This is a sponsored post for Crayola as part of the Mom It Forward influencer network. As always, opinions remain 100% my own.
Learning activities for 2 year olds can be tough. They want to do what the older kids are doing, but are easily frustrated when their development skills aren’t up to the task or the creative tools are too complex for them. Learn why I use Crayola’s new line, , with my toddler to ease his frustrations while developing age appropriate fine motor skills for 2 year olds.
3 Tips for Working on Fine Motor Skills for 2 Year Olds
I have three kids ages 6, 4 and 2. My two older girls live to craft and create – and my 2 year old wants nothing more than to create right alongside of them. Unfortunately, his little hands and developing fine motor skills for 2 year olds often leave him frustratedare specifically designed creative tools for toddlers to preschoolers. With ergonomically designed crayons appropriate for their age level, there is less frustration and more time spent imagining, creating and thinking.
When working on fine motor skills for 2 year olds, I follow 3 simple tips: keep materials simple, keep activities developmentally appropriate, and keep it flexible and be willing to abandon your plan and follow their lead.
Keep Materials Simple
When planning activities for your toddler, keep the materials simple and small in number. Too many colors or types of mediums can be overwhelming and confusing for them. I love these in primary colors. Paired with white craft paper, it’s all you need for a number of simple, mess-free fine motor activities for toddlers.
Keep it Developmentally Appropriate
Between the ages of 2 and 3, toddlers will progress from basic scribbling to the early stages of drawing. products are designed to match this progression – egg shaped crayons – are ergonomically designed for toddler hands, and perfect for scribbling.
As their hands and fine motor skills get stronger, become more appropriate for doodling and the beginnings of a tripod, pencil grip that your child will further develop as a preschooler. Along with the progression of their grasp, scribbling will progress to drawing straight lines and circles.
Follow Their Lead
Toddlers relish in their newfound independence. Their attention spans can be short, and their fuses shorter. Plan simple fine motor activities using the tips above as a guide, but be flexible and see where their interests lead. You may be inspired by the power of their uninhibited imagination.
3 Ways to Work on Fine Motor Skills for 2 Year Olds
Using the 3 tips for fine motor activities for toddlers above as a guide, I sat down to color with my 2 year old. I gave him in primary colors, and rolled out craft paper on our playrooom table.
It doesn’t have to be overly planned or complicated. To start out, just let them freely explore the materials and see what they naturally do. This will help you assess where their skill level is currently.
Since toddlers are naturally hardwired to discern similarities and differences, he started matching shapes and colors entirely on his own, so I encouraged it. Could he color the stamps he made with matching colors? Next, I drew large shapes to match the stamps both in shape and color – a red square, a blue circle and a yellow triangle. Can he stamp the matching shape inside the bigger shape?
As he gets closer to 3, we will use the same crayons and stamps to draw lines and circles, still emphasizing color matching. Can he connect the matching shapes with lines? Can he circle the shapes in the matching color? At that point, he will also be ready for .
More Simple Fine Motor Skills Activities for 2 Year Olds
Looking for more simple activities to work on fine motor skills for 2 year olds? Try this Golf Tee Challenge or Jumbled Snowman Fine Motor Sensory Bag. I also love this simple Pom Pom Sorting activity from Busy Toddler. You can find all my simple Fine Motor Activities for kids here, and on my Fine Motor Skills and Toddler boards on Pinterest.
Working on fine motor skills for 2 year olds doesn’t have to be complicated or messy. Here, we ripped off the paper and wiped down the table with a wet paper towel. Even the ink on his fingers came off just with water.
Whether your child is in the scribble, doodle or draw stage, options to meet their skill and creative level with products designed just for them.
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