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    Home » Fine Motor Skills Activities

    Fine Motor Activity with Playdough and Q-Tips

    Modified: Oct 28, 2022 · Published: Jul 7, 2014 by Vicky · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

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    Here at Mess for Less, we love activities for fine motor skills! Today we have q-tip fine motor fun with the addition of playdough. Everything is more fun with playdough! Check out how to create a simple Fine Motor Activity with Playdough and Q-Tips.

    We have been having lots of fun q-tips recently as evidenced by this  Q-Tips and Straws Fine Motor Activity.

    Q Tips and Playdough Fine Motor Activity. Find out how to make dyed q-tips and use them for a fine motor color matching activity.

    You will need:

    • Playdough in at least 6 colors
    • Dyed Q-tips (we made ours with liquid watercolors and have a link to the tutorial below)
    playdough and q-tips

    Before you do this activity you will want to be sure to have made some colorful q-tips. It's simple if you follow this How to Dye Q-Tips tutorial. Once the q-tips and dyed and dried, cut them in half. This required quite a bit of hand strength and my children were not able to cut them, so I cut them myself.

    Provide the q-tips and corresponding colors of playdough and let kids explore.

    playing with q-tips and playdough

    If your kids are anything like mine, the first thing they will do is try and match up the dyed q-tips to the same color of playdough.

    fine motor activity

    This activity provides valuable fine motor practice as kids work to push the q-tips into the playdough. It is also perfect for little ones who are learning colors.

    child playing with q-tips and play dough

    We found these dyed q-tips make a great addition to playdough play. My kids used them in all sorts of ways, from making patterns in the dough, to stamping and using them as candles in a playdough cake. How will you used dyed q-tips with playdough?

    Fine motor activity with playdough and q-tips

    For more fine motor skills activities check out:

    Fruit Loop Towers    

    Fine Motor Skills Activity with Tongs

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      18 Fine Motor Activities for Preschoolers
    • 25 Fall Fine Motor Activities
    • Activities for Fine Motor Skills

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    Vicky from Mess for Less

    I'm Vicky, the founder of Mess For Less, which I started in 2011 to share easy, family-friendly recipes. With over a decade of experience as a home chef and recipe developer, I love creating meals that bring people together. I also design play and learning activities for kids, using my background as a former teacher with a Master’s degree in education. Learn more about me.

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