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A List of Fine Motor Skills Examples by Age

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In early childhood, children develop and learn to control the small muscles of their bodies, including the hands, fingers, eyes, tongue and toes. This is known as fine motor development.

Fine motor movements look different at various ages. A baby, for example, has to learn to hold a spoon while eating, whereas an older child learns to tie their shoes. 

Some general examples of fine motor skills are:

• Picking up a toy with a pincer grasp
• Turning the pages of a book
• Placing pegs into a pegboard
• Buttoning a top
• Threading beads onto a string
• Drawing
• Writing 

Below is a list of fine motor skills examples by age, from babies all the way up to children in primary/elementary school.

It lists some of the typical fine motor movements you can expect kids to do at certain ages.

Use it as a guideline only, as children develop at their own pace and may reach some milestones earlier or later.

Children develop their fine motor skills naturally through play but you can also plan fine motor activities that give them lots of opportunities to strengthen the small muscles of the body.   

It’s also beneficial to give children access to a few, select fine motor toys to improve their fine motor skills – such as Lego, puzzles and lacing cards. 

Here are the examples for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and children of school-going age.

This post contains affiliate links for educational products that I personally recommend. If you purchase through one of them, I earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Read the terms and conditions for more details.

The examples listed below are taken from the books “Language and School Readiness”, written by Martie Pieterse, and “From Birth to Five Years: Children’s Developmental Progress”, by Mary Sheridan.

Fine motor skills examples for infants

These examples are for infants up to about 18 months:

• Playing with fingers
• Clasping and unclasping hands
• Grasping and holding toys
• Putting objects in their mouth
• Clapping hands
• Following objects with eyes
• Holding a bottle
• Passing objects to someone
• Feeding with a spoon
• Pulling a toy with a rope
• Picking up objects with a pincer grasp (thumb and a finger)

Fine motor skills examples for toddlers

Here are some typical movements from around 18 months to 3 years:

• Pointing at pictures
• Picking up objects with a pincer grasp/ thumb and index finger
• Placing rings onto a stacking toy
• Holding crayons and scribbling or making lines and circular shapes
• Holding a paintbrush and making dots, strokes/lines and circles
• Using a palmar grasp (whole hand) and developing a tripod grasp (holding crayons with thumb and fingers)
• Building a small tower of blocks
• Placing pegs into a pegboard
• Transferring small objects into a tray
• Attempting to dress or undress
• Manipulating playdough
• Snipping paper with scissors
• Placing large pegs into a pegboard
• Building puzzles of 2 to 8 pieces

Fine motor skills examples for preschoolers

Children of ages 3 to 6 years develop these skills:

• Painting with paintbrushes of different sizes
• Holding crayons, pens and pencils with a tripod grasp, near the point
• Drawing pictures and pretend writing
• Drawing people with details, houses, animals and basic shapes
• Writing their name
• Dressing and undressing
• Brushing teeth, washing hands, combing hair and doing other self-care tasks
• Opening and closing a tap to wash hands
• Eating independently
• Tying shoelaces, fastening buttons and zips
• Controlling scissors and paper while cutting
• Gluing and pasting materials
• Doing finger rhymes
• Tearing paper
• Threading and lacing beads and string
• Building towers with blocks and manipulating construction toys
• Turning the pages of a book gently
• Hammering nails into a wooden board
• Using a preferred hand for most activities
• Building 12, 24 or 48-piece puzzles
• Creating constructions with waste materials
• Making playdough creations
• Preparing food – slicing, spreading, chopping, etc.

Fine motor skills examples for children in Elementary/Primary school

• Cutting neatly along straight and curvy lines
• Using a mature pencil grip
• Drawing pictures with fine details
• Writing letters and words along a line, in the correct size
• Threading fine beads onto a string
• Making intricate constructions
• Knitting
• Moulding playdough or clay into detailed objects
• Making paper-folding creations
• Preparing food

For more detail, here is a full list of fine motor milestones between the ages of 0 and 6, as well as some info on why fine motor skills are important.

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How to develop fine motor skills in a child

Today we will look at what fine motor skills are, its features, ways of development using games and toys as examples, as well as the optimal age to start its development. Why is this issue getting so much attention? Let's figure it out together.

Article content:

• What is fine motor skills
• Features of the development of fine motor skills
• Games and exercises aimed at developing fine motor skills
• Lessons for the development of fine motor skills in children
• Fine motor toys
• At what age should you develop fine motor skills
• Terminals

What is fine motor skills

Fine motor skills are the sequence and precision of movements required to perform various actions with small objects using the hands, fingers and toes.

