I love using fine motor bins in my classroom. Many of my students struggle with hand coordination and benefit from explicit practice with basic tracing, lacing and cutting skills. Fine motor bins are a great addition to my writing centers. I can have a student independently use a bin while I work with other students on tracing and writing. See below to see inside the 10 fine motor bins I have in my classroom!
Ripped Paper Apple
This comes from Erin’s September Scissor Skills set. This is one of the easier tasks in my fine motor station. For this set, students just have to rip paper and glue it on an apple template. This is a great task for students who are not at the scissor skill level yet.
Tree in the Grass
This is also from Erin’s set. This adds such a great challenge. Not only are my students working on snipping on a line, but they also have to be very attentive to the task. If they cut all the way through the paper, their grass will fall apart and won’t stick to the paper. This is one of my favorites!
Orchard Snipping
Erin’s version has the kids glue down the pieces they snip. I removed this component from my box. Students are just snipping the pieces. This is perfect for learning how to grasp a scissor and make a snip.
Cutting Playdough
I saw these extruders on Amazon and I thought they would be a perfect addition. Students stick playdough through one end of the extender, push on the handle and snip as the playdough comes out of the other end of the extender. This targets so many different skills and maintains interest with my students who love bingo. The extenders are the biggest splurge of fine motor bins, but totally worth it.
Nuts and Bolts
This activity was recommended by my OT. This is such a simple, close-ended task that allows my students to learn simple twisting mechanics. You can pick up nuts and bolts from your local hardware store for an affordable, age-appropriate version of this bin. I opted for larger plastic nuts and bolts from Amazon to make it easier for my students to grasp as they learn this skill.
Hole Punch
Use a single hand held hole punch to punch holes from a card is such a simple task to incorporate. You don’t need any special supplies, just any piece of scrap paper will do. If you want to have a more festive twist, I have 12 different free prints you can download that match various seasons.
Cutting Straws
This bin is similar to the play dough bin but replaces the play dough with plastic straws. It provides a different texture for the students to cut through and helps them generalize their cutting skills to different settings. Save the cut straws-these can make a great sensory bin filler as well!
Sticker Bin
This is a great skill to work on fine motor and hitting a target. I have a free download with little seasonal images. Students will peel stickers and try and hit the targets. My kids love filling up their boards with different stickers, making this another favorite task in our room.
Color Clothespins
This is a simple activity I grabbed from the target dollar spot. Students are clipping the color words to the matching color. This is such an easy task to replicate. Just cut a circle from card stock, make 6 pieces in it and laminate it. Color clothespins to match. So easy!
Letter Matching
One of my aides made this years ago. She printed the letters on card stock and laminated the strips. She wrote letters on clothespins and had the students match. You can replicate this idea with numbers, sight words, shapes and more!
I hope this gave you some ideas on how to start fine motor bins in your classroom!