To you it may look like just another utensil drawer, but your house is full of tools to develop your child’s fine motor skills. Kids love to use these tools because they are “grown-up” tools and often “off-limits,” but I’m a believer in allowing our children to practice and explore while supervised. I’ve found that when I trust kids to use grown-up tools (after proper training), they usually rise to the occasion. Sure, the tape may be wrinkled and the yarn might be twisted in a knot, but if we never let them try, they’ll never have a chance to succeed.

I’ve compiled a list of items from my home that we have used to help develop fine motor skills. Some of the items listed are the main tool, others are items that we used in combination with the main tool. For example, I’ve listed coffee filters. We’ve used these for cutting snowflakes during the winter and for spray bottle art. Either way, I hope this list encourages you to look at your house in a new way and see the potential for fine motor fun in the ordinary.

In the Kitchen

• Tongs
• Wisk
• Garlic Press
• Cookie Scoop
• Pizza Cutter
• Toothpicks
• Colander
• Chip Clip
• Ice Cube Trays
• Can Opener
• Corn Cob Holders
• Skewers
• Vegetable Peeler
• Straws
• Pasta
• Measuring Cups/Spoons
• Funnel
• Ziploc Bags
• Foil
• Plastic Cling Wrap
• Contact Paper
• Recycled containers
• Coffee Filters
• Cookie Cutters
• Rolling Pin
• Silverware
• Ice Cube Trays
• Muffin Tins
• Cookie Cooling Rack
• Toothpicks

Laundry Room

• Clothespins
• Dustpan
• Hand Broom
• Squirt Bottle

Garage/Toolbox

• Screwdriver
• Hammer (small lightweight hammer or a plastic toy hammer)
• Pliers
• Nuts/Bolts
• Paintbrush
• Measuring Tape
• Fishing Pole

Office

• Paper
• Post-it Notes
• Paper Clips
• Bulldog Clips
• Rubber Bands
• Tape Dispenser
• Stapler
• Staple Remover
• Hole Punch
• Letter Opener
• 3 -Ring Notebooks (opening and closing them)
• Folders (manipulating 3-prongs)

Bathroom

• Tweezers
• Medicine Dropper
• Sponge Rollers (mini pool noodle lacing beads)
• Cotton Balls
• Q-tips
• Recycled Hairspray Bottle (the pump kind, not aerosal)
• Hair Clips
• Bobby Pins

Craft Cabinet

• Pipe Cleaners
• Playdough
• Paintbrush
• Squirt Bottle
• Stickers
• Scissors
• Pom Poms
• Scrapbook Punches
• Plastic Needle
• Plastic Canvas
• Embroidery Hoop
• Zipper
• Pins/Pincushion
• Yarn
• Markers
• Colored Pencils
• Crayons
• Chalk
• Watercolors
• Paper
• Tissue Paper
• Ribbon

Miscellaneous

• Pool Noodles
• Plastic Links
• Bubble Packaging Wrap
• Light Brite Toy
• Golf Tees
• Piggy Bank
• Legos/Building Blocks
• Combination Lock/Padlock
• Puzzles
• Lacing Shapes
• Chalkboard
• Easel
• Styrofoam
• Bubbles/Wands
• Used Clothing (practice fastening zippers, buttons, belts, etc.)
• Computer Keyboard
• Computer Mouse

What else would you add to the list?

This post is a part of the 10 day series, Developing Fine Motor Skills. This series is part of the iHomeschool Network Hopscotch. To see the list of the topics from the other bloggers, visit iHomeschool Network. There are some fantastic topics and giveaways!

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Twisting items is a tricky little skill that we depend upon most often when opening containers. It is a life skill, really~you have to be able to open the milk jug or the peanut butter jar to quiet your growling stomach. Without the twisting skill, we’d all be walking around really hungry.

Twisting Station

Repurpose a few empty water bottles, juice containers, jars, etc. by setting up a Twisting Station. Allow children to practice opening and closing the containers. To make it a little more fun, provide objects to place inside the containers. Or, better yet, add the Twisting Station containers to the sensory tub. Provide some scoops and funnels for them to fill up the containers with the rainbow rice, beans, etc. and let them go!

Nuts & Bolts

Gather nuts & bolts for your little one to practice twisting. If you provide several sizes, your child will have to math up the correct nut and bolt before twisting. This is trickier than it looks for little hands!

Screwdrivers

Similar to using styrofoam for hammering practice, why not let your child practice using a screwdriver with styrofoam? My son gives this activity two thumbs-up. He’s a big fan of using Daddy’s tools!

This post is a part of the 10 day series, Developing Fine Motor Skills. This series is part of the iHomeschool Network Hopscotch. To see the list of the topics from the other bloggers, visit iHomeschool Network. There are some fantastic topics and giveaways!

Don’t want to miss a post in the series? Subscribe by email or RSS. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Lacing is a classic fine motor activity for preschoolers. Manipulating the string in and out of the holes takes a lot of effort for little fingers. It strengthens dexterity, hand-eye coordination, and the pincer grasp. Sometimes this activity can be frustrating for them when the string falls out of the hole before they can grab it with the other hand; it builds patience and perseverance.

Pool Noodle Lacing

Last summer I cut up pool noodles to make giant foam beads for Jonah to practice lacing. I added letters and numbers to the beads to help target certain learning skills we were focusing on during our school time. He had an easier time lacing with the larger pool noodle beads than the smaller beads we had tried in the past. If you have a young preschooler, the large beads may be a great starting place for your child. The foam beads are easier to manipulate because they don’t roll around as much and the holes are larger for the string. (You can see the full tutorial I wrote over at Totally Tots.)

Ribbon Weaving

One of Jonah’s favorite things to do when he was three years old was Ribbon Weaving with a cookie cooling rack. It was so easy to set up that he could set it up himself! We stored all of the ribbon pieces in a bag in the activity cabinet, so he could pull it out whenever he wanted. For older children, have them create a pattern with their ribbons.

 Lacing Cards

Lacing cards are easy to make. Basically, you need something with holes and a string. You can use toilet paper rolls, recycled cardboard or cereal boxes, plastic baskets with holes, and more to make free lacing activities. Use your imagination!

I made lacing cards using plastic canvas from the craft store. To make the activity a little more advanced, I introduced a plastic sewing needle for Jonah to explore “sewing” with yarn. He had fun with this, but also found it much more challenging.

Other Lacing Tools We Use and Love

Melissa & Doug Primary Lacing Beads

Lauri Toys Dot-2-Dot Lacing Shapes

Lauri Toys Lace and Link Letters (Uppercase)

Lauri Toys Lace and Link Letters (lowercase)

This post is a part of the 10 day series, Developing Fine Motor Skills. This series is part of the iHomeschool Network Hopscotch. To see the list of the topics from the other bloggers, visit iHomeschool Network. There are some fantastic topics and giveaways!

Don’t want to miss a post in the series? Subscribe by email or RSS. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter.