This collection of Halloween fine motor activities capture the spirit of Halloween and include even the littlest Halloween lovers without being too spooky, scary, or gross.
These activities would be perfect for home, preschool, daycare, or at a Halloween party for kids! Halloween STEM can start young, and fine motor activities are one of the first places to start with toddlers and preschoolers!
Fine Motor Halloween Activities for Preschoolers and Toddlers
“I’ll be a princess, you’ll be a witch, and Dad will be a king,” my preschooler tells me, brow creased to show me how serious she is.
As far as she is concerned, her word is law and our costumes are set.
My daughter takes Halloween seriously, and although it’s still weeks away, she has her bucket picked out and her trick or treating elevator pitch ready to go.
We love Halloween at our house, so I’m always looking for fun ways to bring Halloween into our activities during October.
We’re working a lot on pre-writing skills right now, which includes a lot of Halloween fine motor skills that my preschooler can use to (hopefully) improve her handwriting down the line.
Try some of these fun Halloween fine motor activities this October!
How to Set Up Halloween Fine Motor Activities
Toddlers and preschoolers can’t really “make” a craft. At this stage, preschoolers just like to explore and learn about the world.
Fine motor activities help preschoolers and toddlers strengthen their hands so that they are better prepared for kindergarten with the ability to hold a pencil, cut, glue, use tweezers, and other simple tasks.
Setting up a fine motor activity is simple, and it doesn’t change much whether you are doing it at home with one child or in a classroom of several children.
Make sure everything is ready-to-go in advance, and have things set up for each child individually.
Show the kids how to complete the movement, and then let them explore!
In a lot of cases, you won’t have a completed project at the end, but that’s OK!
Our Picks for STEM Fine Motor Activities
At STEAMsational, we always like to give every activity a STEAM twist. These supplies are some of our favorites to use while building fine motor skills!
Fine motor skills are about learning the motions, not creating a finished project.
Build clean-up time into your activity timeline so kids can get practice keeping things tidy!
You’ll want to have either large plastic trays (I use this kind), a sensory table, or official STEM bins to put your activities in.
For Halloween specifically, you will probably want some Halloween figures like plastic bugs, eyeballs, or Halloween mini toys.
For the activities listed below, you’ll also want to have on hand:
- Elmer’s glue
- Liquid laundry starch
- Play dough
- Vinegar
- Baking soda
- Jello
- Plastic straws
- Soap coloring
- Craft supplies
- Science flasks/beakers
- Plastic jars
- Mason jars
- LEGO bricks
Halloween Activities for Preschoolers
Try these fun Halloween fine motor activities with your toddlers and preschoolers to boost pre-writing skills and have some spooky fun at the same time!
Some of these activities are just practice activities, while some are Halloween fine motor crafts. Pick what works best with your kiddos!
Your kids can practice their trick or treating pitch while completing these activities.
Practice dissecting a pumpkin in this pumpkin density experiment!
Bend pipe cleaners and build hand strength when doing this Halloween Salt Crystallization Experiment.
Create realistic looking Cotton Swab Skeletons!
Practice gluing, building, and creating with the create your own Monster STEAM Activity.
Make some spooky Jello worms and learn about baking and boost fine motor skills.
Practice cutting skills when cutting out these Halloween shadow puppets.
Build those pre-writing skills by poking pencils through this brain in a bag experiment.
Pick up sprinkles with tweezers and make this Halloween lava lamp!
Practice fine motor skills with the Yarn Wrapped Spider Craft.
Preschoolers will get tweezer practice with the Feed the Spider Game.
What are some of your favorite fine motor activities for preschoolers and toddlers?
Have you thought about giving them a Halloween twist?
How do you celebrate Halloween in your classroom or home with little ones before the big day?
More Halloween Activities for Preschoolers
26 Halloween Sensory Activities that will Delight, Not Fright
