Skill: Visual Motor

How the eyes and hands work together as a team. This is essential for tasks where movement is guided by vision, like catching a ball, cutting on a line, or staying within the lines when coloring.

The Gravity Bead Labyrinth

The Gravity Bead Labyrinth

Steps:

  • Find a plastic basket with small holes along the sides.
  • Give your child several colorful pipe cleaners.
  • Show them how to thread one pipe cleaner through a hole on one side.
  • Pull it across the middle and out through a hole on the opposite side.
  • Continue adding pipe cleaners at different angles to create a crisscross mesh floor.
  • Drop three large beads onto the fuzzy mesh you just created.
  • Ask your child to hold the basket handles with both hands.
  • Challenge them to tilt the basket gently to roll the beads across the mesh.
  • Try to keep the beads on the floor without them falling through the gaps!

Safety Tip:
Ensure the pipe cleaner ends are tucked in to avoid any small pokes.

The Balancing Plate Bead Challenge

The Balancing Plate Bead Challenge

Steps:

  • Place the paper cup upside down on a flat table.
  • Use a small piece of masking tape to secure the cup to the table.
  • Carefully set the paper plate on top of the upside-down cup.
  • Give your child a small bowl of beads and a spoon.
  • Ask them to scoop one bead and place it on the plate.
  • Challenge them to add more beads without the plate falling off the cup!

Safety Tip:
Beads are a choking hazard. Always supervise your child. Keep all small materials away from younger siblings.

The Rainbow Hand Weaver

The Rainbow Hand Weaver

Steps:

  • Trace your child’s hand onto a sturdy piece of cardboard using a marker.
  • Use a hole puncher to make one hole at the tip of each finger and one at the wrist.
  • Tie a long piece of colorful yarn to the hole at the wrist.
  • Show your child how to thread the yarn through the thumb hole first.
  • Encourage them to weave the yarn back to the wrist and then up to the next finger.
  • Continue until every finger is connected to the wrist with a beautiful yarn bridge.

Safety Tip:
Always supervise your child when they are using a hole puncher or handling long pieces of yarn.

The Foil Pan Marble Rink

The Foil Pan Marble Rink

Steps:

  • Place a small paper cup inside the aluminium pan near one edge.
  • Secure the cup to the bottom using a piece of masking tape.
  • Put a single marble into the pan on the opposite side.
  • Ask your child to pick up the pan using both hands.
  • Challenge them to tilt the pan to roll the marble.
  • The goal is to roll the marble directly into the cup!
  • Once it is in, tip it out and try again.

Safety Tip:
Marbles are a significant choking hazard. Always supervise your child. Keep all small materials away from younger siblings.

The Ribbon Ladder Rescue

The Ribbon Ladder Rescue

Steps:

  • Use masking tape to secure two long ribbons vertically onto a wall.
  • Space the ribbons about five inches apart so the sticks fit between them.
  • Ensure the ribbons are pulled tight from the top to the bottom.
  • Give your child a handful of clothespins and several colorful craft sticks.
  • Ask them to hold a craft stick horizontally against the two ribbons.
  • Show them how to clip the stick to the ribbons using the clothespins.
  • Repeat this to build several rungs all the way up the wall.
  • Once the ladder is finished, they can use their fingers to climb it!

Safety Tip:
Always supervise your child to ensure they do not pull the ribbon off the wall or put materials in their mouth.