A growing trend I’ve noticed is that more and more Kindergarteners are arriving with underdeveloped fine motor skills. With the rise of technology, many students haven't had much practice holding a pencil, using scissors, or even playing with playdough. As a result, they struggle with handwriting and other essential tasks they should be mastering in Kindergarten, like tying their shoes or closing a ziplock bag. If you’re unsure how to incorporate fine motor skills development in Kindergarten, how to spot if your students need extra help, or why these skills are so important—you're in the right place! Let's dive into everything you need to know about fine motor skills in Kindergarten, including 5 simple ways to incorporate fine motor skills activities without losing instructional time!
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Fine Motor Skills vs Gross Motor Skills
Motor Skills are the skills that enable the movements of our bodies.
Fine Motor Skills refer to the precise movements made by the smaller muscles, like hands, fingers, and wrist. Example: using scissors, zipping a jacket, opening and closing containers.
Gross Motor Skills refer to a bigger movement, made by the larger muscles, like arms and legs. Example: swinging on a swing, jumping, kicking a ball.
What fine motor skills should a Kindergartener be able to do proficiently?
By the age of 5-6, children should be able to:
- Cut with scissors
- Draw shapes
- Grasp a pencil correctly
- Cut out a circle
- Fold paper
- Tear paper
- Build with legos or play dough
What does this have to do with handwriting?
Holding a pencil is one of the most important skills students need to master. If a student does not have a proper pencil grip, then they will struggle with handwriting. Fixing an improper pencil grip is SO HARD to do, but they will thank you in the future as 4th graders writing 5 paragraph essays. I've seen it year after year (with very few exceptions)… Proper pencil grip = neat handwriting.
What to do if you notice a student has poor fine motor skills?
They need to be building those fine motor skills every single day! I had some kind of fine motor center activity, whether it was something with cutting, play dough, or clip cards. Also, I made sure to bring it up to their parents, and suggest a few activities that can help them at home, like playing with play dough, cutting shapes, or drawing using colored pencils. The more practice, the better they will get!
When do you fit fine motor practice in your day?
Here’s how you can incorporate hands-on activities and supplies into your existing curriculum to help strengthen fine motor skills while keeping learning at the forefront.
1. Incorporate Fine Motor Skills into Everyday Learning
Fine motor skills are crucial for tasks like writing, cutting, and even tying shoes. The good news? You don’t need separate fine motor time to work on these skills. Look for opportunities to integrate hands-on activities into your daily lessons.
- Math Manipulatives: Use tools like counting cubes, play dough, or even tweezers and pom-poms for sorting activities. These items strengthen hand muscles and coordination while reinforcing counting, sorting, and grouping lessons.
- Letter Tracing and Writing Practice: Instead of plain paper, give students textured surfaces to write on, such as sandpaper, whiteboards, or even salt trays. This sensory experience not only boosts writing practice but also strengthens their pencil grip.
- Cut-and-Paste Activities: Incorporating cutting and pasting into all subject areas can help develop hand-eye coordination. For example, have students cut out different pictures and sort them by sound for a phonics lesson.
2. Introduce Tools That Build Fine Motor Skills
Classroom supplies can be a great way to strengthen fine motor skills while making learning engaging. Opt for materials that require small movements, such as:
- Threading Beads or Lacing Cards: For subjects like math (patterns) or language arts (spelling), threading beads can be a fun way to practice concepts while encouraging hand-eye coordination and fine motor control.
- Clothespins and Chip Clips: Use these to hang student work, organize center materials, or even for sorting activities. Squeezing clothespins helps develop finger strength and dexterity. You can try out a free clip card activity here
- Hole Punchers: Allow students to use hole punchers to create mark different answers. It's a fun activity that also strengthens their hand muscles.
3. Utilize Sensory Bins and Hands-On Centers
Sensory bins aren't just for preschoolers! They can be a lifesaver for building fine motor skills at any grade level. Fill a bin with rice, beans, or sand, and add tools like tweezers, tongs, or scoops. These can be easily integrated into centers or early finishers' activities. Try:
- Hidden Words: For early literacy, place letter tiles in the sensory bin, and have students dig out letters to form words or match letter sounds.
- Math Dig: Hide small counting objects and ask students to find and sort them based on number or shape.
- Puzzle Pieces or Pattern Blocks: These can be added to bins or used as stand-alone activities to practice spatial awareness, problem-solving, and motor skills.
4. Incorporate Arts and Crafts into Academic Lessons
Art naturally builds fine motor skills, and it’s easy to incorporate it into your regular lessons. For example:
- Interactive Notebooks: Instead of plain note-taking, let students cut out and paste foldable components into interactive notebooks. It makes learning more engaging and offers lots of fine motor practice.
- Directed Drawing: Art-based activities, like directed drawing, can help build fine motor control as students follow step-by-step instructions. This Daily Writing Journal is a great way to incorporate directed drawing plus handwriting practice!
- Building Letters: Have students use pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, or wiki sticks to form letters. This tactile approach reinforces letter recognition while building dexterity. This letter building activity was always a hit with my students!
- Alphabet Crafts: These letter crafts helped students practice cutting, pasting, and coloring, all great activities for fine motor skills development in Kindergarten!
5. Add Play-Based Fine Motor Practice to Centers
Centers are a great way to integrate fine motor practice in a playful way. Include a variety of options that allow for movement, creativity, and exploration:
- Building Blocks or LEGOs®: Incorporating these into your math or science lessons can help students build structures, solve problems, and practice fine motor coordination. They are also just great to have on hand for indoor recess days.
- Playdough: Create learning activities where students form letters, numbers, or even animals related to your lessons. Playdough is an amazing tool for building hand strength. One of my go to center activities is play dough spelling where students will take play dough, roll it like a snake, and form letters to spell words.
- Puzzles: These are simple yet effective ways to work on fine motor skills while encouraging problem-solving and spatial reasoning.
Looking for tools and activities that build fine motor skills development?
Check out my favorite fine motor tools and activities on Amazon here: Fine Motor Activities, Tools, and Games for Kindergarten
Boost Fine Motor Skills and Handwriting with This All-in-One Alphabet Pack
These Fine Motor Handwriting Alphabet Packs are a perfect way to help students build their fine motor skills while practicing key literacy skills like alphabet recognition and handwriting. Each print-and-go worksheet focuses on developing essential hand muscles through fun, independent activities like dot marking, finger tracing, paper tearing, and more. By combining fine motor development with letter naming, sounds, and proper letter formation, this no-prep pack offers a complete learning experience without taking extra time from your busy classroom schedule. It’s an easy, effective way to strengthen both handwriting and letter knowledge—all in one! Grab the pack on TPT here: Fine Motor Alphabet Handwriting Practice Pack
By adding hands-on activities and tools, you can help your students build fine motor skills without cutting into learning time. These activities actually boost student engagement and make your lessons more fun and interactive. Aim to add in one fine motor center per day for literacy, include more hands-on supplies in your small group instruction (play dough, clip cards), and be sure to practice handwriting daily. With just a bit of creativity, you can easily weave fine motor practice into your daily routine without it feeling like extra work.
The key is to keep things fun, educational, and totally in line with your teaching goals!
[…] They were similar to a worksheet, but 100 times better, because they were engaging, practiced fine motor skills, and I thought my students would love them. However, I was under the impression they would be […]