Category Archives: Fine Motor & Hand Skill Development

Explore tools, games, and activities that support fine motor skill development including grasp, dexterity, hand strength, and coordination essential for functional tasks.

Have a Hoot with Fine Motor Skills: Therapro’s Activity of the Month

March 6, 2015Fine Motor & Hand Skill Developmentfree activities, occupational therapy (OT) tools, parent resourcesTherapro

Looking for a fun and purposeful activity? This simple owl-themed craft is a great way to enhance fine motor skills while sparking creativity. Children will enjoy cutting, tracing, and gluing as they bring their owl to life—building important coordination skills along the way. It’s an ideal hands-on activity for therapists, educators, or parents supporting motor development at home or in the classroom.

With this easy craft, your child will:

Practice scissor skills
Trace different shapes
Use both hands (bilateral coordination)
Cross the midline

Materials

2 Sticky Back Foam Sheets or Felt
2 Buttons
Glue
Scissors
White Paper for the pattern
Markers

Step 1

Draw the pattern on white paper.

Cut the pattern shapes.

Place the shapes on the sticky-back foam sheets. Use at least 2 different colors.

Step 2

Cut the foam shapes

Step 3

Peel the back of the wings and place wings on the belly.

Step 4

Peel the back of the behind the eyes area and place on the top part of the belly.

Step 5

Peel the back of the large eyes and center on the top.

Step 6

Peel the back of the small eyes and center on the top.

Step 7

Peel the back of the nose and place it under the eyes.

Step 8

Glue the buttons to the center of the eyes.

Step 9

Decorate using the markers.

Don’t forget to make it a multi-sensory experience.

What sound does the owl make?
Sing songs about owls or birds.
Have your child feel a feather.
Use different textures; combine foam and felt, or decorate with glitter.

Here is a felt owl we made using a heart for a nose. Send us a picture of your owl, or post it on Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #Therapro

Looking for more ways to build hand skills through creativity? Explore Therapro’s Art & Creative Activities for a wide range of engaging tools and ideas designed to support fine motor development in fun and meaningful ways.

Guest Blogger: Diana V. Mendez-Hohmann

Sensory Exploration with Pumpkin Carving

October 27, 2014Fine Motor & Hand Skill Development, Sensoryfine motor, free activities, parent resourcesTherapro

It is October, and it’s time to harvest not only pumpkins and apples, but also the sensory exploration this time brings. Have you ever broken down all the sensory input that the simple task of carving a pumpkin can provide? If you have the opportunity to go to a farm to pick your own pumpkin, take advantage of it. The experiences that you and your child will share stay with you forever.

Read on for all the ways a trip to pick your own pumpkin is sensational fun.

pumpkins on a fence ready for carving and sensory exploration

Pumpkin Carving Sensory Experiences

Senses	At the Farm	At Home
Visual	The leaves changing colors The bright orange pumpkins The roots and vines through the pumpkin patch The blue sky The animals at the farm	Browsing through different designs for the pumpkin Tracing the design unto the pumpkin
Tactile	Feeling the breeze Touching the Leaves	Feeling the grooves on the pumpkin Scooping the pulp Sifting through the pulp to separate the seeds
Auditory (hearing)	Shoes crunching the dead leaves and dry ground Tractor on the farm Hearing other people talking The animals making noises	Singing Songs as you prepare to carve the pumpkin Listening as the carving tool cuts through the pumpkin
Olfactory (smell)	The smell of the hay The smell of the grass Baked goods at the farm	The smell of the pumpkin pulp The smell as you bake the pumpkin seeds or other desserts
Proprioceptive	Carrying the pumpkin from the patch to the car Climbing up the ladder to go on the hay ride	Carry the pumpkin to the table The feeling of carving the pumpkin (this must be done with adult supervision and using the appropriate tools)
Vestibular	Going on a hay ride	Sitting on a rocking chair while enjoying some of the baked goods
Gustatory (Taste)	If the farm has a bakery, get some of their delicious baked goods	Bake pumpkin seeds (see recipe below)

Pumpkin Seeds Recipe

Separate the seeds from the pulp.
Rinse and dry the seeds (sometimes they have to dry overnight).
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
Spread pumpkin seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle to taste with the seasonings of your choice. For sweet seeds use Cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar, for salty seeds use garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Toast for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until dry and toasted. Larger seeds may take longer.

For more seasonal activities get Therapro’s Hats Off and On to Scissors Skills– you get to practice scissor skills and make hats for every season. Below are pictures of a Pumpkin Time Hat.

Also see our seasonal writing readiness workbooks and our Pre-writing curriculum enrichment series!

Please share other ideas and ways you can have sensational fun this fall.
pumpkin2
pumpkin3

Straws Galore Fine Motor Activity: Free Activity of the Month

October 10, 2014Fine Motor & Hand Skill Developmentfine motor, free activities, parent resourcesTherapro

If you’re searching for cost-effective, hands-on ways to build hand skills, look no further than Therapro’s Second Hand Therapies cards. This versatile set of 40 activity cards features creative tasks using recycled materials, including the engaging straws fine motor activity, Straws Galore. With each card highlighting hand functions, difficulty levels, and needed materials, they’re perfect for therapy sessions, classrooms, or home use. Straws Galore encourages scissor use, bilateral coordination, patterning, and more—all through the fun of making colorful straw jewelry.

Below is a sample of Straws Galore, one of the activities in Second Hand Therapies.

When using straws to make jewelry, not only are the kids using fine motor skills, they are practicing their scissor skills, eye hand coordination, color recognition, size differentiation, counting, learning patterns, and so many more skills.

Materials:

Straws of varying sizes and colors
Yarn, pipe cleaners, or embroidery thread
Tweezers
Medium-Sized Bowls

Directions:

Hold the straw with your non-dominant hand. Use your dominant hand to cut the straws into small to medium-sized pieces. Collect the pieces in a bowl.
String the straw pieces onto yarn or pipe cleaner as though they were beads.
Practice removing the straw pieces using tweezers for pinch strength development.

Variations:

Instead of jewelry, make letters with the straws. Have the child spell his name.
Get creative and make animal silhouettes.
Give the child a challenge. What can you make with 3 pieces of straw?
Sprinkle glitter on the bowl containing the straw pieces for an added color fest!
Use different scissors, such as scrapbooking scissors, for different edging on your straw pieces.

What did you make with your straws?
A Spider made from straws, and example of a Straws Fine Motor Activity
Name spelled with straws, and example of a fine motor activity that can be done with straws
A animal shape made with straws

👉 Explore Therapro’s Second Hand Therapies and bring purposeful play to your practice.

Whether you’re a therapist, educator, or caregiver, this resource empowers you to creatively support fine motor development using low-cost, easily sourced materials. The Straws Galore activity is just one example of how these cards combine fun and function. Start building engagement, independence, and essential skills today—one recycled material at a time.