Occupational Therapy

Play Dough and Rocks Fine Motor Proprioception Activity

by Colleen Beck
May 7, 2014

We are big fans of play dough. Adding in fun little extras is a great way to keep it interesting, and get those fingers moving with fine motor work. We shared a picture of this activity on Instagram and it was such a hit, that we had to share our play in a blog post! We used regular play dough this time, but a batch of homemade play dough recipe would be perfect for this activity, too.

Create and explore proprioception with kids in this fine motor activity with play dough

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Baby Girl loved this!! I pulled out a few colors of play dough and a basket of River Rocks. She got started sorting, picking out her favorites, and pushing them into the play dough. I showed her how to roll a play dough snake to really work on those fine motor skills. Rolling a snake from play dough is a great way to strengthen the muscles of the hands.

I made a play dough snake and pressed rocks along the length. Baby Girl watched and started making her own. Pushing the rocks into the play dough is a great fine motor proprioception activity. This resistive activity really “wakes up” the small muscles in the hands. What a great way to warm up the hands before a handwriting activity for older kids. Proprioception activities like this one are a good way to calm and organize your child. This activity would be a great addition to a Sensory Diet or a Sensory Lifestyle.

Pinching those play dough snakes and pressing the stones into the play dough really works the intrinsic muscles of the hand. It’s a fun way to practice tripod grasp, too.

We made our snakes into faces, too. I made a play dough face and Baby Girl was able to copy one to make her own. We talked about all of the parts of the face. Such a fun way to play and learn!

After she made her play dough face, she made them talk to each other…”hi, how are you…” and conversation back and forth. Language development is fun with play dough!

These cuties were best buds by the time we were done!

Let us know if you do this activity at your home or school. Stop by our Facebook page and share the fun with us. We would love to connect with you there!

You can find tons of play dough activities on our Play Dough, Clay, Goop, and more Pinterest page:

Follow Sugar Aunts’ board Play dough, clay, goop, and more on Pinterest.

More play dough ideas you may like: