FINE MOTOR COORDINATION EXERCISES
The following exercises are designed to improve the function of your left/right hand. As well as using your hand as much as possible during the day.
1. Touch thumb to each fingertip. Increase speed as you can.
2. Drum fingers on the table. Increase speed as you can.
3. Snap fingers. Keep time to music with each finger.
4. Place palm flat on table. Raise and lower fingers one by one.
5. Fill a bowl with uncooked rice or beans. First just practice opening and closing your hand in the rice or beans. Next put some marbles in the bowl and try to pick up one marble at a time, without getting any rice or beans. You can also do this with your eyes closed.
6. Pick up coins, buttons or marbles of assorted sizes and place in a small mouthed container.
7. Crumple a piece of paper or cloth into a small ball.
8. Place a clothes hanger on a higher surface so you have to reach up. Place clothespins on the hanger one at a time. Then take them down.
9. Practice picking up coins one at a time keeping coins in your hand as you pick up the next coin.
10. Shuffle cards and deal one by one.
11. Turn a deck of cards over, one card at a time.
12. Practice pinning and unpinning safety pins onto a washcloth. Or pin to a chain.
13. Button and unbutton buttons.
14. Put together and take apart nuts and bolts of various sizes.
15. With a piece of string, tie a bow, or make continuous knots.
16. Pick up a plastic glass, fill with water according to your strength and empty it into another plastic glass.
17. String beads, buttons, bobbins, spools,etc. with one hand and hold a string in the other hand.
18. Lacing activities: lace shoes or lace thread yarn through mesh or open weave dishcloth.
19. Tracing: coloring book pictures, stencils, trace around coins, cups, cards or puzzle pieces.
20. Practice writing.
21. Use typewriter.
22. Do simple finger exercises on piano.
23. Put straight pins into a pin cushion or material.
24. Play games that require fine finger movement such as: card games, checkers, chess, Chinese checkers, dominos, peg board games (Hi Q), pick up sticks, word search puzzles, dot to dot pictures, mazes, crosswords, Perfection, Connect Four, etc.
25. Do crafts that you enjoy such as: needlepoint, embroidery, leather lacing and/or tooling, string art, knitting, crocheting, painting, latch hook rug, mosiacs, ceramics, wood carving, etc.