Strengthening Key Sensory Areas through Sand Play
Tactile Sense – How does the sand feel to touch. Is it easy to catch and hold in the hand? Does it slip through the fingers?
Proprioceptive Sense – This is awareness of the body parts and how they work in the surroundings. Is sand heavy? How much strength is needed to lift the sand in a space to pour it into a bucket?
Hone your Skills to Button Up
- Both hands need to work together in a coordinated manner while doing different movements
- Buttons are small in most cases and require a good grasp to hold the edge of the button
- Hands need intrinsic hand strength and arch development to hold the button and push it through the buttonhole
- Then, there is the other hand working to hold that buttonhole, with bilateral coordination
- But first, you need to make sure the buttons and holes are lined up correctly
- There is a lot of problem-solving and sequencing involved in buttoning
Excellent Tools for Early Math Skills
Pegboards for toddlers are excellent tools to teach early math skills such as matching and sorting. Toddlers will make patterns and place pegs in sequence. They may practice one-to-one correspondence and counting. These are foundation skills needed for future learning.