Pencil Control and Fine Motor Skills

Try some of the activities below to develop your fine motor skills and pencil control.

Activities that involve pinching, and forming the 'crocodile' or 'bird's beak' shape with your fingers, are great for helping to develop your pencil grip!

Activities to develop fine motor skills

Playdough
- roll, poke, pat, pinch, squeeze
Threading
- Thread beads, pasta or Cheerios onto a piece of string
Linking paper clips together
Using clothes pegs
Cutting
- cut strips of paper and join to make a paper chain
- snip paper
- cut up playdough
- fold and cut paper to make a snowflake
Sensory play
- cornflour and water
- sand
- oats
- mud
- flour
- rice
Mark making
- chalks
- water with a paint brush on walls
- draw with your finger or a paintbrush in a tray of salt, flour or rice