OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY HOME ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS Part 2 Fine Motor Skills

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY HOME ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS
Part 2: Fine Motor Skills

GENERAL PROGRAMME GUIDELINES:
• Do a combination of these activities.
• Be aware of signs of fatigue – sweating, heavy breathing, poor attention.
• If one activity is to hard try another.
• Make sure the session is fun.
• Provide lots of praise.
• Feel free to use other similar activities.
• Always provide direct adult supervision.
• If you have any questions with this programme contact Jessica Brown, OT.

FINE MOTOR SKILLS
These skills involve using smaller muscles to operate smaller parts of our body. Our fingers have a
large number of small muscles that perform discrete movements. We also use many of these muscles to
move fingers or parts of hands so that other parts can then perform the fine movement needed in
writing, drawing, cutting, buttoning clothes. Building models are all examples of using fine motor
skills.

FINE MOTOR CONTROL ACTIVITIES
The following activities are intended to promote development of fine motor control. This is the
ability to use the hands and fingers in a skilled manner. These activities may involve: basic
reach, release, in hand manipulation, motor planning, or using both hands together. Development of
fine motor control is not only necessary for tool use (for example toothbrush, pencil), but also
for writing and tasks which involve using the fingers of both hands together (buttoning a shirt,
cutting paper, assembling things)
• Pushing pulling a lace through beads or trainer eyelets. Concentrate on the skills of grasping
the tip of the lace and pushing and pulling it through. Or use lace and hollow noodles. You can
also punch holes in cardboard to outline a picture or shape and have the child follow the shape.
• Play clothes peg games, pinching the pegs with the tips of your thumb and index finger, hanging
a variety of objects (clothes, paper, string, cards etc.) if you have the child hang items on a line, a group can have a race to see who can get there first and
get an item of a specific shape , colour etc.
• Pick up, one at a time, cheerio’s raisins or other small snack items.
• Seal zip lock bags.
• Use tweezers to pick up small objects (rice, raisins etc.).
• Tear paper into ¼” pieces to make confetti use it to make paper Mache and apply glue to a
picture/design and drop on the confetti.
• Use an eye dropper to drop paint onto cloth or paper. Try regular paper, as well as newsprint or
paper towel.
• Practice spinning tops or jacks; some tops are easier than others, some art shops and tops with
marker tips, larger jacks are available.
• Fold paper into shapes (paper airplanes or basic origami).
• Experiment with opening packages, screws, cartons, small jars, crisp bags, etc.
• Use Lego, blocks or any type of building toy.
• Use a piggy bank or decorate a Tupperware box with a small slot in the top, open and count every
now and then, then see who can insert the coins the fastest. Line the coins up on the table and
have the child flip them to all heads and all tails. Challenge the child to pick them all up in one
hand, one at a time, holding them in the palm of the palm of the hand without dropping them.
• Play with finger puppets, have the child wear different puppets on different fingers on the
dominant hand and make the puppets interact.
• Modify the above by using a dab of different colour paint on each fingertip have the child make
certain fingertips meet, do circles, play ‘Simon Says’ etc. Or repeat tapping sequences with those
fingers. Or name a colour and have the child extend only that finger and wiggle it.
• Use modelling clay, silly putty, play dough, etc. Use cookie cutters to make objects and shapes.
Roll it out, poke holes in it with fingers, pinch it, pull it, twist it etc. Roll it into a snake,
then use it to form shapes, letters, pictures, etc. Hide small objects in a ball of it and have the
child find it.
• Roll putty/or dough into small balls, using one hand, to make beads.
• Use small stamps and stamp pads to create patterns, cards, pictures etc.
• Tear small pieces of paper, then roll each piece into a ball using thumb and index finger. Make
a picture and glue the little balls in place for 3D art.
• Turn over checkers, cards or coins, without sliding them to the edge of the table.
• Sharpen tactile sensation by putting small objects in a bag, box or pile rice, beans, pasta,
sand etc. Have a child feel for the item and guess what it is.
• Write a letter number, word or picture on the child’s back, leg, hand etc. and have the child
guess what you made.
• Line up dominoes on a narrow side and knock them down. Follow a shape or pattern.
• Place a rubber band around the fingers and exercise them together and separately.