Looking for more fine motor ideas

[Papaya]

F is definitely most interested in imaginative play atm - so really, she only sticks with the fine motor stuff so long as she can turn it into an imaginative game. Like with chalk, she won't just draw a picture but will draw a story, and has to narrate everything as she's going. She did a very convoluted picture today of baby Spring in my tummy and the stairs up to the tummy and the slide for him to get out (hehe) and dada with no baby in his tummy beside me, and in the end it looked like just a big jumble of scribbles and zigzags but she'd told me such an involved story in the process - and it's that process she's interested in, not the drawing itself. So yeah, not that interested in just drawing a sunshine or something, and describing it to me later. Not interested in colouring either, too boring.

Does your DS like blocks? We have quite a large set of wooden blocks of different geometric shapes, and F loves to build with those, especially things like making a playground for her little animals to play in. 

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she won't just draw a picture but will draw a story, and has to narrate everything as she's going

Yes DS was doing this a little while back!  We signed up for a marvellous "Mark Making" toddler class, it was only 5 weeks long which was a shame because he was SO into it.  It felt more structured than the free-play groups we go to, and the 'teacher' gave them work books to stick their work in, also little bits of homework.  It was a pre-writing class so all activities were various things to make marks (not letters) and encourage scribbling and fine motor etc. DS loved it. He loved the slightly more formal aspect and loved his work book. We did SO much in those 5 weeks, mainly at home though as he flitted from one thing to another a bit in the class (which was still very much free-play but set up to encourage more fine motor) and at home he did some fabulous nursery rhyme drawings.  Just like F the final picture was very abstract, marks, scribbles, spirals, lines...but each mark he made he explained to me "this is the mummy on the bus, chatter chatter chatter" etc He even drew marks which were his interpretation of the sound 'chatter'.  He stuck at it if I kept up the encouragement and if I wrote (very small) on the paper what each scribble was so it was all labelled up.  he did a few like that and I really thought we were on to something but the course ended and he just stopped!  I have tried to emulate the activities at home, the same kind of motivation to have a work book and to have other adults look through it, to make a big deal of each drawing as we stick it in and date it etc. But it just hasn't worked. I think he actually needs to take his book to a 'teacher'!  Which sort of worries me that he only did these things for her praise rather than the pure enjoyment of it.

Yes we make a zoo out of his blocks and animals, he likes that.

This morning I invited him to draw on a piece of paper I set up last night and he suddenly said he needed to write numbers.  So we had about 5 mins of a similar activity to doing letters the other day, I wrote the number he traced over the top in a different colour and then wrote it on his own. There was no continuing with it though, it doesn't lead into scribbling, or practising marks or anything. Just 0 - 10 then walk away.

Wonder if I can do a large scale dot to dot on big paper (or I have a large dry wipe sheet like a white board but fabric) on the floor, shapes or numbers or a maze.  Sometimes changing the scale helps inspire him.  Maybe...

[*Ali*]

Does he like sorting? What about a tray/tub of salt and colour butter beans? You can colour them with food colouring or water colour paint and when dry mix them with lots of salt. Kidney beans are good too but apparently they can be poisonous raw so you'd have to be sure he wouldnt eat them. Then you can get pots and sort all the green beans into one pot, yellow beans in another and so on.

Do you think he might like one of those excavation kits? You can even make your own http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2007/07/make-your-own-f/

Have you seen tap tap art? You nail little wooden shapes to a cork board with tacks and a wooden hammer to make pictures. You get cards with designs to copy too. My two both enjoy these.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tobar-Tap-Art/dp/B0012GOSK4

Do you have a hole punch? I thought hole punch art looked fun and could make a nice pic for grandma and nana. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tobar-Tap-Art/dp/B0012GOSK4

We recently went to a restaurant and both boys had fun trying to eat their dinner with chopsticks. Of course they didn't get the grip right as they had never tried before but they still had a go.