Fine motor skills can be traced in children from an early age, when they are just learning to hold a toy. First comes the development of the hand, finger movements, then the formation of speech is formed. The formation of speech through the development of fine motor skills occurs due to the influence of nerve endings on the brain regions responsible for motor skills and speech, which are located next to each other.

In addition to the main function - the development of speech - fine motor skills affect the development of mental processes: thinking, memory, imagination, ability to orientate in space.

Features of the development of fine motor skills

The ability to master fine motor skills in children does not develop by itself, that is, it does not have a hereditary factor. Of great importance in this matter are adults who, by their example, involve the child in various activities, develop him systematically and purposefully. This hypothesis was first put forward by the Russian scientist Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov. Subsequently, other scientists, doctors, teachers and specialists in various fields began to focus on this opinion as a key one.

Why is such attention paid to the development of fine motor skills? For children, it means the formation of basic skills and abilities.

1. The speech of the child is formed, which contributes to a comfortable stay in the children's team.
2. Skills of various movements are developed. The child can play with toys on his own without distracting an adult.
3. Self-care skills are strengthened. The child acquires the ability to independently hold a spoon, tie shoelaces, fasten buttons and other items on clothes.
4. Social bonds are established with peers and adults through the ability to communicate clearly and maintain dialogue.
5. Readiness to study at school is formed in the aggregate of all the above reasons.

Games and exercises aimed at developing fine motor skills

The main activity of preschool children is play. We have selected for you a variety of games and exercises, among which you are sure to find something that suits you and your child.

1. Folding toys. We put a transparent container in front of the child and put small toys separately. We suggest putting the toys in the container with your right hand. Then we pour them back, and ask you to repeat the same steps with your left hand.
2. Games with cereals. In one container, mix two types of cereals, for example, rice and buckwheat. It is necessary that the child spread these cereals into different containers. You can complicate the game by adding other small items to the cereal mixture, such as beads, buttons, pebbles.
3. Paper tearing exercise. First, we draw arbitrary lines on a sheet of paper. We offer the child to tear the paper with his hands exactly along the drawn lines. You can complicate the task by depicting geometric shapes.
4. Page turning exercise. As the child grows older, instead of tearing a sheet of paper, you can offer to flip through the pages of your favorite book. This exercise also encourages the child's early interest in reading literature.
5. Smooth out wrinkled paper. We put a crumpled sheet of paper in front of the child and offer to smooth it so that not a single bent corner remains. You can complicate the exercise by offering to perform it with one hand, while holding the sheet with your thumb.
6. Dice games. We give the task to collect various figures from cubes: a tower, a house, a car, etc. Pyramid rings are also suitable for these games. Tasks become more difficult as the child masters the construction of simple figures.
7. Lacing games. Available in various options. It can also be an unnecessary shoe that can be given to the child to lace up and unlace. It can also be a card in which holes for laces are made. In any case, the actions with these items are the same and have one goal - to teach the child to cope with the laces on their own, since this skill will be useful to him in the future.
8. Exercises with counting sticks. Please lay out geometric shapes on the table. First, the child performs tasks according to the model, and then independently according to verbal instructions. An additional plus of this exercise is the formation of elementary mathematical representations.
9. Games with covers. Here you can offer various containers and vessels with lids that the child will independently twist and unscrew. And if you tell your child that you can’t cope without him, you will give a motive to become your main assistant.
10. Finger painting in the sand. Invite the child to draw with all fingers alternately geometric shapes or any other pattern that he wishes. Interaction with sand also has a positive effect on the central nervous system.

Lessons for the development of fine motor skills in children

In addition to games for the development of fine motor skills, you should engage in a variety of activities that children will undoubtedly like:

• modeling from plasticine, clay or dough;
• drawing or coloring with paints, pencils, crayons;
• construction from kits, paper, cubes;
• crafts made of paper, natural or waste materials;
• stringing beads, buttons on a string;
• mosaic picking;
• ball games;
• peeling fruits, e. g. tangerines;
• work with special manuals-copybooks.

Fine motor toys

What could be better for a child than a new toy? Only a toy that contributes to its comprehensive development.

