Montessori Monday--Another Pincer Grasp Idea

This is a great activity for strengthening your child's hands in preparation for writing!

1)  You need an ice cube tray (I picked mine up at a garage sale for a dime!), cotton balls (you could use large beads, wadded up paper, or something else you have on hand), tongs, and a container.  Place a cotton ball in each opening.  Show your child how to squeeze the tongs and move the cotton ball into the container.

2)  Move the cotton balls back into the tray.  If the tongs are easy for your child, use tweezers.  Once they can manipulate the tweezers well, trade the cotton balls for something smaller -- like beans or small beads.  You can also have your child remove the objects from left to right for reading preparation.

I like to pull out this activity box for the younger girls during school time with the oldest.  It is very simple, but they like it!