Chinese Checkers = Fine Motor

Anyone who knows my family well enough knows that I am always on the lookout for fine motor activities; especially those that emphasize on the pincer grasp.

Chinese Checkers was a favorite game for me growing up, but I don't have one of my own.

When Cannon wanted to play a game at Grandma's, it ended up being a perfect exercise for him.

Originally, I only intended it to be a pincer grasp activity:

He has a hard time using his left hand, so he has to position it perfectly in his right before the left can take over...

He still uses more than just his thumb and forefinger, but because it had to go inside of the hole, it forced him to focus more on the correct thumb and forefinger positioning.

This was also a good activity for object manipulation.  Having him pick up the piece with one hand, and try to manipulate it using only his fingers to get the right positioning was hard with such a small object, but it was a good exercise.

We were able to think of plenty of ways to keep it interesting.

Other than just letting him be creative and design his own thing, we worked on trying to form individual shapes:

It also turned out to be a good game to practice organizing and sorting.

Obviously a good way to sort colors.

Most importantly, it can be easy to take everyday household items and turn them into activities that your kids need to work on for personal improvement.

Find a way to make it fun, and they will acutally want to cooperate.

As I mentioned before, I am always on the lookout for simple activities like these.  I would love to hear what works for you in your home...

Laminated Shape Matching Book

We've had this book for over a year now.  My kids still play with it.  I can only show you the finished project, but I'll include good instructions on how to make it yourself.

Materials Needed:
- 4 8.5x11" white cardstock pages
- 8 misc. colored cardstock for shapes
- tape or glue
- laminated pages (optional)
- hole punches or book binding (optional)
- double sided sticky velcro

Here's How:
- for each page of colored cardstock, cut out two matching shapes.  We have a heart, diamond, triangle, square, circle, star, octagon and pentagon.

- Tape or glue two different shapes to each white cardstock page - front and back (leaving two sides blank for the front and back covers of the book).

- Laminate pages and additional matching shapes (this is optional, but it will make it last a lot longer).
* If you don't want to pay for laminating, you can use packaging tape.  Cut long strips and lay them out, overlapping slightly, with the sticky side up, making a 'sheet' of tape.  Put shapes or sheets of paper on top of the tape, and smooth over with your hand.  Repeat for the other side.

- Bind the book together, or use a hole punch and tie pages together with string/yarn

- Attach the double sided sticky velcro to the shapes in the book, and the shapes that match

You're Done!

Cannon has been able to match them up for a while, but he still breaks it out from time to time.  It also works well for color and shape recognition.

 I like the book because you can fold it up and put it on the shelf, but you could also do the same idea on a posterboard, or felt would be cool... just expirament with what you have.