This project provides activity ideas to promote fine motor development in children. It is intended to be a resource for parents to educate them on what fine motor skills are, provide them with activities for their children to promote fine motor development, and a guide to make sure their children are hitting the age-appropriate developmental milestones.

1. Fine Motor Skills
Development in
Children
By Allie Carter

2. Purpose
• This is a resource for
parents of children of
any age! This resource
will teach you the
importance of fine
motor skills
development in

3. What are fine motor skills?
• In short, fine motor skills are finger and
hand skills! Fine motor skills refers to
small muscle development which
enables a child to do things like hold a
pencil or button a shirt. It includes hand-
eye coordination, finger strength and
control, and the development of muscles
such as the toes, tongue, and eyes.
• This includes activities like cutting,
writing, opening a lunchbox, or tying
shoelaces.

4. Milestone
Chart
• Every child hits
development
milestones differently.
No two children are
alike. However, this
chart gives a basic
outline of fine motor
skills development
milestones that are age
appropriate.

5. Important Fine Motor Skills
• Stability of hands and finger are
important in fine motor skills
development. Here are a few important
fine motor skills:
• Grasping – gripping objects with the
whole hand. Usually starts as a baby.
• Pincer grasp – using the forefinger and
thumb to pick up small objects.
• Bilateral hand skills – using both hands
at the same time

6. Fine Motor
Skills
Require
Practice! • Developing fine motor skills requires practice!
• Have your child assist with different daily tasks to
help develop these important fine motor skills.
• Children should be practicing fine motor skills
everyday – even in common tasks such as flipping
the page of a book, feeding themselves with a fork

7. Activities to Assist with Fine Motor Skills
Development
How do I make sure my child is hitting these important fine
motor skills development milestones?
• There are many different
fun activities to do with
your child to promote fine
motor skills development!
These next few slides
contain activity ideas for
your children that will help
them develop age-

8. Pom-Pom
Whisk
• Fill a whisk with
colorful pom-poms
for your toddler to
grasp and pull the
pom-poms out of the
whisk.
• This activity is
recommended for

9. Clothes
Pin Basket
• Clip clothes pins to a
wire rack or basket for
your toddler to pinch
and unclip.
• This activity is
recommended for
children ages 1-3
years. This activity

10. Pipe-cleaner
weaving
• Have pipe-cleaners and a
wire cooling-rack for your
child to weave the pipe-
cleaners through. Try
different designs and
patterns!
• This activity is
recommended for

11. Sensory
Bins
• Sensory Bins are a great way to promote
creativity as well as fine motor skills
development!
• The possibilities are endless! Here are a
few examples to inspire you! Use things
like rice, water, shaving cream, or beads
in a bin. Add small toys or trinkets for
children to play with in the bin.
• Adding spoons, scoops, or tongs to the
bin allow your child to practice using
these tools and develop hand muscles!
• This activity allows children to be
creative, develop hand-eye coordination,
and small muscle movements.

12. Sources
• https://childdevelopment.com.au/resources/child-development-
charts/fine-motor-developmental-chart/
• https://empoweredparents.co/fine-motor-skills-for-preschoolers/
• https://teaching2and3yearolds.com/how-to-build-fine-motor-
skills-development-using-household-utensils/
• http://ayoung-ete210.weebly.com/physical-development--birth-
through-age-25.html
• https://rainforestlearningcentre.ca/what-are-normal-fine-motor-
skills-early-childhood-years-important/