Differentiated Kindergarten

Differentiated instruction in the classroom

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Fine Motor Home Kits

52 Comments

There’s just seriously not enough time in the day to get it all in . . . so what do we do with those kids that need extra fine motor practice?  I’m not a huge fan of homework in kindergarten. I don’t like to send things home with my kinders.  I would prefer they are outside playing or spending time with their families.  But really, sometimes 10 minutes of fine motor exercise at home can mean the difference in finding success in kindergarten with writing and months and months of struggle and frustration.

 

Fine Motor Take Home Kit Freebie. Supplement fine motor practice with a take home kit.

Please note, this post includes affiliate links.

PARENT BROCHURE

So what can we do to ‘get’ those 10 -15 minutes of additional exercise?  Well, there are a couple of things you can do actually.  Initially, I think it’s always helpful to educate all your kinder parents with what ‘fine motor’ skills are and why they are important.  So I send home a simple little brochure at the beginning of the year just to give parents a heads up.  It’s often surprising for a parent of a really bright child to hear that their child is struggling, because they can’t hold a pencil.  This little brochure gives them an understanding of fine motor skills and why it’s an important thing to master in kindergarten. Free parent brochure to help communicate with parents the importance of fine motor skills.

I find that most of the time, parents want to help their child be successful.  It’s just sometimes they really need someone to point out ideas and activities that will work at home.  They generally appreciate having a few tips to help them get started and  this little brochure can do that.

TAKE HOME KIT

The second thing I like to do is to have a couple of Fine Motor Home Kits made up.  These are simple, little inexpensive kits that students take home for two weeks and then bring back to me.

This post contains affiliate product links. 

Convenient and easy to manage, fine motor take home kit and printables.

Before sending the kit home with a child, I always have a  conversation with their parents just to let them know that I think perhaps their child could benefit from a bit of additional practice at home.  I make sure they are ‘on board’ with the plan and understand that their child should pick only one activity each night and work at it for no more than 10-15 minutes.

When they get the kit home, it will have a myriad of activities from which their child can choose one.  I say one each night so that all the items aren’t pulled out and lost or mixed up.  Parents are generally really good about this, and I haven’t had any problems with lost pieces.

There is also a ringed set of task cards included in the kit as well.  These show parents and students exactly what items are used for which activity and it explains how to use them.

INSIDE KIT

 

KIT ACTIVITIES

All the activities fit inside my little Steralite Carry Tote, safe and snug.  It’s small enough for little ones to carry on their own or pop in their backpacks, but big enough to hold everything I need.

POPPER BEADS

I like to include popper beads in my kit because they are engaging, colorful and, most of all, boys and girls alike enjoy using them so I know it will be an activity they want to do.

beads kit

To add a bit of a challenge to the activity, I suggest that students use the color or shapes to make different patterns.

You can sometimes find popper beads at craft stores, and they are also available on Amazon as well.    I used a small bag of 17o beads from Amazon to make three different kits.  Also, get this, one reader told me there are Alphabet Pop Beads.

pop beads

They’re already in my Amazon cart!

PUNCH A LETTER SOUND

Paper hole punches are the ‘great silencer.’  No kidding!  If you want a room full of quiet kinders, hand them each a paper hold punch.  (I actually have a class set.)  Just punching holes in a piece of paper is somehow mesmerizing to them and, at the same time, such a great tool for building those grasping muscles.

I’ve included the added challenge of ‘punching out letter sounds’ as part of the kit’s hole punch activity.  Students look at the pictures on the strip of paper, identify the beginning letter sound, and ‘punch out’ any letters that are not the beginning letter sound.

 

hole punch cards

Paper hole punches are pretty easy to come by.  You can pick them up at any department store or office supply store.  I ordered a class set from Amazon a couple of years ago just so I’d have the opportunity to capitalize on those ‘great silencer’ moments.

BULB SYRINGE RACES

Bulb syringes can be found in the baby section of your local department or dollar store.  They are super cheap and a ton of fun.  If you’d like, you can change a syringe for a turkey baster, and it has the same effect.

