Metal Button Spire

Ages:: Preschoolers (3 to 5), School age (6+)
Play time:: 10 to 15 minutes
Setup:: 5 minutes
Where:: Table

Why it helps

Twisting nuts down a bolt with the fingertips builds hand strength and the small, precise finger turns used for caps and knobs. Sliding on washers and lining up each nut takes careful aim. Holding the base steady with the other hand also gives your child practice using both hands together, each with its own job.

Steps

Before play, use the pencil to poke a hole in the center of a sturdy cardboard square.
Push a long bolt up through the hole from underneath so the threads point straight up.
Twist the first nut down tight against the cardboard so the bolt stands up straight.
Ask your child to hold the cardboard base steady with the helper hand.
Show your child how to slide a washer, the flat metal ring that looks like a button, onto the bolt so it rests on the nut. Washers often come in nuts and bolts sets.
Pick up a nut and twist it onto the bolt with the fingertips, then spin it all the way down until it touches the washer.
Keep adding a washer, then a nut, to build a tall, shiny spire.

Safety tip: Nuts, bolts, and washers are small parts and a choking risk, so stay close and keep them away from younger siblings. An adult pokes the hole in the cardboard.

Make it easier

Use a large bolt and big nuts that are easy to grip and twist.
Start each nut on the threads for your child and let them spin it down.
Use fewer pieces so the spire is finished after three or four nuts.

Make it harder

Use smaller nuts and bolts, or try to spin each nut down without stopping.
Twist each nut on with the helper hand.
Build a stack and ask your child to copy it, matching the order of the pieces from bottom to top.

What to watch for

Notice whether your child twists the nut with the tips of the thumb and fingers or spins it with one flat finger, like turning a wheel.
Watch whether the helper hand keeps the base flat and steady while the twisting hand works.
If the cold, hard feel of metal is not your child's favorite, try large plastic nuts and bolts from a toy set.

Where this helps in daily life

Twisting a small nut with the fingertips is the same motion kids use to screw on a toothpaste cap, twist a glue stick up and down, and turn small knobs on toys.

These activities are for home practice and don't replace the guidance of a licensed therapist.