Peel Tape to Strengthen Little Fingers

Fine MotorToddlersPreschoolersTape9 Comments

Okay, so I use tape in a lot of activities here on hands on : as we grow, right?

I love it. It’s very versatile and let’s me do a lot of things really easily (like build roads, or lines, or numbers) in minutes.

But, the activities are always about something else, naturally. Not about the tape itself.

That’s how this activity is different.

Tape is the star of this fine motor activity.

I always have my kids peel the painter’s tape off the floor when we’re done using it.

I’ve always known it was great fine motor practice.

Watch this video for a quick tutorial on what we did and how we made a travel version (or keep reading below).

Find 30 materials that promote fine motor skills here.

This time, I didn’t use painter’s tape, but it could be used. This time, I had some colored electrical tape (affiliate link) on hand from awhile back, so I used that.

This tape activity was mostly for Louis, but George wanted to do it too because he likes ‘easy activities’ (or so he says).

I taped all over the dining room table. A section for George and a section for Louis.

I criss-crossed back and forth, making layers of tape.

The only object of the activity was to remove the tape from the table.

Using fine motor skills to peel it off the table.

And for George, I had him think a little to try to figure out which layer of tape was on the top to peel off first.

He didn’t always get it right.

Louis peeled them off one by one. He needed help here and there to get them started.

I gave them a little tiny start at times.

Do you know how much strengthening this does for little fingers?

Grabbing, pulling the tape?

I think electrical tape was a great choice for this because it kind of stretches, making it take more strength to pull off than painter’s tape would.

I was very pleased with such a simple activity.

So simple, it might be overlooked. This would be a great before dinner, or as a 10-minute challenge for the kids to take a break from some of the craziness.

If you like simple, you’ll also love these activities for your kids:

• Rubber Bands and Canned Food
• Pipe Cleaners and a Colander
• Hammering Tees