Fine motor skills
Finger mobility
- Caterpillar fingers across the table, progressing on to scrunching up a crepe bandage with each hand in turn – could be competitive and timed
- Play musical instruments e.g. keyboard, recorder
- Screw paper into a ball with one hand and aim at target or bin
- Screw and unscrew nuts and bolts
- Wind yoyos, wool into balls or onto a large cotton reel
- Make pom poms from circles of card and wool
- Spin hoops and different sized balls
Isolated finger opposition
- Use thumb + each finger in turn to pick up dried beans, peas, etc and put in cups
- Use tweezers to pick up paper clips, buttons, rice, sequins, dried peas etc.
- Take off and replace tops of pens
- Flick ping-pong ball, screwed up paper or Maltesers at a target
- Open and close clothes pegs with thumb and forefinger
- Place pegs into peg board, marbles onto the marble run etc.
- Turn over buttons and coins without moving them to the edge of the table.
Dynamic pencil grip
- Encourage pencil to be held in tripod grasp, “pinch it” or with “froggy legs”
- Strong elastic band around the fingers and thumb of each hand, open and close
- Hold pen in tripod grasp draw imaginary circles, lines and figures of 8 in the air.
- Practise scribble patterns on paper or whiteboard. Discourage heavy handedness and tense grasp.
Learning how to use scissors
- Before holding scissors the child needs to be able to move their thumb, index and middle finger independently – bending and straightening
- Open and close tools e.g. tongs to pick up different objects
- Dress tongs with socks or material and a face to make a crocodile or dinosaur
- Squeeze turkey baster to make bubbles in a bowl or draw up water and squirt
- Use sponge, small pipette or eye dropper to pick up coloured water for mixing
- See how far you can squirt water with squirt guns or washing up bottles
- Move onto scissors – could try the Easy Grip, Self – Opening Scissors if needed
- Correct hold gives control – thumb on top and scissors pointing away body
- Open and close without attempting to cut
- Stick a set of paper teeth on ‘jaws’ for fun
- Start by cutting across 1cm strips of thin card, progressing to 3cm then 10 cm
- Snip fringes in newspaper, then once able to cut across the paper
- Cut within a band of 4cm then gradually reduce to cut within a thick pen line
- Put a bend one way into the 4 cm band then reduce width, repeat the other way
- Simple straight lined shapes and progress to curved lines, e.g. semicircle, circle
- Gradually develop skill by cutting out more complex shapes
Activities for encouraging the use of both hands
Anything requiring the use of both hands will help develop bilateral skills. For example:
- Construction, Duplo, Lego, Meccano, Mega Bloks, Stickle Bricks etc
- Magnet games e.g. pull magnets apart after fishing with magnetised bait & fish
- Use Velcro in games so that it has to be pulled apart afterwards e.g. ball & target
- Wind-up toys / timers
- Use a hula hoop – will take 2 hands to hold it steady to get started
- Dressing and feeding dolly / teddy etc
- Squeeze marble or button through small tube of material
- Open and close containers, making sure a high level of success can be achieved
- Open and close more complex containers e.g. screw top jars, draw strings bags
- Playing musical instruments e.g. keyboard, drum, recorder
- Clapping / catching a feather / bubble etc between 2 hands
- Use empty squeezy bottles to blow a ping pong ball across the room / table
- Use squeezy bottle filled with water to draw on concrete wall outside
Use non-preferred hand to hold item steady (Holding Hand and Doing Hand)
- Templates – holding paper and template in place and drawing around template
- Make rubbings with leaves or textured objects
- Hold paper up against a wall or whiteboard for writing activity
Threading activities
- Place rings / hoops etc on the handle of a wooden spoon
- Thread washing line and large beads, buttons, pasta, Cheerios, Hula Hoops
- Thread pipe cleaners or ribbons through a colander or tennis racquet
Creative activities
- Papier mache, junk modelling, pom pom making
- Pick out number of small items from bowl of e.g. salt / sand. (Eyes closed increases sensory awareness in the hands. Try finding paper clips in rice!)
- Hide small objects in play dough for children to find and pull out
- Cutting up pieces of paper / snipping bits off from a strip of card
- Use potato and paint or stamps and an ink pad to stamp on small pieces of paper
- Finger puppet play
- Cooking – whisking, mixing, beating, mixing or egg-beating. Wind up a timer
- Woodwork – hammering, sawing, sand papering, screwdriver / manual drill
Ball skills
- Catch balls of different weight and size that are impossible to hold with one hand
- Throw a ball up in the air, clap and catch the ball. See how many times the child can clap and still catch the ball. A balloon ball (Balzac) would be easiest as it moves more slowly
- Throw a ball up in the air with 1 hand and catch in a plastic cup with the other
- Bounce a ball on the spot alternate hands
- Carry a tray with balls on and don’t let them roll off
For more information
View physical skills advice from occupational therapy team using the following link: School Age Therapies Toolkit – Children and Family Health (childrenandfamilyhealthdevon.nhs.uk)