Differentiated Kindergarten-Fine Motor Take Home Kit

Having your students pinch the bulb repeatedly while pointed at a puff ball makes for a fun and engaging race.  The motion needed to push the air out of the bulb helps work those pincher muscles, and it’s just plain fun.

Differentiated Kindergarten-Fine Motor Take Home Kit

 

TENNIS BALL MUNCHY MOUTHS

Until recently, I always made these munchy mouth tennis monsters with your run of the mill, everyday yellow-green tennis balls.  But then a friend told me about these oh-so-cute animal print tennis balls that are actually for dogs, and I knew my kinders would go crazy for them.

Differentiated Kindergarten-Fine Motor Take Home Kit Tennis ball monster used for math activities.

You’ll have to use a knife (It seems to work best if I use a serrated knife . . . just be careful, ok!) to cut the mouth and then simply hot glue google eyes to the front.  It is surprisingly challenging for students to get that mouth open.  They want to push it against their body and against the table, but I remind them that they have to ‘pinch’ the mouth open for the monster to get a good bite.

To make it more challenging and engaging, I play a game where two students get the same amount of little mini erasers (I like to use ones from Oriental Trading.  They last forever and I can make quite a few sets.) Each player takes turns rolling the dice and reading the number.  That is the number of themed erasers (I used fish in the picture above.) that they feed their monster.  The first person to feed all of their fish (or erasers) to their monster, wins.

PLASTIC LINKS AND NUMBERS

Without anything added, plastic links make a great fine motor activity.  Students love to see how long they can get their chains and often make a challenge for themselves by including intricate color patterns.  But if you add a few number cards with hole punches, it takes this activity to another level.

Free fine motor printables for number order practice.

PLAY-DOH EXTRUDERS AND LETTERS

If you have an arsenal of play-doh extruders like the one below, you know how much your students love working that plunger with their fingers to push that dough through the different shapes.  Although parents often poo-poo play-doh as being too messy, it’s one of the best tools for working those little hand muscles.  Add a pair of scissors to snip of the extruded play-doh and it adds a nice resistance tot he activity.  If you parents grimace when you give them activity, remind them of the importance of those finger muscles when their child starts writing and suggest they have them work on a small cookie sheet to control the excess play-doh pieces.

playdoh too

If you’d like to add a bit more challenge to this tool, copy off some mini ABC play-doh mats on Astrobrights card stock.  I like to include only a few letters at a time–usually whatever letters that student has been focusing on in school.

These free, printable play-doh mats will be a great addition to your fine motor take home kit.

RICE BOWL SEARCH

Mini erasers are tiny and tough to grab hold of which makes them a perfect addition to my fine motor kit.  Here I use a small disposable container to house some colorful dyed rice and in the rice bowl is hidden some more of those fun mini erasers you can find at Oriental Trading.  (One order goes a long way, but I tend to by lots of different thematic ones.)

Fine Motor Take Home Kit In Kindergarten

Add a small tweezer or other small tong type instrument and send your students searching.  I always count how many erasers are included in each bowl so students know when they have found them all.  Set a timer to see how long it takes them and if they can better their time each try.  Just make sure they use only the tweezers to secure their ‘catch.’

THERAPY PUTTY SEARCH AND SPELL

While you can use other putty for this activity, I’m always partial to therapy putty just because . . . well . . . it really is the best.  It has the right amount of resistance and it’s super stiff which you really want.  I especially like it, because it lasts forever.  Sure you can use something like Silly Putty in its place, but I find that I would have to purchase 3 or 4 containers of Silly Putty to equal what I can get from one container of therapy putty.  For this kit activity, I like to hide beads, colored pony beads or even letter beads if you have them, inside the putty.  Students can search the putty, naming the letters as they find them, or you can see if they can use the letters to make words or spell their name.

Fine Motor Kit for Home-Differentiated Kindergarten

NUTS AND BOLTS

Hands down one of the most favorite activities of all fine motor kits that I can offer a student.  There is just something about nuts and bolts.  You can use the plastic, toy kind of nuts and bolts if you prefer.  It still will engage your students hands in grasping and turning, but I tend to prefer a variety of shapes and sizes of the ‘real thing.’

