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.
Using the markers or chalk, have the child color a rainbow or any other drawing appropriate to the child on the dry erase board/easel.
Use the squirt bottle to squirt the board/rainbow with water, the water causes the marker/chalk to run a.k.a. melt the rainbow.
Note: this activity would work best outside as it can get quite messy.
On the paper plate, draw a V shape, starting at the edge of the plate and pointing to the center of the plate (once the child cuts this part, it will be used as the fish’s tail). Ask the child to cut the lines (provide assistance as needed) and glue the “triangle” to the paper plate, forming the fish.
Have the child use the water colors to paint the fish, using as many colors as he wishes. Let the child glue a googly eye or draw an eye for the fish using a marker/crayon.
The painting can be done using water colors, tempera paint, markers, and even dot paint. To promote pincer grasp, let the child peel small stickers and decorate the fish with them.
Have the child trace their foot on brown construction paper to make the trunk of the tree. Then have the child trace their hand in different fall leaf colors. Have them glue on the pieces they cut onto a larger piece of construction paper. Provide assistance as needed. For older children, working on handwriting, place lined paper on the bottom of the tree, and have them write a story about the tree or about fall. Both older and younger children enjoy decorating the tree and its surroundings with tissue paper (crumbled), sequins, pom-poms, etc.
You can relate this activity to a specific holiday or the different seasons.
Make two circles (one big and one small) from construction paper, to be used as stencils for the snowman’s body and face. You may also make a stencil for a hat.
Let the child trace the circles on a white construction paper and trace the hat on a piece of fabric.
If needed, trace the child’s circle to make a wider line to assist with cutting accuracy.
Ask the child to cut the traced shapes.
On a separate piece of construction paper, have the child glue the circles and the hat: the big circle on the bottom for the body and the small circle on the top for the snowman’s face.
Ask the child to draw the snowman’s face using markers or crayons.
Cut out a stripe from the tissue paper for the scarf and let the child glue it on the snowman.
For buttons, let the child glue pom-poms, buttons, or stickers on the big circle.
Use the wooden sticks or branches for hands.
If you wish to work on handwriting skills, let the child write a story about the snowman.
Print and cut the provided picture below of a shamrock (about 7 inch in size). You will use this as your stencil.
Provide the child with a green or white page of construction paper.
Ask the child to trace the shamrock on his paper using the stencil you made.
Instruct the child to cut out the shamrock.
Allow the child to spread some glue over the shamrock he cut. You may use a paint brush or a craft stick if the child avoids sticky materials.
Place the different manipulatives in front of the child inside a shallow container or a paper plate.
Instruct the child to glue the different objects on the shamrock transferring the objects from the container to his paper using the tweezers or the tongs.
The child may also use his fingers to reinforce pincer grasp and in-hand manipulation skills.
You may also have the child crumble pieces of tissue paper into small ball to work on dexterity and strengthening of the small muscles in your child’s hands.
