Tissue Tear Treasures
Purpose
This fun tearing and crumpling activity is a powerful workout for tiny hand muscles, strengthening the fingers needed later for coloring, scissors, and writing. It also greatly improves how the two hands work together (bilateral coordination).
Activity Steps
Steps:
- Help your child draw a large, simple shape (like a star, a big letter, or a cloud) onto the construction paper. This will be the canvas for the ‘treasure’ art.
- Present the tissue paper. Encourage your child to use both hands to tear the tissue paper into small strips or pieces. Focus on using the thumb and index finger to initiate the tear.
- Show the child how to crumple those small pieces into tiny, tight balls (treasures!). This step heavily promotes strong intrinsic muscles and a precise pincer grasp.
- Apply glue along the lines of the drawn shape. Encourage the child to pick up the crumpled tissue balls and press them onto the glue, filling in the shape until the ‘treasure’ collage is complete.
Safety Tip:
Supervise closely during this activity. Ensure the child uses glue appropriately (dot, not a large glob). Because this activity involves very small pieces of paper, teach the child to keep them on the table, not near the mouth.
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