Activities for Developing Fine Motor Skills

Here are some fine motor activities that I found while browsing Pinterest one night. In fact, I seem to find myself addicted to this website these past few weeks, it is such a great resource for getting inspiration and different ideas on how to help children with autism. I decided to recreate some of them in order to see which ones D. would respond to. All these activities are really easy to make, especially if you are on a tight budget! I was able to purchase all the required materials at the dollar store for under 20$!

Wrapping Elastics Around a Jar

As you can see in the picture posted beside, D. was trying to wrap elastics around a jar, which was actually quite a challenge! He was so focused and determined! After he finished wrapping all the elastics, I had him remove them one-by-one. This activity was great for working his little fingers as he practiced stretching the elastics wide enough to fit around the jar.

Sorting Items

He also really enjoyed this sorting activity. I had him sort the pompoms by color, but this activity could easily be adapted to teach colors, shapes and sizes.

For example, sorting different shaped objects in the same container or sorting the same objects (i.e. marshmellows) in various sizes (small vs big).

Other activities

Stringing colored straws on a shoe lace

Tracing with a Bingo Stamper

An extension activity would be to have the child trace the lines using scissors. This would be a great opportunity to teach children how to hold scissors properly. This is especially important for preschool children who will be entering kindergarten, where they will be doing several art activities that requires them to cut different shapes or materials.