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Styro-Dart Challenge

School-age boy aiming a pipe cleaner dart at a Styrofoam target to practice wrist extension, shoulder strength, and ocular control in a home playroom.

Steps:

Help your child draw a bullseye target on the Styrofoam block using markers. Assign different point values to the rings (e.g., 50 points for the center, 10 points for the outer ring).
Transform the pipe cleaners into ‘darts.’ Have your child fold one end into a small, easy-to-grip loop (the handle). Tightly curl the opposite end into a sharp spiral or point that will stick into the Styrofoam.
Set up the target using the cardboard as a stand/easel. Have your child stand 3 to 5 feet away. Emphasize holding the dart so their wrist is slightly bent back (extended) for better control before aiming.
Challenge your child to toss the pipe cleaner darts at the target, trying to grade their force (proprioception) so the dart sticks in without bouncing off. Keep track of points for a fun competition!

Safety Tip:
Ensure the children stand far enough apart if multiple children are playing. Supervise to ensure the pipe cleaner ‘darts’ are only thrown at the designated Styrofoam target and not toward faces or other objects.

Fuzzy Stick Postbox

Steps:

Take a sturdy piece of cardboard (like the side of a shoe box) and, using a pencil or pen, carefully poke several holes across the surface. Make sure the holes are just wide enough for a pipe cleaner to fit through easily.
Present the cardboard ‘postbox’ and a pile of brightly colored pipe cleaners to your child. Encourage them to pick up a fuzzy stick with one hand and hold the cardboard steady with the other.
Guide your toddler to push the pipe cleaners through the holes, acting as if they are “mailing” the sticks to the other side. Encourage them to try different hole locations to increase motor planning demands.

Safety Tip:
Since this activity involves small, flexible materials, adult supervision is required at all times. Pipe cleaners can pose a choking hazard for children under 3 who may mouth objects.

Buttoning Board

Buttoning is a fun fine motor skill to work on! It is more motivating when it involves our children’s favorite characters; in this case, Noodle & Pals from Super Simple Songs on YouTube!

Here, we created peek-a-boo buttoning boards that progressed from easy to more challenging buttoning skills.

Preparation:

Step 1: Cut up a piece of cardboard of your desired size (Our cardboard is the blue & white checkered print in the photo).

Step 2: Cut felt to your desired size. Ensure there will be enough overlap between the felt pages when you close the buttoning board.

Step 3: Glue the edge of the felt to the edges of the backside of the cardboard.

Step 4: Glue/sew the buttons on one side of one of the felt pages.

Step 5: Cut out slits to match the sizes of your buttons on the other felt page.

Step 6: Optional – take a marker & outline the edges of the button openings (the slits you just cut), so it makes it easier to visually identify the location of the buttonhole opening.

Step 7: Print, cut & glue on your child’s favorite character at the top of the cardboard sheet.

Tips and Grading Options:

Warm-Ups:

Insert popsicle sticks through slits on a coffee cup lid.
Insert coins into piggy banks.
Pick out buttons from playdough.

To make it easier:

Start with fewer buttons.
Create larger buttoning hole openings.
Highlight the buttoning hole openings by drawing around them (such as the black markings in the photo).
Use larger buttons.
Demonstrate how to button & use simple language.

To make it more challenging:

Increase the number of buttons.
Create smaller buttoning hole openings.
Use smaller buttons.
Use fabric with busy patterns.
Use fabric with flimsier material.

As always, ensure safety in all activities. Provide assistance and supervision as needed.

Enjoy!

Catch the Turkey

For this activity, you will need a brown construction paper, yellow construction paper, and an orange construction paper. If you don’t have any colored construction paper, you can use a piece of cardboard (an empty cereal box or any other dry food box can be used) and white paper.

On the brown construction paper or cardboard, draw half a circle. This will be the turkey’s body.

Use the orange construction paper and draw a circle big enough to be used as the turkey’s head.

On the yellow construction paper draw a small triangle, to use as the turkey’s beak. If using a white piece of paper, draw a circle and a triangle, and let the child color these shapes orange and yellow.

Ask the child to cut the brown half of a circle, the orange circle, and the triangle.

Have the child glue the orange circle in the middle of the half-circle. Then, provide the child with red tempera or finger paint, ask him to dip his pointer finger in the paint, and then stamp it in the middle of the orange circle. This will be the turkey’s wobble.

Next, use the glue to glue the yellow triangle on the top part of the wobble. Use the marker or crayon to draw the turkey’s eyes. You can also use googly eyes.

Using the clothespins, instruct the child to pick one clothespin at a time, pinch it, and place it on the curved part of the half-circle, stabilizing the paper (turkey’s body) with the non-dominant hand. Cover the turkey’s body with as many clothespins you can. These are the turkey’s feathers.

Grading Option

You can use specific colors of clothespins, draw matching dots of colors on the turkey’s body, and have the child match the color of the clothespin with the colored dot.

Squeeze this Puffy Paint

For this activity, you will need to use flour, salt, and water to add to the puffy paint.

In a mixing bowl mix an equal amount of flour, salt, and water.

Add the paint and mix well.

Fill the squeeze bottle with the paint mixture and let the child squeeze the puffy paint onto cardboard to create a picture.

When dry, the paint becomes hard and shiny.

To work on visual motor skills you can have the child imitate or copy different strokes, shapes or letters.