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March 6, 2009 | 26 Comments

Fine Motor Friday

Mini Mural !


When I was teaching Pre-Kindergarten we often did murals for two reasons, the first being cooperation, the second for the benefits that working on a vertical surface offers. Fine motor development is crucial for learning how to write. We often take our hand ,wrists and arm muscles for granted because we use them for so much but young children are still developing and strengthening theirs, this is a great exercise for them.

  1. Gather your materials. You will need some paper, crayons ( you’ll want washable) , and some stickers.
  2. Pin or tape the paper on your wall our child’s eye height. Painter’s tape is perfect for this, because it also gives your child a boundary to know not to color past. I keep forgetting to buy more!
  3. Start with the crayons.
  4. Next offer up some stickers. When they are peeling off the stickers they are also working out the muscles in their fingers, Use larger ones for beginners and smaller ones as they master the skill. My son worked on his mural on and off for an hour and a half, lots of practice with very little prep!
* I know that writing on the wall seems scary but the same way that your child learns not to draw on the table, they will figure out that the crayon is only supposed to touch the paper. A less scary thing to try is to use your magna doodle on the wall , or a felt board is great too*

Filed Under: Fine Motor Activities, Mural | 26 Comments

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26 Comments

  1. EntertainingMom says

    March 6, 2009 at 4:43 am

    I have an inexpensive easel for just that! We have a chalkboard on one side and a plain side that we can put paper on for painting and drawing.

    to EntertainingMom" aria-label='reply to this comment to EntertainingMom'>reply to this comment
  2. Meg says

    March 6, 2009 at 6:01 am

    YIKES. I don’t about drawing on my wall. Oh wait, it isn’t really MY wall. its my mom so I guess its ok! Hah.

    to Meg" aria-label='reply to this comment to Meg'>reply to this comment
  3. Miller Moments says

    March 6, 2009 at 8:18 am

    I think this is an awesome activity! We need to work on fine motor skills and I love the idea of teaching my son “boundaries”. I don’t know how you come up with so many clever ideas! I think I’m your biggest copycat.

    to Miller Moments" aria-label='reply to this comment to Miller Moments'>reply to this comment
  4. Allie says

    March 6, 2009 at 8:40 am

    Easels,chalkboards , dry erase boards etc… on an incline or on the wall are all perfect and will provide the same muscle development. Sadly I have none of those… but the Easter Bunny may be dropping one off 🙂

    I admit I was a little apprehensive about doing this but I used washable crayons and there was one single tiny bit of crayon that ended up on my wall, and I rubbed it off with my finger! I praised my son to high heaven for keeping it on the paper and left the stickers out for him to keep playing.

    to Allie" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allie'>reply to this comment
  5. Ruthie says

    March 6, 2009 at 10:22 am

    Great idea! We’ll have to try this. By the way, I love your little guy’s pajamas! My son has the same pair and they are my favorite! 🙂

    to Ruthie" aria-label='reply to this comment to Ruthie'>reply to this comment
  6. Teri says

    March 6, 2009 at 10:37 am

    Thanks so much for the fine-motor activity! I do often have kids peel stickers off of the paper when we're doing our letter pages (on our letter Uu page, where the Uu is written in block letters, I had them color the Uu in blue & then peel off fish stickers to make an "underwater" scene…We're going to play with clay next week & try to find buttons hidden inside of it! Should be lots of fun for fine motor development!

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  7. Michelle says

    March 6, 2009 at 11:07 am

    My daughter loves this project…ever since she was little I would put a piece of paper on the wall for her to doodle and add stickers too. The painters tape is a great idea for creating a boundary!

    to Michelle" aria-label='reply to this comment to Michelle'>reply to this comment
  8. Annette says

    March 6, 2009 at 11:38 am

    I noticed you didn’t give your little one the tape boundaries…and one little mark isn’t so bad! I will try this with our washable crayons, too!

    to Annette" aria-label='reply to this comment to Annette'>reply to this comment
  9. Allie says

    March 6, 2009 at 12:42 pm

    Only because I couldn’t find my tape ! I refuse to buy more because that stuff is costly and I know in my heart it’s somewhere in this house… not sure where but I’ll find it!

    to Allie" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allie'>reply to this comment
  10. Jennifer says

    March 6, 2009 at 12:47 pm

    We also do playdough on our sliding glass door for this same reason. Thanks for posting this. 🙂

    to Jennifer" aria-label='reply to this comment to Jennifer'>reply to this comment
  11. MaryAnne says

    March 6, 2009 at 1:08 pm

    Love the painter’s tape suggestion!

    to MaryAnne" aria-label='reply to this comment to MaryAnne'>reply to this comment
  12. Toni says

    March 6, 2009 at 9:27 pm

    love this activity, I am thinking I could tape it on our sliding doors too, crayon wshes off of those really well.

    to Toni" aria-label='reply to this comment to Toni'>reply to this comment
  13. Allie says

    March 6, 2009 at 10:58 pm

    As do markers great idea!

    to Allie" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allie'>reply to this comment
  14. Jenny says

    March 6, 2009 at 11:20 pm

    My daughter still has trouble keeping the marker on paper and not the table. Just today, I had to take soft scrub to it again. Poor table, it’s sure been loved!

