I always include my little ones in the holiday decorating. They get so excited for holidays and preparing for holidays really amps them up. This weekend was the first weekend of spring so we transitioned all our St. Patrick's Day décor to Easter. Here are 4 projects that help kids with fine motor skills that don't seem like work or "practice." And, these all double as Easter décor that actually look like décor and not just typical art taped to the wall.
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*One note about fine motor skills. If you are well versed, feel free skip ahead. When my oldest son was in preschool we heard all about how kids today tend not to have as strong of hands muscles as kids in previous generations. And, the coordination between the small muscles in their hands and brain aren't always as honed. There are many theories about why this is, but I think it basically comes down to - they don't have to work as hard as previous generations. For example, kids may use just a finger on a tablet to color rather than holding a crayon and paper, or they use premade craft kits where everything is cut out. Kids may learn to make calls with their voice instead of having to dial a number, or they may simply find cutting paper boring in comparison to all the different types of toys they have at their disposal. And, I have to say that I do see a noticeable difference in the fine motor skills between my son whose TK had optional art, and my other son whose TK has no optional work. So, I have been working on helping all of them with these skills.
FRUIT LOOP GARLAND
You may remember we actually made these garlands for our St. Patrick's Day Tree. So, we were able to just take them off and drape them on the windows. If you haven't made these it is great fine motor practice for little hands. Also, I really like the rainbow of colors, and they smell good too! For more on this craft, read https://www.thedragonmama.net/post/st-patrick-s-day-tree.
EASTER EGG GARLAND
We also strung up Easter eggs. This took more finesse than the Fruit Loops. The holes in the eggs we have are smaller than the fruit loop centers, but totally doable for a 4 and 6 year old. First string the thread/thin twine through a hole in the bottom of the egg, then through the top of the egg, and then close the egg. Trying to thread it through a closed egg is near impossible. If you have eggs that don't have holes, you could probably make some, but it I'm not too experienced with that. I will link eggs that have small precut holes below.
TABLECLOTH COLORING
The next project took mommy and all three boys 2 days to complete. We colored an Easter tablecloth. I laid out the tablecloth and any time any of us had free time, we colored! Their little hands were getting a workout with all the little details. After they were done, we placed it on our table and covered it with a fairly heavy duty clear tablecloth so their precious artwork does not get damaged.
I purchased this coloring tablecloth at Party City from the store for a reasonable price. I believe most of the stores are sold out but you may be able to get it online if you are willing to wait for shipping. The link to one I found on Amazon is below. Another idea is placemats which I also linked below. These would also be a great activity on Easter day before/after eating.
PAINTING FAUX EASTER EGGS
Finally, Easter egg painting with faux Easter eggs. This one is pretty self explanatory. I like the fake eggs because we can re-use them as décor year after year. They can use a paint brush for their fine motor skills and we can still dye eggs traditionally on another day closer to Easter. These are also good for kids with an egg allergy or for kids who want to hunt eggs they made rather than plastic ones, or hard boiled ones (which don't hold up outside too well.)
HAPPY EASTER!
DRAGON MAMA
P.S. Don't forget to check out this Easter Alphabet Activity too!