Easy Fine Motor Sensory Ball Activity

Preschoolers will love this easy to set up and totally engaging sensory ball activity. It combines fine motor work and sensory play for a boredom buster with benefits. Best of all this activity is super affordable to set up. You can get everything you need at the dollar store.

If you have been reading this blog over the last decade, you might know I am passionate about fine motor and sensory activities. I love creating activities that are fun and benefit development. This is no exception. It is so easy to set up, but it is engaging for kids and helps them build fine motor skills. No fancy equipment required.

All you need to make this fine motor ball is two simple things.

A bumpy ball 

Tiny rubber bands

This is so easy to set up.

Simply stretch the bands over the bumps of the ball

For younger children, use fewer bands

To challenge older children use more bands and make the loops complicated. 

Offer the ball to your child and encourage them to remove the bands. 

Have your child place the bands in a container, storage bag etc as these can be a choking hazard and dangerous to pets. Supervise this activity please!

If you are looking for more sensory and fine motor activities check out these popular posts.

Feather Beading Activity

Dino Rescue 

Rainbow Disc Sensory Bag

Fine Motor Counting Activity

This activity is perfect for small hands. It combines counting and fine motor work for a fun, hands on approach to learning. This introduction to math is perfect for preschoolers. Best of all, you can get everything you need to set this up at Dollar Tree.

Little hands love pinching, so this activity is perfect for making math fun while engaging fine motor skills! My kids both loved this early introduction to counting when they were smaller, and I often pull this activity out when we have little guests in our house who need something to do. This is the ultimate boredom buster and will always have a place in my busy bag collection.

All you need to make this is some tiny clothespins from dollar trees craft section and a few craft sticks. Mark the numbers you are using on the craft sticks and hand the kids some clothespins. Encourage your child to count the clothespins and put them on the craft stick. 

This is one of those activities you will want to supervise, to keep the pins from mouths, noses and ears. 

If you enjoyed this easy activity for kids, you will want to check out some of my other preschool projects.

Play Doh Stamping 

Itsy Bitsy Spider Craft

Foot Print Matching Activity

This easy homemade puzzle challenges toddlers and preschoolers with supplies you probably have on hand. 

Kids will love figuring out who made what prints in the play doh!

This foot print matching activity is so much fun for little ones! It gives them a quick and easy homemade puzzle that will engage toddlers and preschoolers. Mix it up with different dinos or animals for a puzzle that changes every time you play with it.

This is such an easy and fun activity for kids. It gives them a chance to be a young detective while engaging in hands on play. Parents and caregivers will love that this one is so easy to set up. All you need to do is grab a can of play doh and a few action figures.

My son was crazy about Dinosaur Train when he was little so we have a ton of these little dudes in the toy bin. My daughter has been interested in them for a few weeks, so I decided to involve the trusty Dinosaur Train friends in this puzzle to keep her exploring and learning. You can use any kind of toys you want, from dinosaurs, to super heroes or even other animals.

This post contains affiliate links.

Supplies:

Several action figure type toys

One can of play doh

Directions:

Flatten out a can of play doh.

Grab a dino or action figure and press the feet into the doh. Press hard enough to make an imprint, but not so hard that the doh tears or rips. 

Repeat with other dinos or action figures.

Line up the toys and ask your child to figure out who left what set of prints.

If you want to challenge your child, you can mix the prints up, or if you want to make it a little easier for younger kids, keep the prints in a line.

If you are looking for more boredom busters and ways to keep your playing and learning check out some of our favorite kids activities .

Reader favorites include

Button towers

Apple Tree Addition

Unicorn Fine Motor Rescue

Bring a bit of whimsy to your fine motor exercises with this easy to set up, but super challenging unicorn fine motor rescue activity. It is perfect for preschoolers, but don't be surprised if your older kids want to accept this challenge because it is a lot of fun!

We have been rescuing a lot of things from these little rubber bands lately. Pine Cones, Dinosaurs and more!

It is a lot of fun for Harper, and I am always an advocate for little kids to have access to fine motor activities. 

This one is much like the others we have done, but just a bit more magical. What little girl wouldn't love to rescue a unicorn from danger?

To set this activity up you will need:

A toy unicorn

Rainbow Loom Bands

Directions:

Trap the unicorn with bands by stretching them around the legs, tail, head, horn and body.

Offer the unicorn to your child and encourage your child to remove the bands, one by one.

Be sure to observe this activity, especially with younger kids, as these bands can be a choking risk.

Discard all bands when finished to keep kids and pets safe.

If you have older kids who want to work on this activity, add a lot more bands! For younger kids, adding 10 bands is more than enough of a challenge, but with older kids, you can really wind the bands around the unicorn, and go overboard! It will keep them entertained for a while.

