4 great activities for fine motor skills
Have you noticed more children struggling to hold a pencil, use scissors or control a paintbrush lately? If so, you’re not alone. Many teachers are seeing a clear drop in fine motor skills among their pupils and research is backing that up. A recent UK survey of primary school teachers found that 77% of teachers have observed a decline in pupils’ ability to perform tasks requiring precise hand movements over the past few years.
Whilst reducing the children’s artistic potential, perhaps more concerning is the impact on the children’s overall development. Seven in ten teachers recognise a link between art activities, handwriting and mathematical problem-solving, while four in five agree that improving art education would also boost pupil wellbeing.
Here at Busy Things, we’re hearing the messages loud and clear. Passionate about art, learning in general and wellbeing, this blog post aims to highlight some of the resources we have within Busy Things which target distinct fine motor skills.
Race and chase: Custom cars
One of our all-time favourites, Race and Chase keeps children hooked with the thrill of the race and the chance to earn coins to upgrade the Chicken’s car.
Our Race and chase: Custom cars printable harnesses the excitement of the game and children’s love for accessorising whilst honing their skills.
What will your pupils learn?
- Cutting-out and colouring-in skills.
- Scissor and pencil-holding skills.
Have pupils who prefer animals? Try our Make your own animal activity instead!
Line tracing
Ideal for initial mark making and a precursor to letter tracing.
Choose the line you want your pupils to form, then opt for them to:
- copy the line with help,
- copy the line with a guideline visible, or
- copy the line freestyle.
What will your pupils learn?
- Tracing skills.
- Mouse control.
- Patience.
Make your own 3-D shapes
It’s not just the youngest pupils who need support with their fine motor skills. Our Make Your Own 3-D Shapes activity challenges older pupils (ages 10–11) to cut, fold and assemble geometric nets, developing precision and spatial reasoning along the way.
What will your pupils learn?
- Cutting-out and colouring-in skills.
- Mathematical problem-solving skills.
- Assembly skills.
Arts and crafts topical pack
Last but by no means least, we have pure drawing and crafting activities for your pupils to explore in our free Arts and crafts topical pack. The activities included are fantastic for developing your pupils’ fine motor skills and for their general wellbeing too!
From drawing Busy Things’ very own characters to trying to replicate some of the world’s best-known artists, you’ll find something to appeal to everyone’s taste.
What will your pupils learn?
- Drawing techniques.
- Colouring-in skills.
- Cutting-out skills.
- How to work mindfully.
Summary
We hope these ideas help you nurture your pupils’ fine motor skills. While children today are naturally drawn to screens, many teachers tell us that linking an online activity with a physical one keeps motivation high and engagement strong.
As part of this blog, we’ve given you free access to our NEW! Line tracing activity and Arts and Crafts pack. If you’d like to see more of the other activities mentioned, simply sign up for a no-obligation 28-day free trial. This will allow you to play these activities as well as the other 1,600+ educational activities on our platform, which cover the full primary curriculum.
If you have any other activity suggestions to improve pupils’ fine motor skills, we’d love you to share them so that other teachers can benefit. Just pop a note in the Comments section and we’ll share it with everyone!