Fine motor skill involves coordinating the small muscles of the hands with the eyes. Mastering fine motor skills allows children and adults to have a greater degree of independence in their daily activities. Activities that strengthen hand muscles and hand-eye coordination can improve fine motor skills while being fun.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Strengthen Hand Muscles
Step 1. Squeeze play dough or clay
Squeezing and stretching the playdough or clay in various ways will help you strengthen your finger muscles.
- Roll out the play dough or clay and tap it. Use other tools to shape the clay, like popsicle sticks.
- If you don't have playdough at home, don't worry. You can easily make your own play dough by mixing 1 cup of water, 1 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of salt, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, and 1 tablespoon of cream of tartar over medium heat until the ingredients are combined. If you want, you can color the mixture using food coloring!
- You can also make a bread dough that you have to knead. That way, you will have something delicious to eat after exercise!
Step 2. Pick up things with a clothespin
Working with a clothespin will improve your hand dexterity by strengthening your grip. Collect pom poms and move them with a clothespin from one pile to another.
- Use clothespins to hang things on a clothesline.
- If the clothespins are difficult to tighten, use a pair of ordinary clothespins first. Although these clamps require more concentration, they are easier to tighten.
- You can also use kitchen tongs to lift larger pom-pom balls and increase the degree of difficulty.
Step 3. Work with rubber bands
You can stretch 2-3 rubber bands between your thumb and index finger to strengthen the finger muscles.
- Wrap an object, such as an apple, in several rubber bands, then remove them.
- Find a large rubber band that you can play hand games with, like "cat's cradle."
Step 4. Roll a piece of paper into a ball using one hand
Crumple a piece of paper into a ball using one hand at all times. Then smooth the paper again. This procedure allows you to develop strength in your hands.
Method 2 of 3: Improve Eye-Hand Coordination
Step 1. Use scissors to cut
Working with scissors to cut paper is an excellent exercise for developing hand-eye coordination.
- If you have a lot of difficulty doing this, you can start by cutting straws, which are easier to cut.
- Have a young child cut out shapes or have an adult cut out coupons.
Step 2. Thread objects on a string
Get some rope and start stringing objects on it. You can string various objects, such as straws, beads, macaroni, or cereal in the shape of rings.
- Use a shoelace to make stringing easier, as it has a hard end that won't fray.
- Turn this activity into something fun by stringing the beads to decorate your Christmas tree or make an ornament for any other holiday.
Step 3. Draw
Practicing drawing shapes, such as a circle, is a great way to improve hand muscles and hand-eye coordination.
Use broken crayons or short pencils to improve your muscles and have a better grip
Step 4. Open and close jars
Practice hand-eye coordination by unscrewing the lids of the jars. Then screw them back into place. You can use whatever jar you have in your pantry or bathroom.
Step 5. Sort coins into piles
Make piles of coins by placing them in piles one on top of the other. Balancing the coins on top of each other requires you to carefully coordinate your eyes and hands. Look how high you can stack them!
Method 3 of 3: Get Creative with Activities
Step 1. Make origami
To make origami paper animals, you need to fold the paper in a complex way, which helps strengthen your wrist and hand-eye coordination.
- Start with a simple paper folding activity, like a fan. Then work your way up to something a little more difficult, like a frog or a penguin.
- Fold cloth napkins for an elegant evening.
Step 2. Play video games
Video games are a great way to improve fine motor skills, as they involve movement coordination and finger dexterity.
- Any video game controller that uses joysticks to control the game is good for developing fine motor skills.
- Shooting games, such as Call of Duty, that require the player to coordinate their position and direction in space while aiming are helpful in developing fine motor skills.
Step 3. Make a scrapbook
That's a great way to practice cutting and pasting, which requires eye-hand coordination. Plus, you can have fun and create memories while improving your fine motor skills.
Step 4. Paint with your fingers
Finger painting increases hand dexterity and promotes hand-eye coordination. Use fingerprint paints and practice drawing fun shapes or pictures on the paper.
Step 5. Put together a puzzle
Working with the small pieces of a puzzle and putting them together will help you strengthen your hand muscles and hand-eye coordination.
Start with a puzzle with larger pieces and work your way up to assembling puzzles that have smaller pieces
Step 6. Play the piano
You can strengthen your fingers and increase your dexterity by playing the piano. In this way, you will improve fine motor skills and, at the same time, you will fill your house with the sound of music.
Step 7. Build objects with building blocks
Practice fine motor skills by building a castle or tower with Lego or similar brand building blocks. You can start with bigger Lego brand blocks, like Duplo, and gradually work your way up to smaller blocks when you want to raise the difficulty level.