Glue - Page 5 of 16

Tissue Tear Treasures

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.

Foam Monster Feed

Steps:

An adult should cut out a large, fun shape from the Foam Sheet and Glue it securely onto the Plastic Container (this is the monster’s face).
Use Markers to draw a face. Then, carefully poke 10 to 15 small holes through the Foam and Container. The holes should be slightly smaller than the Pipe Cleaners for good resistance.
Place the container on the table. Ask your child to use one hand to firmly hold the container steady (proximal stability).
Challenge your child to use their dominant hand to pick up one Pipe Cleaner (the “monster snack”) using a precise Pincer Grasp.
Encourage them to push the pipe cleaner straight into one of the resistant holes to ‘feed’ the monster. The pushing provides great heavy work for their hands.

Safety Tip:
Adult supervision is required. Pipe cleaners can have sharp ends after cutting or pose a mild choking hazard if put in the mouth. Ensure the bucket is stable before the child pushes the materials.

Precision Bead Path

Steps:

Draw a simple winding path or grid onto the index card using a marker.
Make small, uniform dots along the drawn path to create targets.
Carefully place tiny dots of liquid glue onto each marker target dot.
Use a strong pincer grasp (thumb and index finger) to pick up one bead.
Stabilize the card with the helper hand. Precisely place the bead directly onto the wet glue dot.
Continue working to fill the entire dotted path until your design is complete.

Safety Tip:
Beads are very small and pose a serious choking hazard for children under five. Maintain constant, direct adult supervision throughout this activity. Ensure all materials are collected and stored safely after play.

Felt Slot Feed

Steps:

Adult Prep: Cut a felt square to cover the container opening. Glue the felt securely onto the container rim, creating a lid.
Cut 4 to 6 short, narrow slits (about 1 inch long) into the center of the felt lid. These slits must be tight.
Give your child a sheet of construction paper. Encourage them to use both hands to tear the paper into small pieces (about stamp-sized).
Ask your child to hold the container steady with their helper hand to provide proximal stability.
Challenge them to use a strong finger push to insert one torn paper piece through a narrow felt slot.
Continue feeding the container until all the torn paper scraps are successfully pushed through the resistant felt slots.

Safety Tip:
Adult supervision is required when using scissors. The torn paper pieces are small and pose a potential choking hazard for children who still place objects in their mouths.

Egg Cup Dot Art

Steps:

Prepare the palette by cutting the lid off an egg carton. Place a small dab of glue or paint inside the bottom of each egg cup.
Give the child one piece of construction paper and several Q-tips. Encourage them to hold the Q-tip using their thumb and pointer finger (pincer grasp).
Challenge the child to dip the Q-tip into one cup to collect the paint or glue.
The goal is to carefully transfer the Q-tip to the construction paper to make precise dots or follow a pre-drawn line.
Encourage the child to switch colors and fill the entire paper with dots. They must stabilize the paper with their helper hand.

Safety Tip:
Due to the small size of the Q-tips and glue/paint, close adult supervision is required. Ensure the child understands the materials are not for eating or placing near the face.