Putty Treasure Dig
Purpose
This is a wonderful 'heavy work' activity that helps strengthen the small muscles in the hands and fingers while providing organizing sensory input (proprioception). It’s excellent preparation for tasks like holding a pencil or managing scissors!
Activity Steps
Steps:
- Prepare the ‘treasure’ by breaking 8-10 pipe cleaners into halves. Hide them deeply inside a large ball of playdough (this is the ‘monster mash’). Place the playdough in a plastic container or on a safe mat.
- Challenge your child to become a ‘Treasure Hunter.’ Use two hands to squeeze, stretch, pull, and mash the playdough to uncover all the buried pipe cleaner pieces.
- Encourage them to use different hand movements: squeezing the dough with their whole hand, pushing down with their thumbs, and stretching it apart using both hands together.
- Once all the pieces are found, help them reshape the dough back into a ball. They can hide the treasure again or count how many ‘gems’ they found!
Safety Tip:
Always supervise this activity closely. Ensure that the child understands that the playdough and pipe cleaners are not food items. Wash hands thoroughly when finished.
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