This Fine Motor Sun Craft is from our contributor Nicola at Craftykidsathome.com
The sun has been shining high in the sky over here in Ireland, so I have been busy pegging out lots of washing on our washing line. Bella has been very keen to help me out and with a boost up from a little step, she has been happily pegging out some of her own clothes.
Opening and closing pegs is a great activity for preschoolers, as it gives the muscles in their fingers a great workout, helping to strengthen their fine motor skills. Bella starts big school after the summer holidays, so we have been doing lots of fine motor work at home to get her hands strong and ready for learning to write.
And all of that pegging out in the sunshine inspired this fun Fine Motor Sun Craft, which works on building fine motor and number recognition skills.
How to make a Fine Motor Sun Craft
Supplies
- 10 wooden pegs
- 1 paper plate
- Yellow paint
- Sponges
- Black marker pen
Ahead of the activity
I chopped a washing up sponge in half and poured yellow paint into the centre of a paper plate. I then asked Bella to help me cover the pegs in yellow paint using the little pieces of sponges. These were going to be our sun rays.
Once all of the pegs had been painted, Bella then used her sponge to paint all over the paper plate, which was going to form the body of our sun.
When everything had dried I added the numbers 1-10 onto the pegs and the paper plate.
Doing the activity
I sat down with Bella and she began by exploring the different numbered pegs. This mainly involved pegging them onto her own and my fingers.
After a few minutes I picked up the paper plate sun and talked to Bella about the numbers on the pegs and paper plate and asked her to have a go at matching the number on the sun ray, to the corresponding number on the paper plate sun.
She had a good go at matching them up in the correct order. I stepped in when she was struggling, but it wasn’t a bad effort for her first attempt.
I have popped these pieces into a busy bag now, to bring out with us on trips over the summer holidays when we are in need of a quick distraction in the car or a cafe.
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