Provide the child or adult with a flexible, malleable material like PlayDoh or Theraputty. These materials are available at toy stores and teachers' supply stores. Using the putty material as a hiding place for small objects like coins or toys is a sure winner with both children and adults. Invent competitions using similar ideas.
Make cutting with blunt scissors a favorite activity by providing colorful paper and paste. Encourage practice using the scissors to cut off corners, cut curved lines and cut out simple objects and paste them onto a background. Experiment with having the person paste the cutouts along an outline drawn on a plain piece of paper with a wide marker.
Encourage coloring and painting for both adults and children. Staying within the outlines of the pictures in a simple coloring book is good practice but working with finger paint is even better. Have the person use finger paint to trace numbers and letters or shapes as well as create impressionistic art.
Make sandpaper letters and numbers to use in tracing and identifying letters. Have the child or adult trace over sandpaper letters while blindfolded. An advanced step would be to form words with the letters. Encourage the person to trace letters in the air and on textured surfaces like corduroy or poured salt, all intended to reinforce the sensory impression of the symbols. Printed mazes and follow-the-dots books may appeal to older children or adults.
Have the child or adult practice the skills required for clothing by dressing a doll. Provide garments with large buttons, zippers, ties, hooks and eyes and other fasteners. Move on to improve the ease with which the person dresses himself. Add some household chores like dusting or vacuuming to the curriculum of fine motor skill activities and do not overlook the possibilities presented in cooking activities. Measuring, stirring, dispensing and using kitchen utensils all contribute to the development of fine motor skills.