Fine Motor Fun! Part ONE!

I always start the year with fine motor centers. I find it so telling for my kinders. It really gives me insight as to who will need the most fine motor support when it comes to writing, cutting, and even gluing. 

A few years ago, my team and I each picked two different fine motor activities and made four of each of them. This gave each of us eight different activities to start the year with. We use these centers the first two weeks of school and our students have loved them. I have used them the past two years and have them ready for this year too without having to replace any of the materials. Easy peasy right? :)

When I uploaded all of my pictures, it was way more than I could include in one post so we are going to call this Fine Motor Part ONE. I will post the Part TWO on Sunday so make sure you come back! So, on to the ideas....

(Brace yourself, these aren't rocket science.)

Here is my basket of fine motor goodies I get out at back to school time. 

I put frisbees or place-mats under each activity. I find it gives students boundaries and a defined space so they know where they can work and keep up with their materials better. 

In this activity, students are taking apart and putting together nuts and bolts. Shown are ones made of rubber  but I also have ones from the hardware store too. 

Here students will take some form of chopsticks (you can usually get the kid ones free at a local restaurant) and pick up the large pom poms one at a time, sorting them into the ice tray squares. You can also use small pom poms and tongs too. This is an easy way to differentiate fine motor activities. 

This is a very simple activity where students use a baby spoon to scoop out one bead at a time into the bowl. 

I think this activity is a student favorite. To be honest, I was a little nervous about doing something with toothpicks but for the record, we have never had an injury. :) To set up this activity, buy salt shakers (I bought these at the Dollar Tree) and have students put the toothpicks in the holes one at a time. Easy but fun. 

This spooning activity is similar to the one above, but this is a more confined space. Getting one bead at a time out is more challenging with this activity. I purchased these at the Dollar Tree also. Most of the activities are very inexpensive. 

All you need is pipe cleaners and buttons for this fine motor activity, which you probably already have. Students just string the buttons on the pipe cleaner. As you can see, they are still in a hot mess formation from last year. Haha!

You can find all kinds of fun tweezers and tongs on Amazon just by searching "Fine Motor Tweezers".  In this activity, students will pick up one bug or insect and transfer it from one bowl to another. Then, they can transfer them back. 

These are mini tongs. Students can pick up one fish at a time and put it into a bowl. You can change up the containers and size of the objects to differentiate for your students. 

Lacing is always a great fine motor activity. You can buy lacing sets at any learning store or you can make your own by using cardboard, poster board, or laminated cardstock. Punch holes in them, add a shoe string and wha la. Lacing fun! 

My kids LOVE to do puzzles. I have tons of large floor puzzles, but these small puzzles are super fun for them to do too. I bought these at the Dollar Tree for..you guessed it..ONE DOLLAR! I bought these at the beginning of last year and they are still going strong. 

I think this is my favorite activity.  I have several of these mini whole punches. You can use a regular one too. The kids won't know the difference. Cut up some copy paper and let them punch until the sun goes down. They LOVE it and its so good for their little fingers!

Tops are a great way to build up strength in those writing fingers too and they aren't noisy! Bonus love! Kids love trying to see how far they can get them to go. You can give them a frisbee to keep them working in a small space, or let them loose on a table or floor space. Either way, instant fun. 

                    

I set these activities (plus more to be shown in Part TWO) out all over the room, spreading them out to ensure that every student has their own space. I tell students that they can work by themselves or with a partner. They have free choice. I pull names by random draw (I use name popsicles in a stick cup) and they can choose their station. I set a class timer after everyone has chosen an activity for ten minutes. Then, we clean up and return to the carpet and pick names again. Students are not allowed to go to the same activity twice in a day. We will do this several times as long as they are participating and engaged. 

Since this is their first "center" experience, students are using this time to practice working together, staying in one place for a certain amount of time, and properly cleaning up ("restoring our work" is the vocabulary I use in my classroom).          

My students always love these fine motor activities. By doing this at the beginning of the year, it gives me more free time to spend time with my  kids too. I can walk around and participate in whatever conversation I choose or can sit down and participate. These activities are not just for building fine motor stamina (which is so important) but they also help build relationships and unity for our class family. There is no pressure for any assignment, nor is there a wrong answer. Students aren't challenged academically (yet) they are just given time to adjust while still participating in meaningful learning.    

I hope you enjoyed reading my Bright Idea today.  As a reader, I find so many great ideas in this hop. If you enjoyed this post, please check out Kreative in Kinder on Facebook, Teachers Pay Teachers and Pinterest. 

So, don't stop here friends. There are more Bright Ideas to be found. Hop on over to check out these great posts....                             

An InLinkz Link-up