Play is very important for children as it gives them the opportunity to build on so many skills. One such important skill is fine motor skills. This is the ability to use their fine muscles, such as those in their fingers and hands, to make small precise movements. Holding a fork correctly uses these fine motor skills and so does trying to button their shirt.

Here is an activity I had prepared for my two year old daughter to practise her fine motor skills, especially to use her fingers. It was only when Azmu and I had attended an open day at a local nursery and I was talking to one of the nursery teacher’s there, that I realised I had not given Azmu the opportunity to learn how to pinch. Learning to use a tweezer and/or a cloth peg is very important when it comes to developing the fine motor skills. This activity does exactly that in a colourful way.

I am sure, once your toddler has had a go at this activity, you will not need to explain him/her how to complete it again. Just had them the bag with this activity and enjoy their little minds trying to work it all out.

Materials:

Thick Cardboard, approx. 15 cm x 10 cm

Round cap of a bottle

10 coloured markers

Pencil

10 wooden cloth pegs

A bag

Instructions to prepare the activity:

1. On a rectangular cardboard, using the cap of a bottle and a pencil, draw 10 circles evenly spaced out, all around the perimeter of the cardboard.
2. Colour in the 10 circles using 10 different coloured markers.
3. On each wooden cloth peg, using a pencil, draw the outline of a paint brush. It is upto you if you wish to outline your drawing with a black marker.
4. Colour the tip of the paint brush,that you have just drawn on the cloth peg, with the 10 different coloured markers.
5. Place the cloth pegs and the cardboard in your bag, and play when your toddler is ready.

Directions to play:

The aim of the game is to match the colours of the paint brush on the wooden cloth peg, to the paint disc on the cardboard.

For this, your toddler will have to pinch the cloth peg and place it on the cardboard. Repeat for all colours, until there are no more cloth pegs left.

Be careful that your toddler doesn’t injure himself/herself while using the cloth pegs.

For older children:

If this isn’t challenging enough for your toddler, there are other ways you can raise the bar.

1. You can write an alphabet on the paint disc. You can write a vowel and a consonant on the wooden peg. Your child can pinch them together to form a three letter word and read aloud.
2. You can write numbers on the wooden pegs and on the paint discs. You child will then have to find two wooden pegs that make the sum, mentioned on the paint disc.
3. You can write the name of the colours in a black ink on the wooden peg. Your child can match the name of the colour to the paint disc.

Something I quickly made for Azmu, with a cardboard, some coloured markers and cloth pegs. Perfect for teaching her #colours, matching colours together and working on those fine motor skills when pinching together the pegs.♥ . The little drama queen, thinks it’s an eye shadow pallette. She’s using the little brush drawn on the peg to pick up colours and apply it on her stuffed cat. Fine, let’s call it the #hudabeauty colour-matching-game. 😂 #tutorial #diykit #finemotorskills #teaching #learnthroughplay

A post shared by Khushboo S- Mummy Blogger (@mumzynotebook) on Nov 8, 2017 at 8:48pm PST

Did you enjoy this craft? Leave a comment if you would like to see more similar crafts.

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UAE Flag Pinwheel (with a printable)

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