The Youngest Makers

Haba tap hammer set Start with pushpins, which are easy to hold, then progress to the tacks.

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Klever Kutter Helps develop tight grip; useful and safe tool for cutting cardboard.

Strawbees

Easy-to-use connectors link ordinary drinking straws. This is a great collaborative activity.

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Cubelets (shown here with yellow LEGO adapters)

Children progress from palming the cubes to holding them with thumb and two fingers (dynamic tripod grip), manipulating and connecting them in a workable sequence. Â

LEGOs and DUPLOs (building on vertical and horizontal surfaces)

3 yr-olds begin school year using DUPLO bricks, progress to LEGO. Â

Stringing beads on laces Helps with hand-eye coordination as well as fine motor gripping. Begin with pipecleaners or other rigid items, then progress to “floppy” laces.

Hole punch (Punched shapes are used to make collages.)

Requires leverage and transferring weight to hand.

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Helping Hands tool set Specially-designed tools to help scoop, transfer, grab and practice scissor grip.

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Wooden clothespins for clipping cardstock and transferring items such as pompoms Helps develop pincer grip, strengthen the webspace between thumb and index finger, and separate radial and ulnar sides of hand

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Guidecraft Screw Block

Encourages child to grasp and rotate screwdriver to set or remove chubby wooden screws from color-coordinated holes in block. Â

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Tinker trays (made from new or recycled shadow box or printer’s trays; fill with wires, washers, beads, pebbles, corks, etc.)

Young makers love creating with loose parts.

Jumbo craft sticks with Velcro dots Children press together, then pull apart the Velcro as they make shapes and structures.

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Coding with Bee Bots -- floor robot version

Children press directional buttons (repetitive tapping) as they program the BeeBots to navigate obstacle courses the children create; precursor to computer-based coding and robotics.

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Tegu magnetic wooden blocks allow children to build stable structures and learn about magnetic attraction.

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Twisteez wires

Children enjoy wrapping these flexible wires around pencils or dowels to make coils and curls.

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Wooden blocks barn built by 3-year olds

cathedral built by 4-year olds

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Magna-Tiles

Magnetic, colorful translucent pieces for 2D or 3D building. Children rotate pieces using pincer grip. Great for collaborative building.

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Modeling clay and Play-doh All-round great medium for children to pinch, knead, roll and shape.

Tiny Tap

(new logo replaces the previous yellow Teddy bear icon)

Children make games to practice sorting and classifying objects.

app store; google play & desktop versions available

Tangram for Osmo

Children pick up, flip, and The app is free, but the reposition tiles to emulate reflector device and game designs shown on iPad. pieces cost about $80.

Dexteria Jr.

App includes three games with several levels of difficulty for children to practice tapping, line tracing, and pincer grip. app store -- paid app

Puppet Pals

Children engage in early collaborative digital storytelling as they create tales of characters who meet in a chosen setting.

At $3.99, the Director’s pass is worth it.

Book Creator Allows children to narrate captions for photographs of their made items, producing an online book to share with others. They tap and swipe with one finger, demonstrating hand preference.

app store & google play versions available

Coding apps Pre-K children who are ready for online block coding may practice swiping and tapping while solving problems or challenges.

Scratch Jr. app store & google play versions available Â

Bee-Bot iPad app

Daisy the Dinosaur iPad app

Instructables

Good source for ideas, although most are for older makers.

Pinterest

The absolute best resource for preschool maker activities!

Resources

Books, articles, blogs, and sites for more ideas