12 Everyday toddler activities that develop fine and gross motor skills
Ever feel like you’re not doing enough developmentally for your toddler? (Do you ever NOT feel like that!?) Like they should be doing some amazing, well-organised, well-planned-for activities to develop their gross and fine motor skills?
Well, you’re not alone, Mama!
But as I’ve been home with my toddlers, I’ve noticed all the things they do and how many of those things actually use or develop their gross and fine motor skills!
I had to share this with you!
Because being a mom is tough and the fact that you constantly second-guess what you’re doing and if it’s enough, means you can use every ounce of encouragement you can get!
AN IMPORTANT POINT: All of these activities involve potentially dangerous situations! Why? Because, toddlers! They fall, they over-balance, they bump into things, they put things in their mouths, they touch things they shouldn’t. That’s part of learning too. So, these activities, when I’ve seen them and noticed them, have all been highly supervised – and you need to make sure you do the same!
Everyday toddler activities that develop fine motor skills
Developing fine motor skills is crucial for success in so many school activities like colouring in, cutting out pictures or worksheets and eventually, writing!
Your child’s eyes, fingers, hands and wrists work together to complete these tasks. So, fine motor skills development, such as in the activities that follow, is about strengthening these muscles and “training” them to co-ordinate with each other.
1) Picking up sprinkles
You call it a mess, I call it developing fine motor skills!
Next time you’re baking and they reach that little pudgy hand up, lock onto that packet and pull over all those sprinkles onto the floor, don’t freak out! Turn it into an opportunity to work on those fine motor skills and have them pick them up and put them in a bowl!
The actions of picking up such little objects, holding onto them and then putting them in a container are great for strengthening those little hand muscles!
2) Hanging cutlery on the cutlery-hanger
My kids really love this one!
As they pick up the spoon, they must orientate it so the hole and hanger match. And then they can aim and slide it on the hanger. So many fine motor skills are being used!
3) Playing with pegs while Mama hangs up the laundry
Strengthening those little fingers is so important for fine motor skills activities.
Squeezing the pegs between their thumb and index finger, and taking them off or putting them onto the clothes-horse / washline is a great way to develop that strength and the coordination of using that strength for a purpose.
4) Playing with bell pepper seeds while Mama cooks supper
This was an accidental discovery! I was cutting up some veg for supper, my littlest (15m) was standing next to me on her little chair so she could see. She let me know she wanted to see the bell pepper core. So I gave it to her to see what she’d do with it!
She felt the seeds and then started picking them off, one-by-one. So I plopped her onto the floor with a plastic bowl and told her to pick them off and put them in the bowl.
Well, there were more seeds on the floor than in the bowl, but she had fun and it kept her busy for a good 10 minutes! And what a bonus to practice using her fine motor skills!
5) Poking holes into an egg box with a pen or pencil
And another accidental discovery! I had a pile of old egg boxes stacked upside down. My oldest (2y 10m) found a pen on the table and started punching holes into the egg boxes! It’s fine if you’re not planning to use them for something else!
But it’s actually a great activity to develop those fine motor skills and in particular the strength needed to hold and use a pen/pencil.
6) Packing books onto the bookshelf
Do you get your kids to help you clean up at the end of an activity?
Or maybe just at the end of the day? (Sometimes it works…sometimes it doesn’t, and it’s just easier to do it yourself! I know!)
But, if you can get them to help you put their books on their bookshelf – it’s such a great activity: picking up the book, making sure the binding is facing toward them, sliding it into a gap between two other books, even just stacking it neatly on top of another book. Those are all fine motor skills.
Toddlers thrive on routine. Knowing that there is a plan and what to expect next can be the difference between a peaceful afternoon and a complete meltdown.
To save you some time and help you get your days organised, I’ve created two stunning, colourful designs of this printable. For FREE!!! (Click on the link below to download yours now!)