Straws are great in the bath. Mine love trying to fill pots up by trapping the water in a plastic drinking straw. Whisks also go down well, especially with bubble bath. Using squeeze bottles with those lids with a small hole in is good for strengthening. You can add a squirt of shower gel and fill them about a quarter full with water, then shake and squirt out the foam. Mine love cleaning the shower screen with it or squirting it up in the air.

If he enjoyed making the helicopter maybe he would like folding paper into paper aeroplanes. Then you could have races and make up stories to keep his interest.

If he finds threading difficult what about cutting a kitchen towel roll into 2cm thick rings and letting him thread those into something like ribbon? Might be too boring but perhaps he could write the numbers on first and then have to put them on in the right order.

Does he like musical instruments? What about button castanets? http://tinytappingtoes.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/easy-and-funbutton-castanets/ Hardly any gluing and playing with them is good for the fingers too.

Maybe you could do your clothes peg idea with letters and have him make words with them. You could write the word and he has to peg on the correct letters over the top.

Is he interested in science experiments like dancing raisins in fizzy water? You can try with different veg and fruit and see what sinks, what floats and what dances

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Thanks Ali

Does he like sorting? What about a tray/tub of salt and colour butter beans?

I keep trying sorting activities thinking one day he will be ready and interested but so far no. Except that he has quite a few of those mini box sets of board books and if I let him make a big pile of mess by dumping them all out of their boxes then later I can ask him to clear up and with minimum guidance he will sort which books go in which boxes and put them all away.  He has also spontaneously sorted magnetic letters on the fridge into colour groups, cars into colour groups - but if I set up a sorting activity he just looks at me like I'm mad.  The last one I tried was different (dried) pasta shapes, twists and penne I think it was.  He just poured them all into the sorting tubs without sorting then walked off - he does make me laugh, I keep trying these things but he doesn't see the point.

Do you think he might like one of those excavation kits?

He just wanted the dino skeleton inside without doing any of the excavating. DP and I ended up doing it.

Have you seen tap tap art?

Looks brilliant! I really do think he would like that a lot!  Have added it to his wish list.

Do you have a hole punch?

Yes.  Did you link an example of hole punch activity/art?  Because the link is the tap tap art again.  I'll google for ideas.

trying to eat their dinner with chopsticks

We do this too! Not been out for Chinese for a long while but if we cook anything Chinese or get a take away the chopsticks come out   Which reminds me to wish list some kids chopsticks, have you seen these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crong-Chopsticks-Right-Handed-Only/dp/B0040YQBBO/ref=pd_bxgy_kh_img_y
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fred-CHOP-Red-Chopstick-Kids/dp/B000GDBE1A/ref=pd_bxgy_kh_img_y

Love the straws idea and the squeezey with foam in, he has a squeeze bottle for water play but I haven't tried it with bubbles in.  Nice.
Ditto paper aeroplanes and kitchen roll threading (I was thinking of trying some penne threading onto spaghetti as a variant of the cheerrios threading previously suggested as we don't have cheerios)

Castanets, nice. He loves music, 'played' his uke today for Granny whilst singing twinkle twinkle little star

s he interested in science experiments like dancing raisins in fizzy water? You can try with different veg and fruit and see what sinks, what floats and what dances

Not convinced he would be taken by these just yet. I think it's a bit beyond him but perhaps in a few months. I'll keep it in mind. DP is the scientist and would prob really enjoy doing these with him.

Lots of great ideas

[babybarr]

We have the tap art, O just pushes the pins in without tapping them   However still god for fine motor as it requires picking up the pins and then manipulating them to go in the right place.

[*Ali*]

Oh yes sorry I mustn't have copied the link for the hole punch art. You probably found one now but this is the one I was looking at http://nurturestore.co.uk/hole-punch-art

Cute chopsticks. We were actually in Giraffe but I happened to order Thai noodles and they came with chopsticks so we asked for some extra sets for the kids. They were just those wooden disposable ones.

