Rainbow Ribbon Spool
- Play time:
- 5 to 10 minutes
- Setup:
- 5 minutes
- Where:
- Floor
Why it helps
This activity is a wonderful way to help your toddler learn how to coordinate their left and right hands. Winding the ribbons helps them practice motions needed for future skills like buttoning or zipping. The resistance of the spool helps wake up the small muscles in their palms. It also encourages them to stay focused on a single task from start to finish. Watching the bright colors spin is very engaging for young eyes!
Steps
- Tape the ends of three colorful ribbons, each about as long as your arm, around the middle of a paper roll.
- Wind the ribbons around the roll, then slide the roll onto the handle of a wooden spoon.
- Lay the spoon across the top of a small basket, narrower than the spoon, and tape it to the rim. Check that the roll spins freely.
- Invite your child to pull a ribbon and watch the spool spin as it unwinds.
- Show them how to turn the roll with their fingers to wind the ribbon back up, while the other hand guides the ribbon.
- Keep the ribbon a little tight as it winds so it wraps neatly around the roll.
Safety tip: Stay right beside your child and put the spool away after play, since long ribbons can wrap around a neck. Keep tape pieces out of mouths.
Make it easier
- Use one ribbon at a time so the strands do not tangle.
- Choose wide, stiff ribbon, which is easier to grab and wind than thin ribbon.
- Take turns: you turn the roll while your child feeds the ribbon on, then switch jobs.
Make it harder
- Tie a small stuffed animal to the end of one ribbon and wind until it reaches the basket.
- Wind the ribbons in rainbow order, one color at a time.
- Time a race to wind one ribbon all the way up.
What to watch for
- Notice whether your child turns the roll with the fingertips or with the whole palm.
- Watch whether the guiding hand keeps the ribbon tight or lets it go slack and tangle.
- If your child mostly wants to pull the ribbons out, follow that lead and wind them back up together as a team.
Where this helps in daily life
Turning with one hand while the other hand guides is the same teamwork kids use to roll up a sleeve, wind up a jump rope, and twist the cap off a toothpaste tube.
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.
