Fine motor skills are something we take for granted. Writing, tying our shoes. etc. Many children have difficulty, especially boys with fine motor skills once they enter school. Fine motor skills are something you can work on at home easily. This activity is toddler friendly and is wallet friendly too!

Pom Pom Jars

Supplies-Container-such as a drink container with a small hole at the top and closure-and a pack pf pom poms.

Your child should be out of the eat everything faze or must be monitored while using this activity. I also have to say that so much of what I use comes from the Dollar Store. As a teacher I relied on the Dollar Store since I bought so many of my own classroom supplies. Coming up will be a post on how to shop the Dollar Store through the eyes of a teacher. No need for expensive things here!

The goal of this activity is to model-teacher language for show-model for you child how the pom poms can fit in the top of the drink container. This skill of picking up and placing in the container strengthens their fine motor hand skills. It’s so easy right! Row loves it and actually has been carrying it around for a week. After she’s done playing I easily close the top-remember I said with closure?- and store. Her favorite part is when she’s done putting the pom poms back for me to shake them out over her head. Oh and peeking in the container!

I also want to say that creating learning activities for your child should be fun. Often times we fell pressure. That our child should be on task and doing things all the time. This is just not so. A toddlers attention span is 5 minutes max. Don’t get frustrated-have fun. If they’re done, they’re done. Also one of the biggest things I had to figure out while teaching was not to overload the knowledge. I know there’s a lot to learn. They don’t have to do it all today. Pick one color to talk about for the week. Sing one new song. You’re doing a great job!

Do you have a fun, easy, and inexpensive way to play with toddlers?Any cool Dollar Store finds?

What’s she wearing? Matilda Jane -Jane Exclusive Ginger Ellie Top, Bliss Shorties