Building Fine Motor Skills for 7yos

Are you trying to help your 7 yo build some fine motor skills?   Me too.     There are so many ideas out there for preschoolers and that's as it should be, but the older kids get easily bored with them. 

So, prompted by a request from a fellow Mum, in response to seeing these necklaces the girls made this week, I've gone searching through our resources here at home, and got Miss 7 re-inspired to try some of them.  

In the photos, you can see some of the ones we have already, all purchased from our local op-shops for very little.     These are the ones I found easily without looking too hard.     There are so many more options, but these are the ones Miss 7 is most likely to use at the moment. 

I also found lots of great ideas online, which I've listed below - we'll definitely be trying some of these in the new year.  

You can also view my board on Pinterest here to see these ideas in picture form.    If you're a visual person, then it's worth a look.  

I also have a pinboard of shape activities, ready for next year when we start concentrating on shapes.    Many of these are fine motor skills activities as well.  

Before you read through the list below, you might want to read this lady's page about why fine motor skills are important for children of various ages to develop. 

So, in no particular order and in a somewhat organised fashion, here are the ideas I found, but there were many more.  

SYMMETRY
This one is about arranging shapes symmetrically within a circle.

Making symmetrical snowflakes

Another symmetrical snowflake activity   

MARBLES
This is a great game involving marbles on golf tees, which requires balance and careful positioning,  plus some strategy.  

Marble runs are also a great way to improve fine motor skills and get those 3-D skills working and developing.   We love ours and they are easy to find at op-shops or online.   

This is another great idea for marbles, which involves some sewing as well.  

PATTERN BLOCKS
We love our pattern blocks and I have found some websites that have great ideas. 

There are some great ideas here for making shapes from shapes, if you're happy to pay for the cards.

This site has lots of free printables for you to try out, from simple to more complex. 

This site has printables for making letters and numbers with the pattern blocks. 

And this lady has themed pattern block pictures, so it's worth having a look around her site for those and many other resources

Seriously, though, Google 'pattern block pictures' and you'll find a wealth of websites and pictures for all age ranges. 

STRAWS and TOOTHPICKS
We have this resource at home and the girls both really enjoy making all sorts of things with them.   Today, our loungeroom was filled with jellyfish and lionfish, squid and sharks, all made from these straws and connectors.    This is our 4yo in the midst of making her aquatic creations.   

This is a similar concept, making shapes with toothpicks and gumdrops, this time with straight lines.

And this lady prefers to use grapes instead of gumdrops.


SEWING AND WEAVING
Sewing and weaving are great fine-motor exercises for children older than pre-school level.   They can do simple weaving right through to sewing on fabric. 

This is a great, basic weaving idea on a large scale, for little hands and big ones.   Simple enough to achieve with household items and adapt to various sizes.  

This is a simple idea, great for Valentine's Day.

Or you could do different shapes like these. 

We are going to learn about shapes this coming year, so I was really impressed to find this activity. 

This sewing idea incorporates the concept of in and out of the fabric, and the dots on the fabric help the children to create lines and pictures.    I'm sure you could draw basic outlines on dotted fabric, or let them make their own pictures.   

Miss 7 made these earlier in the year to put in the Samaritan's Purse Christmas boxes.  

AND MORE MISCELLANEOUS IDEAS
This game looks really fascinating if you'd like to learn how to use chopsticks.  Fairly easy to organise, I would think.

Here's a great idea for some Christmas craft that could appeal to various ages and the kids could make it as simple or as complicated as they like.  

This looks like a great alternative painting activity for older kids that could lend itself to all sorts of creativity.

The lady at the above website is a pediatric occupational therapist and has some great ideas for building those fine motor skills in older children.  

I like the look of this one from her website, using little white balls, pipe cleaners and pieces of pool noodle.   There is no end to what children can create with these.   

So, I hope I've inspired you to find fun and interesting ways to build those fine motor skills in and with your children, using activities that can be adapted to various ages and stages, including your own!      

Have fun!     I'd love to hear your thoughts on anything you've seen or tried.