fine motor
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Weaving activity
Did you have one of these as a kid?! I did and I absolutely loved it! I introduced it to my preschoolers a while back and they were surprisingly good at weaving the loops back and forth. We’ve done weaving before, in fact for a while we had a large loom like this one from Melissa and Doug. After a while, the big loom wasn’t enough of a challenge any more. So when I spotted the smaller ones I thought I’d give it a shot. I honestly thought it would be a disaster, so I purposely picked a day when I didn’t have very many students so that I would be…
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DIY Geoboards
Geoboards are one of those amazingly simple things that can keep children occupied for an extraordinary amount of time. They inspire exploration of geometric shapes, as well as persistence and fine motor practice. Geoboards are also easy to make yourself, so with a few simple supplies you can add a couple of these to your classroom. Here are a few DIY geoboards that I rounded up, choose whichever works best for your budget and your students! A board and nails (and a tutorial) from Little Bins for Little Hands Cork board and push pins – from An Every Day Story A CD case and clear screw fasteners – from Left…
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Stringing practice
Stringing takes some serious fine motor skills, not to mention coordination. Have you ever stopped to watch a child who is just learning how to string struggle to get both of their hands to do different functions at the same time – it’s one of those things that we take for granted as adults, but it is really really hard to learn, and it’s not easy to explain the process to a child because we don’t have to think about doing it ourselves. Stringing is a simple activity that is easy to prep, but it helps to change up the materials so that it always seems new and interesting. Here…
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Friday Freebie – Fine Motor Resource
Happy Friday! I have the perfect freebie to go along with all of the fine motor information that I’ve shared this week! This AMAZING Fine Motor Parent Resource pack is from Ashley Reed. It is a set of fine motor activities that parents can easily do at home with their children using materials that they probably already have. What a great way to share learning experiences with families! If you’re looking for other fine motor activities, check out the rest of this week’s posts;Stringing PracticeDIY GeoboardsWeaving ActivityFine Motor Products
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Friday Freebie – Pumpkin seeds
Happy Friday! This week’s posts have all been about bringing autumn into the classroom, and I am loving this season. Today’s freebie fits right in with that theme. Yesterday I shared a list of autumn manipulatives to use in the classroom, here is a fun activity to try with some of your manipulatives, Pumpkin Seed Letters. This super cute freebie is from A Kinder Kindergarten, and is a fun way to practice those fine motor skills while encouraging letter recognition. Make and entire alphabet to display in your classroom all season long, or laminate the mats and use them over and over. Enjoy your weekend!
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Easy Christmas Activities for Toddlers
I’m only at school part time, and since my schedule is a little flexible, that leaves me open to pick up subbing hours when other teachers are out. Today I subbed in the infant toddler room. Whenever I’m in someone else’s classroom I like to bring a few of my own activities – it’s like when you were a little kid and everyone else’s toys were so much more fun than your own! I grabbed three quick, easy activities to take with me, and they kept the little ones busy all day! When I say easy, I mean really really easy – read on to see! 1. Tweezers, Ice Cube…
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Friday freebie – Glue Ghosts
Happy Friday! Today’s freebie comes with an activity, so first – here’s the freebie: This ghost clipart set is from Teaching in the Tongas, and they could be used for so many things; activities for your classroom, Halloween party invitations, or on classroom treat bags, just to give you a few ideas. But the activity that I’m sharing today was one of my favorites when I was little, and my students absolutely love it too. Have you ever made glue ghosts? It is so simple! Print one of these cute ghosts and place it under a sheet of waxed paper, then children can squeeze white glue over the top of…
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Fine motor skills – folding paper pinwheels
Our school is going to be in a local parade in a couple of weeks, so during free play I’ve been working on a couple of projects for our float, today I was folding paper pinwheels, and the kids wanted to help. After a quick folding lesson, they were of, and they did amazingly well. This is a great activity for practicing fine motor skills, so I thought I’d share a quick tutorial. The key to making these with young children is to be accepting of imperfection, they can still work even if the accordion folds are not straight or even. 1. Start with a sheet of paper. We used…
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St. Patrick’s Day Jewelry
I had the best intentions of stocking up on some St. Patrick’s day stuff for my dramatic play area when I went to the dollar store a couple of weeks ago, and I did end up buying a few things – some Leprechaun hats and shamrock sunglasses – but what I really wanted were some mardi gras-type necklaces, and call me cheap but I couldn’t bring myself to spend $1 on two necklaces. Anyway (I promise that I really do have a point..) today we made green necklaces to wear on St. Patrick’s day. We use beads often, so I really didn’t think that this activity would attract that much…
