Set up a simple Montessori inspired activity with yarn scraps. As children sort the yarn they develop their fine motor muscles and ability to distinguish between different features.
I love to crochet and S (2.6yrs) finds it fascinating to explore the many balls of colourful wool inside my wool bag. With that in mind I set up a simple sorting activity for her to explore and compare the different textures and colours of wool.
To set up this activity you will need:
- some snippets of a couple of different types of wool (I used 4 types)
- bowls for the wool to be sorted into :: glass bowls are great for allowing children to freely see the wool
Encourage children to talk about how the wool looks and feels as they sort it. You could also encourage them to think about other woolly items you have in the house.
S was able to sort the wool scraps fairly quickly. And turned it into a game where she chose a piece of wool and sorted it then looked at me and said “Mummy’s turn now”.
This activity is wonderful for developing fine motor skills as precision is required when picking up each piece of wool. S also found that the wool gets easily stuck to other pieces so she had to use her pincer grip to pull them apart.
Once we had sorted all of the wool she was keen to start all over again so tipped the glass dishes back into the centre.
i am learning…
- to concentrate on the task in hand :: Communication and Language
- to handle objects with increasing control and precision :: Physical
- to catagorise objects by their features :: Mathematics
- to begin to notice and describe the texture of objects :: Expressive Arts and Design
Have a look at my fine motor skills Pinterest board for more ideas to help develop finger muscles…
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