Fine Motor Activities To Do With Your Child This Summer
Posted on: 4 July 2019
Fine motor skills are an important part of growth and learning. These skills, when mastered, allow you do to so many of the things you do later down the road, but if your child isn't capable of doing them, they can struggle. To help your child succeed, taking your child to an occupational therapist for help with these skills is important. Doing activities at home can be just as important. Read on for some fine motor activities you can do at home with your child this summer that double as play time as well.
Playing In The Sand
Sand can be a good playtime and fine motor skill activity at the same time. If you have a sandbox, give your child some small toys to search for in the sand, or give your child small shovels or spoons to hold and fill up buckets. If you don't have a sandbox, use a plastic tote and fill it with play sand from the hardware store. You can accomplish the same activity and be able to store away the sand to keep it clean for use anywhere you go. You can even change out what you put in the sandbox to keep the activity fresh and fun. Swap out toys for letters and numbers in the sand, or take out the shovels and spoons and use tongs instead to grab the letters and numbers.
Watering Plants
Watering the plants sounds more of a chore, but it can be fun for your child and can also improve fine motor skills. Squeezing the trigger on the sprayer of a hose can help with these skills, as can holding a watering can to water plants. Allow your child to turn the water on to fill up the watering can and turn the water off as well. This may be a bit more difficult for smaller children, or they may require some help.
Playing With A Water Table
Much like watering plants, if you have a water table, it can be a lot of fun for a child as well. Give your child a water table, a small pool or even a long tote with water inside. Then give your child cups of different sizes, spoons, paintbrushes, and funnels to have some water table fun. Allow your child to fill up the different objects with water and pour them out into the water or into another cup or funnel. Use the paintbrush with water to "paint" anything they want to paint.
Help your child learn, grow, and improve their fine motor skills using the activities above, and talk to your occupational therapist about other activities you can do this summer with your child. Companies like Your Therapy Source can help.
Share