Everyday Activities Building Fine Motor Strength

There are endless ways to improve our fine motor strength all around us.   Great fine motor strengthening exercises are often pleasantly “disguised” as fun everyday activities. Many times, we don’t even realize that our everyday actions are building our fine motor strength!

Since there are so many activities that can build strength in our hands, it seems silly to buy expensive gadgets that do the same thing.   Therefore, I put together a list of 30 great hand strengthening activities are both FUN and virtually FREE depending on what all you have laying around your home.  They are categorized so you can integrate them into a multitude of everyday activities.

Best Bets for Hand Strengthening

1.Animal Walks (i.e. crab walk, bear walk)

2.Climbing up a “rock wall” (such as those on playgrounds and indoor climbing walls)

3.Tug of War (you can use an old towel, blanket, or jump rope as the rope)

4.Yoga poses (especially weight bearing poses like downward facing dog)

5.Crawling Races (any age can do this)

Crafty Strengthening Activities

6.Lace string in lacing cards

7. Stringing beads to make bracelets or necklaces

8. Pushing golf tees into styrofoam to make patterns

9. Clothespin games like this game 

10.Tearing tissue paper into pieces to make a collage

11. Using a hole puncher to make confetti

Strengthening in the Kitchen

12.Peeingl bananas, eggs, and oranges

13.Picking grapes off the stems

14.Stirring/ mixing cookie dough

15. Spreading peanut butter onto bread

16. Squeezing honey out of a bottle

17. Husking corn on the cob stalks

18.Opening food containers such as string cheeses, yogurt cups, jar with lids, and bagged snacks

19.Kneading bread dough

Outdoor Strengthening Activities

20. Squeezing water out of a water bottle on the sidewalk to make designs

21. Ringing out sponges to fill a bucket with water

22. Use sidewalk chalk outside to draw

23. Using a spray bottle to water plants or play water games

24.Using small shovels to plant flowers and plants

Fun Strengthening Activities

25.Using scissors to cut Playdoh

26.Popping bubble wrap

27. Use kids’ tweezers or clothespins to pick up and sort cotton balls, beads, or pieces of felt

28. Shuffling Cards

29. Using an eye dropper to fill cups of water like in this game 

30. Braiding hair or string

What other everyday activities do you use to build your fine motor strength? Leave a comment below to tell us how you build your hand muscles.