Toys for improving fine motor skills?

[shivster1980]

DS is 4yrs 4months and I would like to treat him to a new and exciting toy for half term -but I would also like this toy to improve his fine motor skills. He struggles with a pencil at school and undoing buttons etc. Any exciting recommendations?

Something like hama beads? Needs quite a lot of precision to put the beads in the right place.

Play dough and lego. Both build fine motor skills also develop muscle tone in fingers.

Lego, Hama, puzzles, threading beads - or dried pasta shapes, cut up straws, popcorn and marshmallows(for a halloween theme) etc - stacking towers/Jenga, making pizza dough and chopping food for toppings, cutting and sticking type craft projects and collages,(make leaf rubbings or collect conkers etc on a walk).

Thank you all All replies gratefully received.

Deffently Lego (great stuff), Hama beads are great but get everywhere, we have just bought the dd's some 'moon dough' which is great (but messy) as you nned to sqeeze it into small moulds etc..