Vertical Tear & Crumple Press
Purpose
This fun activity is designed to wake up the muscles in your child's hands and fingers. Tearing paper is great heavy work that gives deep feedback (proprioception) to the joints and helps build strength for future skills like holding crayons or opening containers. When your toddler crumples the paper tightly, they develop small hand muscles (intrinsic muscle development) and precision in their fingertips. Working on a vertical surface also encourages your child to use their core and shoulder muscles to stabilize the body, which improves overall control for tasks done at a table. The firm pressing action reinforces finger strength and fine motor control.
Activity Steps
Steps:
- Secure the cardboard piece vertically onto a stable wall or door using masking tape.
- Use long strips of masking tape, sticky side OUT, to create a large shape (like a circle or square) onto the cardboard surface.
- Give your toddler strips of construction paper. Encourage them to use both hands to tear the paper into small, rough pieces.
- Challenge your child to crumple each torn piece tightly into a small, dense ball using only their fingertips.
- Hold the cardboard steady with the helper hand. Pick up one dense paper ball using a pincer grasp.
- Use a strong, controlled push to firmly press the paper ball onto the vertical sticky tape shape. Repeat until the shape is covered.
Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Torn paper pieces are a choking hazard for children under three. Ensure your child remains standing or sitting stably and does not attempt to put materials in their mouth.
