D is for Dots – Preschool Fine Motor Activities

I’ve been conducting a very informal preschool hour with my preschooler since she turned four.  I’d almost call this a prep-preschool, because the goal is to just introduce preschool concepts, while working on developing her fine motor skills. She has recently decided that she wants to go to school, and is thirsty to learn new things. It’s always easier to teach when the child is ready.  We recently worked on D is for dots in our quest to help quench her thirst.

This unit has four fun activities. We only completed two so far. One is the Dot game and the other is dot finger painting an uppercase D and a lowercase d. I had both my Kindergartner and preschool do these activities, because activities are always more fun with big brother.  They had a lot of fun playing the dot game with Mommy, and both found the finger painting really fun.

I have two follow up activities planned to finish this unit out – a dot to dot about shapes, and a dot painting art experience. (Once we’ve finished these two, I’ll write them up and share the printables.)

D is for Dots – the Dot game
Objective 1: Help develop the children’s fine motor skills by drawing straight lines to form squares.
Objective 2: Help reinforce the way squares are formed.

Materials:
One copy of the printable worksheet for each child
Pencil or pen for each child

Procedure: Explain to the child the rules of the Dot game.

The Rules:  We are going to take turns drawing a straight line from one dot to another dot. The person who connects the final line of a square wins that square. The person, who wins the most squares, wins the game.

Now, play the game with the child. I recommend using a different color pen or pencil for each child in order to keep the game more visually appealing. Also, this activity is a good way to reinforce turn taking.

Once one game is completed, count up the number of squares to see who has the most squares. Celebrate the end of the game, and then start another – if the child wants too.  Or, move on to the next activity.

D is for Dots – Finger painting Dd
Objective 1: Introduce the children to the shape of upper and lower case D.
Objective 2: Improve the children’s fine motor skills by using a dot finger painting technique.

Materials:
One upper  and lower case D worksheet. Click here for the printable.
One paint pallet set up with red, yellow, blue, black, and white paints.
Paper towels – quite a few

Procedure: Before starting, make sure the children’s sleeves are pushed up, and they are wearing smocks or clothes that are okay to be painted in.

Explain to the children that they are going to fill in the upper and lower case D’s by finger painting dots. Give each child a paper towel to wipe their fingers on between colors. Now, step back and let the children’s creativity take over.

These activities were a lot of fun to do. I enjoyed playing the games with my kids and watching their creativity as they filled in their letter D’s. I look forward to doing the other two activities with them soon.