Developing fine motor skills in kindergarten is harder than it sounds. It takes time and practice. Kids at young ages have often developed bad habits like holding their pencil with their fists or even stranger grips. I have seen them all.

It is very important to break these habits early on. There are fun activities and products that can aid in developing fine motor skills in kindergarten with your students and your own children. Here are some:

Develop Hand Strength

There are so many fun ways for students to develop their hand strength while developing fine motor skills. Kids will love the following:

Use a spray bottle– Give your children or students a spray bottle and tell them to water the grass. If you are at school, you may not want them to squirt each other with them.

Crumple paper– Have students write their names or a sight word. Afterward, have them crumple it up and shoot it in the trash can. Big fun!!

Use tongs and pom-poms- At a center or a sensory bin, have students use tongs or child tweezers to pick up colored pom-poms or small pieces of paper.

Teach students how to hold the pencil

In order to develop fine motor skills in kindergarten, students should practice, practice, practice. A good pencil grip is a key to success. But, students often come to you with bad habits. Here are ways to break bad habits.

Use golf pencils- Ticonderoga has some great golf pencils that force students to use the correct fingers and not grab the pencil with their fists. Because they are tiny, there is a need to pinch the pencil at the bottom.

Hold a small object with pinky and ring finger- Have students pinch the pencil at the bottom with their thumb and pointer and use the middle for support. Have them hold a pom pom with their pinky and ring finger in their palm. This will make sure they are using the correct fingers.

Use a pencil grip- These pencil grips show students the correct way to hold the pencil. It is easy for them to remember. They have a place to rest the middle finger. Students put their thumb and pointer in the correct spots.

How to Cut with Scissors

Open shut, open shut. That’s the way we cut cut cut. Fingers on bottom and thumb on top. Do not let the paper drop! Open shut, open shut. That’s the way we cut, cut, cut!” That is just one cute little chant that helps aid in developing fine motor skills in kindergarten. Here are some more fund activities.

Have kids lay on their tummies- Have students lay on their tummies on the carpet with scissors and paper. They have to use their elbows to hold themselves up, so this forces proper technique. They will not be able to turn their hands around. Students also love this.

Teach students about Allie the Alligator. They love to stick their thumb in the alligator’s eye and their fingers in the belly and chomp, chomp, chomp.

Use Playdough for developing fine motor skills in kindergarten.

Students in pre-school, kindergarten and first grade, and even much older love to play with playdough. There are many task cards that students can use to build letters, numbers, and fun pictures.

Students are learning their common core standards while developing these skills in an age-appropriate manner.

This will strengthen the fine motor skills of young students. Have them cut playdough with playdough scissors as well. Students love this.

Also, picking up tiny balls of playdough with tweezers is a motivating and productive activity in developing fine motor skills in kindergarten and pre-school students.