What Are Fine Motor Skills and Why are they Important?

We hear the term ‘Fine Motor Skills’ thrown around by teachers, other parents, and online. Educators (especially those in the primary grades) often use this term during parent-teacher conferences,  in emails to parents, and on report cards with the assumption that parents just inherently know exactly what they are talking about. 

As a parent, this can be super overwhelming. Your child’s teacher is talking about strengthening a skill that you didn’t even realize existed… how are you supposed to help with that? 

So I am going to break it down for you and keep it simple. No fancy educational jargon or anything like that, just a quick simple explanation for all the busy parents of the world who really just want to do what is best for their kids. 

What are ‘Fine Motor Skills’? 

Simply put, fine motor skills are the abilities we have to make movements using the small muscles in our hands, fingers, and wrists. 

Why is this important? 

Fine motor development (the strengthening of those previously mentioned small muscles) is essential for a huge number of tasks students do daily. For example, holding and writing with a pencil, coloring, cutting, and even gluing all involve fine motor skills. 

If a child is struggling with a lack of development in this area it can quickly affect their abilities to do seemingly simple tasks such as writing their name, cutting out an object from a piece of paper, tying their shoes, or opening the snacks in their lunchbox.

As students get older they will need fine motor skills to do things like type, play an instrument, unlock a door, or open a jar.. 

We use our fine motor skills every day, all day. Developing and strengthening them early on plays a huge role in a student’s success in the classroom. This is why so many teachers in the primary ages place such a huge emphasis on these skills! 

How can I help my student strengthen these skills? 

This is the great part! It can actually be very simple, and pretty fun, to work on fine motor skills both at home and in the classroom! Any activities that involve those small finger and hand muscles are great to practice. 

Here are some activities I love! 

• Make bracelets with beads and pipe cleaners or string! 
• Order some children’s play tweezers off Amazon and have students practice picking up or sorting objects using them (think pom poms, beads, or even just cotton balls) 
• Use a Q-tip to paint! Students will need to pinch to hold the Q-tip which is a super way to get those finger muscles working. 
• Play with Play-Doh! Have your child roll, cut, and build with playdoh. Bonus points for having them take the lid off and put it on by themselves
• Tear Art is an easy, fun, low-prep way to practice these skills too. Grab my growing bundle and start today! 
• Practice cutting with this engaging Monthly Cutting Activity Bundle

You can start doing any of these activities with your child by the time they are just 3 years old. But there are so many more real-world tasks (like putting away small toys, picking up leaves, helping you bake!) that also help kids build these skills that can be practiced even sooner! 

If your student has already hit school age and you haven’t practiced these skills… do not panic! Just start! You will see major growth by doing just one of these fun activities a day (or as often as you have time). It doesn’t need to take up a huge amount of time or cause stress. It is more than likely that your child is practicing these skills a whole lot at school too.

Looking for something a bit more structured? I have a Prewriting Bundle that provides you with daily, minimal prep activities where your student can practice handwriting strokes and lines to get them ready to write. 

If you are looking for more to do at home or in the classroom, just search ‘fine motor’ in my TpT Storefront and you will find so many activities!