 Fine Motor Activities for Toddlers! Pinch! Thread! Trace! (2024)

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17 Jan

Fine MotorToddlersResources23 Comments

These fine motor activities for toddlers to do are simple and fun!

As I’ve been working on the new eBooks (they’re coming out April 19, 2015), I’ve included a section of printables that showcase a slew of simple activities that cover the different types of activities we do(fine motor, gross motor, etc).

The fine motor Go-To List is jam packed with ideas and I realized that so many of them can done with toddlers! They are perfect! They’re simple, easy to set up and can keep a toddler occupied for more than 10 minutes (maybe! ha ha!).

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30 Fine Motor Activities for Toddlers! Pinch! Thread! Trace! (1)

Remember my tips for doing activities with toddlers? Here they are again:

  • Allow your toddler to explore whatever it is that you give them.
  • Don’t do an activity with an intentional plan, it never works out with this age range.
  • Expecta toddler to be interested, leave it out for them to come back to later, or even the next day.
  • Plan for them to put it in their mouth if you have a mouther.

When it comes to fine motor activities for toddlers in particular, don’t think these should just be easy for toddlers to do right away. These really take quite a bit of concentration and coordination to do. Toddlers will pick it up eventually, just don’t force it. And they need to really work on their big muscles first with gross motor activities before they start work on the little muscles.

30 Fine Motor Activities for Toddlers! Pinch! Thread! Trace! (2)

30 fantastic and fun fine motor activities for toddlers:

These fine motor activities for toddlers include threading, poking, pinching, tracing and focusing on hand and eye coordination! And they’re all easy enough for toddlers in the 1-3 year old range to do! Have fun!

  1. Pom Pom Drop
  2. Pipe Cleaners and a Colander
  3. Beginner Tracing with Objects
  4. Thread a Fruit Loop Necklace
  5. Peel Tape
  6. BIG Beginner Weaving
  7. Hammering Tees
  8. Ribbons and a Bottle
  9. Crafts Sticks and a Bottle
  10. Painting With Water
  11. Make a Rattle
  12. Thread a Bird Feeder
  13. Squirt and Fizz withColored Vinegar
  14. Trace Lines of Chalk
  15. Pick up Blocks with Tongs
  16. Clothespins on a Bucket
  17. Pouring Water
  18. Play Dough and Tees
  19. Thread a Straw Necklace
  20. Pipe Cleaner Sprinkles
  21. Egg Carton Train
  22. Sort Pom Poms
  23. Stack Canned Foods as Blocks
  24. Bucket and a Clothesline
  25. Snip Straws
  26. Thread Dry Spaghetti
  27. Thread Dandelions in a Basket
  28. Make a Spring Tree Craft (or an Apple Tree for Fall)
  29. Write ‘Letters’ and Mail Them

Want more activities to work on fine motor skills?

  • 30 materials and activities that promote fine motor skills
  • 32objectsthat strengthen fine motor skills

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30 Fine Motor Activities for Toddlers! Pinch! Thread! Trace! (3)

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About Jamie Reimer

Jamie learned to be a hands on mom by creating activities, crafts and art projects for her three boys to do. Jamie needed the creative outlet that activities provided to get through the early years of parenting with a smile! Follow Jamie on Pinterest and Instagram!

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Reader Interactions

23 Comments

  1. Omar says

    It’s wonderful to see a list of fine motor activities tailored for toddlers! Engaging in these activities can be not only fun but also highly beneficial for their development.

    to Omar" aria-label='reply to this comment to Omar'>reply to this comment

  2. Emily says

    These are great! I am a preschool teacher currently working with 4-5 year-olds and I can’t wait to try some of these with them. I love how these can all be expanded to include older developmental levels. I also love how simple these are. Most of these supplies I already have in the classroom. Thanks for the fresh inspiration. I can’t wait to explore your site more.

    to Emily" aria-label='reply to this comment to Emily'>reply to this comment

  3. Michelle says

    Cool ideas!

    to Michelle" aria-label='reply to this comment to Michelle'>reply to this comment

  4. kharazmi says

    thanks

    to kharazmi" aria-label='reply to this comment to kharazmi'>reply to this comment

  5. Mary Tafale says

    i got no comments every activities
    i have look at will help me with the children

    to Mary Tafale" aria-label='reply to this comment to Mary Tafale'>reply to this comment

  6. Val - Corn, Beans, Pigs and Kids says

    Great list! I need to start adding some of these ideas to my family’s morning routine for our toddler.

    to Val - Corn, Beans, Pigs and Kids" aria-label='reply to this comment to Val - Corn, Beans, Pigs and Kids'>reply to this comment

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30 Fine Motor Activities for Toddlers! Pinch! Thread! Trace! (2024)

FAQs

30 Fine Motor Activities for Toddlers! Pinch! Thread! Trace!? ›

This skill usually develops in babies around 9 to 10 months old. The pincer grasp is an important fine-motor milestone. Children use their pincer grasp to pick things up and feed themselves, and it lays the foundation for a good pencil grip when they start school.

