What are Fine Motor Skills and why are they important?

Fine motor skills are those that involve using muscles which control the hand, fingers and thumb. With the development of these skills, a child is able to complete important tasks such as feeding oneself, buttoning, zippering and writing.  These abilities gradually develop through experience and exposure to a variety of activities.

So this month I decided to create a GG Fun Kit to to strengthen fine motor skills.  As many of you are aware, the kits are my attempt to create unique Christmas gifts for my grandkids.  My goal is for each kit to support learning, be reasonably priced and full of GG/grandkid FUN!  Last month, I created a Math Kit and this month I’m off to the Dollar Store with a $10.00 bill to find materials to support Fine Motor skills.

Fun Activities to Strengthen Fine Motor Skills

Materials	Activities
pompoms	Sort pompoms in ice cube trays by color Pick up pompoms with tweezers and put in ice cube trays Put pompoms into storage containers
beads	String beads using wire Roll post its and put through beads Build structure using beads and post its
wire	Use clothespins to hang post its, baggies, rubber bands on wire Wrap wire around ice cube trays
small pencil	Write with small pencil on small post its
Post its	Use to make connectors between beads
Rubber bands	Wrap rubber bands around fingers and practice picking up small items
tweezers	Use to pick up small items in kit
tongs	Use to pick up small to medium items in kit
Ice cube trays (2)	Use trays to sort items by color, number and to make patterns Use the bottom of the tray as a geoboard stretching rubber bands over the shape Stretch rubber bands over the trays
Baggies with zippers	Store items Use as a container and take out items using tongs or tweezers
Clear plastic containers	Use for storage Put hole in lid and put small items from the kit through the hole using fingers Put items from kit through the hole using tweezer or tongs.
clothespins	Use to pick up beads, rubber bands, small pencil, post it. Use to hang items on the wire
Plastic cupcake holder with lid	Used to store all items in the kit. Ideally one with a handle is best so it can be carried by children.