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- Holding toys
- Picking up small block or toys
- Dropping toys
- Banging toy on table or floor
- Using rattles to encourage them to move arms/legs
-Reaching for toy or people's faces
- Clapping hands
- Wave hello and goodbye
- Holing their bottle
- Using utensils

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Fine motor skills activities are crucial to a child's overall healthy development. Children need hours and hours of play time and practice to develop the small muscles in the fingers and hands and coordination skills to manipulate objects.

These skills begin to develop and birth and continue to improve throughout childhood development. Below you will find fine motor skills activities and ideas to help encourage healthy development.

Why are Fine Motor Skills Important?

Fine motor skills can be defined as the dexterity and coordination of the small muscles in the hands and fingers. Children and adults use fine motor skills every single day. We use fine motor skills to: get dressed, eat, draw, write, type, and more! When someone has difficulties with fine motor skills, these everyday skills can be very difficult to master.

Fine Motor Skills Activities for Infants

Play time is so important for infants to develop fine motor skills. Babies need floor play to develop the postural control and shoulder muscle strength to provide stability for the hands and fingers to develop fine motor skills. Therefore, early on the building blocks of fine motor skills are developed through gross motor skills such as playing in prone, rolling over, sitting up, and crawling.

Babies need to move, coordinate and receive sensory input through touch and proprioception in order to develop postural stability to free up the hands to manipulate objects and achieve dexterity.

Here are 10 fine motor skills activities and ideas for infants to help get you started (always supervise):

1. Floor play visually attending to colorful objects.

2. Lay under a play gym and freely move arms towards the objects.

3. Use wrist or ankle rattles to encourage the infant to move his/her arms and legs.

4. Move an infant toy so the baby can visually track the toy. The baby can start to reach for the toy with one or both hands.

5. Free play on an infants' side encourages the infant to bring their hands together.

6. Holding baby toys.

7. Reaching for baby toys or people's faces.

8. Picking up small blocks or toys.

9. Dropping toys.

10. Banging toy on table or floor.

Fine Motor Skills Activities for Toddlers

As babies get older and begin to progress with their fine motor skill development, parents and child care providers can begin to offer new play opportunities. Toddlers are busy moving from one activity to the next so don't expect long attention spans. Although for certain fine motor activities, some toddlers may engage in repetitive tasks completing the same task over and over for a extended period of time if they are highly interested.

Here are 10 fine motor skills activities and ideas for toddlers to help get you started (always supervise):

1. Poke at squishy objects (ie food play, squish toys, etc.) with their index finger.

2. Put objects inside containers (recycled plastic jars are perfect for this).

3. Scribbles on paper.

4. Build towers with blocks.

5. Bang toys together.

6. Mirror play - hands can touch and interact with a mirror on the wall.

7. Picking up Cheerios or other small foods.

8. Water play with small sponges.

9. Practice pouring liquids for outdoor play or in bath.

10. Turn pages in books.

Need More Fine Motor Ideas?

The Basics of Fine Motor Skills is a comprehensive overview of fine motor development that includes age-appropriate fine motor activity suggestions for kids of all ages. Written by Heather Greutman, COTA, the Basics of Fine Motor Skills explain which skills are important for fine motor development and what fine motor development looks like in children at all age levels. FIND OUT MORE.

Fine Motor Skills Activities for Preschoolers

As children continue to develop, always be providing "just right" fine motor skills activities for young children offering practice and the opportunity to build new skills. Preschool classrooms such be rich in fine motor activities and centers to encourage further fine motor skill development. These skills are essential for success in the classroom as the children get older.

Don't forget to always be including gross motor skill activities to strengthen the shoulder girdle and core muscles to provide the stability for efficient fine motor skill development.

Here are 10 fine motor skills activities and ideas for preschoolers to help get you started (always supervise):

1. Coloring on paper.

2. Painting on easels.

3. Play dough activities.

4. Build towers with small blocks.

5. Lacing beads or objects.

6. Early scissor skill practice.

7. Using glue.

8. Folding paper.

9. Using interlocking blocks.

10. Playing with stickers.

As children enter elementary school the stakes are raised even higher on fine motor skill development. Students need to have all the building blocks in place in order to have legible handwriting to write letters, take spelling tests, and complete math assignments. Technology is frequently not introduced for writing assignments until third grade and later so the early years have a focus on written assignments.

Without proper fine motor skill development throughout a child's lifespan prior to school, tasks such as handwriting, using math manipulatives, managing school supplies, and more can be very difficult.

When the foundational skills of strength, coordination, and knowledge are not well consolidated, children struggle to perform fine motor tasks. READ MORE ON THIS SCHOOL FINE MOTOR SKILLS HERE.

