Straw Pull
The straw pull was one of the first fine motor activities we tried with my son. It’s a great activity for hand eye coordination, practicing grasping and encouraging bilateral coordination. They also need to problem solve as they work out how far they need to pull the straw to remove it, and sometimes to use the other hand to hold the egg carton still. As they get older, they will be able to insert the straw into the holes as well as pull them out.
Materials:
Egg carton
Straws
Pencil or chopstick for poking holes
How to set up:
Cut straws in half.
Turn the egg carton upside down and poke holes with a pencil or a chopstick. Twist to make the hole wide enough for the straw to easily be removed.
Place straws into the holes and demonstrate to your baby by removing a straw.
Our son was 10 months and 15 months old in this video
Great for:
Hand-eye coordination is required in everyday tasks such as grasping objects, handwriting, playing games, eating and cooking. As with other body skills, hand-eye coordination can be practised and improved upon. This development begins in infancy.
Fine Motor Skills involve the small muscles working with the brain in order to control small movements. Developing fine motor skills helps children do things like eating, writing and getting dressed.
Bilateral coordination is when two sides of the body are being used at the same time to carry out an activity. Many daily self-care and play activities require bilateral coordination skills including eating, getting dressed, tying shoelaces, playing sports, running, walking and skipping.
Focus and concentration help children to learn. Most skills are learned by practising them over and over, so being able to block out distractions and focus on particular tasks will help the rate in which they learn.