The Pincer Mask Maker

Ages:: Preschoolers (3 to 5), School age (6+)
Play time:: 15 to 20 minutes
Setup:: 5 minutes
Where:: Table

Why it helps

This fun mask activity is perfect for working on your child's hand muscles. By picking up small beans and tiny sequins, your child builds the pincer grasp needed for writing. Tearing and cutting the bag helps both hands work together. It also encourages creative play as they design a new face. It is a great way to improve focus while having a blast.

Steps

Draw two large eye circles on a paper bag.
Help your child cut out the eyes.
Spread glue around the eyes.
Use a pincer grasp to pick up one bean at a time.
Press the beans into the glue to make eyebrows.
Add sequins for a sparkly nose.
Slide the bag over your head to reveal your new face!

Safety tip: Supervise your child closely while using scissors. Small beans and sequins can be a choking hazard. Keep all small parts away from the mouth.

Make it easier

Poke a starter hole in each eye circle so your child can begin cutting from there, or cut the eyes yourself.
Swap the beans for larger pieces, like cotton balls or torn paper, which are easier to pick up and press.
Draw the glue lines for the eyebrows so your child only needs to place the beans.

Make it harder

Make a pattern in each eyebrow, like bean, sequin, bean, sequin.
Pick up each sequin with tweezers and place it right side up.
Have your child draw and cut a mouth too, with a curvy or zigzag line.

What to watch for

Notice whether your child picks up beans with the tips of the thumb and pointer finger, or slides them off the table into the palm.
Watch how the helper hand turns the bag while the scissors cut around each eye circle.
If wearing a bag over the head feels too closed in, hold the mask up to the face or wear it as a hand puppet instead.