Carousel Clip Spin
- Play time:
- 10 to 15 minutes
- Setup:
- 5 minutes
- Where:
- Table
Why it helps
This activity uses a fun rotation challenge to strengthen the tiny muscles in the hands. It focuses on the pincer grip used for writing and scissors, and encourages using both hands together.
Steps
- Help your child decorate the paper plate with markers to make the top of the carousel.
- Show your child how to lay a craft stick across the rim and clip a clothespin over both, so the stick points straight out like a spoke. Add six to eight spokes around the plate.
- Before play, poke a hole through the center of the plate and the center of a piece of cardboard with a sharp pencil. Wiggle the pencil in the plate hole to make it a little bigger.
- Set the plate on the cardboard with the holes lined up. Push the pencil down through both, point first, so it stands up as the carousel pole.
- Ask your child to hold the cardboard base steady with the helper hand. If the pole leans, they can hold the top of it instead.
- Show your child how to flick a spoke with the pointer finger, or pinch and push it, to make the carousel turn around the pole.
- Try gentle flicks for a slow ride and stronger flicks for a faster one, and turn it the other way too.
Safety tip: Do the hole poking yourself and keep the pencil point down in the base. Check the craft sticks for splinters, and show your child where to squeeze the clothespins so fingers do not get pinched.
Need personalized support?
While these activities are great for home practice, nothing replaces the guidance of a licensed therapist. If you are in Irvine, CA or the Orange County area and have concerns about your child's Bilateral Hand Use, we invite you to connect with us.
Contact Tumble N' Dots Therapy →These activities are for home practice and don't replace the guidance of a licensed therapist.
