There are so many simple and fun ways to practice fine motor skills. This bottle cap fine motor activity is one of our favorite low prep activities to pull out when we need a quick boredom buster. It’s also a great way to keep little hands busy while working on schoolwork with an older sibling.
You’ll need an assortment of bottle caps, a small dish of water and at least one pipette (affiliate link). I like to place all the materials together on a tray (or baking sheet) to catch the over spill and make clean up easier.
Tinker will sit with this activity for extended periods of time. Usually she starts by trying to fill individual lids. Every time she fills and empties the pipette she’s working out those fine motor muscles.
She’s also starting to notice some beginning measurement concepts along the way. Here she’s investigating how much water is in the pipette. She noticed there are numbers on the side, and she’s starting to try and see how full she can get the pipette each time.
She gives her proud scientist smile when she fills it all the way up!
And sometimes she experiments with distance. She’s learning how far she can make the water shoot from the pipette and how much force is needed to do so.. She’s also working on her aim as she tries to make the water go into a lid on the far side of the tray.
Those are just a few of the many ways significant learning happens during an activity that seems like “just playing.”
You can also extend this activity by incorporating a bit of science. See how we did it in this video.
LEARN MORE ABOUT FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Looking for more detailed information on supporting fine motor development? In Basics of Fine Motor Skills, you’ll learn which skills are important for fine motor development, plus what fine motor development looks like in children at all age levels.Your go-to-guide for everything fine motor related, it’s the perfect resource for parents, teachers, and therapists.
Janelle Durham
What a great idea. I teach a class for ages 2.5 – 6, and I can see this appealing to all ages, and building fine motor skills at all those levels.
Tiffiny
What a great idea! My daughter will love this! Pinning!
Mihaela
What a fun way to learn, after all every kid loves to play with water! 🙂 Pinned and shared!
Pamela L (Rookie Parenting)
What a great game! My daughter seems to have much better large motor skills than fine ones. This will definitely interest and help her. Thanks for sharing!