What is Funky Fingers?

Funky Fingers is a series of fun activities for children to build up their upper body strength (gross motor skills) and finger/hand strength and control (fine motor skills). There are all sorts of activities that you can do with your child to help them get ready to write. 

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Reading books and building puzzles whilst lying on their tummy, taking the weight through their elbows.
• Climbing and swings.
• Cutting, scrunching, gluing and ripping paper and bending pipe cleaners.
• Toy tools such as sawing, drilling, hammering, screws and bolts.
• Wrapping elastic bands around different sized objects like corks or kitchen roll tubes.
• Play - Doh – pinching, pressing, rolling, squeezing.
• Posting small items such as buttons into a jar one by one. 
• Picking up items with pegs, tongs, tweezers.
• Swimming.
• Ribbon dancing.
• Threading beads.
• Pop bubble wrap.
• Turn keys in padlocks.
• Tying knots into string and linking paper clips.
• Picking up sequins off a table or stickers off a sticker sheet.
• Interlocking construction such as Lego.

• Stencil activities.
• Colouring in activities, staying inside the lines.
• Drawing patterns in the air to music.
• Drawing  in sand or shaving foam.
• Drawing or writing with chalk, crayons, finger paints, pencils, pens...
• Drawing or writing on vertical surfaces (chalkboard, whiteboard, tiles at bath time with bath pens).
• Drawing or writing with chalks on the ground or pavement
• Water painting on outdoor walls with paintbrush or rollers.