1. Massage embossed foot mats. Ideal to use after waking up to tone the body. You can purchase a puzzle mat that he can assemble and disassemble on his own. If you want to focus on the development of cognitive skills, you can purchase a rug with numbers or letters.
2. Magnets. Place the magnets on the refrigerator or a special magnetic board. The child will definitely be interested in them, and will independently move them on the surface. Depending on the goal pursued, you can purchase magnets of various shapes, for example, in the form of numbers.
3. Kinetic sand. Tactilely pleasant not only for children, but also for adults. Such sand does not get your hands dirty, so it will become a favorite toy for children and an assistant for adults.
4. Easel for drawing. There are options for easels on which you can draw on both sides: on the one hand - with special crayons, and on the other - with paints.
5. Massage balls. Perfect for finger games. Thanks to the spikes, they actively affect the areas of the palms and fingers.
6. Constructors. You can choose a set from any manufacturer. You should focus on safety for the child, age and gender. In addition to the development of fine motor skills, it stimulates the development of modeling and design skills.
7. Finger Theatre. It combines the possibilities of the comprehensive development of the child. In addition, it improves the expressiveness of speech, memory, imagination, acting skills. This option should definitely be used if you notice that one hand is more developed than the other.
8. Busyboard. Recently a popular manual for the development of fine motor skills. It is a wooden structure, on which various objects are attached on both sides. These can be laces, caps, locks, switches, gears, etc. Such a toy will help parents, as the baby can play it independently and safely.

At what age should one develop fine motor skills?

It is important to pay attention to the motor skills of the hands for at least a few minutes every day.

• For children from nine months of age, pick up large items such as beads or pyramid rings.
• At the age of 1 year, you can organize games with natural materials: sand, clay, cones, pebbles, etc.
• After 2 years, the baby will be happy to do finger exercises with an adult. Saying various nursery rhymes along with hand movements will help to teach hand and tongue coordination. And also better remembered by the child himself.
• After 3 years, paper exercises should be used. Usually, by these years, the baby has mastered the skill of working with scissors, so it becomes possible to model applications.
• And from the age of 4-6, origami is mastered as one of the most difficult types of paper games.

At whatever age you are engaged in the development of fine motor skills in children, it is necessary to organize this activity so that it brings not only benefit, but also pleasure to the child.

Conclusions

In the age of technological progress and the early use of phones, tablets and computers by children, other aspects of child development are regressing. And, first of all, speech suffers. The relationship between fine motor skills and speech, as well as the development of mental processes, has already been established.

Systematic work on the development of fine motor skills is necessary throughout the preschool period, since by the age of seven the brain areas responsible for its development have already been formed. A child, going to school, should be prepared for new loads, in particular, for mastering writing skills, and not learning how to hold a pen or pencil correctly. Lack of basic skills can lead to unstable self-esteem, inability to build social connections, and poor academic performance.

The network of children's development centers "Baby Club" will be happy to help in the development of fine motor skills of your child. A developing object-spatial environment, highly qualified specialists who love their work with all their hearts, and cozy groups will not leave anyone indifferent.

General development classes or specialized programs - the choice is yours. Contact us if your goal is to raise a developed, open, free, inquisitive little man.