Fine Motor Kit for Home-Differentiated Kindergarten

For this activity, I have students time themselves to see just how long it takes them to find all the nuts that match the bolts in the kit.  They need to twist the nuts all the way on the bolt for it to count.  Then I time them to see how long it takes them to get them off.  They enjoy seeing if they can better their time with each try.

PUNCHING NUMBERS

Button type paper punches are also a good way to build up fine motor strength while engaging your students.  Just punching the paper is really a challenge.  But if you’d like to add a spin to it, label several different sheets of colored Astrobrights paper (colored paper makes everything more fun) with a number and have students ‘punch’ that many times.

Fine Motor Kit for Home-Differentiated Kindergarten

You’ll find thematic button punches like these at craft stores, but I generally can pick them up from garage sales here and there as well.

While I would LOVE to send anyone who wanted one of the kits one of their own, the least I can do is get you the printable task cards, brochure, number link cards and mini ABC play-doh mats.  Just click below and enter your email.  A verification email will be sent to your inbox, but sometimes it likes to hang out in your SPAM folder.  So if you don’t see it in a few minutes, check there.)  Once you have verified your subscription to my mailing list, your file will be downloaded to your computer.  Just check your ‘download’ file on your computer and you’ll probably see it there.  (If you’re looking for the ABC punch cards, you can find them on my side bar  — right there on the right hand side of my blog — for free!)    I sure hope this gives you some ideas and help in getting your kinders finger ready for fall. Enjoy!

If you’d like so see a whole series of monthly fine motor morning work station ideas and free printables, please check out my other fine motor blog posts, starting with Fine Motor Morning Work Stations!  You can get there by clicking the picture below or by going HERE.

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Comments

  1. Kathleen Wright says

    July 17, 2016 at 7:35 am

    Oh, Marsha, I absolutely love this! What a great collection of fine motor activities and sending them home in a kit is a great idea. I picked up some adorable monster backpacks from the Dollar Spot knowing I would use them as home-and-back carriers for SOMEthing, and your kit is IT! I’m going to share your kit on IG with a link to you! Thanks so much! Kathleen, from over on the other side of the State 🙂 Kidpeople Classroom

    Reply
    • Marsha says

      July 21, 2016 at 1:22 pm

      Oh I’m so happy. 🙂
      Marsha

      Reply
      • Erin says

        September 8, 2016 at 1:55 pm

        I would love a copy of the brochure and task cards for my Head Start preschoolers!

        Reply
        • Marsha says

          September 13, 2016 at 8:29 pm

          It’s available. Just follow the directions in the blog post to get yours for free.

          Reply
      • Heidi says

        September 12, 2016 at 2:48 pm

        Do you have a version of the fine motor brochure to purchase/download?

        Reply
        • Marsha says

          September 13, 2016 at 8:27 pm

          If you follow the link, it will take you to the blog post where you can get if sent to you for free.
          Marsha

          Reply
  2. Ashley says

    July 17, 2016 at 10:28 am

    Love these ideas! I’ve already added some pop beads to my cart on Amazon. Did you see they have alphabet ones as well? So great for adding fine motor into literacy centers!

    Reply
    • Marsha says

      July 21, 2016 at 1:22 pm

      I do now! They are in my cart. Thanks for sharing.
      Marsha

      Reply
  3. Karen Stacy says

    July 17, 2016 at 11:43 am

    These are great ideas for a KG teacher. I teach Title 1 and could really use this also. Am I missing a link for purchase or download of the brochure and ideas?

    Thanks,
    Karen Stacy

    Reply
    • Marsha says

      July 21, 2016 at 1:22 pm

      If you click the button at the bottom of the post you can have it for free.
      Marsha

      Reply
  4. Deb says

    July 17, 2016 at 11:54 am

    Awesome post Marsha! It gave me lots of ideas since I am being moved from first to K and I am excited! Your blog is amazing and I have it in my RSS feed and enjoy it very much!

