Fun Fine Motor / Sensory Activity

I just came across this activity posted on a forum in a Facebook group I'm a member of - Babies Toddlers Kids Early Learning Group Help your kids take giant leaps. It looks a fantastic way to engage children in sensory play helping them develop their fine motor skills and encourage the use of descriptive language.

All you need for this game is a pillow case and househild objects. Fill the pillowcase with anything interesting you can find around the house. The objects should be preferably small and should vary in shape and texture (and of course be safe to touch under supervision). Here are some of the objects that you can put in the pillowcase:

• cotton reel
• cotton wool ball
• small sponge
• building block
• marble
• toy car
• key
• small teddy
• tennis ball
• teaspoon
• and anything else you might find around the house!

The more objects are in the pillowcase, the more interesting the game will become.

The first and the easiest stage of the game is to sit with your baby on the floor, get them to reach inside the bag and take out one of the objects. Let the baby hold and play with the object for a while. While you are examining the object you can say things like "How does it feel?", "Is it smooth?", "Does it feel soft?", etc.

The next stage of the game can be played with children who are a little older and are beginning to talk. Again, get the child to reach for the object in the bag but before they take it out they have to guess what the object is. After they take it out ask some questions about the properties of the object (for example; What shape is it? What color is it? What do we use it for? How do we use it?).

This activity could also be used as part of a circle time activity with children taking it in turns.