Everyday Play (10 page)

Read Everyday Play Online

Authors: Christy Isbell

What to Do
• Trace around different-sized coins to make patterns. Keep the pattern very simple, such as quarter, penny, quarter, penny; or nickel, nickel, penny, nickel, nickel, penny. Trace no more than 10 coins on each piece of paper.
• Invite your child to sort pennies, nickels and quarters, and place them in separate containers.
• Give her a coin pattern to replicate.
• Encourage her to select coins from the pre-sorted bowls and match them to their corresponding spots by size.
• When she finishes, place one coin into each container, and then ask your child to sort the coins back into the proper containers.
More Fun!
• Create more patterns by tracing around different coins on paper, or you can make coin rubbings rather than tracing around the circumference of the coins.
Piggy Banks
Develops your child’s ability to manipulate small objects in his hand, insert small objects into a small container, and consistently use a pincer grasp to place small objects
What You Need
A piggy bank or clear, plastic jar with lid | square piece of foam at least 1” thick sharp knife or X-ACTO™ knife (adult-use only) | variety of coins, including pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters
Preparation (adult only)
• To make a piggy bank, wash and remove the label from the plastic jar so that it is completely transparent. Cut a slit in the jar lid. The slit must be large enough to place a quarter through it.
• To make a coin holder, cut slits in the top of the foam. The slits must be wide enough and deep enough to hold quarters. Coins should sit slightly above the foam so that your child can remove them with his fingertips.
What to Do
• Place a variety of coins flat on a table or other hard surface.
• Encourage your child to fill up the piggy bank or coin holder with coins.
More Fun!
• Make this a game and see how many coins he can put in the bank or holder in one minute. Help him count the coins while putting them inside or when he finishes.
Furry Letters
Helps your child use her in-hand manipulation skills in play and to recognize and form letters of the alphabet
What You Need
chenille sticks | 3” x 5” or 5 x 7” index cards, heavy paper, or card stock | marker | scissors (adult-use only)
What to Do
• On each card, write a letter large enough to use as a pattern for chenille sticks (adult only).
• Cut several of the chenille sticks in half; also cut some into fourths (adult only). Make three sizes of chenille sticks (whole, ½, ¼).
• Show your child how to create a letter by bending the chenille to follow the pattern on the cards.
• Encourage her to make “Furry Letters” that spell her name or other words of interest.
More Fun!
• Glue the “Furry Letter Names/Words” onto heavy paper.
• Play a game with the “Furry Letters.” Place the letters in a shoebox or storage container. Your child closes her eyes, reaches into the box, and pulls out a letter. See if she can identify the letter by touch.
Glitter Letters
Develops your child’s eye-hand coordination and gives him experience with letters
What You Need
construction paper | marker | glue | small bowls or containers | cotton swabs or craft sticks | glitter (store in jars for shaking or in open containers to sprinkle with fingers)
Note
: For easy cleanup, cover the work surface with a shower curtain, newspaper, or vinyl tablecloth.
What to Do
• Use a marker to write letters or your child’s name on construction paper.
• Put glue in one container and glitter in another.
• Ask your child to use a cotton swab or craft stick to trace each letter with glue.
• Encourage him either to shake glitter from a jar or to use his fingers to sprinkle glitter over each letter.
• Gently shake the completed paper to remove excess glitter, and allow the paper to dry.
More Fun!
• Once the glitter letters are dry, he can use his fingers to trace over the letters. Ask him, “How do the letters feel?”
Rainbow Letters
Gives your child practice with writing letters and holding paper in place while writing
What You Need
plain white paper | colored pencils or thin washable markers
What to Do
• Write some letters or your child’s name on white paper. Space out the letters so she has plenty of room to trace around them.
• Show her how to trace around the outside of a letter, using a different color each time. When you finish, you will have a “rainbow” letter.
• Give her paper and encourage her to trace around the letters to make her own “rainbow” letters or words.
More Fun!
• Give her glitter pens or watercolor paints and small brushes so she can make “rainbow” letters with different materials.
• Suggest that she cut out her “rainbow” letters to give her practice using scissors.
Sandbox Writing
Develops your child’s finger strength and his
confidence in his writing ability
What You Need
shoeboxes and solid-color contact paper (red, blue, black, and green work well) | white sand (clean and sterilized, available at home improvement stores) | letters of the alphabet for children to use as models
What to Do
• Cover the inside bottom of a shoebox with contact paper and coat the bottom of the box with white sand until the sand is ½” deep (adult-only step).
• Encourage your child to write letters in the “sandbox” using his index finger. If he presses his finger hard enough, he will be able to see the colored contact paper under the sand.
• Show him how to shake the sandbox gently from side to side or smooth the sand with his hand to erase his letters.
More Fun!
