Fine motor with playdough and beads

We have been trying different things to work on David's fine motor skills.  I thought it would be good to put all the ideas of things we do on here so I can remember to do them again, and also thought other moms might benefit from some of these things for their kiddos.

This activity is great for hand strengthening.  David is 4 1/2, but has the hand strength equivalent to the average 15 month old child, so this is probably typically better for younger children, though you could change the size of the beads to make it an additional challenge for older toddlers and preschoolers.

All I did was take a handful of small beads and hide them in playdough.  Make sure to count how many you hide so you make sure you've found them all!  Roll it up into a nice ball, then have the kiddo dig 'em out!  You could make it a race, hide tiny beads, make it extra tricky by hiding the same color bead as the playdough so they really have to squeeze and dig through to find them.

This activity is also great for kids like David that have sensory processing problems to give them incentive to touch a texture they might otherwise totally avoid.

Basically, if he's sticking his tongue out in concentration doing anything, I know it's a good activity for him!