What about making fruit (or veg) kebabs? My kids love kebabs and I imagine having them push the fruit on them would be good for fine motor skills. We have some metal ones that are not very pointy so the can't prick themselves.

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The fruit kebabs can be done really safely with thin drinking straws too. He's (not) done this activity many times at play group on special occasions, fun days or xmas party etc whilst the other kids thread their fruit he just stands with the straw in his hand eating directly out of the fruit bowl. Why waste time putting something on a straw when you can just put it straight in your mouth Did i mention he makes me laugh

found some plastic tongs at last! Hurrah!  he lose them. tonged all his kitchen play food from the shopping basket in to the pan then started tonging his cars from the box in to the box lid before finally deciding enough of the tonging let's do some thing else.

Thanks for the hole punch link Ali, yes I saw that one when I went looking. Tried today and he just can't press hard enough so after a moment of being super excited that I was going to let him use a new tool he gave up (I'm not really surprised he can barely push down the arm for his play doh extruder). I have regular hole punch (office type) and also a single hole craft punch (works like spring loaded scissors or tongs) he couldn't use either.
Tried 3 pairs of scissors he gave up after about 30 seconds.

We ended up with a full hour focused activity on making birthday cards with tiny letter stamps and ink pads, and small letter stencil with felt pens.  At least part of it was that he saw the point of it, real birthday cards for real people with real names and a real party to go to.  And yet he loves imaginative play.

[Hedgehog17]

I remembered another one we do - burger flipping 

I cut out several circles (small jam jar lid size) from coloured corrugated paper, put numbers on the back, and let him use a small spatula to flip them over (easier done on the sofa as he can get underneath them better). As well as fine motor it also gives colour and number recognition, and number ordering. You could also use letters or shapes.

He wasn't keen the first two times I put it out for him, but after that he really got it and enjoyed doing it  You could also use the tongs with this one.

Don't worry if he doesn't seem interested the first few times, just bring the activity out every few days or weeks and he'll do it eventually! My DS has been like this over a few things, including the home-made magnetic fishing game I made him, but he always gets into it eventually 

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Oh yes I'll certainly keep trying the ideas mentioned here and all the others I've tried before too. I know one day he will get into them.
The burger flip is cute, he has a spatula in his kitchen set so I could show him how to flip with it.

We had a dry day and were able to go out and feed the ducks, tearing up bread and tortilla wraps, it's noticeable that he tears much smaller pieces than he used to.
He was playing with his tongs again this morning without any prompting

[michaeljacknnugg]

Yay for plastic tongs!!! Have you tried pipettes also? DS loves using them in the bath. Got about a million when I ordered some so can pass you on some if you pm me your address!

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That's very generous, thank you 

[michaeljacknnugg]

Another idea came to me this morning - at nursery the children used to enjoy playing hairdresser. Empty shampoo/other squeezy bottles, combs, hair bands, little butterfly clips etc would be good for practicing all kinds of fine motor skills without him even noticing. Plus it is a chance for some one on one quiet time with Mummy or Daddy. Cue the hilarious hairstyles!

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Cue the hilarious hairstyles!

We get those already but they are HIS   He likes to wear my little hair clips although can't work them yet, I have larger ones he plays with though (I think they are called butterfly clips, they squeeze together to open the clasp). I have to remember to take the clips out before we go out and about, sometimes I almost forget.  He often plays with the clips and all sorts of bottles and make up whilst I put my make up on in the morning, he loves a good rummage in my toiletries drawer

Well, we have managed quite a few sessions at home during rain etc using many of the ideas and I still have a list of other things to buy or try.  His post box came out again yesterday and he was licking and folding to seal envelopes today. He's also done some writing almost totally on his own today (for birthday cards) which I was amazed at, I think the rainy days may well have improved his fine motor already.  He also spent at least 30 mins playing water with jugs, stones, tongs, spoons, a muffin tray etc this morning.

There's just such a lot of time to fiil when the toddler groups aren't on. This thread has been great to keep me switching things around and thinking of 'old' and new stuff and planning things for the future too.