Valentines Fine Motor Skills

Simple Activities for Grasping, Transferring & Punching

This morning I planned on three simple to set up Valentines fine motor skills activities to practice different skills. To mix it up a bit I gave each a Valentines theme with hearts or colors that he enjoys! He loves pink and he will always say it is his favorite color and I love it too. The three Valentines fine motor skills activities I set up focus on punching with a three finger (tripod) grasp, threading with a two finger (pincer grasp) and transferring with tongs (focusing on fingertip involvement).

Punching Valentine Fine Motor Skills Activity

I traced a heart on a sheet of red paper and placed it on a recycled styrofoam sheet with a thumb tack pushed into the paper. I showed him how to hold the thumb tack with his thumb and two fingers. Then I showed how to push through the paper and follow the outline. He thought it was hard work and had to stop and adjust, rest his hand and have a refresher course every once in a while, but he finished and was pleased with his work. He like the other side where he could see how the tack punched through.

Transferring Valentines Fine Motor Skills Activity

I initially started this Valentine fine motor activity with a different implement for transferring. However, I am trying to work with Liam on using his fingers more than the palm of his hand and fist to make these things open and close. We abandoned the tea strainer thing as lovely as it looks for our more easily managed dollar store tongs. Liam does love the tea strainer so he played a bit first with it. I really had to encourage him to keep just his fingertips on the tongs and work slowly and carefully. I had 30 hearts for him to transfer from a shallow bowl into a taller vase

Threading Valentine Fine Motor Skills Activity

I set out a piece of craft foam, toothpicks and beads for this Valentine fine motor skills threading activity. I started the activity by creating the first part of the pattern for him to follow. I also made sure I had enough beads before I started! Of course, you could let your child make his own pattern or have cards of colored dots to follow depending on skill level.

I let him choose which ones he did in whatever order he wanted! He had to pay careful attention to the patterns and colors and we often had to double-check what he was doing since he tends to move quickly. We completed this Valentine fine motor skills activity without too much bother. He did a great job using his pincer grasp for each bead with just a little encouragement!