    Reply
  5. Carol Curry says

    July 17, 2016 at 12:11 pm

    These are great ideas and could be used as table activities for the beginning of the day.

    Reply
  6. Julie B says

    July 17, 2016 at 12:21 pm

    I love your fine motor kit and would love to make a couple for my class. Thanks for sharing your great ideas!

    Reply
  7. debbie logue says

    July 17, 2016 at 2:46 pm

    You have included so many great ideas that are not just fine motor. There is literacy, numeracy, and visual perceptual skills. Thank you so much for sharing.

    Reply
  8. Diane Bode says

    July 17, 2016 at 2:49 pm

    I love this idea! Where did you get the paper strips for punching out the letter sounds? I teach a small group of pre-Ks for a week before school starts. This would be a great gift for the end of the week.

    Reply
    • Marsha says

      July 21, 2016 at 1:20 pm

      Just take a look at my blog’s side bar. You’ll find them for free there.
      Marsha

      Reply
  9. Lisa says

    July 17, 2016 at 3:15 pm

    I LOVE this idea!! One of the very best posts I have read anywhere in quite a while! I’m going to use this in my Kinder class this year. Thanks so very much!!

    Reply
  10. Claudia says

    July 17, 2016 at 3:48 pm

    Wow. Great ideas. Thank you so much for sharing them,

    Reply
  11. Rblue says

    July 17, 2016 at 8:44 pm

    The activities in the kit are wonderful! I teach lower K-2 children with special needs and we try to get in as much fine motor work as possible, not only because we have difficulty writing. Fine motor skills are connected to articulation and my students are working on those skills as well.
    We have used some of these activities, but it is always helpful to have additional tools in our toolbox.
    Thank you.

    Reply
  12. Becky Martin says

    July 18, 2016 at 9:18 am

    would love the task cards… great ideas

    Reply
  13. Stephanie A Gogul McGraw says

    July 18, 2016 at 6:56 pm

    This fine motor kit is such a great idea! I love it! Thanks for sharing. I signed up for the freebie, but nothing has come through…even in my spam. Would you mind sending it to me? Thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Marsha says

      July 21, 2016 at 1:19 pm

      Being sent.

      Reply
  14. Trish says

    July 18, 2016 at 9:18 pm

    These are FANTASTIC ideas — a few of which I knew about, but you have many great ideas and I plan to steal and use them all. Thanks so much! My kinder babies need all the fine motor help they can get.

    Reply
  15. Jenni says

    July 19, 2016 at 6:14 am

    Do you have a printable copy of the fine motor brochure?

    Reply
    • Marsha says

      July 21, 2016 at 1:16 pm

      Just click on the button at the bottom of this post. It will be sent to you.
      Marsha

      Reply
  16. Laura Crouter says

    July 19, 2016 at 9:08 am

    I would love a copy of the brochure and the task cards. Great planning and organization!! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Marsha says

      July 21, 2016 at 1:15 pm

      Just click on the button at the bottom of the article and it will be sent to you.
      Marsha

      Reply
  17. HistoryinHeels says

    July 19, 2016 at 9:34 am

    I love this take home kit!

    Reply
  18. Melissa L. says

    July 19, 2016 at 10:09 am

    Marsha,

    This is EXACTLY what I have been thinking about creating in my classroom. Have I told you lately that you are awesome! I am a HUGE fan of what you do. Thank you for sharing your talents!

    Reply
  19. Sara says

    July 19, 2016 at 10:26 pm

    Marsha,
    This is the best post I have seen regarding fine motor activities! Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Reply
  20. Kim says

    July 19, 2016 at 10:27 pm

    Marsha, this is AMAZING! Thanks so much for sharing. It seems I always have at least one little who needs help with fine motor skills. We work on those skills at school and I recommend some things to do at home but I always wish I could offer a little more guidance for the parents. This is such a blessing for me. Thank you!.

    Reply
    • Marsha says

      July 21, 2016 at 1:15 pm

      You are so welcome.

