• Play tug-o-war with small diameter objects such as straws, coffee stirs, and plastic lace
• Pinch together in the middle and seal plastic zip lock bags (use each finger tip in opposition with the thumbs)
• Oppose thumbs to each fingertip in turn, making a perfect circle with the two digits
• Snap fingers, flick marbles, spin jumbo jacks, flip coins
• Place objects in sand or rice and have your child dig for them
• Shuffle and deal cards
• Use a hole punch to make confetti
• Pick up beads, buttons, or beans, one at a time, and drop them into a small-mouthed bottle
• Tie knots in a rope and then untie
• Complete dot-to-dot and maze activities
• Cup hands and practice holding water or rice that is gradually poured into them
• Using a fingertip, write a letter on someone’s back (have him or her identify the letter)
• String beads, Cheerios, or pasta onto a shoelace
• Sew lacing cards
• Assemble Puzzles
• Build with Legos, Tinkertoys, Construx, Bristle Blocks, Lincoln Logs, etc.
• Play Board Games
• Knead and mold clay or Playdough
• Roll clay or Playdough into balls
• Use a rolling pin and cookie cutters with clay or Playdough
• Find hidden objects in Silly Putty
• Cut junk mail or old magazines with scissors
• Cut on straight, curved, and zigzag lines
• Fringe the edge of a newspaper with scissors
• Paint (finger paint, water colors, or tempera paint)
• Write with sidewalk chalk
• Tear newspaper into strips and then crumple into balls
• Scrunch 1 sheet of newspaper into a ball using 1hand
• Stack objects (coins, cards, checkers, blocks, etc.)
• Pick up objects with tweezers, tongs, or clothespins (Cheerios, mini marshmallows, pennies, cotton balls, pompoms, etc.)
• Color with crayons
• Color with the flat side of a crayon (do leaf rubbings or other textured surfaces)
• Duplicate a simple drawing
• Write or draw in shaving cream
• Write or draw in sand
• Roll a pencil between thumb and fingers without dropping it
• Move spoonfuls of objects from 1 bowl to another
• Manually sharpen pencils
• Manipulate articles of clothing (buttons, zippers, hooks, snaps, and shoelaces)
• Open locks with keys
• Use Wikki Stix to form shapes, letters, and numbers (www.wikkistix.com)
• Use a plant sprayer to water indoor and outdoor plants, to spray snow (mix food coloring with water so that the snow can be painted), or to melt "monsters" (draw monster pictures with water-based markers and the colors will run when sprayed)
• Use a small screwdriver to twist screws into a piece of wood
• Screw and unscrew objects such as nuts and bolts, jar lids, etc.
• Extract water with an eye dropper or turkey baster and move it to another container
• Turn over playing cards, coins, checkers, or buttons without bringing them to the edge of the table
• Sort coins, buttons, beans, seeds, marbles, nuts and bolts, etc.
• Perform a puppet show with finger puppets
• Hand-sign the letters of the alphabet
• Perform fingerplay songs
• Play the piano
• Play computer and video games (use keyboard, mouse, and hand control)
• Turn the pages of a book from the upper right-hand corner

Graphics by Lisa's Country Clipart, Home Sweet Home Page, and MS Office.