Bilateral Hand Use - Page 9 of 91

The Foil Pan Water Bridge

Steps:

Place your pan on a flat table and fill it halfway with cool water.
Hand your child several colorful clothespins to hold.
Show them how to squeeze and clip the pins onto the rim of the pan.
Space the pins out in pairs across from each other.
Ask your child to rest a craft stick across each pair of pins to create a bridge.
Once the bridges are ready, give them a few fuzzy pom-poms.
Challenge your child to use their pincer fingers to set a pom-pom on a bridge.
They must be very careful to keep the bridges from falling into the water!
See how many pom-poms they can balance before the pan is full of bridges.

Safety Tip:
Always supervise your child during water play to prevent any risk of slipping or spilling. Small pom-poms can be a choking hazard, so keep them away from younger siblings.

The Growing Newspaper Tree

Steps:

Take two large sheets of newspaper and lay them flat on the floor.
Overlap the edges slightly and use a piece of masking tape to hold them together.
Start at one end and roll the newspaper up into a very long, tight tube.
Wrap another piece of tape around the bottom of the tube to keep it from unrolling.
Hold the tube steady with one hand and use your scissors to cut four long slits from the top down to the middle.
Reach into the center of the tube and gently pull the paper upward.
Watch as your tree grows taller and taller as you pull the strips out!
Use your hands to fluff out the paper branches to finish your tree.

Safety Tip:
Always supervise your child while they are using scissors to keep them safe.

Tension Track Ball Glide

Steps:

Cut a large rectangle of cardboard for your base.
Use markers and a ruler to draw a straight road down the center.
Cut a smaller cardboard square to serve as your delivery cart.
Use the tip of your scissors to poke two small holes on opposite sides of the cart.
Thread a long piece of string through both holes so the cart can slide.
Use masking tape to secure the four ends of the strings to the base corners.
Balance a ping pong ball on top of the small cart.
Pull the strings outward to glide the cart safely to the finish line!

Safety Tip:
Always supervise your child when using scissors. Ensure the string is stored away after play to prevent any risk.

The Baking Cup Button Slot

Steps:

First, glue several paper baking cups onto a flat piece of cardboard.
Use your scissors to cut a small, narrow slit in the bottom of each cup.
Make sure the slit is just a little bit smaller than your buttons.
Use markers to draw a different colored circle around the slit in each cup.
Ask your child to find a button that matches the color of the circle.
Challenge them to use their pinching fingers to squeeze the button through the slit!
They should hold the cardboard steady with their other hand while they push.
Listen for the soft sound as the button falls through to the board.

Safety Tip:
Always supervise your child during play as buttons are a choking hazard. Ensure the cardboard edges are smooth to prevent scratches.

Cosmic Pincer Star Weave

Steps:

Cut a large, sturdy square out of your cardboard using the scissors.
Use your markers to draw a large, bright star in the very center of the cardboard.
Decorate the area around the star with small planet and galaxy stickers.
Use the hole puncher to create a ring of holes all the way around the outside edge of your cardboard square.
Cut a long piece of yarn and wrap a small bit of masking tape around one end to make a stiff ‘needle.’
Tape the other end of the yarn securely to the back of the cardboard.
Challenge your child to ‘weave’ the shooting star by pushing the yarn through a hole from the back to the front.
Have them pull the yarn across the center star and push it into a hole on the opposite side.
Continue this crisscross pattern until every hole has been used and the star is caught in a colorful yarn web!

Safety Tip:
Always supervise your child when they are using scissors or a hole puncher. Ensure the yarn length is safe for play and collected after the activity.