Early development of fine motor skills

Dyachuk Ulyana Armenovna

What is fine motor skills? Fine motor skills - a set of coordinated actions of the nervous, muscular and skeletal systems, often in combination with the visual system in performing small and precise movements of the hands and fingers and toes. When applied to the motor skills of the hand and fingers, the term dexterity is often used. The area of ​​fine motor skills includes a wide variety of movements: from primitive gestures, such as grasping objects, to very small movements, on which, for example, human handwriting depends.
At the initial stage of life, it is fine motor skills that reflect how the child develops, testifies to his intellectual abilities. Children with poorly developed manual motor skills awkwardly hold a spoon, a pencil, cannot fasten buttons, lace up shoes. It can be difficult for them to collect scattered parts of the designer, work with puzzles, counting sticks, and mosaics. They refuse modeling and applique, which are loved by other children, they do not keep up with the guys in the classroom.
Thus, the possibilities of mastering the world by children are impoverished. Children often feel inadequate in elementary activities available to their peers. This affects the emotional well-being of the child, his self-esteem. Over time, the level of development creates school difficulties. And, of course, at preschool age, work on the development of fine motor skills and coordination of hand movements should become an important part of the development of children's speech, the formation of self-service skills and preparation for writing. From how deftly the child learns to control his fingers, his further development depends. Along with the development of fine motor skills, memory, attention, and vocabulary develop.
Motor skills - a set of motor reactions, skills and complex motor actions inherent in a person. One of the indicators and conditions for a good physical and neuropsychic development of a child is the development of his hand, hand, manual skills or, as it is commonly called, fine finger motor skills.
One of the main events in the development of a young child is the acquisition of speech.
The first active words of the child appear in the second half of the second year of life. In the middle of the second year, a "speech explosion" occurs, which manifests itself in a sharp increase in the vocabulary and the child's increased interest in speech. The third year of life is characterized by a sharply increasing speech activity of the child. Children can already listen and understand not only speech addressed to them, but also listen to words that are not addressed to them. They already understand the content of simple fairy tales and poems and love to listen to them performed by adults. They easily memorize small poems and fairy tales and reproduce them with great accuracy. This means that speech becomes an independent means of communication and thinking of the child.
For the development of speech and thinking of a young child, teachers use the fine motor skills of the baby's fingers.
Activities and games aimed at developing the motor skills of the hands and fingers are now especially popular. Currently on the market are a variety of books, manuals and toys that contribute to the development of fine motor skills. How can this trend be explained? It turns out that most modern children, especially urban ones, have both a general motor lag and poor hand motor development. Twenty years ago, adults, and children along with them, had to do most of the household chores with their hands: wash and wring clothes, sort out cereals, knit, embroider, darn, sweep and wash floors, clean and beat carpets, cook food, etc. d. Now it is not customary to darn clothes, few people are engaged in needlework, many operations for a person are performed by machines - food processors, washing machines, washing vacuum cleaners. All these trends are most directly reflected in the development of children, especially in the development of motor skills of the hands. It can be said that the level of motor development of hands (strength, dexterity, speed and accuracy of movements) and manual skills (use of various tools - scissors, needles, spatulas, etc., fastening and unfastening fasteners, etc.) at preschool age is a diagnostic factor that determines the level of development of general motor skills and speech. And if the hands are not developed enough, then this often indicates a certain lag in the development of the child.
Ways to develop fine motor skills
Early preschool age is characterized by a high intensity of physical and mental development. The activity of the child increases, its purposefulness increases; movements become more diverse and coordinated, including fine motor skills of the hand.
A three-year-old child is already able not only to take into account the properties of objects, but also to assimilate some generally accepted ideas about the varieties of these properties - sensory standards of shape, size, color, etc. They become samples, measures against which the features of perceived objects are compared.
Visual-figurative becomes the predominant form of thinking. The child is able not only to combine objects according to their external similarity (shape, color, size), but also to assimilate generally accepted ideas about groups of objects (clothes, dishes, furniture).
At the same age, there is a further improvement of the fine motor functions of the child's hands, with which the processes of thinking are closely interconnected. A sufficient level of development of fine motor skills is an important indicator of a child's readiness for schooling. The ability to make precise movements with the hand and fingers is simply necessary for mastering the letter.
For the development of fine motor skills of the hand, many interesting methods and techniques have been developed, a variety of stimulating materials are used.
For the versatile harmonious development of the motor functions of the hand, it is necessary to train the hand in various movements - for compression, for stretching, for relaxation. And so we use the following tricks:
systematic conduct of games and exercises. Don't expect immediate results, as the automation of a skill is developed by repeating it over and over again. In this regard, the development of one skill takes place in several sections;
sequence - (from simple to complex). First on the right hand, then on the left; upon successful execution - on the right and left hand at the same time. It is unacceptable to skip something and “jump” through some types of exercises, as this can cause negativism in a child who is currently physiologically unable to cope with the task;