What fine motor skills is threading activity? ›

Threading activities for toddlers
  • Threading sticks into plastic bottles. Take a plastic bottle and remove the lid. ...
  • Threading through a colander. Grab some pipe cleaners, turn a colander upside down, and let your toddler try to poke the pipe cleaners through the holes. ...
  • Threading pasta.
Jul 27, 2023

Is pinching a fine motor skill? ›

This skill usually develops in babies around 9 to 10 months old. The pincer grasp is an important fine-motor milestone. Children use their pincer grasp to pick things up and feed themselves, and it lays the foundation for a good pencil grip when they start school.

What skill is threading? ›

This activity helps children as they develop eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills. They are strengthening the muscles in their hands which will help them with drawing and writing.

What are some activities that support fine motor skills? ›

Provide interesting experiences which help children practice fine motor skills. Cooking, gardening, sewing, fixing and making things are all good examples of activities that involve using tools and small movements with accuracy and precision.

What are examples where pincer grasp is used in everyday life? ›

Simply put, pincer grasp is the ability to use your thumb and index finger to pick up small objects. Grownups do it all the time when we reach for a pen, slip a button through its buttonhole or plug our phones into a charger. As any caregiver will tell you, babies aren't born with this ability.

What are fine motor activities squeezing? ›

Share this:
  1. Helping children to develop the dexterity and strength of their fingers and thumbs needn't be dull, says Kirstine Beeley…
  2. Tennis ball buddies. Slit a tennis ball, add googly eyes, a nose and hair. ...
  3. Squirty bottles. ...
  4. Spaghetti scissors. ...
  5. Syringe painting. ...
  6. Clunk clips. ...
  7. Podding peas. ...
  8. Cotton bud painting.

What are the big 6 fine motor skills? ›

Precision teachers often build frequencies on the Big 6 + 6, which include reach, touch, point, place, grasp, release, push, pull, shake, squeeze, tap, and twist (Binder, Haughton, & Bateman, 2002; Desjardins 1995).

What is a fine motor skill for a toddler? ›

What are fine motor skills? Generally thought of as the movement and use of hands and upper extremities, fine motor skills include reaching, grasping and manipulating objects with your hands. Fine motor skills also involve vision, specifically visual motor skills, often referred to hand-eye coordination.

What is an activity that requires fine motor skills? ›

Fine motor skills involve the use of the smaller muscle of the hands, commonly in activities like using pencils, scissors, construction with lego or duplo, doing up buttons and opening lunch boxes.

How does cursive help with fine motor skills? ›

The intricate nature of cursive writing requires students to navigate fluidly between different letter forms, connecting them seamlessly in a continuous flow. This process demands a higher level of coordination between the hand, eye, and brain, leading to improved hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness.

Is doing a cartwheel gross or fine? ›

Examples of hand-eye and foot-eye coordination skills that are also gross motor skills include: Throwing and catching a ball. Kicking a ball. Doing a cartwheel.

Which disability affects a child's handwriting ability and fine motor skills? ›

Dysgraphia is a learning disability characterized by writing difficulties, such as impaired handwriting, poor spelling, and problems selecting the correct words to use. Dysgraphia can affect children or adults. Children with dysgraphia may sometimes have other learning disabilities or disorders.

Is threading fine or gross motor skills? ›

Threading Beads is a useful Fine Motor Activity for toddlers, preschoolers and children with additional needs.

What learning outcome is threading? ›

A threading provocation can be a great way to develop fine motor skills. Natural materials can be incorporated in the activity as can wool, string, ribbon and beads all of which would allow students creativity to shine.

What is the objective of threading activity? ›

Threading beads activity is an excellent way to strengthen the finger muscles and their movement as they work together. It helps children develop fine motor skills essential for being able to pre-writing activities, buttoning the shirt, tie shoelaces, open containers, and more.

What are the fine motor skills of beading? ›

Fine Motor Skills: Grasping: Various sizes of beads promote different grasps. Larger beads often promote the "3-jaw chuck" grasp, similar to holding a large pencil or marker. Smaller beads encourage children to use their pincer grasp, thus strengthening the small muscles of their hands.

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