Check out these other fine motor activities for more fun ideas.

Reader favorites include:

Feather Beading

Cat in the Hat Pattern Making Bin

Play Doh Fine Motor Rainbows

Play Doh and buttons are the perfect combination to make a fun fine motor rainbow! This is a great activity for indoor play days and is so easy to set up!

We are crazy for both play doh and rainbows so this activity was a huge hit with my daughter Harper. It was easy to set up, and gave her a chance to explore textures, express creativity, and work on her pattern making skills, with a dose of fine motor too!

Supplies:

Play Doh

Buttons in assorted colors and sizes

If you can't find white play doh, like we used, no worries, use any color your kids like!

If you don't have a jar of buttons at home, we bought this little jar of multi color buttons at Dollar Tree.

Directions:

Roll out a can of play doh.

Offer your child a pile of buttons.

Encourage your child to make a rainbow by lining up the correct color of buttons in the pattern of a rainbow.

As buttons can be a choking danger to small children, be sure to closely supervise this activity with little ones.

This was a lot of fun for Harper. We will certainly be pulling this activity out again in the coming months as an easy yet engaging boredom buster!

You can find more fun ideas for kids here

Button Tower Stem Activity

Glow in the Dark Galaxy Slime

Dinosaur Rescue Fine Motor Activity

Looking for a way to work on fine motor skills with the kids while having a ton of fun? This dinosaur rescue fine motor activity is perfect for hands on fun and busy work.

Some of the best activities are the simple ones and this dino rescue is no exception! While cleaning bedrooms, the idea to add a new dimension of play to some old toys was hatched.  

This hands on play idea will give kids a chance to explore a favorite toy in a new way. They  will love rescuing the dinos while working on their fine motor skills. Parents will appreciate how easy this is to set up, and that only two supplies are needed.

Affiliate links have been used below.

Supplies:
Dinosaurs
Small Rubber Bands or Rainbow Loom Bands

Directions:
Stretch small rubber bands all over the dinosaur, cover the arms, legs, tail, scales, spikes, etc in a variety of ways.
Offer the trapped dino to your child.
Encourage your child to remove the bands, one by one, until the dinosaur is free.

Carefully supervise this activity as these bands can be dangerous to little people and critters.

Be sure to dispose of the bands properly as they can be a choking hazard to children and pets.

If your children are younger, use fewer bands. If your children are older, add more bands to make it more challenging!

If you had fun with this idea, you might want to check out my other fun fine motor activities.

Reader favorites include:

Play Doh Lollipop Counting

Play Doh Pre Writing

Button Stacking Fine Motor Activity

This button stacking activity is easy to set up and is really fun for little hands. With basic household supplies you can set up an activity that will challenge fine motor skills in your kids while giving them a fuss free boredom buster.

Summer is here, but, really, it feels like summer has been here for months already with the school year going as it did. My kids have been getting a little restless.  I have been finding easy ways to entertain them, and give them the quiet play options like this button stacking activity.

Kids of all ages will love this activity. It is perfect for preschoolers and kindergartners as it works their fine motor and pincer grip.  It is just as fun and beneficial for elementary aged kids because it gives them a chance to practice working with fragile materials like brittle spaghetti. My kids like to challenge each other to see who can build the tallest tower the fastest.

This post uses affiliate links, if you make a purchase I will earn a small commission.

Supplies:
Dry spaghetti
Play doh
Buttons

Directions:
Flatten a can of play doh.
Insert two dry spaghetti noodles into the play doh.
Offer your child a pile of buttons.

Encourage them to thread the buttons on the pasta. See how many they can stack up without breaking the pasta.
Or encourage them to make a pattern of colors for variety.

Or encourage them to race!

See who can make the tallest stack of buttons without breaking the pasta!

Find all of our fine motor activities here
Veggie Garden Sensory Bin

Fine Motor Counting

Pine Cone Rescue Fine Motor Activity

This easy fine motor activity is perfect for keeping little hands busy without requiring any special materials! This Pine Cone Rescue is great for quarantine, or anytime you need to challenge little learners with simple supplies.

This is a super easy to set up activity, but let me be honest, this is HARD! It will challenge the kids and their fingers!  Last week my kids were restless and they were looking to argue with each other and I whisked them outside for a walk, hoping to get the ants out of their pants. 

It didn't work; they had a fight or three in the middle of the street. As the 6 year old picked up a pine cone to throw it at her older brother, inspiration hit me. Busy work was exactly what they needed!

Supplies:

Affiliate links are used, if you buy, I earn a small advertising fee.

Rainbow Loom Bands

Pine Cones

Directions:

Place the small rubber bands around the pine cones.

Add more bands for older kids, and fewer for younger kids.

Encourage your kids to rescue the pine cone.

