Material: Markers

Feed Me

In this activity, imagination and creativity are key components.

Begin by drawing the face of a child, a character (clown, robot, princess, etc.), or an animal that the child likes on the shoe box’s cover. Then, cut out the mouth of your figure so that it looks like the figure is opening its mouth. Make sure the opening is big enough so that the child is able to place the small objects through the opening.

Place the cotton balls (see additional ideas for objects below) on the table in front of the child or in a shallow bowl.

Give the tongs to the child and instruct her to hold it with her thumb, pointer, and middle fingers only, while tucking the pinkie and ring fingers into the palm of her hand. Then, ask the child to use the tongs to pick up one object at a time and feed the figure by placing the object into the figure’s open mouth.

This is where creativity comes into play as you can use the child’s imagination to decide what kind of food the cotton balls represent.

If you chose to draw an animal, you can have the cotton balls be the type of food this specific animal eats (i.e. monkey = bananas, dog = bones, bunny = carrots, etc.)

Based on the child’s developmental skills, you can have her draw the figure (can be a very simple figure) and cut the mouth opening independently.

Additional ideas for small objects (depending on the child’s age and abilities): pasta, beads (large and small), beans, cotton swabs, marbles, and Lego

Stereognosis Shape Finder

Shape Finder

Setup the Game

This activity is a game that you can play with the child, or have two children play together.

For this activity, you will need to use a shoebox with a lid.

Using scissors, cut open a circle on the side of the shoe box.

Make sure the hole you cut is wide enough for a child to put a hand through easily.

Insert different shaped blocks (i.e. triangle, circle, square, etc.) into the box, and tape down the lid to close the box.

Cut the construction paper to 8-10 squares, and draw shapes on them. The shapes should match the shapes of the blocks you put in the box. If you don’t have construction paper available, you can use any white piece of paper.

How To Play the Game

To play the game, pile the cards and place them in front of the child, facing down.

Let the child go first and flip a card. Then, instruct the child to put his hand in the box and find the block that has the shape that is shown on the card.

If the child pulls out the right block shape, he can keep the block and have another turn. If he pulls out a different shape, it’s your turn.

Grading

To grade the activity you can use a timer or a sand clock and have the child find the matching block shape in the allotted time.

Acorn Stamper

Acorn Stamp

Draw an acorn on the construction paper (see images for example) or you can let the child trace an acorn stencil to promote fine motor control and visual-motor skills.

Let the child cut the acorn shape using scissors.

Using a piece of small sponge instruct the child to pinch it and dip it into the paint then stamp and paint the bottom part of the acorn cut out. You can also use q-tips or cotton balls to paint.

Encourage the child to fill in the entire bottom part of the acorn.

Have the child spread glue on the top part of the acorn.

Provide the child with a few dry leaves. Instruct the child to crumble the leaves inside the palm of his hand and then spread them on the glue. This will promote finger strength and finger translation.

You may also use beans to cover the top area of the acorn.

Forky from Toy Story

Forky - Toy Story 4

Building your own Forky character can help promote bilateral coordination and grasp skills.

Forky’s Face

To create Forky, we will need a plastic spork or a spoon.

Glue 2 different size wiggle eyes to the backside of the spork.

Use a red or pink marker to color the cheeks.

Roll blue playdough between your hands to create a thin line. Attach the 2 ends of the line to form a mouth for Forky and glue it on the spork.

Roll a piece of red playdough between your hands to create a thin line for the eyebrow.

Feet

Cut or break the craft stick to 2 equal size sticks.

Roll a piece of playdough between your hands to create a ball.

Stick the cut edge of the craft sticks into the playdough.

Flatten the bottom and use your finger to pinch the top-up.

Use markers to write your name on the bottom of the feet.

Body

Stick the spork into the top part of the playdough ball.

Arms

Find the middle of the red pipe cleaner.

Wrap the pipe cleaner around the spork just below the face.

Create palms at both ends of the pipe cleaners by folding the edges into a wiggly line.

Caterpillar Clips

Place the pompoms on a plate or in a container.

For each clothespin, have the child reach out and pick 5-6 small pompoms, using pincer grasp to pick them up, and place in front of him.

Ask the child to apply glue on the wide part of the clothespin, and use the tweezers to place one pompom at a time on the glue.

While the glue is drying, either draw 2-3 leaves on green construction paper or let the child draw them. Have the child cut out the leaves. If the child has difficulty cutting, we recommend providing thicker lines.

Once the glue is all dry, instruct the child to glue the googly eyes on the first pompom. Make sure to glue on the clothespin side that opens up.

Ask the child to put one caterpillar on each leaf by opening the clothespin with one hand, and holding the leaf with the other hand.