More on Fine Motor Skill Development in Children
Fine motor skills and reading Fine Motor Skills, Visual Function, and Reading in Children Predicting Handwriting Using Reading, Fine Motor, and Visual Motor Skills Link Between Reading, Visual Perception, and Visual-Motor Integration Fine Motor Skills and Vocabulary Development Fine Motor Skills Linked to Numerical Skill Development

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Fine Motor Skills Activities and Ideas - Your Therapy Source

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Fine motor skills activities are crucial to a child's overall healthy development. Children need hours and hours of play time and practice to develop the small muscles in the fingers and hands and coordination skills to manipulate objects. These skills begin to develop and birth and continue to improve throughout childhood development.

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- Putting objects inside containers
- Scribbles on paper
- Building block towers
- Picking up small foods
- Turning pages in books
- Water Play:
-Practice pouring liquid
(outside or in bath)
- Playing with small sponges

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Your baby was born to be wildly interactive with her world. You'll start to see it even in her first few months of life as her nervous system and muscles start getting in sync. Her movements will start to evolve from quick and jerky to smooth and self-directed.

Motor skills are defined by two categories. One is "gross" motor skills, which involve the large groups of muscles used to sit, stand, walk, run, keep balance, or change positions. The other is "fine" motor skills, which control abilities such as using her hands to eat, draw, play, or pick up small items.

With simple activities and a little practice, you can help strengthen your baby's muscle development and get her motor skills moving forward at full speed.

By month 4, your baby has the muscle control needed to turn her head and follow objects. Within the first year, she should also develop the ability to balance, sit up, crawl, and eventually pull herself up and learn to stand on her own. Her fine motor skills will also advance-from clumsily raking objects during the early months to eventually grasping items with accuracy. The general timing for such development is shown below.

You can help your baby develop her gross and fine motor skills-and have fun doing it-by putting the following activity tips into practice:

Under your watchful eye, place your infant on her stomach to strengthen her neck and back muscles. Get her attention by holding a colorful toy and making an interesting noise. Always keep "tummy time" sessions short-about a minute or two should do it.

Rolling a large ball to your baby allows you to interact with her and observe her developing skills. At first your baby will simply slap it, but she will eventually learn to swat it back in your direction.

Put a graspable object (such as a rattle) in your baby's hand and tug on it very gently. This activity helps build muscle as your baby resists your efforts.

Nothing encourages an infant to crawl more than a tower of blocks that is just out of reach and waiting to be knocked down.

When your baby is 4 to 7 months old, gently pull her to a standing position. By this age range, your baby will start to understand the function of each body part and begin using her feet and legs to bounce up and down with your help. This will help prepare your baby for walking. Modify this activity for a younger baby by using a supported sitting position.

Sometimes life can be a bore on the floor. Excite your little crawler by creating a maze out of light sofa cushions, pillows, or boxes on a carpeted floor. Invite your baby to crawl over or between them. You can even hide behind an obstacle for a game of peek-a-boo. Remember to always closely supervise your baby while she's playing with pillows.

As you begin adding healthy snacks to your baby's diet in the later months of year 1 (and with the approval of your pediatrician), don't forget the finger foods. They're great for fine-motor practice, making each eating experience a fun learning time. Encourage your baby to pick up bites of cereal or soft fruits or vegetables. Show her how to do it and praise every successful snack.

If you're not sure what kinds of foods to use, the FeedingExpert team is available to answer your questions at 1-800-896-8800.

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Motor Development: Gross Motor Activities & Skills for Infants

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Your baby was born to be wildly interactive with her world. You'll start to see it even in her first few months of life as her nervous system and muscles start getting in sync. Her movements will start to evolve from quick and jerky to smooth and self-directed.  Motor skills are defined by two categories.

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- Rolling a ball
- Tummy time
- Using rattles to encourage them to move arms/legs
- Gently holding them in the standing position
- Place cushions or pillows around the room as a maze for toddler to practice crawling around
- Opening and closing doors and drawers

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- Pushing/pulling objects. Ex: Put a ribbon around the neck of their stuffed animal and let them pull it around with them as they walk
- Simple obstacle course with boxes and pillows for them to go through
- Kicking balls - challenge them by adding a net or target for them to kick it to
- Throwing balls - challenge them by having them throw a ball over a net or at a specific target
- Play tunnel for them to crawl through

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As a parent, it's our job to support and encourage our baby's growth. We want our children to learn as much as they can while also having fun.

Children at this age learn best through play. From tapping buttons on a toy to exploring a basket of knick-knacks, they are constantly learning by touching, feeling, seeing, and entertaining themselves.

It's important to make activities educational, just as much as they are fun.

Fine Motor Skills in Infancy

Fine motor skills are important for a baby to develop. They involve the small muscles in the hands and fingers, allowing them to grasp and manipulate objects. They allow us to produce movement, coordination, and strength ein our hands as we use them for everyday life.

For adults, we use these skills and muscles to write, type, feed ourselves, turn a door knob, sew a button, give a massage, cook dinner, and so much more. It's important to have these muscles fine tuned in order to live our life successfully.

