Proximal Stability - Page 32 of 47

Foil Moat Precision Drop

Steps:

Place the aluminum foil pan on the table. Use the playdough to create thick walls or ‘dams’ inside the pan, leaving narrow paths or ‘moats’ between them.
Mix a small amount of water with a drop of food coloring in the container to make your ‘magic potion.’
Show your child how to hold the eyedropper using their thumb and pointer finger (a strong pincer grasp).
Challenge your child to squeeze the eyedropper bulb to suck up the colored water.
Now, carefully aim the dropper over a moat. Encourage them to squeeze gently to release the water into the narrow path without letting it flood the playdough dam.
Repeat this process until all the moats are filled with colorful water. Encourage them to hold the foil pan steady with their helper hand while they work.

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Playdough is a choking hazard if ingested. Ensure the child only uses the eyedropper for the intended purpose and does not consume the colored water.

Resistance Tear Push

Steps:

Adult Prep: Use scissors to cut one narrow, tight slit (about 1.5 inches long) into the plastic container lid. Secure the lid firmly onto the container using masking tape.
Give your child strips of construction paper. Encourage them to use both hands to tear the paper into small, rough pieces. Tearing this resistant material requires strong effort.
Take one pipe cleaner. Help your child bend and fold it until it becomes a short, stiff ‘poker stick.’
Ask your child to hold the container steady with their non-dominant hand. Place one torn paper scrap near the narrow slot.
Using the stiff pipe cleaner poker, aim carefully and push the paper scrap completely through the resistant slot.
Continue tearing, poking, and pushing until all the paper has been successfully delivered inside the container.

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Torn paper pieces and pipe cleaners are small objects and pose a choking hazard for children under five. Ensure the pipe cleaner is bent safely before use.

Cardboard Confetti Collage

Steps:

Use masking tape to secure the large piece of cardboard firmly onto the table. This acts as your stable canvas.
Give your child a stack of index cards. Encourage them to use the hole puncher to make many small circles (confetti). Squeezing the puncher requires strength!
Challenge your child to tear the remaining index cards into tiny, jagged pieces using both hands together.
Now, use only the fingertips to crumple and squeeze the punched circles and torn pieces into tight, dense confetti balls.
Draw a simple shape (like a circle or heart) onto the cardboard using glue from the bottle. Use controlled squeezing.
Use a careful pincer grasp to pick up the sequins and crumpled confetti. Press them onto the wet glue to create a colorful, textured collage.

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Sequins and crumpled paper pieces are small objects and pose a choking hazard for children under five. Ensure all materials are used only as intended and collected immediately after play.

Putty Piston Push

Steps:

Press a large lump of Theraputty (or stiff playdough) firmly into the bottom of the Plastic Container or lid to create a stable, resistant base.
Place the small Beads and Craft Sticks in separate piles next to the container. Ask your child to sit stably at the work area.
Challenge the child to use their non-dominant hand to firmly hold the container steady on the table.
Pick up one craft stick. Use a precise pincer grasp (thumb and pointer finger) to balance one small bead onto the end of the stick.
Aim the loaded stick at the putty. Use a strong, controlled push to drive the stick deep into the resistant base, ‘planting’ the bead.
Repeat this action until the entire putty base is filled with sticks. Encourage maximum pushing effort for heavy work input!

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Beads and Theraputty/Playdough are small objects and pose a choking hazard for children under five. Ensure materials are used only as intended and collected immediately after play.

Cardboard Tee Lacing

Steps:

Use markers to draw several dots onto the piece of cardboard. These dots are your targets.
Place the cardboard flat on a stable table. Challenge your child to hold the cardboard firmly with their helper hand to keep it steady.
Pick up a golf tee. Use a strong, controlled push to insert the tee straight through the cardboard at one of the marked dots. Feel the resistance!
Remove all the golf tees, leaving behind a set of neat, small holes across the surface.
Challenge your child to thread the pipe cleaners through the new holes. They must weave the fuzzy sticks in and out to create a colorful lacing pattern.

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Golf ball tees and small pieces of pipe cleaner pose choking hazards for children under five. Ensure materials are used only as intended and collected immediately after play.