Fun Paint Chip Activities to Focus on Fine Motor Skills

Paint chips are like a blank slate and different skills can be targeted in a single activity.

Before COVID hit and pre-babies, it seemed my husband and I were always at Home Depot or Lowes. We were renting a house that just needed a little extra TLC. I was always drawn to the paint section, while he would be searching for some sort of tool. The thing I love about them is that they are free! Are you like that too? Gravitate and love things a little more when they are cheap or free??

I love using paint chips in my practice. I find my students are more engaged and interested in something new and interesting. It offers different color selections besides the basic colors of construction paper.

Setup: Cutting

Before we start the actvity we need to think about set up. Setup, to me, is the key step to any activity. It lays the foundation for overall success and independence. It is in sense the way to target the just right challenge.

First, grade the cutting task to a student’s skill level. I say this for overall safety. The first skill a student should master before giving them a pair of scissors is the ability to follow an adult safety cue. The cue can be verbal or visual. I have tried cutting tasks with students that hadn’t mastered this step. The activity was me hovering over them and providing so many cues that the activity wasn’t functional or fun.

Ways to Grade Cutting Paint Chips:

• Level 1: cut the strips into individual squares so the student just selects the color they want and puts it on the activity.
  • You are taking the component of cutting away but then you can focus on other skills!
    • following directions (can you find three red squares?)
    • sequencing (can you put a red square on top)
    • hand manipulation skills (the ability to grab individual squares vs a handful)
      • To work on this skill only offer a few squares. If you want to give the student more color options, you can use more bowls
• Level 2: cut the paint chips into strips –> the student only has to make a single snip
  • The thinner (decrease width) you cut the strips the easier the task because the student only has to decompress the scissors once.
• Level 3: offer the whole paint chip or cut the paint chip in half so you have more supplies for all of your students

Below are a few of my favorite fine motor activities to use with paint chips!!

Rainbow

We have all seen the rainbow paint chip craft but I hope this brings a new spin to it!!

I love working on crossing midline with my little guys. Crossing midline is the ability to use one side of the body and cross over your middle. In some students, you will see they will start with one hand and have to switch hands when they hit their middle. For example: the markers are offered in a bin on the right. Student picks the marker up with his right hand and colors on the right side of the paper. When he wants to color on the left side of the paper, he will put the marker down and pick it up with his left hand. Sometimes students who have difficulty crossing-midline need more support with dressing tasks or avoid gross motor activities.

An easy way to practice crossing midline with a paper task is giving your student paper (if you can find a wider piece of paper the better) and have them draw Rainbow arches! Starting from one side of the paper and ending the arch on the other. You can also do this with ocean waves!

So instead of giving you students a rainbow template, have them make their own first! Offer the paint chips meeting their just right cutting challenge.

If you want to work on hand and grasp strength (and are feeling brave) offer a regular glue bottle!

-For students who apply too much pressure, draw a circle so the student has a visual of how much glue is needed. Glue bottles provide a quick cause and effect so students can see if they are pressing too hard.

Strength-Based Intervention Using Paint Chips

If you are new to strength-based intervention, check out this blog! Print out your students preferred interest on a piece of thick paper and have them decorate it with paint chips! I recommend thicker paper because sometimes printer paper will crinkle up under the glue and thick paint chips.

Name or Letter Mats

Depending on your student’s just right challenge practice writing their name or specific letter or day of the week. Use their favorite color construction paper or pull out those white crayons! My students love white crayons and writing on dark construction paper.

Spring Flowers Using Paint Chips

I love doing seasonal themems vs holiday themes. Spring is usually one of my favorites! I love the bright colors and the florals. This activity can be adapted to meet a variety of Just Right Challenges.

• offer your students a whole color rectangle block and let them cut it into different pieces/angles and arrange their flower
• Give your students a color rectangle block with a pre-drawn link to cut
• For students working on snipping, cut the block in half or to the dimension where the scissors would only have to be decompressed once and draw the angle/line.

Mosaic

When I think of a mosaic craft, it’s more of a free expression activity. I am providing the materials to meet the child’s just right challenge and they are creating something. For my students that are safe to cut, I am just providing the chips and they are free to glue them on as strips, random cutouts, or squares. It’s also fun to provide those scrapbook hole punches. For some students, a blank slate can be a bit overwhelming. So you can plug in the strength-based intervention and provide a temple of a theme or preferred interest to give the activity some structure.