Winter Fine Motor Centers
Even if you don’t own the Simply Special Ed Winter Fine Motor Centers [although I highly recommend them!], the ideas for fine motor practice are still great! My favorites include:
- Punch It: Punch holes using a hole puncher — consider simply hole punching printer paper and creating a “snow storm” with all the circles that are punched out!
- Cut It: Cut the lines provided in the centers — consider cutting your own ‘old school’ snowflake crafts by folding printer paper and cutting your own design
- Tong It: Tong pom poms onto shapes provided in the center — consider using all the cute holiday mini erasers in the Target Dollar Spot [or elsewhere] to pick up & move [maybe even incorporating some crossing midline?!] to make your own patterns!
To learn more about how to implement these centers specifically, check out this blog!
December Adaptive Crafts
Crafts are a great way to work on fine motor skills! They are motivating for students, and make great gifts to bring home for family members. Check out my blog on how crafts can be used to target fine motor skills. I recommend the December Visual Crafts for a fun winter spin on fine motor practice! My favorite things about these crafts include:
- Step-by-step visual directions with real pictures are included with each craft! This promotes independence in sequencing the steps needed which adds some executive functioning into this activity!
- Craft Sentence strips with a cut & paste option are included with each craft! While so many skills are targeted in the crafts themselves, sneaking in some pencil grasp and handwriting practice is always a great idea!
- I like to use the “Let’s Review” Survey in collaboration with my speech therapist as we often use these crafts [or the visual recipes] as a co-treat functional communication and fine motor group in our special program (self-contained) classrooms!
To learn more about how to implement these crafts specifically, check out this blog!
December Cut and Paste Fine Motor Sheets
In case you want to work more specifically on scissor skills, the December Cut & Paste Fine Motor Sheets are an easy no prep activity you can use all winter long! My students love working on these, and I love the visual perceptual skill practice that the students get by putting the pieces back together after cutting! Here is what I love about the cut and paste activities:
- They come with pre-highlighted lines which is a HUGE time saver!
- There are numerous versions so you can fade back the visual cues as your students progress.
- I also work to fade back assistance in the physical scissor use as well with these lift-assisted adapted scissors pictured above [affiliate link] – take off the lever when the student is ready to cut on their own!
To learn more about how to work on fine motor activities with a candy cane theme [perfect for winter!], check out this blog!
“Snowball” Races
Working on hand strength can be lots of fun in the winter months! One of my favorite ways to work on this is with “snowball” races! The students use squeeze bottles to “blow” cotton balls or pom poms from one place to another! It is always a hit for all ages! If you’re looking for more winter fine motor ideas check out these blogs:
- 4 Winter Crafts for Special Education
- Winter Comprehension Cards [clip cards!]
- December Visual Crafts for Special Education
