Fine Motor Pattern Activity

Fine motor and pattern making come together with this easy to set u activity for preschoolers and kindergartners. This activity is engaging and educational, and it is so much fun too!

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I love both fine motor and sensory play for kids.  I love to create easy hands on play ideas too. This one is perfect for kids, and it is so cheap to create too, which is more important than ever. You might have most of the supplies needed on hand, and if not, no sweat, your local dollar store will have everything you need.

As this activity does have small parts, be sure to carefully observe your kids while they complete this activity.

Supplies needed:

A pipe cleaner

small clothespins 

pearler beads

Directions:

Using the small clothespins, create a pattern. 

As you can see I went with green, yellow, purple.

Offer your child the beads and encourage them to thread the beads onto the pipe cleaner in the same pattern.

This is an awesome and engaging activity for small hands. They will benefit from the fine motor busy work later in their handwriting efforts, and the pattern making skills are also pretty important as it helps them make predictions about what comes next while putting their logic and reasoning skills to use.

Harper is now in the first grade, but she still enjoys pulling this activity out of our busy bags and making some eye catching deigns.

You can find more fine motor activities here.

Reader favorites include:

Fine Motor Counting

Feather Beading Pattern Activity

Flying High In the Sky

This easy to set up sensory bin is perfect for little hands. It is fun to sort thru and play in, and it has a really fun feature for night time play; this Flying High in The Sky Sensory Bin Glows in the DARK!

We have been making sensory bins for about 8 years now.Even though Rolf is a tween and is generally too cool for my projects, even he wanted to get his hands into this one. I used things we had in our craft supplies, but for your convenience I added affiliate links to help you find some of these items that you may not have.

Supplies:

A Storage Bin with a lid

Neon Blue Food Color

Glow in the Dark Paint

A zipper seal baggie

White Rice, Uncooked (2 cups)

Rainbow Ribbon

Toobs - In the sky

Tongs

Glow in the Dark Stars

Cotton Balls

To dye the rice

Place 2 cups of white rice into a zipper seal baggie.

Add 2 tablespoons of non toxic glow in the dark paint (I used art deco brand) and 10 drops of neon blue food color to the baggie.

Seal and shake well.

Pour the rice on a paper towel, paper plate, or something like an old cookie sheet and allow to dry for about 4 hours. You may need to stir halfway through the drying time.

To assemble the bin:

Cut several sections of rainbow ribbon in various lengths from 1 to 3 inches.

Gently "fluff" several cotton balls to resemble clouds.

Pour the dry, dyed rice into the storage bin.

Bury several sections of rainbow ribbon in the rice bin.

Place the remaining rainbow ribbon on the top of the bin.

Bury several plastic glow in the dark stars in the rice bin.

Sprinkle the remaining stars on top of the bin. 

Add fluffy cotton clouds to the bin.

Add the planes and helicopters from the tube of Toobs 

Add a pair of tongs to the bin and invite your child to explore.

The tongs add a challenge to the bin, which is excellent for practicing fine motor skills.

I like to make sensory bins in a container with a lid,so we can snap the lid on it when play time is over and revisit the activity later.  For bins like this that are fun to play with anytime, that comes in handy because my kids want to dig around in this one all the time!

Here is the bin after dark. We LOVE glow in the dark activities! 

Some of our favorite glow in the dark activities include:

No Electric Night Lights

Galaxy Glow in the Dark Slime

Find more sensory ideas here:

Sensory Play

Apple Tree Addition Activity

This apple tree addition activity is perfect for kindergarten and first grade students. It gives them a hands on chance to practice their skills and work hands on play into their lessons. This is an all around engaging way to teach addition to kids.

This semester both of my kids are attending virtual school. They have a great curriculum that they follow, and the kids seem to be ok with the change in how we learn.  But, I like to make sure they are learning offline too. This apple tree math activity is perfect for little kids who are just grasping math concepts. Plus it is easy to set up and it is a lot of fun to work with. 

Using play doh is a great way to make this more than a math activity. Play doh is great for sensory play as wee all know. Adding it to math? Thats an equation for fun learning! Adding pony beads gives the activity a fine motor element, so I guess this math lesson has a lot of layers to it!

