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April 1, 2013 | 13 Comments

Fine Motor Skills Challenge ( and some math)

fine motor cover 3My son like many kindergarteners has been focusing a lot on writing this year and while they hone their letter formation they are also working on spelling and punctuation. It’s a lot to coordinate. If the physical task of writing is using up all their concentration the more complex ones just add to the possible frustration . The best thing parents can do is to find ways to build those fine motor skills. This task was NOT easy for my son.  What I did with this was to balance it with an element he loves ( math) in order for him to do all 4 corks instead of giving up with the first. Don’t be afraid to make something hard just decide what your goal is.  That said had there been a complete refusal I would have adapted it using larger objects.

  1. Gather your materials. You will need some wine corks or rectangular blocks and many elastic bands. fine motor skills building exercise
  2. Wrap the bands around the corks. Wrap a different number of bands around each. Make some tight and other looser. fine motor skills building activity for kids
  3. Invite your child to make a prediction about how many rubber bands are on each cork. No need to write it down but if you want to add some writing into the activity by all means grab some paper and a pencil with an eraser. fine motor cork and rubber bands
  4. Start unwrapping.  A lot of things come easy to my son so challenges are not always welcomed. I reminded him not to give up that we needed to find out how many were on these little corks. After getting them off count. fine motor cork and elastic bands exercise
  5. Repeat with the other corks.  fine motor corks and elasticsThis one was wrapped very tightly and he got frustrated initially but oh wait for it… I got a smile out of him too. I slipped in a little chat about how over coming challenges is way more fun than doing a task that is easy to start with.  fine motor skill building

Other ways to easily build your child’s fine motor skills are to play with play dough, beading or lacing , sewing and needle arts, playing with stickers, and our favorite Lego.  Check out more ideas from all over the web on our Fine Motor Pinterest Board.

Filed Under: Age Preschool, Age: Kindergarten, Corks, Estimating, Fine Motor Activities, Preschool Activities | 13 Comments

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13 Comments

  1. Valerie says

    April 1, 2013 at 6:03 am

    I am absolutely loving this. I’ve been thinking of doing an activity with elastics for a while to get my son’s fine motor skills improved and here you are just providing an easy to put together challenge for my preschooler! No need to think about how to make one anymore! You’ve done the thinking for me! Thank you Allie! 🙂

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    • Allison McDonald says

      April 1, 2013 at 8:08 am

      So happy it’s helpful!

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  2. jessica says

    April 1, 2013 at 7:27 am

    Oh yes! I love that you have this. it is brilliant! i do something similar with my younger kiddos using cardboard tubes (tp rolls) and small hairbands or cut up tights. been meaning to post a picture but I haven’t got one of the kiddos in action…I should do it anyway. Thank you for the reminder and I love advancing the level using the rubber bands!

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    • Allison McDonald says

      April 1, 2013 at 8:07 am

      I love that idea! I am going to try that with my daughter.

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  3. Maura says

    April 1, 2013 at 10:24 am

    Fantastic!! Perfect timing AND I have these materials. Thank you for your terrific ideas/posts/emails.

    to Maura" aria-label='reply to this comment to Maura'>reply to this comment
  4. Faigie says

    April 8, 2013 at 1:24 pm

    This is really cute. I recently had a bunch of corks and was racking my brain trying to come up with some ideas for uses for them…great idea

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  5. JDaniel4's Mom says

    June 30, 2013 at 3:52 am

    This activity requires so much concentration and focus! Love it!

    to JDaniel4's Mom" aria-label='reply to this comment to JDaniel4's Mom'>reply to this comment

Trackbacks

  1. Crafts and Activities with Corks (Roundup) - Buggy and Buddy says:
    May 15, 2013 at 7:24 pm

    […] Fine Motor Skills Challenge from No Time for Flashcards […]

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  2. Cardboard Tube and Elastic Hair Bands [Fine Motor Fridays] « Craftulate says:
    November 6, 2013 at 7:33 pm

    […] activity was based around No Time for Flashcard’s Fine Motor Skills Challenge, which involved unwrapping elastic bands from corks. Instead of the cork I used a strong cardboard […]

    to Cardboard Tube and Elastic Hair Bands [Fine Motor Fridays] « Craftulate" aria-label='reply to this comment to Cardboard Tube and Elastic Hair Bands [Fine Motor Fridays] « Craftulate'>reply to this comment
  3. Rubber Band Toys and Games - Fullact Trending Stories With The Laugh Mixture says:
    June 15, 2016 at 7:00 am

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    to Rubber Band Toys and Games - Fullact Trending Stories With The Laugh Mixture" aria-label='reply to this comment to Rubber Band Toys and Games - Fullact Trending Stories With The Laugh Mixture'>reply to this comment
  4. Estimation Station for After School Fun - Creative Family Fun says:
    April 1, 2017 at 8:03 am

    […] more possibilities for an estimation station. I also wrapped some rubber bands around a wine cork. I got that great idea from No Time For Flashcards and their Estimate-Unwrap-Count challenge. I then made a simple chart. I had a column for each item with one row for the estimates and […]

    to Estimation Station for After School Fun - Creative Family Fun" aria-label='reply to this comment to Estimation Station for After School Fun - Creative Family Fun'>reply to this comment
  5. Rubber Band Toys and Games - Baby Candy Land says:
    March 22, 2020 at 10:51 am

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  6. Your Child Will Love These Fun Rubber Band Games and Toys – Indoorify says:
    September 25, 2020 at 8:09 am

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    to Your Child Will Love These Fun Rubber Band Games and Toys – Indoorify" aria-label='reply to this comment to Your Child Will Love These Fun Rubber Band Games and Toys – Indoorify'>reply to this comment

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