The Mom I Want to Be

Fine motor development is essential to a young child being able to do so many things in his or her future. Some of those activities include using scissors, weilding a writing utensil, and even playing an instrument. There are many excercises to help develop finger muscles and finely tune that “pincer grasp”.

 You can also mix small items into your rice / beans and allow the kids to hunt for them.  You could have them use tongs to work on those muscles, or have them reach in and try to guess what they found, without looking, just by touch. 

Set aside a place to play. Sensory tables are fun, but they can also be quite messy, depending on the items that you put inside. So find a place in your home or backyard that you don’t mind having to sweep or mop up after a play session. The kitchen or the back porch are both good options for this type of thing.

 

Lay a large plastic tablecloth on the floor to create a place for your child to play. The larger the tablecloth, the easier it will be to clean up after you’re done using your sensory tub.

 

Fill the tub with various sensory items. There are many different items that you can include in a sensory tub, so use your imagination when choosing items. You can put in simple things like sand, rocks, dry rice, dried beans or even dry cereal. Ice cubes and water are other fun sensory items to play with. Try letting old coffee grounds dry out and using those.  You can add glitter or food coloring to teach your child about colors. 

 

Mix up a batch of “clean mud” – mix 1 roll white toilet paper (shredded), 1 bar grated Dove soap (use a cheese grater), and warm water (make the water warm enough to melt the soap), only mix enough water to make it the consistency of thick cool whip. This can be saved in airtight containers for later use.  Use a flubber, silly putty or dough recipe.

 

Each time you bring out the sensory tub, you can explore something new.

 

Once you’ve created a sensory tub, give your child a few measuring spoons or cups to play with. He will enjoy filling up and dumping out the measuring cups.  If doing water, include a turkey baster and funnel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purchase a bag of mixed size doggie treats that are shaped like bones and bury them well.  Have the kids retreive them, and then make dinosour skeletons by gluing them to cardstock.