Supplies:

Green and Brown Play Doh

Pony Beads

Small wooden letters or stamps

Directions:

Encourage your child to roll out a tree trunk with brown play doh.

Instruct your child to flatten out a can of green play doh for the leaves of the tree.

Select two numbers and stamp them into the leaves. Add a +  between them.

Offer your child a few pont beads.

Encourage your child to count out enough for the first number and press them into the doh.

Instruct your child to count out enough beads for the second number and press them into the doh.

Ask your child to count all of the beads to get the sum.

Remover the beads. 

Remover the "leaves"

Smash the green doh into a fresh pile of doh.

Repeat with more numbers.

If you liked this easy math lesson idea you might like these reader favorites:

Fine Motor Counting activity

Play Doh Pumpkin Faces

Play Doh Snakes

Looking for a simple way to engage the kids with supplies you probably already have on hand? This easy play doh snakes idea is the way to go. Kids of all ages will love this sensory play idea that combines fine motor work and creativity for an all around fun time!

Now that my kids are enrolled in virtual school for the semester, I have been finding ways to keep them engaged. They finish their work early in the day and have a few hours to fill in the afternoon. I bought a bunch of blank books, small canvases, coloring books, wooden plaques and so onto keep them creating. But, to keep things entertaining, I give them a daily challenge.

Some days, I challenge them to build something specific with legos. another day, I might challenge them to find pine cones, leaves, or sticks of a certain size. My favorite challenges involve play doh. On this particular day I gave them a pile of buttons and a can of play doh and asked them to make an animal. They put their heads together asked for a touch of red doh and 2 little eyes. This is what they came up with. It is so cute, I knew I wanted to share this idea with you.

This post contains affiliate links.

Supplies:

Play Doh, offer 2 colors

Buttons

Googly Eyes

Directions:

Encourage your child to roll a play doh snake and  decorate it with buttons.

Give the snake eyes and carefully give him a tongue.

If you liked this easy play doh idea check out these reader favorites.

Button Tower Stem Activity

Apple Tree Math

Mud Ice Cream

This mud ice cream station is so much fun for kids! It is easy to set up and is the perfect use for those leftover ice cream cones from summer, while serving up a bunch of good old fashioned fun!

I am always looking for great ways to keep my kids playing without turning to their video games.This mud ice cream activity kept them entertained with dramatic play all day. They naturally got filthy dirty which is half the fun! If you do this with your kids, opt for old clothes and shoes and do it outside!

Supplies:

Ice cream cone

Sprinkles

Old dishes like a bowl and spoons to scoop with

Mud

Directions:

Fill up a bowl with mud.

Offer your children spoons and scoops , sprinkles and a few ice cream cones.

You might like to add a few old bowls to the mix for variety.

Allow your child to scoop mud into the cones and dishes and add a generous amount of sprinkles!

Both of my kids were enthralled with this idea. It might have been one of the best activities I have ever set up for them. They laughed, they mixed up mud, served it to each other and got so incredibly dirty. It was wonderful fun!

Both kids agreed that this would be fun to try with snow too! Should we be so lucky this winter to have enough snow to play with!

When playtime is over, simply spray the tools your kids used to play with the hose, and toss the ice cream cones! I love easy clean up activities! If the weather is warm enough, your kids might enjoy a splash in the sprinkler, or the garden hose to clean off a little bit before going inside.

You can find more kids activities here

Play Doh Fine Motor Rainbows

Pine Cone Rescue

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

Feather Beading Fine Motor Activity

Feather beading is a fun fine motor activity that kids will love. It is perfect busy work and offers an outlet for creative expression with essential skills. Best of all, the supplies to create this activity are affordable and easy to find.

The kids have been out of school for a long time, at least 4 months already. I have been pulling out all of the stops to keep mine entertained and ready for when they are back in a classroom. This easy fine motor feather beading activity has been a big hit with both kids. They love to make patterns and have something to tinker with.  It is ideal for preschoolers and kindergartners.

Supplies:

Craft Feathers

Pony Beads

Directions:

Give your child a few feathers and a pile of beads.

Encourage your child to thread the beads onto the feathers.

To make things more of a challenge, encourage your child to make a pattern with the beads.

If you are offering this activity to younger kids, observe them carefully as beads can pose a choking hazard.

