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.
Place two buckets in opposite sides of the room.
Fill one bucket with objects (Lego pieces, beads, plastic eggs, marbles, or anything that the child can pick up using tongs).
Have the child use the tongs to pick up an object from one bucket, run across the room, and drop it in the other bucket.
Place the objects in container or bucket full of sand or water.
Create an obstacle course for the child to go through.
For this activity you will need green (tree), brown (tree trunk), red (ornaments), and yellow (ornaments) construction paper.
Draw different sized circles on the green construction paper. Make sure the circles do not overlap. These will be used to create the tree.
Cut the circles out by following the lines using scissors.
If you have a circle puncher, you can have the child punch circles from the construction paper. This will enhance hand strength.
Instruct the child to use a single hole puncher and punch holes in the yellow and red construction paper. These will be the ornaments on the tree.
Glue the green construction paper circles together in a triangular shape (to resemble a Christmas tree).
Using a pincer grasp, instruct the child to pick up the little yellow and red dots, one at a time, and glue them to the green circles.
Cut a rectangle shape from the brown construction paper. Attach it to the tree as a trunk.
Provide the child with one pipe cleaner and 5-6 paper baking cups. You can use colorful baking cups or white ones.
Instruct the child to pile up the baking cups. Pierce a small hole in the middle of the stacked paper cups, using the edge of the pipe cleaner.
The child might need your assistance when completing this step.
Insert the pipe cleaner through the hole, and bend the tip, to secure the pipe cleaner from coming out.
Have the child lift and pinch the top paper cup towards the middle.
Then, repeat this step with the rest of the baking cups, until all paper cups are held up altogether.
To secure the baking cups from sliding down, instruct the child to hold the last paper cup at the bottom, right where the pipe cleaner inserts, and twist the pipe cleaner around a couple of times to create a stopper.
Once the flower is ready, the child can loop the remaining pipe cleaner on a pencil or a pen, like a pencil topper, or he can make additional flowers to make a bouquet.
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.
Building your own Forky character can help promote bilateral coordination and grasp skills.
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.
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.
Stick the spork into the top part of the playdough ball.
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.
