Is Fine Motor Boot Camp a Researched Based Intervention?

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The Answer Is…

Yes! We have had 2 poster studies done by Universities on the effectiveness of Fine Motor Boot Camp in school based settings.  A study is currently being  conducted on the effectiveness of  “tele-intervention” using our Fine Motor Boot Camp activities.

“Implementation of Fine Motor Development Activities into General Education Classrooms: Successes and Challenges”

“Effectiveness of a Fine Motor Intervention Program on In-Hand Manipulation & Grip Strength of Pre-School Children”

Materials for DIY Manual!

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We have created affiliate links for all of the materials needed for the DIY manual!

Are you overwhelmed with assembling the DIY manual? Not sure where to start to gather materials? Don’t have time to run out to different Dollar and Office Supply stores? Find everything you need, delivered right to your door/ school via our affiliate links.

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The Art of Hand Washing – Part 2 of 3: “The Soap Dispenser”

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Part 2 of three: “Soap dispenser” Continued from part 1:

Soap dispensers come in all shapes, sizes and access methods. There are disposables pumps that are kept on your counter and commercial dispensers that hang on walls. How we actually access the soap from inside the pump requires different fine motor skills that include hand strength, finger dexterity/ strength, pronation/ supination, wrist flexion/ extension, bilateral hand coordination, grading movement and more. To make things more complicated, these dispensers come in different sizes that the child has to generalize the skills too.  Let’s take a moment to appreciate all the practice and skill it takes to actually get that soap onto your hands!

Wall Dispensers:

This dispenser hangs vertically with soap dispensing at the bottom.  Check out below all the different access methods for vertical mount below (i.e. hold hand under, push, pull, single finger press, etc.).


Wall mounted automated dispenser. Requires the child to hold hand under and for soap.

Wall mounted dispensers. Requires one hand to push pump forward and the other hand is held under for soap.

Wall mounted dispenser: Soap is accessed by pushing/ moving a swivel knob and the soap drips out.

Wall Mounted Dispenser: Soap is accessed by pushing a button pump and soap drops from bottom.

Countertop Soaps and Dispensers:

These almost always require using two hands and grading movement. Again, all different access methods such as; squeezing, rubbing, rotating, pressing, pushing, etc.


Classic bar of soap: Requires two hands.

Hand soap where the child opens the lid, squeeze and turn the bottle with one hand and drips soap into the other. This is the type of bottle that mini hand sanitizers come in.

Hand pump that requires the child push down on the pump with one hand and hold other hand under to drip soap onto.

Hand sanitizer has become a staple in life. To access the liquid, the child has to take off the cap, hold the bottle in one hand and use one finger to push the pump down to spray on the opposite hand.

The Art of Hand Washing

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The “Art of Hand Washing” Part 1 of 3:

Part 1 – “The Faucet”

Handwashing is in the top 3 independent/ self-care skills teachers want for preschool and kindergarten. Let’s take a second to think about (and appreciate) the steps of handwashing. This skill is more complex than we give it credit for. Handwashing requires many repetitions and practice to master. We adults take for granted how easily we generalize washing our hands from our home to work to public restrooms. All of these faucets require different fine motor skills from: bilateral coordination, grading, different grips and grip strengths and so much more.  Find out what kind of faucet your child’s school has and get some practice in before the start of the school year!

Part 1 – The Faucet:

The only thing that is “the same” about faucets, is that water (usually) comes out of the spout. Think of all the faucets out there and how many different ways there are to turn the water on and off all while adjusting the temperature. Each faucet has its own method to its madness! Below, check out some of the faucets we found from needpix.com:

Here is a list of our Fine Motor Boot Camp activities that will help your child build the skills necessary for managing faucets. 

  1. Twisting and opening containers helps with turning on knob faucets:

Activity C-13 “Pom-Poms & Jars”

Activity E-22 “Color Pill Jar & Pom-Poms”

2.  Pull up type faucets and knob type:

Activity E-23 “Color Snap Stackers”

Activity D-20 “Tennis Ball and Alphabet Beads”

  1. Pull up/down faucets and two handle push/pull faucets:

Activity A-1 “Paperclips & Popsicle Sticks”

Activity B-6 “Letter Stick & Clothespins”

Activity B-7 “Coin & Slot Can

Activity C-14 “Number Clothespins”

Activity D-16 “Colored Clothespins & Sticks”

Activity D-19 “Oh Snap”