Skill: Bilateral Hand Use

The ability to use both hands together as a team. We use this for almost everything, like holding the paper with one hand while cutting with the other, or buttoning a shirt.

Stick Animals

For each animal, you will need to use 1 craft stick and 3 pipe cleaners.

The craft stick will be used as the animal’s body and the pipe cleaners will be used as the front and back legs, as well as the tail.

Let the child find the middle point of the pipe cleaner.

Ask the child to twist the pipe cleaner around the craft stick from both ends of the pipe cleaner along one side of the craft stick.

Ask the child to stop twisting the pipe cleaner when about 1.5″ is left from each side. These can be shaped like the legs by bending the ends of the pipe cleaner forward.

Repeat the pipe cleaner twisting above on the other end of the craft stick.

Cut a small piece of the 3rd pipe cleaner and let the child glue it to the end of the craft stick. This will be used as the animal’s tale.

The child can now draw a face on the front end of the craft stick or use stickers to decorate his animal.

Toss it Catch it

Spread the blanket/towel (it is recommended to use a large towel for this activity) on the ground and ask the child to place the bean bag or a stuffed animal at the center of the blanket.

Have the child stand on one side of the blanket while you stand on the other side of the blanket. Hold on to two corners of the blanket and ask the child to follow you and hold on to the other two corners.

Then, when a cue is given (first given by you and then might be given by the child), both you and the child should lift the blanket and toss the object up in the air.

As the object falls down, try to catch it using the blanket. You can move around to catch the object if needed.

For this activity, you can use more than one bean bag or one stuffed animal. You can also use a tennis ball or a small fabric ball.

Paper Plate Web

In this activity, pipe cleaners are optional.

Help the child to cut out a large circle from the center of the paper plate, leaving about 1-inch from the edge, and creating an outer ring.
Ask the child to punch holes all around the outer ring.

Give the child a long piece of yarn and instruct him to string the yarn through the holes he punched. Have the child string the yarn from one hole to the next going back and forth to form a web.

On the construction paper (preferably black or gray), draw a medium size oval for the spider’s body and a smaller size circle for the spider’s head. Let the child cut out the shapes you drew to make a spider. You can also ask the child to draw a spider and cut it out.

If you are using pipe cleaners, have the child punch 3 holes on each side of the oval (the spider’s body) and place a small piece of pipe cleaner in each hole (to form the spider’s legs).

Have the child glue the spider on the web or attach the spider to the web by banding the pipe cleaners onto the yarn.

Easter Eggs Match

Cut the construction paper or regular piece of white paper into 6 or more rectangles/cards.

On each card, draw an oval (egg shape) with a line in the middle, to represent the top part of the egg and the bottom part.

Using crayons and marker that match the color of the Easter eggs you are using, color the eggs on the cards, using one color at the top part and a different color at the bottom part.

Present the cards and the “cracked” easter eggs to the child and instruct the child to put the eggs together by matching the colors as shown on the cards.

If using an egg carton, you can ask the child to arrange the matched eggs in the same order the cards are laid on the table.

Hang Up a Pattern

Hang Up a Pattern

On an index card or a piece of paper, draw a pattern of colors, letters, or numbers (you can also mix the symbols).

Draw the matching symbols on the bottom part of the clothespins.

Place the index card and the clothespins in front of the child. Ask the child to hold the top part of the hanger with his non-dominant hand.

Review the pattern with the child first, then ask the child to use the dominant hand to find the clothespin that has the first symbol in the raw.

Instruct the child to place the clothespin he found on the hanger, reinforcing him to use pincer grasp to open the clothespin, and crossing his mid-line by placing the clothespin on the opposite side of the hanger (i.e. if the child is right hand dominant, he will start placing the clothespins on the left side of the hanger).

Have the child continue following the pattern, placing all the matching clothespins on the hanger.