Essential Fine Motor Skills for Kindergarten (+ free kindergarten writing warm up printables)

The jump from pre-k to kindergarten can feel like a big step – because it is! In kindergarten, your child will experience and learn many new things, one of which will be learning how to write. In order for your child to succeed with their handwriting, they need to have good fine motor skills.

Throughout the next few paragraphs we will identify the specific fine motor skills your child needs to be successful in kindergarten, share activities that will help them build their fine motor skills, and provide guidance on their fine motor developmental milestones. To get started, let’s go over the ‘Big 4’ fine motor skills for kindergarten.

Fine Motor Skills for Kindergarten: The Big 4

Sometimes when the next step in life feels really big, it can feel less daunting if you have an idea of what you need to be successful. For kindergarten, there are really four main fine motor skills your child will need to be successful. These fine motor skills include..

1. Finger Strength
2. Finger Grasp
3. Finger Coordination
4. Cutting Skills

If your child is comfortable with these skills, they are set! Most likely, especially if your child participated in preschool, these skills are already emerging before your child steps into their kindergarten classroom. In the next section we will provide a handful of activities to help your child develop these fine motor skills further to prepare them for kindergarten success.

Activities to Build Fine Motor Skills for Kindergarten

The following activities are what we would suggest you prioritize when it comes to preparing your child’s fine motor skills for kindergarten. The activities mentioned below are general ideas that you can adjust based on what materials you have on hand & what interests your child. Keep in mind that your child will need repeated exposure to these activities to build their fine motor skills. It’s just like lifting weights to build muscle mass – consistency is key.

Skills	Activity	Description
Finger Strength Finger Coordination Cutting Skills	Playdough Play	Pinch, squeeze, roll out, & cut the dough. Download our free Playdough Challenge cards for specific instructions.
Cutting Skills	Cut Objects	Cut index cards, straws, or paint sample cards from the hardware store. Make sure your child is holding their scissors correctly (thumb on top, fingers below).
Finger Grasp	Color/Draw	Color or draw with short pieces of chalk, broken crayons, or golf pencils.
Finger Coordination	Trace Patterns	Tracing patterns like wavy lines, stars, and circles are really great for developing coordination. Download our free tracing patterns to get started.
Finger Grasp	String Items	String beads or dry pasta noodles on pipe cleaners to make bracelets or crowns.
Finger Strength	Pour Items	Pour cups of water while playing in the bathtub. You could also fill a bucket with rice &/or beans and have your child scoop cups of rice/beans. This is a great exploratory, unstructured time activity. Let their imagination take over!
Finger Strength	Squeeze Items	Have your child squeeze sponges full of water while playing in the tub or outside during water play.
Finger Strength Finger Coordination	Tactile Play	Three of our favorite tactile play activities include playing with playdough, oobleck, & shaving cream. Let your child explore through unstructured play activities like this.
Finger Strength	Hammer Items	Hammer golf tees into dirt or foam.

Fine Motor Developmental Milestones for Kindergarten Aged Children

As your kiddo is heading into kindergarten, you might wonder if their development is on track. Each child is unique, so it may take your child more or less time to develop these skills, and that’s ok. In general, around the age of five your child should be able to..

• Use a tripod grasp (learn more about grasp development here)
• Copy squares & triangles
• Copy their name
• Trace letters
• Color within the lines
• Cut out simple shapes (circle, triangle, & wavy line)
• Lace cards (view example here)
• Button/unbutton small buttons
• Dress without help
• Zip a separating zipper
• Cut with a plastic knife

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Fine motor skills are really important for kindergarten! By prioritizing the big four – finger strength, finger grasp, finger coordination, & cutting skills – your child will have all the tools they need to get started on the right foot. 

If you are worried your child’s fine motor skills aren’t where they need to be for kindergarten, we’d love to support you. Our therapists can help your child build the ‘big four’ fine motor skills through strategic, play based activities that your child will actually enjoy. 

We helped Anne’s son improve his fine motor & handwriting skills using this same approach. Here’s what she had to say –

“We had a great experience at Children in Motion. Michaelene was excellent with my son. She made the sessions fun and engaging. She was able to get him to work on difficult things even when he didn’t want to do it. She was patient with him when he was struggling with his handwriting and having trouble focusing on his tasks.“

Do you think we’d be a good fit for your family? Get started today by filling out our contact form.