TTMA fine motor skills activities

[jewel]

So we just had our 15 month check up and LO scored a little behind on fine motor skills, not EI behind but the doctor suggested trying more games/activities to practice that because a lot of this is probably just that we don't do it as much. She never really sits still and basically runs around all day...

I am probably a little over sensitive on this bc my brother had a very serious fine motor skill delay/issues, and as an adult is not able to do things that fall in this bucket.

Tl/dr looking for activities that help fine motor skills to do with a 15 month old.

[butlerfan]

Puzzles, sing songs that make you do hand movements, play kitchen, build with blocks, etc

[littlelion]

I didn't have the patience for puzzles at that age. And he wasn't interested in coloring. We had fun with songs like "itsy bitsy spider", "patty cake" and "head, shoulder, knees" songs. And we did them each day in the evenings, some more than once.  We did stacking up the blocks and legos too.  And I did the whole "clean up" song...so he had to put the legos back into the box. 

[jillywilly]

I would think that most arts and crafts would fall into this category - around 15 months DS moved to the toddler room at day care and I was surprised how much art started coming home all of a sudden - gluing things, finger paints, and just general coloring (all under close supervision, of course). We bought him an easel he can stand at, which he really loves, since he still doesn't really love the whole sitting still concept.

Also, I'm pretty sure I've read eating is one of the main ways they'll hone those skills. Have you let her experiment much with using a spoon/fork very much? We started letting him go to town around that age, especially with thicker foods with less mess potential - think thicker oatmeal, encouraging use of a spoon to pick up dry cereal, etc. Or just scatter a bunch of Cheerios/puffs around so there's lots of individual pieces to pick-up. MIL even found a Cheerios activity book that you put the Cheerios on different pages for different activities.

[billmurray]

Blocks were great for DS, as he wouldn't sit and colour or build puzzles at that age.

[billyhorrible]

Jun 6, 2017 10:33:46 GMT -6 jillywilly said:

Also, I'm pretty sure I've read eating is one of the main ways they'll hone those skills. Have you let her experiment much with using a spoon/fork very much? We started letting him go to town around that age, especially with thicker foods with less mess potential - think thicker oatmeal, encouraging use of a spoon to pick up dry cereal, etc. Or just scatter a bunch of Cheerios/puffs around so there's lots of individual pieces to pick-up. MIL even found a Cheerios activity book that you put the Cheerios on different pages for different activities.

Yes - I think feeding themselves helped both my kids with fine motor skills.  Things like peas/beans/cheerios - which they can use spoon or fingers for  (I mean, I'd prefer them not use fingers for beans, but it's not a battle I'm willing to fight), cheese and berries, etc.

Scooping things - like dried beans or water beads.

And arts and crafts - beading, playing with pipe cleaners, painting.

And then if blocks aren't her things, magnet-pieces (magna tiles, magformers), or bristle blocks.

[younglove]

I have seen where you can cut an opening in the top of an oatmeal container and have them put colored popsicle sticks in though I haven't tried it yet.

I cannot remember at what age I did it but DD1 loved stacking cheerios on a piece of fettucine that I stood up in Playdoh

Blocks would also be good and those large knob puzzles.

[budders]

+2 for food. V is a stuffer, so we always made sure he had small pieces of food anyway, which helped a lot with his pincer grasp. We also started giving him a fork/spoon around a year and let him decide what to use (usually he picked the utensil).

He was also really motivated by sound puzzles, and picked those up pretty quickly. Also giant mega blocks that he was able to build on top of vehicles (another motivator).

[sheilathetank]

I have a plastic tub filled with dried small sized pasta that I let K play with in the kitchen. She practices picking up the pasta shells and puts them into various containers I put out. I also give her spoons and other utensils. Keeps her busy and works on fine motor.

Just be prepared for days when she decides to throw handfuls of pasta all over the kitchen and then have a full out temper tempest when I made her help me pick them up. That was fun. Lol.

Also, what about bath crayons? They are easy cleanup and loads of fun.

[Taitai]

There are a lot of great ideas in here. I'll jump on the food train - we found that eating smaller bits of food was great for developing DS' fine motor skills. We live in Asia, so rice is a common staple of our diet. DS loved fried rice, because he could pick up each grain or the little peas/carrots in it.

Dips (ketchup, mayo, yogurt, etc) were another thing that encouraged DS to pick up pieces of food, dip them, and then get it in his mouth. He loves dips, so it was a great motivator.

Aside from food, we played with small blocks and sound puzzles quite a bit.

