Fine motor sensory activities are so healthy for kids. They enable them to get that awesome sensory feedback that they need while also practising their fine motor skills. 
These fine motor sensory activities can be used at home or in preschool or the classroom.
Even older kids can benefit from fine motor work. Improving fine motor skills improves hand-eye coordination which is an important skill for driving and playing sports.
Another benefit of improving fine motor skills is that it helps children understand how their body works. This is great for body awareness and self-esteem.
The activities don’t have to be complicated. Simple and done is better than intention that doesn’t happen. Just pull out some buttons and throw them in a bin with some water beads and have your child dig for the buttons. Fine motor sensory play = done!
Fine Motor Sensory Activities:
Cotton Ball Throw Painting – This sensory activity is good for both fine motor and gross motor.
Peppermint Scented Christmas Playdough Activity
Frog Sensory Bin with Play Puffs
Other Fine Motor Sensory Activities:
Fine Motor Sensory Play Using a Sand Tray from Buggy and Buddy
Fine Motor Fun with Water Beads from Still Playing School
Sensory Name Recognition Bags over on The Preschool Toolbox
Fine Motor Skills for Preschoolers – Bead Transferring Activity at The Natural Homeschool
Pasta Threading Activity from Messy Little Monster
Neon Squirt Sensory Play at Days with Grey
Cardboard Drop Box by Happy Hooligans
Water Dropper Practice by Tutus and Tea Parties
Fine Motor Skills Activities, Practice, Crafts and Printable List of Ideas by The Natural Homeschool
Craft Stick Launchers on STEAM Powered Family (great for older kids)
Threading Cheerios on Learning and Exploring Through Play
Activities Using Kitchen Tongs to Promote Fine Motor Skills from Kiddie Charts
Pine Cone Snowy Owl from Red Ted Art
Looking for answers to your sensory questions? Sensory Processing Explained: a Handbook for Parents and Educators offers real strategies and practical solutions.
One thing I like about this project is how it engages the senses. The peanut butter and the bird seed both give olfactory (smell) sensory input. Rolling it in the bird seed and hanging it on a tree are excellent tactile input. And both making the bird feeder and later observing the birds who use it are visual.
Whether you’re planning a large holiday party or a small family gathering, these games will bring laughter and fun.
This is a great game to play in a large group. Everyone can play at the same time or you can play head to head.
The player starts with the other end of the ribbon in their mouth. They then have one minute to attempt to swing the ribbon and land the pompom onto their nose and stick there. No hands are allowed to be used in this challenge.
Blow the cards gently to move them across the table. The goal is to have one card hang over the edge of the table without falling off. Each player has one minute and ten tries to reach the objective.
Have the player stand on the chair and drop candy canes, attempting to have them hang on the garland. You can have another player on the opposite chair playing at the same time.
For young children, use the wider craft sticks. To make it more challenging for adults, use regular sized popsicle sticks. You can also vary the size of the jingle bells to create more difficulty.
This game is quite challenging, so for younger kids, start with less pompoms or cotton balls in their bowl.
The goal of the game is to move 5 candy canes out of the bowl. The time to beat is one minute.
The player must pick up all the candy using only the spaghetti noodle in their mouth. They must stack all six candies onto their noodle in under one minute.
This game works with groups as a relay or with two players racing against each other. Each of the players places a white pompom (snowball) on a plastic spoon and races to place it in a bucket across the room. The player or team to fill the bucket with the most “snowballs” in one minute wins.
See how many gifts players can open in one minute while wearing oven mitts. This is quite a funny one to watch!
The team that completely uses their toilet paper first wins. It’s fun to see what method the teams come up with to do this quickly.
Adult supervision should always be used when making slime.
Instructions:
Store the glow in the dark slime in an airtight container or plastic bag. If stored properly, this slime will keep for a long time.
If you want to give it out as party favours, you can use baby food jars as containers wrapped with purple ribbon around the top.
