Store bought toys can be lots of fun but don’t underestimate the fun you and your little one can have with items you already have in your home. Below is a list of household items and easy activities that can be used both for fun & fine motor skill building!
photo via http://tinkerlab.com/rainbow-play-dough/
Materials
- Toothpicks
– Build shapes and towers with toothpicks using mini marshmallows
-Turn over a colander and feed the toothpicks into the small holes
- Cheerios/fruit loops
-Use cereal as your “beads” to practice bead stringing. Use pipe cleaners, string or coffee stirrers to string the cereal onto
- Uncooked pasta
-Use ziti or penne as “beads” to practice stringing
-Use smaller pasta such as elbow macaroni to glue on to pictures or outlines to make a textured mosaic
-Glue macaroni onto large letter or shape outlines to practice letters and shape recognition while developing fine motor skills
- Dried beans or rice
-Place dried rice or beans on a tray or shallow container. Hide small toys or buttons and have your child try to find them with their finger tips or use small tongs or strawberry hullers to pull them out
- Shaving cream or whipped cream
-Enjoy some sensory play time…..place shaving cream or whipped cream on a tray. Practice “drawing” line strokes, shapes or letters in the cream, with your fingertips.
- Sponges
-Cut sponge into small, 1/2” squares. Use 2 small bowls, one with water and one empty. Challenge your child to dip the sponge squares into the the water, then squeeze them out (using finger tips) into the empty bowl. Coloring the water with food coloring may make it more fun!
-Use small sponge squares to sponge paint a picture.
- Flour, salt, oil, food coloring, cream of tartar
-Make playdough! Follow this link from tinkerlab.com for a great homemade playdough recipe.
Both the process of making the playdough and playing with the playdoh will be great for hand strengthening.
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