all games and exercises should be carried out at the request of the child, against a positive emotional background. For any person, regardless of his age, the result is significant. Therefore, any achievement of the baby should be utilitarian and appreciated;
if the child constantly requires the continuation of the game, it is necessary to try to switch his attention to another task. There must be a measure in everything. It is unacceptable to overwork the child in the game, which can also lead to negativism.
Forms of work and methods
From a psychological point of view, preschool childhood is a favorable period for the development of creative abilities, because at this age children are extremely inquisitive, they have a great desire to learn about the world around them. The accumulation of experience and knowledge is a necessary prerequisite for future creative activity. In addition, the thinking of preschoolers is more free than that of older children. It is not yet corrupted by stereotypes, it is more independent.
Its constituent components:
-motivational
-meaningful
- operational
- emotional-volitional.
Forms of work:
- joint activities of the educator with children;
-individual work with children;
- free independent activity of the children themselves.
Working methods:
- Hand massage
- Finger gymnastics, physical education minutes
- Finger games with verses, tongue twisters
- Finger theater
- Modeling from plasticine and salt dough using natural material (seeds, cereals, shells, etc.)
- Non-traditional drawing techniques: brush, finger, toothbrush, candle, etc.
-Construction: work with LEGO
-Different types of applications
-Didactic games
-Lace
- Games with small objects
-Puzzles, mosaic.
Finger gymnastics solves many problems in the development of the child:
- promotes mastery of fine motor skills;
- helps to develop speech;
- increases the efficiency of the brain;
- develops mental processes: attention, memory, thinking, imagination;
- develops tactile sensitivity;
- relieves anxiety.
Finger games are very emotional, exciting. This is a staging of any rhymed stories, fairy tales with the help of hands. Children are happy to take part in games - nursery rhymes.
Drawing is one of the most favorite activities of all children. The more often a child holds a brush, pencil or felt-tip pen in his hands, the easier it will be for him to print the first letters and words at school. Offer children a variety of tasks: this is the use of coloring books, finger painting on the wall in the bathroom using ordinary paints, drawing, shading, tracing games. You can circle everything that comes to hand: the bottom of a glass, an inverted saucer, your own palm, a spoon, etc. Molds for making cookies or cakes are especially suitable for this purpose. There are many factory games - strokes. If the child is extremely reluctant to draw with a brush or pencil, invite him to paint with his fingers. You can draw with one, two, or you can use all your fingers at the same time: each finger is dipped into the paint of a certain color, and then placed on paper in turn. So it turns out salute or beads or something else. It is very unusual to paint with porous sponges, small rubber balls with a rough surface. Children are happy to use the so-called "signets", stencils.
Applications are available from a very early age. If the child is still small, let him tear pictures from a magazine or newspaper with his hands - as it will; and you will stick the torn pieces on a clean sheet, giving them some form.
You can start sculpting from plasticine as early as 2 years old: sculpt sausages, rings, balls, make a cake or a coin from each small piece. You can press on the cake with a real coin to get an imprint. Modeling from clay, plasticine or salt dough. This is very useful and has a great effect on the development of fine motor skills of the hands. In this lesson, the strength of the hand and fingers is well developed, the strength of the tone of the muscles of the hands is ensured. Moreover, you can sculpt not only from plasticine, clay and salt dough. If it's winter in the yard - what could be better than a snowman or snowball fights. And in the summer you can build a fabulous castle out of sand or small stones, twigs or cones.
Making paper crafts, cutting with scissors, crushing, tearing and tearing, twisting and other types of paper plastics contribute to the formation of coordination of movements of the hands and fingers. Based on the results of such work, one can assess how developed fine motor skills of the hands and finger movements of a preschooler are.
The use of cereals (peas, rice, semolina, buckwheat, etc.) can be used in mosaics and in other activities that develop fine motor skills. For example, “Letter on croup.
At an early and younger preschool age, it is important not to forget about the development of elementary self-service skills: buttoning and unbuttoning buttons, tying shoelaces, etc. In order to interest the child and help him master new information, you need to turn learning into a game, do not retreat if the tasks seem difficult , do not forget to praise the child.
Making crafts from natural materials: cones, acorns, straw, seeds and other available materials. In addition to the development of fine motor skills of the hands, these activities also develop the imagination and fantasy of the child.
Construction - children create various game crafts (toys, buildings) from various materials (paper, cardboard, wood, special building kits and designers). In design, hand coordination, logical thinking and spatial imagination develop.
Many years of practice have confirmed the conclusions of experts about how important classes are for the development of fine motor skills of children's hands at an early age. The level of development of fine motor skills is one of the indicators of the intellectual development of children. From how deftly the child has learned to control his fingers, his further development depends.
Thus, having deeply studied this problem, I made the following conclusions:
1). The development of fine motor skills of the hands should begin from the first months of a child's life.
2). The selection of exercises and games should be made taking into account the age and individual characteristics of children.
3). Work on the development of finger and hand movements should be carried out systematically, several times a day for 2-3 minutes.
4). Didactic material must be colorful,
In order for the tactile sensations, motor efforts and visual impressions of the baby to be the most diverse, it is necessary to offer him different types of finger games.
There are a lot of tasks and exercises aimed at developing fine motor skills.

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