Everyday toddler activities that develop gross motor skills
Gross motor skills are those that are used for whole-body movement. The strength for most of these emanates from the core – the muscles in your child’s tummy and back, around their waist area. But it also includes being able to use the rest of their body – arms, legs – in a co-ordinated way.
Your child will not only use these for sports and physical activities like that, but even for things like sitting upright on their chair and having the shoulder stability needed for holding the correct pencil grip. Gross motor skills and fine motor skills work together, so both are important to develop!
1) Climbing up and down the stairs
We have about 10 stairs going up to our office and spare room and the girls love climbing up and down them. Obviously, my littlest is only now capable at 15 months, of confidently crawling up and down the stairs. And obviously she is VERY well supervised – there’s a stair-gate and we only ever go up or down together. My oldest is pretty capable of going up and down, but we’re super vigilant with her too!
But it’s like a jungle-gym in the house that lets them use so many gross motor skills! They use their whole body to crawl up and down, careful to look where they’re placing their hands and knees and feet, co-ordinating their movement to get them up and down the stairs…safely!
2) Unpacking the pot cupboard
When Mama’s cooking the girls have got to cook too! So all the pots get emptied out of the pot cupboard and onto the floor. (And then, they all get put back when I’ve had enough of the tripping hazard!) But what a great gross motor skills activity!
Pots and pans are pretty heavy for those littles of ours, and they use their core muscles to lift them up and put them down. They use their leg and arm muscles and must be aware of where their body is in space, as they walk around the other pots already on the floor, so as to not trip.
3) Climbing onto or under furniture
Can you tell we don’t have a huge garden with an enormous jungle gym? You lucky mama’s who do – just let them play on that! All day long!
For those of us who don’t, furniture will suffice! Just make sure it’s stable and you’re watching and ready to catch!
If you’re just aware of it, you’ll see how many gross motor skills your toddler is using in pulling him/herself up onto the bed and then sliding off backwards, in climbing through legs of the dining room chairs, going under the table, in scrambling up onto the couch.
4) Feeding the dogs
At the moment – long may it last! – my girls are keen helpers! As soon as they hear the sound of our dogs’ bowls, they’re there to help!
We let them carry the bowls, full of kibbles, to the place where each dog eats and place it down carefully without spilling. It’s co-ordinating both hands to work together to hold and balance the bowl, while walking. And then using the strength in their core and arms to place it carefully on the ground.
(Dodging excited doggies so you don’t get bashed over is also a great gross motor skill activity!)
5) Taking off the laundry from the washline
SO. Much. Laundry! Does it ever end!?
Well, the good news is that your kiddos can help! And it’s not slave-labour, it’s skills development!
When I’m taking laundry down, I let them carry it from the washline to the basket. They also help to pull it off of the clothes-horse which is low enough for them to reach easily. Pulling the clothes off, carrying them off the ground, walking a little distance, putting them into the basket – these all use gross motor skills.
6) Playing with old tyres
Finally, and this one might not be an everyday activity for you, but if you have some old tyres lying around, your kids will love this!
Tim pulled out a few old tyres from our garage to see what we could do in terms of making a swing for the kiddos. And before we knew it, two little girls were playing all over them: climbing into them, flipping them over (crossfit style!), rolling them and standing / balancing on the rims as the tyres lay flat on the ground. All activities that use their gross motor skills!
You can relax now, Mama.
So, here’s what I really want you to get from this post: your toddler is learning and developing more that than you might think, even in the everyday activities they’re doing incidentally!
By all means, plan for some awesome, pinterest-worthy activities! But you can take the pressure off a bit knowing that if you don’t fill your day with such things, it’s ok! Every time your child packs away their toys, climbs onto the couch by themselves, slides themselves around the floor like a snake, picks up a cracker to put in their little mouth…every time, they are developing the skills they need!
So, cut yourself some slack. And just let them play.
And then watch and be amazed at what they can do!
I would love to connect with you and hear all about your everyday toddler activities! What worked, what didn’t. And I’d love to include you in this community of Mommies as we support each other and grow together to become the best moms we can be!
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