Fine motor skills activity using pipettes

Set up this fun finger gym with water and pipettes and help your children develop their fine motor skills through play.

 

 

Fine motor skills activity using pipettes

Squeezing pipettes is a great fine motor skill activity as it builds finger strength and supports the development of a pincer grip.

Including pipettes with these shower mats also helps children develop hand-eye co-ordination.

 

 

 

Materials needed

:: shower mat

:: pipette

:: water

You can find colourful, shaped shower mats in stores and online. You can also cut up a standard size shower mat to give you several shapes for your children to play with. 

 

 

 
In this finger gym children can explore how pipettes work and develop their fine motor skills as they squeeeeeze!

You can buy pipettes in store and online from both craft and medical/science suppliers.

They’re plastic (or glass) tubes that have a bulb on the end and they’re used for transferring liquid.
 

 

 

Playing with pipettes

Set out your pipettes with a tub of water and show your children how they work.

They’ll need to squeeze the bulb to squeeze out some of the air in the tube.

Then place the pipette in the water and release the bulb. Notice how the water is sucked up into the pipette.

To release the water, squeeze the bulb again.

Children can have lots of fun with this, picking up and squirting water. And each squeeze helps them build their fine motor skills.

 

 

 

How to set up the finger gym

You might like to set this finger gym out on a large towel or inside your water tray, to catch any spills.

Set out the shower mats, sucker-side up.

Invite your children to try and fill the suckers with water, using the pipettes. Can they fill them all?

 

 

 

Variations and extensions

Can they fill ten suckers without spilling a drop of water?

How fast can they fill all the suckers with water? You could time them with a stop watch. Can they beat their time next try? What’s their personal best time?

Can they use the pipettes with their non-dominant hand?

 

 

 

More ways to use pipettes for play

Try these pipette play ideas to extend your investigation in to art and science:

Process art painting with pipettes

Pumpkin craft using pipettes

Fizzy Science

 

 

 

More fine motor skills finger gym ideas

Try these other fine motor skill finger gym ideas from NurtureStore library of resources:

bubble wrap finger gym

water play finger gym

pipette finger gym

sensory finger gyms

marble and blocks finger gym

shower mats and marbles