Fine Motor Activities with Clothespins

Looking for fine motor activities you can do with kids at home and using items you already have in the house? Today, I’ve got fine motor activities using clothespins. These are great finger strength exercises using activities that can be shared with families so they can work on skills at home or as part of an occupational therapy home program. These activities ideas need just clothespins, so it’s a great way to work on fine motor skills as part of teletherapy or virtual occupational therapy services. For more activities you can easily set up at home, check out some of the posts listed below. In all of them, we are talking about fine motor activities using items you already have in the home.

FIne Motor Activities Using Items You Have at Home

FIne Motor Activities with Play Dough

Fine Motor Activities with Paper Clips

Fine Motor Activities with Craft Pom Poms or Cotton Balls

Fine Motor Activities with Playing Cards

Fine Motor Activities with Beads

Fine Motor Activities with Chalk

Fine motor skills Activities using clothes pins

When using clothespins to work on fine motor skills, kids can address so many underlying skill areas. Fine motor skills like bilateral coordination, hand strength, arch strength, intrinsic hand strength, eye-hand coordination, motor planning, proprioceptive sensory input, and so many other areas. All of these components of fine motor skills are covered here on The OT Toolbox. Check out the menu drop down bar above for activities geared toward each of these specific skills.

• Drop into large container
• Make into animal craft 
• Use as legs for animal puppets
• Squeeze onto number cards
• Use clothespins to work on pinch strength
• Hang from string overhead
• Use to hang a pendant banner
• Clip onto leaves on a tree
• Play outdoor scavenger hunt game
• Use a clothespin to work on pencil grasp
• Label with letters and place in alphabetical order
• Press onto pipe cleaners 
• Make a tree with string and pipe cleaners
• Use clothespins to work on spacing between words
• Squeeze onto clothes for labeling body parts or clothing items for functional task
• Use in ordering activities for a sensory diet or activity list
• Chore clips for home or classroom chores
• Squeeze ball of play dough color code or number coded 
• Use clothespins in fine motor busy bags
• Squeeze small ball of paper
• Squeeze craft Pom Pom and paint dots 
• Pick up and transfer mini erasers
• Pinch onto the edge of a table when laying underneath for overhead reach. Hang up paper
• Make a sheet fort 
• Squeeze onto craft wire to make a sculpture
• Use to count in math centers
• Pinch into clothing (sleeve) for a kindness count

We have created a video to show how to use clothes pins to support development of different grasp patterns. You can watch this video below. If you can’t view the video, check it out on The OT Toolbox YouTube channel.

MORE FINE MOTOR ACTIVITIES:

Create Your Own Race Track

Spring Sensory Seek and Find

Sensory Soup with Fine Motor Sorting

Fine Motor Strengthening with Color Match

Cereal Box Fine Motor Coordination Activity

DIY Lacing Cards

Manipulating Coins Fine Motor Skills

Best Fine Motor Play Ideas for Kids

Tripod Grasp with Pipe Cleaners

Textured Shaving Cream Play Finger Isolation

Sight Word Scooping

Golf Tee Hammering

Finally, use these games with paper clips to support fine motor skills using another every day activity.