Grasp - Page 30 of 36

Paper Flower

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.

Acorn Stamper

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.

Forky from Toy Story

Building your own Forky character can help promote bilateral coordination and grasp skills.

Forky’s Face

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.

Feet

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.

Body

Stick the spork into the top part of the playdough ball.

Arms

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.

Visit our shop to explore our themed playdough kits

Colored Pipes

Label each roll or tube by color.

Attach the tubes onto a wall, door, or window using some tape or clear self-adhesive magic cover.

Place pom-poms in a container.

Ask the child to kneel while sorting the colored pom-poms into the right tube.

Use tongs to work on hand strength and grasp.

Caterpillar Clips

Place the pompoms on a plate or in a container.

For each clothespin, have the child reach out and pick 5-6 small pompoms, using pincer grasp to pick them up, and place in front of him.

Ask the child to apply glue on the wide part of the clothespin, and use the tweezers to place one pompom at a time on the glue.

While the glue is drying, either draw 2-3 leaves on green construction paper or let the child draw them. Have the child cut out the leaves. If the child has difficulty cutting, we recommend providing thicker lines.

Once the glue is all dry, instruct the child to glue the googly eyes on the first pompom. Make sure to glue on the clothespin side that opens up.

Ask the child to put one caterpillar on each leaf by opening the clothespin with one hand, and holding the leaf with the other hand.