Pom-poms are simple, colourful and surprisingly useful for fine motor play.
Picking up and moving small objects encourages children to use their fingers carefully while practising hand-eye coordination, concentration and control.
These activities can be set up in just a few minutes using items you may already have at home or in the classroom.
What You’ll Need
You can use:
- Large craft pom-poms
- Small bowls or containers
- Child-safe tweezers
- Tongs
- Spoons
- Muffin trays
- Egg cartons
- Cups
- Ice cube trays
- Coloured paper
For younger children, use large pom-poms and supervise closely.
1. Pom-Pom Bowl Transfer
Place pom-poms in one bowl and an empty bowl beside it.
Ask children to move the pom-poms from one bowl to the other using their fingers.
Encourage them to pick up one pom-pom at a time.
This simple activity is excellent for practising the pincer grip.
2. Tweezer Transfer
Give children child-friendly tweezers.
Ask them to pick up each pom-pom and move it into another container.
Start with larger pom-poms before trying smaller ones.
The squeezing movement helps strengthen the fingers used for pencil control.
3. Tong Transfer
Use kitchen tongs or child-sized tongs to move pom-poms between bowls.
Children need to squeeze, hold and release the tongs carefully.
Make it fun by pretending the pom-poms are:
- Food
- Treasure
- Snowballs
- Animal food
4. Spoon the Pom-Poms
Give children a spoon and two containers.
Ask them to scoop one pom-pom at a time and carefully move it across.
Try not to let the pom-pom fall.
This supports wrist control and hand-eye coordination.
5. Colour Sorting
Place several coloured containers or pieces of coloured paper on the table.
Children match pom-poms to the same colour.
For example:
Red pom-pom → red bowl
Blue pom-pom → blue bowl
Green pom-pom → green bowl
This combines fine motor practice with colour recognition.
6. Muffin Tray Sorting
Place a muffin tray in front of the child.
Add pom-poms to a bowl and ask children to put them into the tray.
You can encourage them to:
- Put one in each space
- Sort by colour
- Sort by size
- Count how many are in each section
7. Pom-Pom Counting
Write numbers such as:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
on small cards.
Place the correct number of pom-poms beside each card.
For example:
3 → ● ● ●
Children can use fingers, tweezers or tongs to place each pom-pom.
8. Fill the Ice Cube Tray
Give children an empty ice cube tray.
Ask them to place one pom-pom into every space.
For an extra challenge, give instructions such as:
“Put a yellow pom-pom here.”
“Can you add two blue pom-poms?”
“Fill the whole row with red.”
9. Pom-Pom Pattern Making
Create a simple colour pattern such as:
Red – Blue – Red – Blue
Ask children to continue the pattern.
Try:
Yellow – Green – Green – Yellow – Green – Green
Older children can invent their own patterns.
10. Pom-Pom Rescue Game
Place pom-poms inside an egg carton, muffin tray or small containers.
Tell children the pom-poms need to be “rescued.”
They must use tweezers or tongs to carefully pick each one up and move it to safety.
Adding a simple story can make fine motor practice feel more like a game.
Make It More Challenging
Once children become confident, try:
- Smaller pom-poms
- Narrower tweezers
- Smaller containers
- Longer transfer distances
- Sorting by two features, such as colour and size
- Using the non-dominant hand
- Completing a simple pattern
Increase the difficulty gradually.
Skills Children Can Practise
Pom-pom transfer activities can support:
- Pincer grip
- Finger strength
- Hand-eye coordination
- Bilateral coordination
- Concentration
- Colour recognition
- Sorting
- Counting
- Pattern recognition
- Early maths skills
Keep the Activity Simple
You don’t need an elaborate setup.
A bowl of pom-poms, a pair of tongs and an empty container can provide plenty of useful fine motor practice.
Children often enjoy repeating transfer activities because they can immediately see their progress.
Keep Learning With PlayPrintGrow
Small movements build important skills.
Pick, squeeze, transfer, sort and count while giving little hands plenty of opportunities to become stronger and more controlled.
Pick. Sort. Transfer. Grow.
