Material: Container

Can You Feel It

Fill up a large container or a bucket with beans, rice, macaroni, sand, or birdseeds (you can mix a few media together if you wish to).

Let the child put his/her hands in the container and pour, sift or move the media from side to side.

When using bird seeds it is recommended to powder the child’s hands with some baby powder to keep the birdseeds from sticking to the palms of the hands.

Mixing small plastic shapes, plastic letters and numbers, small plastic animals and any other educationally related items in the media can be a fun way for the child to develop his/her stereognosis sense.

Balance on the Web

Using the masking tape, create a large spider web shape on the floor or carpet. Place the container in the center of the web.

Place different objects to be picked up inside the spider web. Ping-pong balls and bean bags work well for this purpose.

Ask the child to walk and stay on the web lines while picking up all the objects along the way and putting the objects in the container. As the child picks up the object, encourage him to squat down, reach for the object while staying on the line, pick up the object, and return to a standing position.

For grading, ask the child to throw the objects into the container and use a point system where the child gets a point for scoring and loses a point if he falls off the spider web line.

You can also work on pincer grasp by using small objects, such as plastic bugs, and have the child use tongs or tweezers to pick up the items.

Fun Jar

Use a large, empty, and clean jar for this activity.

Provide the child with pipe cleaners and/or straws and instruct him to insert the items through the holes on the jar’s lid.

You can ask the child to sort the items by color or size before placing them in the jar.

If using a jar that has holes and a small opening on the lid, you can use additional items to place through the opening, such as pom-poms, buttons, large beads, coins, etc.

The child can use tongs or tweezers to catch the items before dropping them through the large opening.

If you cannot find a spice jar, you can use a regular container and poke holes in the lid, using a hole-puncher or cut holes with scissors.

Strengthening Clothespins

For this activity, you will need colored clothespins in 4 different colors or if you have wooden clothespins you can color them or mark them with 4 colors.

The colors should match the color of the construction paper.

Cover the containers with construction paper. Let the child choose a color and then roll the dice.

The child is then asked to place the clothespins on the edge of the matching colored container.

If the dice rolled 1, have the child place 1 clothespin on the edge of the container. If the dice rolled 2, use 2 clothespins. Etc.

This activity can also be done in a group as part of a game where each child has 1 container and is playing to get as many clothespins on his container in an allotted time.

Balance the Beans

Place a container full of beans on one end of the room or the area you work in and an empty container on the other end.

Use the tape to mark a straight line between the two containers. Have the child hold the spoon in one hand (preferably the child’s preferred hand) and ask the child to scoop a spoonful of beans.

Instruct the child to walk on the line that you’ve marked and transferred the beans on his spoon from one side to the other side, placing the beans in the empty container.

Repeat the activity until the empty container is filled with beans.

To provide proprioceptive input, ask the child to use animal walks (i.e. bear walk, crab walk, frog jumps, etc.) to get back to the starting point side (where the container filled with beans is).

You can also mark a curved path or a crooked path with the tape or you can use a balance beam to make the activity more challenging.

For strengthening purpose, you can put a weighted wrist bend on the child’s hand (the one used to hold the spoon).

It’s also fun to do this activity in a group session. Have a spoon rally to see who can fill up the empty container first.