Fine Motor Friday: Simple, Playful Activities to Strengthen Your Toddler’s Hands All Year Long

If you’re a toddler mom looking for simple, meaningful ways to support your child’s development at home, you’re in the right place.

Fine motor skills play a huge role in early learning—helping toddlers with everything from holding crayons to using scissors to building early writing confidence. That’s why I created Fine Motor Friday, a year‑long series featuring 52 weeks of easy, hands‑on fine motor activities you can do right at home.

Each Friday, I share one small, manageable activity designed to strengthen your child’s hand muscles, coordination, and early pre‑writing skills.

No complicated setups. No fancy materials. Just real, developmentally appropriate play that fits into everyday life with little ones.

Below is a look at our first three weeks—perfect examples of how simple materials can support big developmental growth.

Why Fine Motor Skills Matter for Toddlers

Fine motor skills are the small movements of the hands, fingers, and wrists. These skills help toddlers:

• Build hand strength

• Develop coordination

• Improve pencil grasp

• Strengthen pre‑writing and early math skills

• Gain independence in daily tasks (zipping, buttoning, feeding themselves)

Strong fine motor skills make early literacy and early math more accessible. When toddlers can control their hands, they can better explore letters, numbers, shapes, and tools. When their motor skills are strong, their confidence in daily tasks will increase, as will their independence!

That’s the heart of Fine Motor Friday—playful, sensory‑rich activities that build the foundation for future learning.

Fine Motor Friday: Weeks 4-7

Week 4: Clothespins

This week’s activity focuses on building hand strength and coordination through a simple but powerful skill: clipping clothespins onto a paper towel roll. Opening and closing clothespins strengthens the small muscles in the hands while also engaging bilateral coordination (using both hands together).

Why it matters: Clipping clothespins builds the hand strength needed for pencil grip, cutting with scissors, and managing buttons and zippers. It also supports hand-eye coordination, focus, and controlled finger movement—all essential for early writing skills.

How to do it: Stand a paper towel roll upright or lay it on its side. Offer your toddler a basket of clothespins and invite them to clip them around the edge of the roll. Encourage them to squeeze, open, and attach independently. Keep it simple—or turn it into a color matching or counting game for an added challenge.

Week 5: Tape Rescue

This week’s activity targets finger strength, bilateral coordination, and problem-solving through a toddler favorite: tape. Wrapping small dinosaurs (or any little figures) in tape creates a fun “rescue mission” that keeps little hands busy and engaged.

Why it matters: Peeling and pulling tape strengthens the small muscles in the hands and fingers while improving hand-eye coordination. It also supports persistence, focus, and frustration tolerance—all essential foundations for writing, cutting, and independent self-help skills.

How to do it: Place a few small dinosaurs (or action figures, animals, or cars) on the wall with painters' tape. Invite your toddler to “rescue” the toys by peeling, pulling, and tearing the tape off.

Week 6: Pom Pom Push

This week’s activity builds fine motor control and hand strength using a simple household item: an empty plastic bottle. Pushing craft pom poms into a narrow opening challenges coordination and precision in a way that feels like play.

Why it matters: Pushing pom poms into a bottle strengthens the small muscles in the hands and fingers while supporting hand-eye coordination and controlled movement. It also encourages problem-solving and patience—important foundations for writing, cutting, and daily self-help tasks.

How to do it: Clean and dry an empty plastic bottle (a water bottle works perfectly). Offer your toddler a bowl of craft pom poms and invite them to push the pom poms through the opening. For an added challenge, use different sized pom poms or encourage color sorting as they push.

Week 7: Sponge Squeeze

This week’s activity is all about squeezing, pressing, and strengthening little hands using cut-up sponges and a handheld fruit juicer. It’s simple, sensory-rich, and incredibly effective for building fine motor skills.

Why it matters: Squeezing wet sponges in a fruit juicer strengthens the intrinsic hand muscles needed for a mature pencil grasp. It also builds bilateral coordination (one hand stabilizes while the other squeezes), endurance, and controlled pressure—key foundations for writing and cutting.

How to do it: Cut clean kitchen sponges into small pieces. Place them in a shallow bin of water. Show your toddler how to place a sponge piece inside a handheld fruit juicer and squeeze the handles to “juice” the water out into a bowl. Encourage slow, controlled squeezes. For extra fun, add a few drops of food coloring to the water and watch the colors mix as they squeeze.

What’s Coming Next in Fine Motor Friday

This series will continue all year long with 52 playful activities that support:

• Fine motor strength

• Early literacy and pre‑writing

• Early math skills

• Sensory exploration

• Independence and confidence

Each activity is designed for busy families—quick to set up, easy to clean, and powerful for learning.

Join Us Every Friday

Whether you’re teaching at home, homeschooling, or simply looking for ways to support your toddler’s development, Fine Motor Friday gives you a simple, joyful way to build strong little hands.

Follow along each week for new ideas, and watch your toddler grow in confidence, coordination, and creativity—one Friday at a time.