• Add several drops of water to the sand or mist the sand with a spray bottle to moisten it. The slight increase in resistance in the sand will build more finger strength, as he continues to form letters with his fingers.
• Provide tools such as a craft stick, drinking straw, or chopstick for him to practice writing in the sand.
Sandpaper Writing
Develops your child’s grasp strength and engages her in tactile pre-writing experiences
What You Need
sandpaper of various grits (coarse, medium, and fine grit) | plain paper (copy or drawing) | writing tools, such as golf pencils, crayons, or thin markers | letters or words for children to copy
What to Do
• Place the plain paper on top of the sandpaper.
• Ask your child which letters or words she wants to copy.
• As she writes on the paper, the sandpaper will add extra resistance to the writing and texture to the writing experience.
• If you use different grits of sandpaper, talk about how they feel different and how the writing looks different.
More Fun!
• Set out chalk for your child to write with directly on the sandpaper. Then encourage your child to use her fingers to erase the letters.
Write a Little Note
Helps your child use a developmentally appropriate
grasp of writing tools and practice using small
finger movements for writing
What You Need
small sticky notes (from 1”-3” square) | golf pencils or short adult pencils (less than 3” long)
What to Do
• Give your child several sticky notes and a small pencil.
• Talk about the different “notes” that people write throughout the day, such as phone messages, “to-do” lists, wish lists, or notes to friends.
• Encourage him to write a little note and read it to you.
More Fun!
• Encourage your child to draw a “teeny tiny” picture on a sticky note. Your child can use markers or crayons to decorate several sticky notes and then stick them to a larger piece of paper to form a sticky note collage.
Make Your Own Puzzle
Encourages your child to create art using scissors
What You Need
thick paper, such as oak tag, card stock, or poster board | thin and thick markers | child-safe scissors | resealable plastic bags
What to Do
• Give your child a piece of thick paper, no larger than 8 ½” x 11”. If you are using poster board, turn it to the non-glossy side.
• Explain how you are going to make a puzzle:
• Use markers to draw a picture or design that will fill up the entire piece of paper.
• Cut the picture into 8-12 puzzle pieces.
• Put the puzzle together.
• Make sure your child uses ample color in her pictures and designs. This will make the puzzle easier to put together.
• When she has finished her picture, help her cut the paper into puzzle pieces, ensuring that the pieces are not too small to manipulate.
• Encourage her to practice putting her puzzle together.
• Store the puzzle in a resealable plastic bag and label it with a short description (for example, “my house” or “rainbow”).
More Fun!
• Add small rulers and/or templates to the materials. She can use them to draw lines or make designs for her puzzles.
Animal Masks
Develops your child’s ability to use scissors and gives him experience with drawing tools
What You Need
thick, white paper such as construction paper or card stock (8 ½” x 11”) | variety of drawing tools such as colored pencils, thin markers, small crayons, glitter pens, or paint pens | child-safe scissors | 1-hole punch | yarn or string
What to Do
• Cut out a mask using this pattern as a guide (adult-only step).
• Ask your child to use a pencil, marker, or crayon to trace around the mask on the thick paper.
• Give him various drawing utensils to decorate the mask and create an animal face.
• Help him cut out his mask, if necessary. Be sure the eyes are well positioned so that he can see.
• Guide him as he uses the 1-hole punch to place one hole on either side of the mask.
• Tie yarn or string through the holes to fit the mask to his face.
More Fun!
• Ask him questions about the animal he has “become,” such as, “What sound do you make?” or “How do you walk?”
• Act out a simple story using the mask, and make additional masks for other characters in the story.
Paper Dolls
Develops your child’s eye-hand coordination and bilateral hand skills
What You Need
thick paper such as card stock or posterboard | child-safe scissors | scissors (adult-use only) | variety of paper, including paper with designs, such as scrapbook paper, greeting cards, construction paper, foil, and sandpaper | scrap materials , including yarn, beads, buttons, cotton fabric, and sequins | glue | small pieces of chalk, crayons, markers, or stubby pencils | resealable plastic storage bags
What to Do
• Cut out paper dolls using this pattern as a guide (adult-only step). The dolls should be 6”-8” long (see next page for pattern).
• Give your child a variety of materials and glue to decorate the dolls.
• Suggest that she add faces and hair to her dolls using glue, yarn, beads, buttons, crayons, and markers. Allow the dolls to dry.
• Remove the glue from the work area, and give her various pieces of paper and cotton fabric.
• Talk about how to make clothes for her dolls. She can make several different clothing items to dress her dolls.
• Encourage your child to use the chalk, crayons, markers, or pencils to draw patterns for the doll’s clothing. Demonstrate how to trace around the dolls on the paper or fabric. Cut out the clothing.
• Invite her to dress her dolls by placing the dolls flat on the tabletop and covering them with the clothing cutouts. It’s best not to glue the clothing to the dolls so that she can change their outfits.

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