Kindergarten is quickly approaching for two of the Harris grandchildren. My son happens to be one of them. Watch out, KINDERGARTEN!!! We’ve been learning our letters, practicing cutting, and even writing our name, but I’ve noticed that my son’s fingers seem to still be a little weak. Knowing what I do about the rigor in kindergarten, I want to get him as prepared as possible. Today, I am going to share with you the Five Ways to Strengthen Fine Motor Skills before Kindergarten that we are going to do in the Harris home between now and August!
Activity #1: Noodle and Pom Pom Stacking
For this activity you will need:
-1 large pool noodle cut into smaller pieces
-bag of pom poms (different sizes are ok)
-clothes pin
Let your child practice opening and closing the clothes pin before this activity. To play this game, the child will pick up a pom pom using only the clothes pin and place it on top of the pool noodles. This not only practices fine motor, but also hand-eye coordination.
Activity #2: Therapy Putty
For this activity you will need:
-container of putty or modeling clay (I purchased my putty from Therapy Shoppe online – I ordered medium soft and medium firm)
-letter beads or regular beads
This idea came from my school’s occupational therapist. She was using the putty and I had to have some! She hid yellow and black beads in the putty and made her students find the “bumblebees”. I decided to use letter beads so my son could also practice his letters.
Activity #3: Animal Rescue
For this activity you will need:
-plastic animals
-rubber bands
This was Paxton and Breleigh’s (my niece) favorite activity! So simple too! Just tightly wrap a rubber band around a plastic animal. I use two different thicknesses of rubber bands to require more strength they had to use with their fingers to unwind the band to free the animal.
Activity #4: Letter Cover Up
For this activity you will need:
-piece of paper
-markers to pen to write the name
-circle dot stickers/labels
Write the child’s name on the paper. Be sure to leave some space between the letters so the circles can cover or be placed above. Why does it strengthen fingers? The child is having to pinch to separate the sticker from the paper and then lay the sticker in the correct place.
Activity #5: String Noodles
For this activity you will need:
-pipe cleaners
-uncooked penne pasta
I chose to use a pipe cleaner for this activity instead of string because pipe cleaners stand up and wouldn’t be as difficult to string. Next time, I will probably color the pasta so it is a little more exciting than just plain pasta. This is great practice for not only fine motor, but hand-eye coordination as well.
I had a blast today with Paxton and Breleigh! They were such great sports with playing all my silly games and I honestly can’t believe that animal rescue was their favorite! Which do you think will be your child’s? Comment below!
If you love this post, then please be sure to follow my Pinterest boards for more tips and tricks as I prepare my son for Kindergarten!
