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Games for Small Motor Skills

Small motor skills are needed to successfully tie your shoes, eat with utensils, and pick up small objects. Developing these skills at a young age is crucial, and you can continue to sharpen them even as you age. According to Family Education, "Proficiency in fine-motor control allows the child to develop skills that will have consequences immediately and in later life." There are several games you can play with your child to help him develop and increase his fine motor skills.

Tweezer Games
- Use tweezers to pick up objects.
  
  You and your children can take turns picking up small objects with a pair of tweezers. Pick up small round cereal pieces, marshmallows, cotton balls or raisins. As you pick up an object, you drop it into a container. You may take another turn as long as you successfully pick up an object. If you do not pick up an object with the tweezers, the next person gets to go. After all the pieces are picked up, count them. Whoever has the most objects wins the game.
Pick Up Sticks
- You can play this game with a store-bought set of sticks or with ordinary household objects, like pencils, pens or drinking straws. Hold all the sticks in a group in one hand. Let them fall. One person tries to remove one stick without moving any of the others. If she is successful, she can go again. However, if she disturbs any of the other sticks, the next player takes a turn. Continue until all the sticks are picked up. The winner is whoever has the most sticks at the end of the game.
Traditional Games
- Playing checkers helps with manual dexterity.
  
  There are several traditional games you can play to help develop and increase small motor skills. Yahtzee works in several ways, as players must manipulate the dice, count the dice dots and write their score. Checkers and chess work as players grasp and move their pieces. You can even play simple peg board games to challenge your fine motor skills.
Puzzle Pieces
- Put puzzles together to work fine motor skills.
  
  Put together jigsaw puzzles with your children. You must manipulate, pick up and place each piece. To make a fun game out of it, you can time how long it takes to put a puzzle together or have a puzzle for each person. You must race each other to get your puzzle done first.
Finger Games
- Teach your child the silly finger game "Where is Thumbkin?" Hold both hands behind your back sing, "Where is Thumbkin? Where is Thumbkin?" As you bring your right hand in front of you, keeping your fingers in a fist but wiggling your right thumb in the air, sing, "Here I am." Repeat with your left hand. Make actions with your thumbs as if they are holding a conversation, saying, "How are you today, sir? Very well I thank you. Run away. Run away." While singing "run away," place your hands behind your back again. Repeat the entire song, but change fingers. Next will be pointer, then tall man, ring finger and pinky. Your child can sing and do the actions with you.

Kids Games