With all of the cold and nasty weather we’ve been having here in Kansas, it’s hard to believe that St. Patrick’s Day is only a couple weeks away. With another winter storm coming this weekend, I am more than ready for spring and that’s an understatement!
Although it might not feel like St. Patrick’s Day is almost here, I want to share some St. Patrick’s Day fine motor activities with you today! Creating these fine motor packs has been so much fun. I haven’t had this much fun creating activities since I made my morning work tub activities a few years ago! I’ve heard from many of you that having these activities for your students is making a positive impact on the amount of hands-on work going on in your classroom and it’s getting noticed by administrators, parents, OTs, and more. That makes my heart so happy! I always love to think about how an activity I make is being used in other classrooms all over the country and even the world.
Just like my other fine motor packs, this pack has activities that use a variety of materials and require different skills like clipping, hole-punching, and tweezing. These are great for building hand strength, improving dexterity, and improving hand-eye coordination. Having these strengths helps not only with academic work such as handwriting, but also self-help skills like buttoning and tying shoes.
Here is a look at all ten activities included in this pack!
1. Paper Tearing
This is a great activity for fine motor or morning work tubs. Just provide students with pre-cut strips of paper and let them tear and glue!
2. Cutting Activities
This month’s pack includes three small craftivities that involve cutting out shapes and gluing to make the craft. Most of the shapes are pretty simple, with the pot of gold being the most abstract.
3. Pathways
These pathways might look pretty simple but they require precision and manipulation of small objects that builds finger strength. Students can use their fingers to place mini erasers or other small objects on the paths or they can use tweezers and place pom-pom balls instead.
4. Linking
There is a dots-only version and an alphabet version so you can differentiate as needed. I’ll link my favorite single hole-punch below.
9. Counting Mats
These have tons of possibilities. Students can place gold coins on them. They can be used as a tweezing activity with yellow pom-poms. Or, students can roll balls of playdough and smash them onto the cards.
Using small stickers, students will outline each picture. They can also trace the words.
I linked many of the materials I used on Amazon and you can click on the image to view them. The rainbow mini erasers were from Target several years ago so I wasn’t able to link the same ones I have.
If you are interested in these activities, click on the image below! They’re also included in my growing bundle.