This post was contributed by Sarah of Little Bins For Little Hands.
Use a Animals in a Sensory Tray for Fine Motor Development
Liam is not much of a drawer or scribbler in coloring books, on paper, or on walls (thank you) so I have been struggling a bit to help him with his fine motor development and holding a pencil. It is definitely not his thing to sit with a worksheet in front of him or even a big sheet of paper with a box full of markers. Of course, I decided to pull out some sensory play instead so he could work on practicing his swooshes, lines and curly q’s! As you may know, sensory play is usually our way to go. Anything hands-on and touchable really makes an impact for him. This activity ended up being a lot of fun and he didn’t even realize my sneaky little pre-writing skills and fine motor development work. Easy set up includes a pan or shallow dish lightly filled with a fine material like sand, cornmeal or salt. Our props were Toob animals (my favorites), rocks and a pair of chopsticks!
He chose the animals and placed the rocks between them. He understood he needed to find the paths around the rocks to help the friends get to one another. He practiced different routes and then we would shake the dish and even it out before starting again. He has a few books with mazes already that he somewhat enjoys but this was certainly much more exciting!
I love hands-on play for toddlers and preschoolers. This type of play is really out of the box thinking (even if it is in a rectangular pan). Sensory play involves so many different senses and for Liam is the right mix of visual and textural appeal to help him engage in a much more meaningful and intentional way.
We finished up with a bit of free play with the animals and cornmeal. Not only did he work on fine motor skills, but he had some independent play time too!
Sarah is a stay at home mama to one energetic four year old boy. Hands-on learning and sensory play are a big part of each day’s lessons and activities. Liam has Aspergers Syndrome and SPD, so each day is unique and a bit messy but fun! She is author of Little Bins For Little Hands.
We’ve featured the use of a sensory tray before, but I love Sarah’s addition of the Toob animals to enhance her Liam’s interest and creative play. Such a fun way to work on that fine motor development so vital for Preschoolers. Thanks, Sarah!
More Activities for Fine Motor Development
Do your kids have trouble with their fine motor development? Do you have any suggestions of activities that help? Share in the comments below!
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Ashley says
This is great! Can’t wait to use it with my little guy! Thanks for sharing at Mom’s Library!
Krissy @ B-Inspired Mama says
My pleasure! I love Mom’s Library. 🙂
Lauren says
Thank you for sharing this! My son struggles with pencils as well, so this is a great idea for him to try.
Krissy @ B-Inspired Mama says
Hope it helps, Lauren!
khatira says
Do you have a theme for every week or you just do activities as you go along?
Krissy @ B-Inspired Mama says
No specific themes here!
Missy says
I recently posted about how my son really struggled with using a pencil too. Last year his fine motor skills just weren’t able to handle it. Instead of pushing him to use a pencil, we did lots of fine motor activities. Now, he’s ready to use a pencil and has been quite happily showing me how well he can use it! In only a week he went through 3 work books! Not once did I ask him to do anything in his work books either! Because he’s now ready, he just decided to do it on his own. I love this idea of the sensory bin maze! All my kids love sensory bins (even my 8 year old)! They are going to love this idea! Thank you for sharing!
Emma says
Great idea to work on fine motor skills! My 4-year-old isn’t into drawing or coloring either, so getting her to practice holding a pencil is difficult to sneak in. This is a creative solution to that problem. Thank you!
Margaret@YTherapySource says
Love this idea!!!! Sneaks in some nice visual motor skills without using a pencil. Easily adaptable to different levels. For girls you could put some princess figures and some ponies. Very creative!