Simple Baby Fine Motor: Finger Crayons

I'm slowly exposing to Archer to the idea of working at his desk.  I'm hoping that as he gets used to it, it will open up a bunch of fun learning games for us.  Lately, for fine motor development, I've been getting out some finger crayons.

I got these at Michael's for Archer's Easter basket.  (These were the cheapest ones I found on Amazon). We'd tried regular toddler crayons and he just wasn't ready.  I like the shape because he can hold it in his palm. 

The first time, I used a big piece of paper and taped it to the table.  Since then, I've been able to use regular paper and just hold it for him.  We do it in very short bursts and it takes a lot of redirecting to keep him from eating them!  I'm hoping this will put us on the path toward coloring, markers and other pre-writing skills!

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Simple Baby Sensory Play: Squigz in the Tub

In an effort to mix up bath time a little, I pulled out some Squigz and stuck them to the side of the tub. Archer had a great time hitting them, pulling them off and pulling them apart from each other.  He also LOVES the texture on his gums.

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Simple Baby Fine Motor: Straws in the Bottle

Count this as a major win in my quest for fine motor activities for Archer!  I could not believe how long this activity held his attention and how often he would go get it off his shelves to do!  Hooray for occupying the baby!

We had an empty iced tea bottle that I gave him and some leftover straws from the Cupid's Blow Dart STEM Challenge.  I gave him three full straws and three straws cut in half.  The half straws were definitely much easier for him to get in.  The larger ones were more challenging, especially since they were the bendy type straw.  Straight ones would have been much better. 

Simple Baby Fine Motor: Magnetic Tiles

I'm always looking for quick and easy activities that hold Archer's interest.  Sensory play and fine motor work are a bit challenging since EVERYTHING goes in his mouth (including worms, rocks, stink bugs, etc.). 

This is one of those cases where simpler is best. Last week I tossed some Magna Tiles on our white board and he had a great time pulling them off and then putting them back on (the fences are from this set). For a younger baby, you could only have one side of the tiles on the board so that they stick out more.

Archer quickly moved on to having them flat. It could also easily be done on a fridge or dishwasher.

 

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Paint Bag Pre-Writing Fun

One of of my main focuses this year is practicing pre-writing skills.  Therefore, I have been on the hunt for fun activities to develop these skills.  One super simple way to practice is with a paint bag!

I first gave Xander a paint bag when he was four months old (in this post)

The bag is made by cutting two pieces of Glad Press n Seal to about the same size.  Then squirt a good amount of paint into the middle of one piece (I used maybe 1/4-1/3 of a cup of Crayola washable finger paint).  Put the other piece of Press n Seal on top (sticky sides in), seal around the edges and trim the extras.  Then tape around the edges to hold it all together.  I used orange duct tape, just because I had it and thought it would be more fun than regular masking tape.

It is a lot of fun to squish the paint around, but I am hoping to practice writing letters and making intentional lines with it!

Xander had a good time shaking up the paint for me!

New Favorite - Dry Erase Mazes

I've loved the idea of mazes for a long time.  They're great for visual spacial skills as well as fine motor practice.  I've seen videos of kids exposed to mazes early that could blow through large complex mazes in seconds.  Unfortunately, Xander was never all that interested, even when I tried to tie them in to themes.  That changed, however, why I picked up a dry erase maze book a couple of weeks ago.  

I first got him this maze book from Crayola.  I like that it is spiral bound, so I can present one page at a time.  I also like, that unlike other dry erase workbooks, the spaces are big enough for him.  He just isn't ready to trace some tiny letters or shapes.   I have him use washable dry erase markers so I don't have to worry about the mess on his clothes (or when he gets it inside his ear, like he somehow managed to do the other day).

He absolutely LOVED it.   He had been using it almost daily, so I went out an got Pre-Printing with Mazes and Fun with Mazes.  I would prefer if they were spiral bound, but I love the variety of skill levels for the mazes.  The Pre-Printing book in particular does a good job of building, starting with a dashed line to follow through the maze and working up to more difficult mazes.  I will have something to challenge him for a while!



He has been working on this activity most days since I first got him the book!

I love watching how hard he works to stay in the lines and how proud he is when he reaches the "Finish".  

 

 

Skill Coins

Over winter break, a friend and I took Xander to Incredible Pizza.  While we were there we won a crayon bank.  It seemed like a really great skill builder, but with a kid who puts everything in his mouth, I didn't want to just hand him real coins.  Instead, I made him some skill coins.  I made a whole sheet and included some color names, numbers, dots from 1-10, and shapes; I wanted to be able to use them in a variety of ways.  I printed them onto card stock, colored some, and laminated them.  I thought Xander would enjoy them, but he really surprised me in how much he wanted to do this activity!  

You're welcome to download the coin set here or from my downloads page.

