Fabric - OTPlan

The Texture Match Mailbox

Steps:

Help your child cut three small rectangles from the felt, fabric, and foil.
Glue one of these texture samples next to a small slot you cut in the shoe box lid.
Cut several more small scraps of each material and put them in a pile.
Ask your child to feel a texture on the lid first.
Challenge them to find the matching scrap from the pile using their eyes and hands.
Once they find a match, have them push it through the correct slot!

Safety Tip:
Always supervise your child while they are using scissors. Ensure all material scraps are large enough to be handled safely and not placed in the mouth.

The Cardboard Box Texture Tunnel

Steps:

Use masking tape to connect two large boxes to create a long, sturdy tunnel.
Cut the flaps off both ends so your child has a clear path to crawl through.
Use tape to secure different pieces of fabric to the bottom of the tunnel.
Stick several soft cotton balls to the inner walls of the box using glue or tape.
Encourage your child to crawl through the tunnel and touch the various textures.
Talk about the sensations, asking if the walls feel soft, fuzzy, or smooth.

Safety Tip:
CHOKING HAZARD: Cotton balls are small parts. Always supervise your toddler closely and ensure they do not pull them off to put in their mouth.

Preparation:

Step 1: Lay out an old shirt flat on the table. Optional: Draw shapes on the shirt with non-toxic markers to address pre-writing skills.

Step 2: Take fabric scissors and begin to cut strips to your desired length. Maintain approximately 2-inches of width.

Step 3: Take one of those strips & use it to tie a group of 3 strips together. Make sure to leave approximately 2-inches from the end.

Step 4: Braid the 3 strips.

Step 5: Take another strip & use it to tie the braid together at the bottom.

Tips:

Use scissors that match your child’s hand dominance.
Hold the fabric in place as they cut.
Use 3 various colors of fabric to make teaching them braiding skills easier.

As always, please provide assistance and supervision as needed.

Share your creation with your lovable dog & enjoy!

Button The Shapes

For this activity, you will first need to create the button container using plastic containers with lids. Use the scissors to pierce a hole in the lid.

Take one button and insert a 3-inch pipe cleaner through 2 of the button holes.

Insert each edge of the pipe cleaner through the lid hole that you pierced and twist the 2 edges together on the bottom of the lid. This will hold the button in place on the lid.

Close the container with the lid so the button is at the top of the container.

Using a marker, mark a shape on the container.

Cut out pieces of felt in the same shapes that you marked the containers with. You can also use fabric for this.

Using the scissors, cut holes in the middle of each shape.

Provide the child with the button containers and the felt shapes. Ask the child to sort the felt pieces and button them on the right container marked with the matching shape.

For grading, you can use different sized buttons or you can also use one container with no marked shape and have the child follow a pattern from a visual model (i.e. button a circle, a triangle, and a rectangle in a repeated order).

Secret Message

Challenge your child’s core muscles by having them maintain a tabletop positioning (on their hands and knees).

Place a hand towel under their hands (or have them hold onto it), then have the child write out letters and words with their arm movements.

Guess their message by watching what they spell out with their towel.

Increase the challenge by:

Using their non-dominant hand.
Using their feet.

Material: Fabric