      Reply
  21. Jenni says

    July 25, 2016 at 1:10 pm

    Hi Marsha – thanks so much for the freebie download! How many of these kits do you have prepared at the beginning of the year? I don’t want to spend time/resources for something that won’t get used, but want to have one for everyone who needs a little extra support. I’m thinking 2? Maybe 3 kits?
    Thanks so much!

    Reply
  22. Kelli says

    August 16, 2016 at 2:14 pm

    As a school OT, I think this is a fantastic idea and can’t wait to replicate it!

    Reply
    • Marsha says

      August 22, 2016 at 11:58 pm

      Thanks a ton. That means a lot.
      Marsha

      Reply
  23. Melody Williams says

    August 30, 2016 at 7:17 am

    i would love a copy of your fine motor kit information!

    Reply
  24. Traci says

    September 3, 2016 at 5:10 pm

    Wow! Amazing ideas.

    Reply
  25. Jana says

    September 11, 2016 at 10:52 pm

    Hi Marsha,

    I am a huge fan of your work and I absolutely LOVE this post! My students this year definitely need a boost with their fine motor skills so I am gathering things to create some kits. I have just a few questions for you… Do you have any suggestions about how many pop beads, nuts & bolts, etc. to put in each kit? Also, do you have any recommendations about how to organize them (baggies, bowls, etc.)? THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing your amazing ideas and for the freebie! What an amazing time saver!

    Reply
    • Marsha says

      September 13, 2016 at 8:28 pm

      I like to organize things in small containers if possible. Baggies get torn up and they can’t close them. You need about 10 sets of nuts/bolts and maybe 30plus beads or so. That seems to be adequate.

      Reply
  26. Lindy says

    September 13, 2016 at 7:29 pm

    Thank you so much for this kit! I am so excited to put it together and send home with students! Awesome work!

    Reply
  27. Marilu Flores says

    October 5, 2016 at 8:55 am

    I’m interested in fine motor parent brochures. Thank you

    Reply
    • Marsha says

      October 5, 2016 at 8:26 pm

      It’s available when you sign up for the fine motor kit printables.

      Reply
  28. Keir Mercer says

    October 5, 2016 at 8:16 pm

    I just found your blog, and I am so excited to make a fine motor kit! What an awesome idea! I always have several kiddos who need a little boost in this, and this will be perfect! I didn’t see the hole-punch letter sounds included in the kit. Did this get missed in the upload? I would love to be able to include this too. Thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Marsha says

      October 5, 2016 at 8:25 pm

      Look to the right side of my blog on the side bar. It’s free.

      Reply
  29. Joan nauman says

    October 14, 2016 at 10:36 pm

    Thank you! I will get this all together for some of my hospital/homebound students! You’re great!

    Reply
  30. Keely says

    October 20, 2016 at 10:43 pm

    I am sooooo excited about this helpful post! I am anxious to print this to start using with my son. I followed the directions and received the PDF, but I am unable to print for some reason? Is there any reason why this could be happening?

    Reply
    • Marsha says

      November 6, 2016 at 11:46 pm

      Try it on a different computer. Sometimes there are computers that don’t allow you to download and print (especially school ones) but otherwise you should be able to no problem.
      M

      Reply
  31. Mandy says

    October 26, 2016 at 8:09 pm

    Love this! Thanks for the free download!

    Reply
  32. Bethany says

    February 12, 2017 at 5:46 pm

    Hello! Do you have a PDF for the punch a letter sound sheets? They were not included with the fine motor kit PDF. Thanks!

    Reply
  33. Lisa S Hughey says

    May 1, 2017 at 5:54 am

    I would like you to send me the free task cards, abc punch cards, number link cards etc. love all your ideas. Can’t wait to try next year ?

    Reply
    • Marsha says

      May 1, 2017 at 7:21 pm

      Lisa,
      just use the sign up form in the blog to get your free download.
      Marsha

      Reply

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 Marsha McGuire profile photo Welcome to Differentiated Kindergarten! I’m Marsha, a teacher-mom committed to the journey of creating a differentiated classroom for my students. It’s my goal to meet the needs of all my students through fun, engaging and developmentally appropriate activities.
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