If you are giving this activity to older kids, challenge them to make more complex patterns, with a reminder to keep beads out of the ears, nose and mouth. No matter what age you complete this with, it is a great boredom buster with some educational perks.

                                             You can find all of my fine motor activities here.

Reader favorites include:

Fine Motor Counting

Unicorn Fine Motor Bin

Best Toys of Summer

Is it just me, or does it feel like summer of 2020 has been going on for a really long time now? My kids have been riding their bikes, playing Minecraft for days, and taking plenty of dips in the pool. But, even with all of that fun going on, they are still looking for ways to play! We rounded up some of our favorite toys of summer and I know you are going to want to check some of these ideas out for your family too.

Samples might have been provided for some items listed or affiliate links may have been used.

My kids have been hip to politics since the 2016 election when they made a facebook hit song about the new president. We put our difference of opinion aside and appreciated the innocence and patriotism of little kids. To keep their interest in this presidential election year, we got this fun Election Night board game the whole family can enjoy. Play one on one, or form teams to make your way to the white house. Order this fun game for about $40.

My kids are crafting kids. Some of you know this already. For years we hosted a kids crafting show on facebook with our friends at Quirky Momma. Now that they are older, we love to add education to craft time. Little Learning Hands is the perfect option for kids. It gives a taste of other cultures with a fun project, and a chance to practice life skills. My kids thought the little backpacks were cute, and they really enjoyed learning about other cultures! Order a subscription for a little global learner in your life. These would be perfect for kids who will be attending school remotely this year as a fun way to add social studies to their day!

My kids are big fans of stomp rockets. These are fun, kid powered  toys. I love them because they encourage active play. The kids love them because it becomes a competition to see who can stomp their rocket the highest. There are a ton of different stomp rockets to chose from. Check them out and find a retailer near you on the Stomp Rocket website.

The men in my house are big fans of  Evel Knievel. So much that my son was fully prepared to portray Evel in the wax museum at his school, until the pandemic upended his plans. Luckily, the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle rode into his summer with daring jumps and stunts. This throwback toy is perfect for adding a little pizzazz to the day. Order online for about $40 to delight kids of all ages. Husbands will dig it too!

STEM projects are my favorite way to keep the kids learning, engaged and creating. This Solar Powered Rovers kit from Thames and Kosmos gives kids everything they need to make vehicles that are powered by the sun. This is the ideal amount of challenge and fun for elementary aged kids. Order it online for about $20.

Take the fun outdoors when the sun sets with this My Discovery Telescope by Thames and Kosmos. This is perfect for introducing kids to astronomy in an economical fashion. Order this starter telescope for about $20. Kids will also love exploring wildlife with great detail at a distance. 

Osmo Creative is a great way to step up screen time to include games and invitations to get creative. For about $88 you can buy a 3 game starter with an Osmo base, that works with ipad or Kindle Fire. These are so much fun for elementary age kids. I think this is a must have for anyone keeping their kids home this fall too.

Kids First Crystals, Rocks and Minerals from Thames and Kosmos is a great way to get kids learning about geology with hands on fun. This kit has everything you need to complete introductory experiments. Kids will love admiring the rocks and crystals too. Order for about $45. This makes a must have for  a home school and is a perfect way to entertain the kids all summer long!

Little kids will love to build in a unique way with Magformers. These are magnetic tiles that kids will want to play with all of the time. These are perfect for imaginative building sessions. Basic sets start at about $13. There are an assortment of great options including vehicles, animals and more.

Set your sights on fun and be prepared to hit a Bull's Eye with this fun game for preschoolers that brings non stop fun while building short term memory skills. This game has mini plungers that make picking up the cards fast and fun! Order at Amazon for an action packed twist on memory games.

We have been LOVING this really fun Wizards and Werewolves game from Starlux. It gives the kids and their friends something fun to do after dark, and it keeps them super active! I don't know about your kids, but mine always sleep good after a good running session and this game offers just that. Kid can be a wizard or a werewolf; they hunt for the glowing red gems or protect them in this action packed game. Order it for about $30. It is well worth it.

Keep the fun of game time going strong with this fun Doggy Bag game. It combines fine motor skills with hand eye coordination for a ton of fun for preschoolers!  Order this from Amazon because it will become a favorite with your little kids!

I hope these ideas help keep your kids entertained this summer!