Tearing Paper Fine Motor Skills

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This tearing paper fine motor skills activity for toddlers is easy and low prep!

My 2 year old toddlers love ripping things apart.  Especially their coloring book pages, mail, sometimes even books that aren’t boardbooks.  That’s why I created this tearing paper fine motor skills activity for them.

While I know they are toddlers and this is a totally normal stage to go through, I also don’t want everything ripped up!

Do you have 1 year old, 2 year old, or 3 year old who likes to rip things?  Or needs to work on fine motor skills for pre-writing?  Then you should give this fine motor skills activity a try!

It takes minutes to set up and you probably already have everything for this fine motor activity!  I love it when I already have everything at home to do an activity with them.

Related:  Ice Sensory Bin for Toddlers

When I worked at an elementary school, tearing tissue paper was an activity that some kids did to strengthen their fine motor skills.  This activity really works on those muscles needed for the pincer grasp (like holding a crayon and pencil).  This sensory tub is also just plain fun for toddlers!

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Supplies Needed for This Activity:

• Tissue Paper (could use leftover or dollar store sells it)

• Bubble Wrap

• Tub or box for tissue paper and bubble wrap

Of course, you can just do tissue paper OR bubble wrap depending on what you have.

My twins tore the tissue paper and popped the bubble wrap.  They really focused and concentrated while doing this.

Related: 25 Sensory Bins for 1 year olds, 2 year olds, and 3-year-olds

Setting up the Fine Motor Activity:

• Get a tub like this (or use a box).  You can reuse the tub for other sensory activities or for toy storage when you’re done!

• Fill it with bubble wrap/and or tissue paper (newspaper would also work, or any paper you have laying around)

• Let them have fun tearing apart the tissue paper and popping the bubbles

• I first ripped some tissue paper with my fingers to show my twins, then they started ripping it

This hands-on activity is so great for strengthing fine motor skills to help your child get ready for writing.  It’s also super fun and engaging, too!

Related:  Here’s another engaging and fun fine motor activity for your toddler

When will you try this Tearing Paper Fine Motor Skills activity with your toddler?