[italianmommy]

jewel, if you have access to a water table or sand box, those are fun activities for active kids. With either, you can fill up cups, dump out, repeat. Let them explore with different size containers and toys to refill or play with. Coloring with chalk is another good one. At 15mo they probably won't be able to draw anything, but at least showing them how to put the chalk to the ground to make something show up.

[jewel]

Thanks for the suggestions... reading these and talking to some friends IRL who know LO I'm not actually sure she is behind so much as the questions on the survey were a little strange/not things we had really done.

I will definitely try some of these and encourage the fork/spoon more. She can eat off it but hasn't mastered getting food on it yet... we did BLW so she isn't really used to utensils and she doesn't love to use them bc they slow her down.

[sheilathetank]

Jun 7, 2017 5:51:41 GMT -6 jewel said:

Thanks for the suggestions... reading these and talking to some friends IRL who know LO I'm not actually sure she is behind so much as the questions on the survey were a little strange/not things we had really done.

I will definitely try some of these and encourage the fork/spoon more. She can eat off it but hasn't mastered getting food on it yet... we did BLW so she isn't really used to utensils and she doesn't love to use them bc they slow her down.

If it makes you feel any better we have been using utensils with K for a few months and 9/10 times we have to help her get the food on there still. Also, I'm pretty sure your LO was the first to walk on our BMB way before anyone else. Her gross motor skills seem to be really advanced for her age and maybe her fine ones just need a little bit to catch up.

[jewel]

Jun 7, 2017 7:44:32 GMT -6 sheilathetank said:

Jun 7, 2017 5:51:41 GMT -6 jewel said:

Thanks for the suggestions... reading these and talking to some friends IRL who know LO I'm not actually sure she is behind so much as the questions on the survey were a little strange/not things we had really done.

I will definitely try some of these and encourage the fork/spoon more. She can eat off it but hasn't mastered getting food on it yet... we did BLW so she isn't really used to utensils and she doesn't love to use them bc they slow her down.

If it makes you feel any better we have been using utensils with K for a few months and 9/10 times we have to help her get the food on there still. Also, I'm pretty sure your LO was the first to walk on our BMB way before anyone else. Her gross motor skills seem to be really advanced for her age and maybe her fine ones just need a little bit to catch up.

Ya she scores like on target for a 2 year old for gross motor skills... on that it's really easy to see the difference too, even other "friends" of hers that have been walking for awhile she just seems sturdier and walks more like an adult than they do... don't know if anyone watches Rick and Morty but baby legs and regular legs has become a long running joke in our house...

I try and remind myself they can't be super advanced at everything... lol... she is just also more interested in running around, so getting her to sit or stand still long enough to try crayons or building things doesn't really happen.

Fortunately our pedi is super into hair pats as well and always tells me I'm a good mom and that she can tell LO is smart... I'm like I know you say this to everyone but it's really great to hear.

[byjove]

At this age my toddler liked to carry around a wide mouth water bottle and stuff it full of rocks and poms poms, dump it out, and do it again.

ETA Also agree some of assessment questions are strange. I have definitely been confused by some of them because they seem obscure.

[jewel]

Jun 7, 2017 11:01:34 GMT -6 byjove said:

At this age my toddler liked to carry around a wide mouth water bottle and stuff it full of rocks and poms poms, dump it out, and do it again.

ETA Also agree some of assessment questions are strange. I have definitely been confused by some of them because they seem obscure.

We also didn't get it in advance and one of the questions was like if you give your LO a pen can they use it to push a small item out of reach off a table. WTAF?

[byjove]

Jun 7, 2017 11:31:56 GMT -6 jewel said:

Jun 7, 2017 11:01:34 GMT -6 byjove said:

At this age my toddler liked to carry around a wide mouth water bottle and stuff it full of rocks and poms poms, dump it out, and do it again.

ETA Also agree some of assessment questions are strange. I have definitely been confused by some of them because they seem obscure.

We also didn't get it in advance and one of the questions was like if you give your LO a pen can they use it to push a small item out of reach off a table. WTAF?

Agreed WTAF

[sheilathetank]

Jun 7, 2017 11:31:56 GMT -6 jewel said:

Jun 7, 2017 11:01:34 GMT -6 byjove said:

At this age my toddler liked to carry around a wide mouth water bottle and stuff it full of rocks and poms poms, dump it out, and do it again.

ETA Also agree some of assessment questions are strange. I have definitely been confused by some of them because they seem obscure.

We also didn't get it in advance and one of the questions was like if you give your LO a pen can they use it to push a small item out of reach off a table. WTAF?

