The older my toddler gets, the more I would like her to play with toys and participate in activities that help her develop her fine motor, visual, cognitive and social skills. But I’m a work-from-home mom and sometimes I just don’t have the energy or time to come up with super creative and educational toys on my own. I’m also not an occupational therapist so I don’t know all the great activities we could be doing, but thanks to Pinterest I don’t have to do it all on my own! I recently came across some activities for beading. I have a girly girl who loves playing with “pretty” things, so I just knew beading would be great for her. As it turns out, there are tons of benefits to playing with beads! By playing with small beads, children can gain enhanced fine motor skills, visual perceptive and motor skills, better ability to dress themselves (think about this difficult buttons and zippers!), better pencil grasp, enhanced planning skills and great hand eye coordination. And these are not even all the benefits! If you toddler is old enough to play with beads (i.e. not eat them), then check out some really simple activities they are sure to love.
Source: Kidspot.com.au
1. Bead Threading
One of the simplest activities to prepare is bead threading. Gather whatever size beads are age appropriate for your child, such as pony beads, large wooden beads, pom poms or even make some “beads” out of slices of a pool noodle, and items used for threading. Threads can be pipe cleaners, straws or string, to name a few. Show your kids how to thread the beads onto the thread and sit back as they work on their hand eye coordination and make some masterful creations. Another bonus of beading: increased self-esteem as they see the handy work come to life!
You can find this activity and tons more over at Kidspot.com.au!
Source: SugarAunts.com
2. Line Awareness
You probably still have flash backs of learning to color in the lines as a child and you learned this somewhere! You can give your toddler an early start on learning line awareness by creating simple picture with bold outlines, and instructing them to place beads and glue inside the picture. Kids may also learn sorting concepts by picking out same color beads, and work on their tip-to-tip grasp (tip of the index finger and thumb) when selecting beads.
Head over to SugarAunts.com for this activity and 3 more on the wonderful world of beads!
Source: PowerfulMothering.com
3. Color Sorting
Beads come in all colors and can help your toddler learn the various shades and how to sort. You can take something as simple as a muffin tin (I just bought one at the dollar store) and some colored paper. Cut small circle and lay in the muffin tin and help your toddler to sort their beads by color. Simple as can be!
You can find this activity, a long with a free printable for your muffin tin over at PowerfulMothering.com!
Source: MessForLess.net
4. Fine Motor Bead Pickup
Beads require concentration to pick up and help improve fine motor skills, like pinching and grasping. You can help your child master these skills by providing some tweezers or clothespins, and helping them pick up beads and sort into colors. If you have young toddler, you can use pom poms instead of beads, large plastic “tweezers” or even those pre-made chopsticks that are rubber banded together from Japanese restaurants. Whatever works for their little hands is fine!
Check out this activity over at MessForLess.net, as well as other great sensory and motor activities.
Source: ICanTeachMyChild.com
5. Bead Abacus
True, your toddle may just be learning his counting, but a bead abacus can be both entertaining and educational too! You can easily make your own that is perfect for bead play on the go, like in the car or when traveling when you don’t want to scoop up piles of beads everywhere. Your toddler will love learning to count off the beads and enhance their hand eye coordination while doing it.
Check out ICanTeachMyChild.com for a simple bead abacus tutorial, as well as hundred of additional ideas on teaching your child from home.
Karly Wood
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Karly Wood
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- 15 Wonderful White Kitchens - January 14, 2019
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