5 Ways to Improve Fine Motor Skills (Without Even Trying!)

I love motivating and fun therapeutic activities that just feel like we are all having fun and not working at all… or are we? These activities not only build fine motor skills but sneak in executive function and visual scanning too. This is so important as a recent article in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy reported that children spend between 37.1% - 60.2% of their day at school needing to perform fine motor activities, let alone how crucial fine motor skills are for independence at home! Here are five of my absolute favorite activities to give these skills a boost without even trying:

1. Games, Games, Games!

Board, card, and dice games are fantastic for building fine motor skills. They also help with planning, directionality, and visual scanning.

For younger kids, I highly recommend the Sneaky Snacky Squirrel game. It’s a race to gather acorns with cute squirrel tweezers before they get knocked out of the tree. Those tweezers work well for developing finger strength and control, and this game even works on cognitive flexibility!

For older kids, Left, Center, Right is another favorite. Rolling the dice and determining whether to pass chips to the left, right or center strengthens directionality and motor skills. Plus, an old classic like Checkers works wonders for fine motor control and many other skills needed for executive functions such as planning and strategy!

2. Coloring with Broken Crayons

Yes, you heard that right—broken crayons are a therapist’s best friend! Their short length encourages a tripod grasp, making sure your child’s fingertips get a workout. Trying to color with a crayon nub using a fist grip? Not happening!

Get your child involved in peeling the crayon wrappers too. It’s a great activity for hand muscles that are crucial for writing and fine motor control.

3. Tongs and Grasping Games

Tongs are an amazing tool for developing the separation of the sides of the hands—key for fine motor precision. Using tongs to pick up and sort objects (think: pom-poms into a bin) helps kids learn how to use part of their hand for stabilization and the other part for precision.

Picture a line running from your wrist, right between your ring and middle fingers. On the precision side—your thumb, pointer, and middle finger—you're using fine motor control to manipulate the tongs. Meanwhile, the power side—your pinkie and ring finger—provides stability and strength as you squeeze.

Tongs are great for developing this coordination. By gripping objects with the tongs and placing them into containers or moving them from place to place, your child is working on separating the two sides of the hand. This is essential for tasks like cutting, writing, or using tools.

Whether you’re sorting small toys or having a “grab and drop” race, these activities help build those hand skills we use every day!

4. Animal Walks and Scooter Games

Animal walks and scooter games are not only fun but also provide an incredible workout for your child’s arms, trunk, and core. These are games or activities in which the child’s hands are bearing weight as they play. This is so important as it adds necessary proprioceptive input through the upper arms and trunk, it helps to strengthen core musculature, and creates a more stable base of support, which is essential for developing fine motor control.

There’s a saying in therapy: “Proximal stability for distal mobility”. It means that when your core is strong, your arms and hands are free to move and work without having to compensate for a weak core.

These moves area also a great sensory regulator tool!

5. Legos!

I saved one of the best for last—Legos! These colorful building blocks are fantastic for strengthening hand muscles, especially the web space between the thumb and index finger. Pressing the Legos together works on grip strength, and pulling them apart builds dexterity and control.

One of my favorite Lego activities? I give kids a handful of random pieces, set a timer for five minutes, and let their creativity take over. The results are always inspiring!

I could honestly go on and on about ways to develop fine motor skills, but these five activities are a great place to start. The best part? They’re fun, engaging, and don’t feel like “work” at all!

If you are feeling like you’d like some additional ideas and would like to set up a virtual consultation with an occupational therapist to talk more specifically about your child’s fine motor skills, then click this link and send me an email. Talk to you soon