Recommendations for Fine Motor Toys, Tools & Cool Activity Ideas
Welcome to Fine Motor Mania, your trusted source for expert occupational therapist recommendations for fine motor toys, sensory supports and social emotional learning tools that enhance development in young children. Explore different ways to use tools you have and to discover something new!
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Top Five Favorite Fine Motor Tools
Yep, the first one isn't fine motor related at all! That said, kids that can't sit still have a hard time with all things fine motor, so sometimes you have to start there. These chair feet are game changers for many students! They allow just enough of the right kind of wiggle. This type of pencil grip is great for training little fingers to hold the pencil using an optimal grasp, and it looks like a cobra which makes it cool. I love click tiles, hole punches and snap beads! If I could only have three fine motor toys in my school bag, these would be the ones. I will be rolling out a new demonstration video every week to highlight multiple uses for these tools - starting with these favorites.
The perfect solution for alternative seating. These chair feet fit on most standard school chairs. They provide just the right amount of controlled movement for students who need it. These are my number one pick for classroom seating support.
Brain Flakes are an all-in-one activity. It works on visual attention, pincer grasp, wrist rotation and bilateral skills all at the same time, making it a perfect fine motor activity. Very portable, easy to clean and kids really like them.
These, easy to squeeze, decorative punches are big enough and easy enough for young kids to operate. Targeted skills include hand eye coordination to line the paper up in the punch slot and finger strength to push down on the lever. Kids like the paper cuts outs as much as they like punching holes in the paper.
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These Plus Plus building tiles are a big fine motor work out. Great for younger and older kids. The direction book is visual and easy to follow.
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These Calm Down Threading Boards are a great choice for calming activities with the bonus of being an excellent fine motor activity. It comes with two in a package.
Fine motor toys that make great STEM bins and center activities
A very entertaining visual attention, hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination and finger pinch activity. There is also a satisfying "pop" sound when you disconnect them.
Suction toys are a big hit with kids! Skill areas include: visual attention, hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination and finger pinch. They can also suction to the table so you can build tall creations.
A calming visual attention, hand-eye coordination and precision finger skills activity. The texture of the two sides also has a nice tactile sensory feel.
These are a fun visual attention and hand-eye coordination activity. Very popular with younger elementary kids because you can create your own unique dinosaur by mixing and matching parts. You really need multiple sets if using them for a center.
Fancy snap beads are a great way to work on visual attention, hand-eye coordination and precision finger skills. These have somewhat of a jewelry vibe but kids like the variety of shapes and textures. These are fairly easy to snap together.
These make a good visual attention, hand-eye coordination and basic grasping skills activity. A simple activity for younger kids working on basic shape and color concepts.
These magnetic blocks use a variety of skills including visual attention, hand-eye coordination and basic finger grasp. They are magnetic so they stay together which is great for kids with emerging fine motor skills. Kids like them because they resemble a certain building block video game. These make a good independent work center activity.
These click tiles are an all-in-one activity. It works on visual attention, pincer grasp, wrist rotation and bilateral skills all at the same time, making it a perfect fine motor activity. Very portable, easy to clean and kids really like them.
Snap beads are great for improving bilateral coordination, hand-eye coordination and finger pinch strength. You need to line them up visually, hold on tight with your fingers and use those hand muscles to snap them together.
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Wooden stacking blocks are visually appealing because they look a bit like gems. I have several students who are "stackers" and love to see how high they can build. They also make a good adult fidget.
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Number stacking blocks! I like these because the size of the blocks gets bigger with as the numbers get bigger. The building cards make this and excellent visual/motor activity.
Magnetic tiles! This set comes with 136 pieces (2 car frames)! Enough to build big or to share. These are a great independent work activity and good for fine and visual motor skill development!
These dinosaur magnetic tiles are super cool! There are 42 pieces, most of them have interesting color patterns. You can build some elaborate dinosaur worlds with these.
These ball and socket toys are popular with both my younger and my older students. They are easy to connect and can build more complex robots and structures.
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These are a great visual attention, hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination and finger pinch activity. They are a little easier for younger kids with emerging fine motor skills because they are thicker and easier to line up to click together than some of the other tiles. And they spin!!!
These come in a three pack of star, heart and circle shapes. You use your whole hand to squeeze them like a normal hole punch. Smaller hands might have trouble grasping all the way around, but they are easy to squeeze, and most kids do just fine with them.
Decorative Hole Punches, Stamps & Stencils
These decorative punches are great for students who need more of a fine motor challenge. They require some finger strength, or you can press down using your palm. There are a lot of cool shapes in this multipack of punches.
These easy to squeeze decorative punches are big enough and easy enough for young kids to operate. Targeted skills include hand eye coordination to line the paper up in the punch slot and finger strength to push down on the lever. Kids like the paper cuts outs as much as they like punching holes in the paper.
These are the larger, high-quality stencils that will stand up to lots of use. I use them with a clip board to help keep them still while tracing. These are easy to clean and come in several different picture themes.
These stencils are offer a little more detail. They are larger, high-quality stencils that will stand up to lots of use. I use them with a clip board to help keep them still while tracing. They are easy to clean.
These are the larger, high-quality stencils that will stand up to lots of use. I use them with a clip board to help keep them still while tracing. These are easy to clean and come in several different picture themes.
These alphabet stencils are smaller, high quality and they work well on scratch art paper and the electronic drawing tablets. I use a clip board with regular paper and the scratch art paper and tape to secure them to the electronic drawing tablets.
Very basic and durable starter stencils for younger kids. They include spring open scissors.
Sometimes the really small punches can be hard for younger kids to use. This hole punch aid lets you use your whole hand to depress the punch button!
