Markers - Page 31 of 46

Cardboard Link Structures

Steps:

Use markers to draw several long strips (about 1 inch wide) onto a piece of firm cardboard. Draw a few simple shapes like squares or circles, too.
Encourage your child to use child-safe scissors to carefully cut along the marker lines. Cutting the thick cardboard requires a strong grasp and finger effort!
Adult Step: Take the cardboard strips and shapes. Cut 2-3 short, narrow slits (about 1/2 inch deep) into the edges of each piece. Ensure the slits are slightly wider than the cardboard thickness.
Challenge your child to connect the cardboard pieces by sliding the slits into each other. The goal is to build a tall, unique, free-standing structure by linking all the pieces.
Encourage your child to use one hand to hold the structure steady while the other hand works to push and maneuver the joining pieces into place.

Safety Tip:
Adult supervision is required during all cutting phases. For children under 5, ensure all small cardboard scraps are immediately collected and discarded, as they may pose a choking hazard.

Laundry Basket Skee-Ball

roll a sock ball up the cardboard ramp, aiming for one of the baskets. This action requires good hand-eye coordination and control of force.

This activity is a fun, physically engaging game that helps children practice controlling their body movements and aiming. By rolling sock “balls” up a ramp into baskets of different distances, they learn to adjust the force of their throws to reach a specific target.

Create the Ramp: Lean a piece of sturdy cardboard or a couch cushion against a laundry basket to create a ramp.

Set up the Targets: Place 2-3 additional laundry baskets or boxes in a line behind the ramp basket, each one a little farther away.

Assign Point Values (Optional): Write point values on pieces of paper (e.g., “10” for the closest, “25” for the middle, “50” for the farthest) and tape them to the front of each basket.

Mark the Start Line: Use a piece of tape to mark a starting line on the floor a few feet in front of the ramp.

Prepare the “Balls”: Roll up several pairs of socks to create soft, safe balls.

Play the Game: The player stands behind the tape line and tries to roll the sock balls up the ramp and into the baskets.

Keep Score: After rolling all the socks, tally up the points from the baskets they landed in. You can play multiple rounds and try to beat your high score!

Lid Lacing Challenge

Steps:

Secure a thin piece of foam sheet tightly over the lid of the plastic container using masking tape.
Use a marker to draw a pattern of small dots or a zigzag line across the foam sheet. These are your targets.
Give the child one golf tee. Challenge them to hold the tee using a neat pincer grasp (thumb and pointer finger).
Encourage the child to push the tee straight through each marked dot, creating a lacing hole in the foam and the lid. The other hand must stabilize the container.
Once all holes are punched, remove the tees. Thread a piece of yarn through the holes, lacing across the foam to complete the pattern.
When they finish, gently pull the yarn out. Try drawing a different pattern for the next round.

Safety Tip:
Golf tees have pointed ends. Close adult supervision is required during all steps to ensure the tees and yarn are not placed in the mouth, nose, or ears.

Clip Chain Creation

Steps:

Tear the construction paper into small strips (about 3 inches long) or pre-cut them if tearing is difficult.
Use the markers to draw a simple pattern like stripes or dots on each paper strip.
Set up the area by tying one end of the yarn or string to a sturdy chair or door frame so it hangs down.
Pick up one paper clip using a strong pincer grasp (thumb and index finger).
Clip the first paper strip onto the end of the hanging yarn.
Use your opposite hand to stabilize the paper strip. Clip the next paper strip onto the first one, continuing until all strips form a long chain.

Safety Tip:
Paper clips are small objects. Close adult supervision is required for this age group to prevent choking hazards.

Noodle Chop Sort

Steps:

Use markers to color strips of paper that match the colors of your pool noodle. Tape these colored strips onto two separate baskets to create sorting targets.
Give your child the pool noodle and a pair of safety scissors. Encourage them to hold the noodle firmly with their ‘helper hand’ to keep it steady.
Challenge your child to cut the pool noodle into small, thin ‘coins’ or ‘slices.’ Remind them to use strong, full squeezes of the scissors.
Once the noodle is completely chopped, ask your child to look at the color targets. Sort the colorful foam coins into the matching color baskets.

Safety Tip:
Always supervise closely when using scissors. Use child-safe scissors appropriate for their hand size. Since the age range includes younger preschoolers, ensure that cut noodle pieces are not placed in the mouth, as they can pose a choking hazard if ingested.