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Toddler DIY: Fine Motor Skills

Today let’s talk fine motor skills and toddlers!

Fine motor skills generally refer to control over the small movements of the hands and fingers. In the preschool years, parents and teachers work on developing these skills with fun games like holding a crayon to color, painting with a paintbrush and learning to cut with scissors. At home, I like to find DIY projects that Brooks enjoys and are also educational.

His favorite game for weeks was our animal matching board. So much so we had to bring a few of his favorite animals to school to share. Brooks wasn’t the biggest fan of the gak we made, but I will always keep trying to find fun and organic learning opportunities like when we cook together. Some of my sweetest moments are watching him learn and to see his little face light up when he grasps something new. Certain things that he couldn’t do so well a few weeks ago I watch him ace now, like peeling a sticker off a paper backing. It may sound silly, but it is a fine motor skill task that can frustrate the most able of two year olds.

Fine motor skills are important to work on with your kids. They are integral to your child’s development and will help your child to feel more confident. Good control of their hand muscles will enable your child to learn handwriting easier later.

Brooks loves trying new things. He especially loves when these types of projects are introduced as games. As much as I think I know how a DIY project is going to turn out or how Brooks will react to it, it always turns out better. I’m elated by his zeal to learn.

This is an incredibly simple and wallet friendly fine motor skill building game. You are literally just taking an empty water bottle and having your child fill it with different sizes of pom poms. You can easily cut the bottle open after (recycle) and repeat till your child’s heart’s content. Another level of learning, and a great opportunity for dialogue, is while your child is filling the bottle you can ask them to choose a particular color of pom pom to fill the bottle with or ask them to announce what color the pom pom is each time they place one in the bottle. You can even add counting into the mix by asking for a particular number of pom poms by saying, “place three green balls in the bottle.”

The opportunities for adding different variants of the game are almost limitless.   It is not about expensive toys, it is about thinking outside the box to stimulate your child’s mind. I’m so proud as his Momma to watch him learn and grow.

Looking for more toddler learning inspiration? Check out my Pinterest board and here are some of my favorite kid friendly finds…