Push Pin Play for Hand Strengthening

My little boy needs extra help when it comes to handwriting. Lately we’ve been working on strengthening his fingers and hands so that he’ll have the control and body awareness he needs to control a pencil. This is a quick little activity that hardly takes any set up.

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Supplies:

Cork Hot Pads or a bulletin board

Push Pins (Yup, they’re sharp! Only do this activity when you are confident your child is old enough and they have your full attention!)

Scrap paper

On the paper, draw a line, shape, or letter (depending on your child’s skill). Place it on top of the cork board. Ask the child to carefully pick up the push pin and position it sharp end down. (Flipping an object around in their hand is good fine motor planning.) Have the child use their pincer grasp to push the pin deep into the board. Have them continue to “trace” the shape.

It’s that simple, and both boys loved it! They never even knew this was a hand strengthening exercise!

Don’t you love how pudgy my 19 month old’s hands are!

Don’t forget to have the child pull them back out again!

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Julie is a frazzled mom of three tornadoes. As a dorky second-generation homeschooler, she writes about learning and play, natural living, special needs parenting and matters of the heart. She serves an astounding God that radically saved her.

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