Fine Motor Control - Page 11 of 86

The Foil Ring Noodle Slide

Girl sliding a foil ring down a pool noodle toward a colored marker stripe in a backyard

Steps:

Tear off five squares of aluminium foil about the size of a piece of bread.
Show your child how to roll each foil square into a long, thin snake.
Bend the foil snake into a circle and twist the ends to make a ring.
Use markers to draw different colored stripes on your pool noodle to create targets.
Ask your child to hold the pool noodle with one hand.
Use the other hand to slide a foil ring onto the end of the noodle.
Challenge them to slide the ring all the way to a matching color stripe!

Safety Tip:
Always supervise your child during play. Aluminium foil can have thin edges and small pieces can be a choking hazard.

The Foil Cupcake Scoop

Steps:

Tear off several small squares of aluminium foil using both hands.
Show your child how to crumple each foil square into a round ball to make ‘ice cream scoops.’
Place a baking cup on the table and have your child use their helper hand to hold it steady.
Use the spoon to scoop a foil ball and carefully place it inside the baking cup.
Once the ‘cupcake’ is in the cup, pick up a small bead using a pincer grasp (thumb and index finger).
Gently set the bead on top of the foil ball to act as a sprinkle.
Continue adding more ‘sprinkles’ until the cupcake is fully decorated!
Challenge your child to dump the cup and start again with a different colored bead.

Safety Tip:
Always supervise your child closely during play. Small beads and crumpled foil can be a choking hazard, so ensure they do not put any materials in their mouth.

The Masking Tape Finger Ladder

Steps:

Tape a large piece of cardboard vertically to a wall at your child’s eye level.
Use a marker to draw two long vertical lines on the cardboard to look like a ladder frame.
Cut ten short strips of masking tape using your scissors.
Stick the tape strips between the lines to create the ladder rungs.
Ask your child to ‘walk’ their index and middle fingers up the ladder like a tiny person.
Once they reach the top, have them use their pinching fingers to peel the top rung off.
Continue walking and peeling until every rung is in a pile on the floor!

Safety Tip:
Supervise your child closely during play. Ensure they do not put masking tape in their mouth. Make sure the cardboard is secured firmly to the wall.

Button Shadow Alignment

Steps:

Tape a piece of butcher paper onto a flat piece of cardboard.
Place the board in a sunny spot to create clear shadows.
Put five buttons on the paper and trace each shadow carefully.
Move the buttons into a pile away from the outlines.
Ask your child to pick up a button using their pincer grasp.
Challenge them to match each button to its correct shadow shape.

Safety Tip:
Buttons are a choking hazard. Always supervise your child during play and keep small parts away from the mouth.

Felt Petal Patch Builder

Steps:

Have your child choose two or three colorful sheets of felt to make their garden flowers.
Show your child how to use child-safe scissors to cut the felt into small, three-inch squares.
Ask them to fold each felt square in half.
Snip the corners to create rounded petal shapes.
Encourage your child to squeeze the hole puncher to click a hole in the center of each felt piece.
Roll a large, heavy ball of playdough using both hands.
Press it flat onto a paper plate to make a steady base.
Pick up a pipe cleaner.
Slide the felt petals onto it one by one using pinching fingers.
Push the bottom end of the pipe cleaner deep into the playdough base to plant their finished flower!

Safety Tip:
Always supervise your child closely during scissor play. Collect any small felt scraps or playdough bits immediately to prevent choking.