Button Snake

In my Pink Week Tot School Post, I mentioned that one of Xander's trays was part of his button snake.  I didn't go into much detail there, so I decided it needed its own post.  One of Xander's Christmas presents this year was a "button snake."  Basically, I took a piece of ribbon and sewed a big button to each end.  Then I cut shapes out of different colors of fleece and made a slit in each one.  The idea is to have him practice buttoning.  I used the large variety of shapes and colors so that I can use it in a variety of ways in the future.

Right now Xander is only 14 months and cannot do the activity alone.  What I have been doing is having him sit in my lap.  I put the button part way through the hole and have him grab it to pull it through.  He really likes this part, but doesn't really like taking them off, so I do that for him.

Play Dough

For some extra sensory play, I made Xander some home made play dough.  I had no idea what he would think of it, but I figured it was worth a shot.  The first batch I made in red to go with our color themes.  I used a salt dough recipe from the internet and used regular food coloring.  Unfortunately, it ended up pretty pink (what you see in the pictures).  The next day I was able to pick up some of the gel food coloring I love and got a much richer color.

To start with, I put the dough in front of him and showed him how to cut it with a plastic knife.  Eventually I rolled it into little snakes, which were much easier for him to cut.  I also showed him how to roll the dough into little balls.  Apparently, they too closely resembled food, because he tried eating the balls.

For the second week of our Color Themes, I made some green dough using a recipe that used alum (from here).  This recipe stayed softer and felt better, so I will probably be using it in the future.  The recipe is as
follows:

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon powdered alum
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoons vanilla
food coloring

Mix all dry ingredients. Add oil and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until reaching the consistency of mashed potatoes. Remove from heat and add vanilla and food coloring. Divide into balls and work in color by kneading the play dough.

Being a bit more experienced with play dough, Xander had much more fun with it during our green week.

He really enjoyed putting little pieces of dough in the container and shaking them out.

Squishing it in his fingers.

Tasting it again, just to be sure it is still yucky.

Stickers!

One of my goals for our tot trays is to help Xander develop fine motor control.  Curious to see what he would think, I got him some stickers.

We started with regular stickers.  He understands the concept, and seems to enjoy the activity.  Execution, however, still needs some work.

Sometimes the stickers got stuck on his fingers and he would get very frustrated trying to get them off.

We also tried some foam stickers.  On the one hand, they are bigger and thicker, so it is easier for him to grab them.  On the other, they are stickier, so he has trouble getting them off his finger.

Pre-Writing Practice

For his birthday, Xander received a Magna Doodle.  At first he just didn't get it.  The age range on it was a little old for him, so I figured he would just grow into it.  Well he sure did.  He loves it now.  He writes with the pen and knows how to use the stamps.  He also knows how to put the stamps away, although throwing the across the room is still more fun.  We may need to revisit crayons soon!

Rainy Day Fun

Last week we had some rainy days, but enjoyed them with Tummy Time at the library, reading a zillion books, playing with counting bears, and doing some puzzles!  I hadn't gotten his puzzles out in a while and apparently he had really missed them!  I definitely need to make more of an effort to play with them!  He particularly likes the one with various shapes since we have been working on polygons lately (it looks similar to this).  I name them for him and he likes to watch me put them where they go.  He also tries picking up the pieces and banging them against the frame repeatedly (and chewing on them).

Also, even though coloring wasn't a huge success, I decided to keep trying, this time, with chalk!  It went over a little better, but he mostly colored on himself.  He had good time though!  If we keep trying long enough, he will eventually get the concept of coloring!

Coloring!

Today I decided to buy Xander some of those sturdy crayons to see how he would take to coloring.  I let him choose his color and we started out in the high chair.

Unfortunately the tray on the high chair was too high for him, he had trouble reaching the paper.  So we moved to the floor.  He was excited about having two crayons.  Wonder how he got the red on his mouth.

Notice the blue on my floor...

After a lot of blue and red on my floor, I took the crayons away.  So of course, Xander ate the paper.  Unfortunately coloring was not a huge success.  Oh well, we will keep trying.  I am thinking I need to get one of those big rolls of paper and sit him in the middle of it.  Then he can color all around him and I won't have to wash the floor!

Eating paper is fun too!

That's ok.  Xander was pretty content to play with some dishes.

What Mommy got accomplished while Xander played on the floor.

Paint bag lessons

A while ago I posted that I let Xander play with some paint in a plastic baggie.  I have also put sugar in a bag for him to feel and play with.  Well, I decided to try the Glad Press N Seal method, to see if he liked that better.  He enjoyed it, particularly scrunching it all up.  However, I accidentally put one of the sides facing the wrong direction (sticky side out).  When he scrunched it, it all stuck together.  I do like that these "bags" are a little thinner, so let him feel the texture of the paint better.  They still feel sturdy enough to handle some playing, though.  Next time I will have to make sure I face both sticky sides in.