Simple Transferring Activites for Kids

Practice Fine Motor Skills with Transferring Activities

This is a favorite busy activity for younger kids. I suggest varying the objects that are getting transferred to keep this task interesting. It is a great fine-motor activity, and a calming one that can help bring focus as well as develop hand coordination and strength for writing. It doesn't generally hold interest for very long, but can help transition from a hectic atmosphere to a more peaceful one.

Materials needed:

Tweezers (like these for perler beads, cheaper at Michaels) or learning chopsticks
Ice cube trays, egg cartons, or other compartmentalized tray
Transferring objects:

pompoms (easy)
cut up sponges (easy)
miniature animals (medium)
wooden cubes (medium)
perler beads (difficult)
marbles (difficult)
anything else you can think of - perhaps items from a nature walk

Transfer randomly, or ask your child to try creating a pattern. You could also use color resemblance sorting cubes for this task to make it even more challenging. My big kid decided to make up a pattern (below), while the little one just focused on getting the objects into the ice cube tray. For younger children, try using larger objects, like smooth decorative stones, and have them grasp them with their hands to help develop a tripod grip.