But what do fine motor skills look like in a baby 9-12 months old? They give them the ability to:

Self-feed finger food

Explore objects (wave, shake, squeeze, turn)

Hold two toys at the same time and transfer them hand-to-hand

Hold own bottle

Hold own utensils

Wave hello or goodbye

Drop and pick up toys

Put things in/out containers

Turn pages in a book

Clap hands

Check out the Fine Motor Skills Checklist for a comprehensive review and free printable checklist to keep up with your baby's fine motor milestones.

Activities to Promote Fine Motor Skills in Your 9-12 Month Old Baby

It's simple to find lots of activities to support your babies fine motor skills! Everyday activities that your baby loves will offer practice with these skills.

It's all about getting those little hands and fingers moving which they're doing on a daily basis. Your baby will learn just as much with everyday, household objects, as they will with expensive toy.

Below are some activities that require little set-up, but lots of learning opportunities. Some are activities that your child probably does daily that you may not realize are working on these skills.

Related Post: 7 Simple Tips to Teach My Baby a New Motor Skill

1. Turning Pages and Flaps in Books

While reading your child their bedtime story, have them turn the pages and pick up the flaps in their book. Even while they are just exploring and playing with books, they are practicing this skill.

Board books with thick pages and flaps are still the best at this age. My daughter absolutely loves Lift-the-Flap books where she can open a flap to see a surprise picture behind.

2. PomPom Whisk

This pompom whisk activity is simple and only requires 2 items. It requires your baby to use a pincer grasp (thumb and pointer finger together) to pull out the pompoms.

Just stuff a bunch of pompoms in a kitchen whisk and watch them be entertained while pulling them out with their little fingers.

Read the full post about this activity here: Pom Pom Whisk Activity for Babies

3. Waving Hi and Bye

Your little one will see people and faces everyday, teach them how to wave hi and bye whenever they greet someone.

They may open and shut their hand/fingers or simply wave their hand and arm side-to-side. Either way, they are learning a new fine motor skill this way.

4. Edible Finger Paint

This is a great activity to get your babies hands and fingers moving, touching, and feeling with wet, colorful paint.

5. Using Utensils

I know this seems like the messiest activity of them all and you may cringe at having to wipe yogurt off the ceiling. However, teaching your baby to use utensils is a great fine motor skill to practice.

I LOVE Grabease utensils for this age because they are super easy for little hands to grasp and makes self-feeding much easier than those long skinny spoons.

Your baby is a bit too young to be able to get the food successfully on their utensil, so you can help them out with that. Simply place the pre-loaded fork or spoon on the tray and let them pick it up and bring it to their mouth on their own.

6. Dropping and Releasing Items into Containers

Dropping or releasing items into a container is a skill that emerges around this time. Have your baby grab small objects and drop them in (after you demonstrate it for them first).

I love using simple, reusable household items to make activities for my babies and toddlers. This one uses a Puffs container and wine corks! He loved it.

You can also use shape sorters (without the top on) or any baskets, cups, Tupperware, etc. Have them drop in wooden blocks or small shapes and animal toys that you have on hand.

Check out many more Simple and Inexpensive Activities You Can Do With Household Items here.

Also, releasing coins into this piggy bank is a great way for your baby to learn this skill. They will probably need help lining up the object with the slot, but pushing it in should be a fun activity for your baby.

7. Self-feeding

Mealtime is the ultimate sensory and fine motor learning experience. Since babies are typically motivated by food, they'll love trying to pick up their favorites and bring them to their mouth.

Self-feeding just requires their hands and small pieces of food (that they can safely chew). Let them explore and play as they use a pincer grasp to hold the pieces between their fingers.

8. Stacking cups

Ok, they may not be able to stack the cups perfectly quite yet, however your little one will love playing with cups. They can attempt to stack them, put objects inside them, or even roll them around the floor and chase after them.

Solo or plastic cups work find for now, but these stacking cups are perfect if you want to make the extra purchase.

9. Frozen Toys

It's simple to freeze small objects (pompoms, pouch caps, large beads) in a ice cube tray and let your baby have a blast feeling the cold and wetness of the ice cubes. They'll also get to explore the objects as the ice melts.

This is a simple activity, but read the full explanation here: Frozen Toy Outdoor Sensory Activity

10. Opening and Closing Doors and Drawers

Your baby will be so fascinated with learning and exploring their whole environment now that they are crawling (or maybe even walking). Sit them next to an empty drawer or door that they can open and close and watch their amazement.

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11 Simple, Developmental Fine Motor Activities for Infants 9-12 Months Old

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As a parent, it's our job to support and encourage our baby's growth. We want our children to learn as much as they can while also having fun. Children at this age learn best through play. From tapping buttons on a toy to exploring a basket of knick-knacks, they are constantly learning by touching, feeling, seeing, and entertaining themselves.