Sticky Bean Rescue
Purpose
This activity is fantastic for developing the small muscles inside your child's hands. Squeezing the tongs strengthens the necessary grip needed for tasks like using scissors and holding pencils. The putty provides heavy resistance when pulling out the beans. This heavy work helps children learn to grade their force and effort accurately. Using two hands—one to stabilize the container (Proximal Stability) and the other to carefully rescue the beans—builds excellent coordination for daily self-care tasks.
Activity Steps
Steps:
- Take a handful of Theraputty and hide the dry beans deep inside it. Mash the putty into a firm ball.
- Press the putty firmly into the bottom of the plastic container. This keeps the sticky base steady for the rescue mission.
- Pick up the tongs. Use them to carefully grip one bean at a time and pull it straight out of the sticky putty.
- Transfer the rescued beans into a separate pile on the table. Count how many beans you saved!
- If a bean is too deep or stubborn, use a craft stick to gently loosen it from the putty before trying again with the tongs.
Safety Tip:
Beans and Theraputty are small objects. Maintain constant adult supervision during this activity, as these materials pose a choking hazard for children under five. Ensure the child washes hands after using the putty.
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