Fun Dexterity Activities for Small Children

Small children are not only learning new words and how to talk better, they also pick up on physical advancements very quickly. As a parent, it is your job to give your little one the opportunity to explore her options and learn about what she can do with those wonderful things called fingers. With that in mind, this article will give you a few fun crafts to improve your child's dexterity.

All the activities included here are for ages 2-5, but each will depend entirely upon the level of dexterity that your child has. This differs between children, so if your little one can't do an activity now, wait another 6 months and try again.

Bead Threading

Buy a bag of chunky beads and grab some brightly colored shoelaces. Then show your child how to thread the beads onto shoelace. Older children can use smaller beads or you can even set them up with a handful of drinking straws, cut into half inch lengths and threaded onto yarn, just wrap one end of the yarn with tape so it is stiff for pushing through the straws.

Threading Cards

You can make your own threading cards by tracing fun shapes onto ice cream lids and then punching out holes around the edge. Large, simple shapes are best. Go for things like a simple fish or a heart. Use a hole puncher to pop out holes every inch or half inch, depending on the age of the child. He can thread a shoelace through the holes, or yarn threaded through a plastic child's needle.

Pen Dropper

You will need a sturdy cardboard box for this one. In the top, cut three different sized holes. The first should be just big enough to let a ballpoint pen fall through easily. The second should be for a marker and the third needs to be a little larger. Decorate the box with bright colors and stickers. The idea here is to get things through the smallest hole possible, but eliminates frustration because the child can always drop the pen through the larger hole!

Lock Box

Get a locking jewelry box with a fairly large key. Put a treat inside the box and lock it, then let your child attempt to open the box, using the key. When he succeeds, he gets the treat.

Basically, any activity that requires your child to manipulate small things with his fingers or that necessitates fitting an object into another, will help build your child's dexterity skills. It is important to allow children to explore their world in this manner.