With the back-to-school buzz beginning to settle, September is the perfect time to reinforce routines and build independence during morning work! These September fine motor activities for morning tubs are just what your students need to stay engaged as they strengthen those essential fine motor skills. From cutting and tracing to pinching and clipping, these hands-on activities are a fun and effective way to sneak in fine motor practice—while giving you a few extra minutes to take attendance, check folders, or greet students at the door. Whether you use them for morning tubs, centers, or early finishers, they’re sure to become a classroom favorite!

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Math September Fine Motor Activities

These math September fine motor activities are perfect for morning tubs, and they work just as well for centers and early finishers too!

Even better, they’re simple to prep using materials you likely already have on hand in your classroom.

Colorful Numbers

Students get to build numbers 1-10 using snap cubes and then place the correct number of “colored pencils” in the box (ten frame).

Count the Crayons

For this 1:1 counting activity, students will clip the correct number of crayons to each crayon box.

Fill the Crayon Box

At this making 5 center, students will use two different colors of linking cubes to model each equation.

Paper Clip Pencils

Students will slide the correct color paper clip onto each pencil and then extend the pattern accordingly.

Sort the Apples

For this “Sort the Apples” activity, students will work on sorting the beads by color.

Apple count

For this math fine motor activity, use the play dough to form each number and then place the correct number of apples on the tree.

Apple Patterns

Students will use tweezers to place pom poms inside each colored apple and then extend the pattern with the correct colors.

Apple Tree Shapes

Using a clothespin, students will clip the correct apple shape that matches the object in the tree.

Ordering Apples

Students will use chain links to connect the apples in numerical order with this “Ordering Apples” math activity.

Whose Shape

Keep those chain links handy for this next fine motor activity, where students link real-life objects to each shape.

Subitizing Sunflowers

This is another fine motor activity that uses chain links. For this activity, students connect the correct sunflowers to each basket.

Literacy September Fine Motor Activities

While students always love the math September fine motor activities, we can’t forget to mix in some hands-on literacy too! Here’s a little peek inside:

Build the Letter

Students will work on building lowercase letters as they snap cubes together to form each letter.

Doughy CVC Words

For this September fine motor activity, students use chain links to connect the letters/sounds in the correct order for each CVC word.

Backpack Builders

With this morning tub, students will use play dough to form each uppercase and lowercase letter and then mark each picture that begins with the sound.

Lunchbox Letters

Students use chain links to connect the lunchboxes in alphabetical order.

Reading Rhymes

This is a great activity for working on rhyming words. Students use a clothespin to clip the picture that rhymes with the picture on the book.

Alphabet Apples

Students will build each letter using using pom poms, bingo chips, or mini erasers. For an extra fine motor challenge, gator tweezers can be used to place each manipulative.

Alphabet Stems

To make this September fine motor activity possible, prep clothespins by writing lowercase and uppercase letters on the ends with a Sharpie. Students can then practice letter recognition by clipping the correct stem to each apple.

Apple Pie Letters

Help the boy get the pie to the oven by tracing each letter with a dry erase marker, during this fun letter formation activity.

Build a Basket

For this September fine motor activity, students will use the correct colored popsicle sticks to build each apple basket.

Sunflower Sounds

Practice beginning sounds with this fun “Sunflower Sounds” activity, where students clip the correct stem to each sunflower.

Sunflower Syllables

Students use the correct number of snap cubes to count the number of syllables they hear in each word.

Tools for September Fine Motor Activities

Here is a complete list of tools the students will need to complete these September fine motor activities:

• Chain Links
• Play Dough
• Dry Erase Markers
• Pattern Blocks
• Clothespins
• Colored Clothespins
• Bingo Chips
• Pom Poms
• Snap Cubes
• Linking Cubes
• Pony Beads
• Pipe Cleaners
• Clothespins with Letters
• Gator Tweezers
• Colored Popsicle Sticks
• Colored Paper Clips

September Fine Motor Activities

Grab all 20 math and ELA September fine motor activities, including two bonus activities here!

More September Activities

If you love these September fine motor activities for morning tubs, you will love these September centers for kindergarten!

Introduce these name crafts in September to help students build name recognition, while showcasing their creativity.

September is a great time to introduce some apple crafts! Head to this post to discover five simple apple crafts plus some FREEBIES!

DON’T FORGET IT… PIN IT!