    I left you an award on my blog! Come check it out.

    to Jenny" aria-label='reply to this comment to Jenny'>reply to this comment
  15. Swati says

    March 7, 2009 at 9:16 am

    We have steel cupboard doors, which I cover with old newspapers, and over that, drawing sheets go on with magnets.

    to Swati" aria-label='reply to this comment to Swati'>reply to this comment
  16. Andrea says

    March 11, 2009 at 8:19 am

    We had so much fun with this. It was a nice day so we did it outside in their playhouse. Most days I find an activity from your site to do when my two wake up from nap. Thank you!!

    to Andrea" aria-label='reply to this comment to Andrea'>reply to this comment
  17. Kate@Blog Buttons says

    March 26, 2009 at 8:37 am

    I am enjoying all these blogs. Yours is one of the best especially your graphics.

    to Kate@Blog Buttons" aria-label='reply to this comment to Kate@Blog Buttons'>reply to this comment
  18. Eliza@Household Tips Blog says

    March 26, 2009 at 8:38 am

    Happy blog party! I enjoy very much these blogs especially yours!

    to Eliza@Household Tips Blog" aria-label='reply to this comment to Eliza@Household Tips Blog'>reply to this comment
  19. Monik@Pregnancy Blog says

    March 26, 2009 at 8:40 am

    your blog is very helpful. I am really having fun looking at all these blogs

    to Monik@Pregnancy Blog" aria-label='reply to this comment to Monik@Pregnancy Blog'>reply to this comment
  20. Sharon says

    January 28, 2010 at 6:38 pm

    I find myself using one of the ideas from your site almost every day now. Thanks for helping us break out of the winter blahs. This activity is on my list for tomorrow. I hate the wallpaper anyway. 🙂

    to Sharon" aria-label='reply to this comment to Sharon'>reply to this comment
  21. Ashlyn Brunson says

    August 12, 2010 at 9:12 am

    I haven’t tried this, but I think it might work:
    You could probably do the same thing with window markers so that they can draw on the glass doors and windows. I know my son will love it, so I think I’ll try it!

    to Ashlyn Brunson" aria-label='reply to this comment to Ashlyn Brunson'>reply to this comment
  22. Ashlyn Brunson says

    August 13, 2010 at 1:17 pm

    I’m back! I tried the mini mural earlier today. I taped it onto the wall above the couch so he can stand on the couch and color (I would’ve done it so he could stand on the ground, but every wall of our playroom has something in front of it) and he has been coloring on and off all day. He loves the idea of coloring “on the wall” and I told him to keep it on the white, not the yellow and he totally gets it! It is probably his new favorite thing besides craft time! Thanks Allie!

    to Ashlyn Brunson" aria-label='reply to this comment to Ashlyn Brunson'>reply to this comment
  23. Alyssa says

    May 6, 2013 at 4:03 pm

    Quick tip, we use white contact paper that we lay on the wall to keep the kids from actually writing on the walls… Works wonders and peels right off when we want to take it down!

    to Alyssa" aria-label='reply to this comment to Alyssa'>reply to this comment

Trackbacks

  1. Fun Pre-Writing Activities ! | No Time For Flash Cards says:
    July 5, 2011 at 9:05 am

    […] *Write On The Wall with a Mini Mural […]

    to Fun Pre-Writing Activities ! | No Time For Flash Cards" aria-label='reply to this comment to Fun Pre-Writing Activities ! | No Time For Flash Cards'>reply to this comment
  2. 75 TV Free Activities For Toddlers | No Time For Flash Cards says:
    February 18, 2012 at 3:28 am

    […] Write on the walls. […]

    to 75 TV Free Activities For Toddlers | No Time For Flash Cards" aria-label='reply to this comment to 75 TV Free Activities For Toddlers | No Time For Flash Cards'>reply to this comment
  3. Frustration | INFJ Mom says:
    January 6, 2015 at 8:35 am

    […] I’m frustrated. I try to do all the cute little activities online (like this one – https://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2009/03/fine-motor-friday.html) and it lasts all of 2 seconds. I show him an example of what to do, he does that example, that […]

    to Frustration | INFJ Mom" aria-label='reply to this comment to Frustration | INFJ Mom'>reply to this comment

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