Skill: Grasp

How the hand holds an object. A mature grasp allows a child to hold a pencil efficiently for writing, while a strong grasp helps them hold onto monkey bars.

Stickplane

Use the wooden sticks or craft sticks as the airplane wings.

Let the child paint or color the sticks with markers and decorate with stickers.

Once sticks are dry, instruct the child to glue on stick at the bottom of the clothespin and one stick at the top.

Using pincer grasp, instruct the child to pinch and open the clothespin while placing the third wing in the middle.

You can have the child glue the middle stick or do not glue the middle wing to allow the child to practice his grasp by removing the middle stick for a two wing airplane model.

Paper Fish

Prepare Ahead: 
– Trace a triangle shape from the edge of the paper plate towards the middle part of the plate.
– On the construction paper, draw 2 ovals and one triangle.

If the child you work with has higher skills and can trace the shapes, let him complete this step independently.

Ask the child to first cut out all the shapes from the construction paper and the triangle on the paper plate. the triangle on the paper plate will be the mouth.

Once the shapes are cut out, ask the child to use the triangle as the tail and glue it on the back of the paper plate, on the opposite side of the mouth. Then, use the ovals as the fins and glue one oval at the top and one at the bottom.

Instruct the child to glue the pom-pom as the eye (wiggle eyes or buttons can also be used).

Use the crayons/markers/stickers to decorate the fish.

You can also provide the child with some blue and green construction paper to create an ocean scene

Water Board Tracing

On a chalk board write the letters of the alphabet with chalk.

Add water to the container and place it next to the chalk board.

Ask the child to dip the paint brush in the water and trace the letters of the alphabet. Alternatively, you can use a sponge to enhance the tactile and grasp skills.

For grading, draw shapes on the chalk board instead of the letters of the alphabet.

Paper Rolls Building

Draw 2″ circles on the cardboard sheets. Cut them out, or let the child cut them if the cardboard is not too thick.

Instruct the child to cut 4 narrow slots on each circle, about 1/2″ deep, leaving about 1″ space between slots. Slots need to be as wide as the cardboard is.

Provide the child with different size paper rolls (i.e. toilet paper rolls, paper towels rolls, etc.).
Note: You can use one size roll and cut it into different sizes.

Instruct the child to cut 4 narrow slots on each edge of the roll, leaving about 1″ space between slots. Slots need to be as wide as the cardboard is.

Have the child color the paper rolls.

Let the child connect between the rolls to build structures and sculptures.

Matching Mittens

On colorful construction paper or paper with different designs (e.g. scrapbooking paper), draw 8-10 pairs of mittens. You can also let the child trace the shape a few times.

Cut, or allow the child to cut the pairs.

If using blank color construction paper (i.e. with no design), draw different designs on each pair (a pair with straight lines, a pair with circles, a pair with wiggly lines, etc.). You can also write letters or numbers on the different pairs.

Once the mittens are ready, place them on the table and mix them.

Provide the child with clothespins.

Ask the child to find matching mittens and clip them together using the clothespins