easel or wall for attaching paper
What to Do
• Place the paper on an easel or tape it to a wall.
• Encourage your child to use cotton swabs as paintbrushes to create a picture.
More Fun!
• Give him a very small piece of paper to create mini artwork using the cotton swabs. A 3” x 5” index card works well.
“Itsy Bitsy” Writing Utensils
Helps your child establish an appropriate
grasp of writing tools
What You Need
golf pencils or small pencils that are less than 3” in length | pieces of crayons less than 3” in length | storage containers for pencils and crayons
What to Do
• Label storage containers for golf pencils and pieces of crayons as “Itsy Bitsy.”
• Give your child “Itsy Bitsy” pencils and crayons for writing and drawing.
• Encourage her to use the “Itsy Bitsy” writing utensils in different activities.
More Fun!
• Provide small pieces of chalk for the child to practice writing and drawing on sidewalks or chalk boards.
• Read a book or tell a story about a small person or animal who was “Itsy Bitsy.” One favorite is “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.”
Water Droppers
Increases your child’s finger strength and improves his grasp of tools and utensils
What You Need
containers of water for filling eyedropper | eyedropper or pipette | pennies and quarters | newspaper or plastic to protect table from water spills
What to Do
• Show your child how to fill up an eyedropper with water. Then, show him how to squeeze it gently to make drips of water.
• Give him a penny and a quarter. Ask him to predict how many drops of water each coin will hold.
• Ask him to drip water slowly onto the face of each coin to see how many water drops each coin can hold. Help him count, if necessary.
• Compare results by asking questions, such as, “How many water drops did the penny hold?” “How much did the quarter hold?” “Which coin held more water drops?” “Why?”
More Fun!
• Add a few drops of dishwashing liquid to the water container. Repeat the experiment. The dishwashing liquid reduces the surface tension of the water so the coins will not hold water drops.
Coin Match
Develops your child’s eye-hand coordination and in-hand manipulation skills
What You Need
variety of coins, including pennies, nickels, and quarters | small bowls or plastic containers for coins | paper | black pen or marker
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
What to Do
• Place the paper on an easel or tape it to a wall.
• Encourage your child to use cotton swabs as paintbrushes to create a picture.
More Fun!
• Give him a very small piece of paper to create mini artwork using the cotton swabs. A 3” x 5” index card works well.
“Itsy Bitsy” Writing Utensils
Helps your child establish an appropriate
grasp of writing tools
What You Need
golf pencils or small pencils that are less than 3” in length | pieces of crayons less than 3” in length | storage containers for pencils and crayons
What to Do
• Label storage containers for golf pencils and pieces of crayons as “Itsy Bitsy.”
• Give your child “Itsy Bitsy” pencils and crayons for writing and drawing.
• Encourage her to use the “Itsy Bitsy” writing utensils in different activities.
More Fun!
• Provide small pieces of chalk for the child to practice writing and drawing on sidewalks or chalk boards.
• Read a book or tell a story about a small person or animal who was “Itsy Bitsy.” One favorite is “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.”
Water Droppers
Increases your child’s finger strength and improves his grasp of tools and utensils
What You Need
containers of water for filling eyedropper | eyedropper or pipette | pennies and quarters | newspaper or plastic to protect table from water spills
What to Do
• Show your child how to fill up an eyedropper with water. Then, show him how to squeeze it gently to make drips of water.
• Give him a penny and a quarter. Ask him to predict how many drops of water each coin will hold.
• Ask him to drip water slowly onto the face of each coin to see how many water drops each coin can hold. Help him count, if necessary.
• Compare results by asking questions, such as, “How many water drops did the penny hold?” “How much did the quarter hold?” “Which coin held more water drops?” “Why?”
More Fun!
• Add a few drops of dishwashing liquid to the water container. Repeat the experiment. The dishwashing liquid reduces the surface tension of the water so the coins will not hold water drops.
Coin Match
Develops your child’s eye-hand coordination and in-hand manipulation skills
What You Need
variety of coins, including pennies, nickels, and quarters | small bowls or plastic containers for coins | paper | black pen or marker
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
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