Now that we all have the news that Massachusetts schools will not be going back this year, it’s time to shift gears to life skills and learning through play. One of the main areas of child development, supported by OT, is fine motor development. Fine motor skills are essential to our everyday activities, such as feeding, dressing, playing, and writing. We can work on building these skills at home, through play!
There are more than 30 muscles in our hands and wrists that control small (fine motor) movements. A great deal of effort is required to coordinate all the signals going back and forth between our brain and hand muscles. While every child’s developmental path is different, it’s important to take notice of kids who are struggling with holding a pencil, using utensils efficiently, or manipulating small objects in a coordinated way. One common question parents ask is: “How can we help our kids develop these fine motor skills while we are at home?” Our answer is.. make it play-based and make it fun! The more engaged a child is with fine motor activities, the more likely they will continue building these skills throughout their childhood.
There are many play activities that can help develop hand strength and dexterity at home using simple objects you may already have on hand.
- Coloring with small piece of crayon or chalk
- Drawing or coloring on a vertical surface
- Create eye dropper art
- Picking up objects using tweezers or clothespin
- Crumple up paper into a ball
- Rolling and pinching play doh
- Using a spray bottle in the bath or to water plants
- String beads, cheerios, or pasta
- Use a hole puncher
- Cut play doh or thick paper
You can click on the following PDFs here for more activity ideas.
However you use the activities in this blog, I hope it brings you some comfort to know you are not alone. We are all in our separate corners of the community, living similar struggles right now. When we can share resources, even virtually, we can stay connected and support each other through this tough time.
Please email us at to learn more about individual sessions for yourself, as parents struggling to re-invent the daily life of our family in your many roles OR to inquire about 1:1 virtual OT or SLP visits for your child, typically covered by your health plan at no cost to you. Find us on Facebook at @BostonSensorySolutions or online at www.BostonSensorySolutions.com