Yeah, the answer would be no. I'm going to try it tonight but I'm pretty sure K would try to draw on the table and then put the pen in her mouth.

We are big rick and morty fans in the tank house. I have a 3D printed model of a plumbus MH got me for my birthday. Because you know, everyone has one. Lol. I'm pretty sure my cleaning lady things its a dildo because its the only thing she never ever touches.

[fuzzylogic]

sheilathetank, YOU HAVE A PLUMBUS?!?! This is amazing. I think the Interdimensional Cable 2 episode is my favorite.

[sheilathetank]

Jun 7, 2017 12:57:55 GMT -6 fuzzylogic said:

sheilathetank, YOU HAVE A PLUMBUS?!?! This is amazing. I think the Interdimensional Cable 2 episode is my favorite.

yes! They did an add campaign in April last year that you could buy a plumbus. I freaked the fuck out and tried my hardest to get one. Turns out it was an April fools joke because r&m is the biggest troll show ever. I was crushed. So mh went and found someone who could 3d print one. It's probably one of my favorite gifts. The only downside is that if you have never seen the show, then it is an eye raising item. I want to put it on my desk at work but I'm afraid of all the questions and possible hr violations. Lol

[budders]

sheilathetank, I do not watch that show and just googled it.

What the hell is that thing supposed to be?

[sheilathetank]

Jun 7, 2017 18:25:02 GMT -6 budders said:

sheilathetank, I do not watch that show and just googled it.

What the hell is that thing supposed to be?

It's a plumbus. Everybody has one.





Its an ongoing joke in the show. Noone has any idea what the fuck it does. It randomly shows up. If you are not bothered by really messed up cartoons you should check it out. I recommend the episode "the ricks must be crazy" because its like a ten on the scale of most fd up. There is one part that can be triggery though. Just remember that you need to "keep summer safe" 😊

[budders]

Jun 7, 2017 19:33:39 GMT -6 sheilathetank said:

Jun 7, 2017 18:25:02 GMT -6 budders said:

sheilathetank , I do not watch that show and just googled it.

What the hell is that thing supposed to be?

It's a plumbus. Everybody has one.





Its an ongoing joke in the show. Noone has any idea what the fuck it does. It randomly shows up. If you are not bothered by really messed up cartoons you should check it out. I recommend the episode "the ricks must be crazy" because its like a ten on the scale of most fd up. There is one part that can be triggery though. Just remember that you need to "keep summer safe" 😊

I'll have to check it out and see what it's all about. What network is it on?

[sheilathetank]

Jun 7, 2017 19:53:55 GMT -6 budders said:

Jun 7, 2017 19:33:39 GMT -6 sheilathetank said:

It's a plumbus. Everybody has one.





Its an ongoing joke in the show. Noone has any idea what the fuck it does. It randomly shows up. If you are not bothered by really messed up cartoons you should check it out. I recommend the episode "the ricks must be crazy" because its like a ten on the scale of most fd up. There is one part that can be triggery though. Just remember that you need to "keep summer safe" 😊

I'll have to check it out and see what it's all about. What network is it on?

Adult swim. It has an absolutely enormous cult following so its pretty easy to find episodes online. The season 3 premier mentioned McDonald's szechuen sauce from the 90s. Within hours the internet had blown the fuck up about the sauce to the point where there were articles in businessinsider and time the next day. McDonalds is even working on bringing the sauce back because of the response.

[fuzzylogic]

budders, here's where you can at least find out how they make a plumbus. Entire episode:

It is a delightfully messed-up show. A student of mine one day asked if I was familiar with it, and it was right after I started watching it so I enthusiastically shouted "yes!" and he equally enthusiastically showed me his R&M socks XD

[budders]

fuzzylogic, thank you! I'll try to watch it tomorrow.

[lazyReader]

Picking stickers off. Putting stickers on paper.
Play dough
Pipe cleaners in a colander or used ketchup bottle.
Lacing a shoelace through a boot. Or whatever else holey thing you have.

[LED]

On top of all the normal games and toys, R's favorite thing is taking straws in and out of to go cups. I could probably get her an actual peg board toy thing or whatever, but I already have a million plastic cups with lids/straws.

[younglove]

Jun 9, 2017 1:32:02 GMT -6 LED said:

On top of all the normal games and toys, R's favorite thing is taking straws in and out of to go cups. I could probably get her an actual peg board toy thing or whatever, but I already have a million plastic cups with lids/straws.

That is a favorite here too!

[sheilathetank]

I'm dying at the plumbus talk in the middle of this. So sorry to hijack your thread jewel