Fun for Tiny Hands: A Winter Fine Motor Activity for Toddlers
Fine motor skills are making small, precise movements with the hands, wrists, and fingers. They are skills all people learn, some with ease and some needing extra help. Kids with down syndrome usually fall into the group that needs some extra help. Low muscle tone in kids with down syndrome makes it harder for them to be as precise as they need to be with activities such as bead threading, cutting with scissors, holding a pencil, zipping zippers, and much more. As parents, we have to find ways to help our kiddos work these fine motor muscles and skills. Activities need to be fun for tiny hands. Here is a winter fine motor activity for toddlers.
Materials Needed
- Small Box (roughly 8inx10in)
- Paper (colored paper is best so the q-tips stand out)
- Q-tips
- Glue
- Scissors
- Nail (about the same size or slightly bigger than a q-tip)
- Hammer
- Snowflake Print Out (found below)
- Marker
Step One
Print out the snowflake image below. You can also draw your own if you prefer a different-looking snowflake or a different size of snowflake. Trace the snowflake onto your colored piece of paper. Cut the colored paper so it fits on your box. Once you have it fitting your box glue it down.
Step Two
Make dots on your snowflake so they are roughly half an inch apart. Then, hammer the nail into each dot making a hole. If you have older kids, put them to work for you! Two of my older boys took turns hammering the nail into the dots.
Step Three
Lastly, cut your q-tips in half. If you feel like half of a q-tip would still be too small you could always just cut one end off. Once the q-tips are cut down to size your little one can get started!
Final Thoughts On This Winter Fine Motor Activity
The goal of this activity is to have your little one put the q-tips, cut end down, into the holes. This fine motor activity for toddlers works those small muscles in their hands. It is good practice to grasp something thin. Additionally, it works on focus, concentration, and patience as they learn to get the end of the q-tip just right into the hole. Altogether, this winter fine motor activity for toddlers is fun for tiny hands!