Do you have a 2-6 year old child who has difficulty with some fine motor skills? Check out these games to help advance their skills and strengthen their little hands.
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This is a great game for 4+ to work on in hand manipulation and fine motor skills. You will see in order to find the right way to place the piece into each hole, they have to maneuver their hands and fingers a lot. This one also works on visual perceptual skills and is super fun!
This game is great for 3+ to work on fine motor skills and finger strengthening. This also works on bilateral coordination because the child has to use one hand to hold the pig and the other hand to push the burger in the mouth. It takes a bit of strength to get it in! You can also use this game to work on colors and numbers.
This game is similar to Pop The Pig, where you have to hold the squirrel and use your other hand to place the acorn in his mouth. You have to use a strong pinch to push the acorn in, so this also works on fine motor skills and finger strength. You can also work on turn taking and colors.
This game is great for working on grasp strength and finger strength because you have to use tongs to pick up the small pieces. Then you need some coordination to place them appropriately where they will not fall. You can modify this game and use it with a 2 year old to teach them how to use tongs, or play with the spinner with older children. They will also work on finger isolation learning how to spin the spinner.
Kinetic sand is so great for strengthening little hands and fingers. Hide some toys in the sand and have them dig for them. This set comes with a lot of different toys they can use in the sand that helps with hand strength and functional skills.
This is another game that requires tongs so the child is working on strengthening their grasp and their fingers. This also requires coordination. You can use this to work on turn taking, color matching or counting as well. The bed shakes with the bugs in it, so it is really fun.
This game requires the child to place knives into a barrel kind of like a key so we are working on what is called a lateral pinch. They also need to hold the barrel with the other hand, so they are working on bilateral coordination. You can also work on turn taking and colors. The pirate pops up suddenly, so you can work on emotional regulation if your child startles easily.
This board is great for kids 3+ to work on fine motor skills. They will use their fingers to maneuver the rubber bands, use both hands together and work on overall hand strengthening when stretching them. You can use this to work on visual perceptual skills like in the photo, but you can also use them to create letters and work on letter identification. With a 3 year old, you can have them practice pre-writing lines and shapes.
This set comes with modeling clay which maneuvering and playing with in itself is great fine motor strengthening. There are also various tools you can use with the clay and the clay provides great resistance for working on things like scissor skills.
This game requires advanced fine motor skills to put together prior to beginning the game. If you get this game, have your child help you set it up (placing the ice cubes into the square). And then after it is set up, they can work on problem solving and turn taking with friends. You use a "chipper" to bang on the ice, so it can be really fun.
Thank you again for supporting my small business and I hope these games will help your child strengthen those little hands while working on so many other great skills!
Sarah Taylor, OTR
Pediatric Occupational Therapist
Certified Sleep Consultant
Instagram: @LittleSlumberStars
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