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This letter stamp set is perfect for working on that pincer grasp, the stamps are too small to hold any other way. The stamps are thick and make deep impressions in Playdoh. It comes with activity cards so you can work on early math and literacy skills at the same time.
This building block set can help your kids work on visual attention, hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination and finger pinch. It includes a bunch of different activities all in one - sorting, lacing, stacking and is a higher quality item.
Fine motor tools and toys for younger children and those with emerging skills
This activity works on visual attention, hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination and finger pinch. You can stack by matching the pattern, by color or by shape.
These tweezer tongs fit well in little hands and they are virtually indestructible. Skill areas include: visual attention, hand-eye coordination, and finger pinch. Great for prewriting skills development.
Lacing is a great for working on skill areas including: visual attention, hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination and finger pinch.
Electronic doodle pads are great because no paper or writing utensils are needed. I use them with stencils and to practice making shapes and letters. They come in multi packs which make them affordable for centers and groups.
Magnet wands and tiles are a lot of fun. You can use things other than the tiles, like paper clips or small metal objects. These are not super high quality, but get the job done.
This shark grabber is super popular with kids and works on whole hand grasp while also being very entertaining.
Animal foam magnets stick nicely to cheap metal pans. You can trace the shapes with a permanent marker to make a shape matching activity or copy the pictures and tape them to the pan so you can match the magnet to its picture.
This egg matching set works well for simple matching but also works as a memory game - like the old card game where you turn one card over then have to remember where the matching card is.
Get those fingers pinching and rotating with nuts and bolts letter matching.
Create your own art while working on finger isolation skills. No set up or clean up required. I like that there are no little pieces to keep track of.
These spinners suction to the table or desk. They are perfect for kids with low mobility because they don't move around when you spin them. Toys that spin are visually engaging and kids love them.
Safety scissors are great for younger kids with emerging skills and safety awareness. I like these because the animal faces help students learn hold, open and close the scissors with the chomping mouths.
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These egg crayons fit perfectly in little hands. They have a flat bottom which is nice so you can stand them up which keeps them from rolling away.
So simply yet very engaging. Kids love to mix things up with this throwing activity. There are three different activities that come with this set, there is cornhole on the other side.
This shape sorting activity is made of quality, smooth wood. The shapes have some weight to them and are easy to hold. Works on grasp, reach and visual spatial skills.
These concentric stacking puzzle boards come 6 shapes. They are made with smooth, high quality wood. This activity encourages reaching, grasping and visual spatial skills.
I like this shape sort and stake board because the shapes come in different shades of each color and because it has the shapes in two rows of three, which requires more reach and higher level visual perceptual skills than the boards that have all the shapes in a single row.
Mini loop scissors are great for small hands and kids with emerging cutting skills because they automatically open up. You only need to squeeze them closed to make them work. This is a classroom set or an OT set that you can use to share with specific students.
Bubble tongs are an OT favorite for a fun way to work on grasp, pre scissor skills and using hands and eyes together. These are fun to use with pompoms and plastic bugs.
Therapy putty is a great fine motor activity, especially when you hide things in it! Kids love picking through it to find whatever hidden treasures you have stashed there!
Kids love to help. Kids of all ages and abilities can learn to sweep up after crafts and snacks. These mini brooms with dust pans are the perfect size!
Water Wow is a fantastic activity for kids with emerging fine motor and attention skills. The brush fills with water and when you get the paper wet, the image appears. No mess, no precision needed. When the page dries, you can use it again!
This sticker dauber is awesome. I wish I had invented it! It works like a dauber but you fill it with stickers that come out when you press it to paper. It's refillable! I use it on dot paper.
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These magnet tiles are easy to grasp because they are "hollow" in the center. The are easy to clean and sturdy. Students enjoy this fine motor building activity.
Very basic shape matching activity. These have shape patterns on the backs. The dinosaurs have two halves that fit together matching the front and back of the dinosaur and matching the shapes on their backs. Works on bilateral coordination, grasp and visual motor skills.
Super simple number matching activity. The dinosaurs have two halves that fit together matching the front and back of the dinosaur and matching the number to the correct number of dots on their sides. Works on bilateral coordination, grasp and visual motor skills.
Simple letter matching activity. The dinosaurs have two halves that fit together matching the front and back of the dinosaur and matching the upper and lowercase on their sides. Works on bilateral coordination, grasp and visual motor skills.
These building blocks are great for kids with emerging fine motor skills because the connect together anywhere on the block surface - you don't have to line them up perfectly to get them to work. They also have a nice "feel" to them for some sensory input.
I love this reusable hidden picture activity. You use the water brush to paint over the items you are searching and they appear in color! Once the paper dries you can do the activity again and again.
This dry erase search and find works on a lot of foundation fine and visual motor skills. It's sturdy and reusable, which are big plusses for me.
This activity works on early literacy skills as well as fine motor skills. Reach in and pick up an item, then match it's beginning letter sound to the letter on the board.
This water painting activity is a great fine motor activity because you hold the water brush just like you would hold a pencil. Also works on letter formation, letter identification and sounds.
This lock and key activity is really fun for younger kids or students with emerging skills. The chunky key and critters fit nicely in little hands and the key is easy to work in the lock.
All of my students love these snap together dinosaurs! I have two sets with different dinosaurs that make even more combinations.
These dry erase boards are very handy! Each letter and number comes on its own two sided board so you can use them with multiple students at the same time. The quality of these is good, they are sturdy and erase well.
Colored shoe laces are great for teaching kids to tie their shoes. They are also great for lacing and craft activities.