Be sure to dispose of the bands properly after removal because they can pose a hazard to small kids and pets.

Removing the bands is challenging! So, this is a great activity for kids of all ages. 

You can find more boredom busters for kids here
Mermaid Tail
Leaf Foxes
Easy iPad Stands

Play Doh Lollipop Counting

Give early math lessons a sweet spin with this play dough lollipop counting activity. It  combines counting, fine motor skills and a touch of creativity to provide lots of hands on educational fun.

Play doh is my go to tool for hands on learning fun. There are so many ways to use it to learn. This play doh lollipop counting activity is fantastic because it uses basic supplies like craft sticks and play doh to create a math lesson little kids will love!

Supplies:
Assorted colors of play doh
Craft Sticks
Numbers or dice


Directions:
Invite your child to form the lollipops with a small bit of play doh and the craft sticks.
Encourage your child to pick a number from the pile or roll a dice.
Whichever number they come up with, encourage them to roll out that many itty bitty tiny balls of play doh in a different color.
Decorate the lollipops with the small balls of doh.
Repeat with more numbers for a hands on math lesson that works in fine motor skill work too!

You can find all of my play doh ideas here
Reader favorites include:
Play Doh Pie Counting
Play Doh Pre-writing
Play Doh Stamping

Fine Motor Counting Activity

This easy activity is perfect for practicing early math while developing fine motor skills.

Before I was a mom, I was a developmental psychology major. In my studies, I was intrigued by sensory and fine motor development then. Now that I am a mom, I love setting up activities for my own kids that give them hands on fun and learning opportunities without spending a ton of money to do it.

This fine motor counting activity is perfect for preschoolers.They can work on their fine motor skills while practicing counting. You might have all the materials at home to do this, making it fuss free and frugal. If not, I have included some affiliate links you can use to get your supplies.

Supplies:
Rainbow Bands
Large Craft Sticks
Sharpies

Directions:
Write numbers on large craft sticks with sharpies.
Use the largest craft sticks you can find to make the activity challenging.
Offer your child small rubber bands, like the rainbow loom style of bands and encourage your child to count the number of bands that need to go on each craft stick and slide that number of bands on to each craft stick.

If you are looking for more fine motor activities for kids, check out these posts:
Unicorn Fine Motor Bin
Play Doh Pre Writing

Play Doh Pre-Writing Activity

This play doh pre-writing activity is a fun way for preschoolers to work on letter recognition and writing while using their developing fine motor skills.

As we prepared for kindergarten, I wanted to make the process of learning the letters fun for Harper. We turned to our local discount store to find supplies. I came up with a really cute and easy way for her to practice her letters and see them printed too.

I am a participant in the amazon affiliate program. If you make a purchase I will earn a small advertising fee.

Supplies:

• A bag of letter beads; I found mine at Dollar Tree.
• Play Doh
• A Pencil or Play Doh Tool for Writing

Directions:

Invite your child to flatten a can of play doh .
Ask your child to pick on letter bead from the bag of beads.
Encourage your child to write the letter in play doh using a pencil or play doh tool.
Instruct your child to find more beads in the same letter and place them around the letter they wrote in the play doh.
Repeat with more letters.

This was a fun hands on way to practice letter recognition, letter formation and fine motor skills. It was the perfect way to mix play time with learning.

You can find all of my play doh recipes and ideas here.

Favorites include:

Play Doh Pie Counting

Play Doh Ornaments

Unicorn Fine Motor Bin

Little hands will love this fun threading bin! It is a great fine motor exercise that kids will be magically enchanted with!

Harper and I love to make and play with bins. They are perfect for an afterschool activity for her, and she is always curious about what she might find in one of our bins. This was a really easy bin that I put together literally from our junk drawer. 

We had a bunch of Ikea straws from a recent binge visit and a few sections of ribbon. I ran across these leftover party favor unicorns and knew immediately what we would do with these goodies. In case you don't have all these things at home, this post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase I will earn a small commission from the advertiser.

Supplies:
Straws; I used soda and milkshake straws in assorted colors to offer variety.

I used 4 straws of each color

Ribbon; 12” length; add several strands.

Plastic Unicorn Figurines

A plastic bin with a clip on lid

Instructions:

Cut your straws by color in assorted lengths

As you cut the straws add it to the plastic bin to layer the colors

Tie a knot one on end of the ribbons. Depending upon the width of your ribbon you may want to add
several knots so that the straws will not slip off

Add a few unicorn figurines for fun

With supervision, allow your child to explore the texture and colors of the straws in the bin and thread
them onto the ribbon.

This was a fun fine motor activity for Harp with an added touch of unicorn fun. She happily threaded straws most of the afternoon!


Find  unicorn gift ideas here.