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Fine motor skills is the coordination of small muscle movements, usually found in the hand and fingers. The efficiency of these muscles influences how well a child can complete tasks such as doing up a button, cutting with scissors, writing their name with pencils and more. Fortunately fine motor skills can be developed simply by completing tasks such as those I share below.
paint pots with cotton q-tips to use for kids to paint with

Kids painting with cotton q-tips

August 18, 2017 by Kate 3 Comments

If you haven’t had your kids painting with cotton q-tips then I urge you to give this simple and creative idea a go a-sap! It is really simple to set up and you can leave your toddler or preschooler to be as expressive as they like!  Whenever my girls, Possum (aged 5.5 years) and Boo […]

Filed Under: 1 - 3 years, 3 - 5 years, activities for preschoolers, activities for toddlers, Art, Fine Motor, Indoor play, Paint Tagged With: fine motor, paint, preschoolers, toddler

learning to make numbers using tin foil

Learning about numbers and number formation using tin foil

July 31, 2017 by Kate Leave a Comment

Learning about numbers and number formation using tin foil is a wonderful fun activity for kids. It’s hard to believe, but all you need is tin foil! It’s amazingly simple and lots of fun. Possum (aged 5 years) is very good at reading and we have focused quite a lot of learning letters and phonic […]

Filed Under: 3 - 5 years, 5 - 10 years, activities for preschoolers, activities for toddlers, Fine Motor, Numeracy Tagged With: fine motor, maths, tin foil

simple scooping sensory bin for toddlers to play with

Simple pour and scoop sensory bin

July 18, 2017 by Kate 3 Comments

Set up a simple pour and scoop sensory bin for your child. This open ended activity will have your child busy, entertained and learning for hours.  My children love the opportunity to explore different materials and experiment with ways they can be used and manipulated. A tub full of stale split peas, wheat and beans made […]

Filed Under: 1 - 3 years, 3 - 5 years, activities for babies, activities for toddlers, Fine Motor, Sensory Play Tagged With: cause and effect, fine motor, gravity, scooping and pouring, self awareness, sensory bin

How to make Paper Springs for fine motor development and as a fun activity to do at home, school or on camp

How to make fun paper springs

July 12, 2017 by Kate 10 Comments

When you’re wanting a quick activity for your children, who are complaining of being bored, then I have the perfect idea for you. Check out below how to make fun paper springs with your children. They look gorgeous and are wonderful for developing fine motor skills.  It’s school holidays here in Australia at the moment […]

Filed Under: 5 - 10 years, Art & Craft, Craft, Fine Motor, Uncategorized Tagged With: colour, fine motor, paper

threading material for fine motor skills with kids

Weaving on wire activity for fine motor development

June 27, 2017 by Kate Leave a Comment

If you’re looking for something different, here is a simple weaving on wire activity for fine motor development. It’s easy to set up in a home or classroom and the kids will spend a long time threading and weaving materials through it.  With Boo (aged 2.5 years) rocketing through her toddler years, I’m conscious that she […]

Filed Under: 1 - 3 years, 3 - 5 years, 5 - 10 years, activities for preschoolers, Fine Motor Tagged With: fine motor, material, threading, weaving

using straws in DIY homemade toy

Push and pull homemade toy box for children

June 13, 2017 by Kate 7 Comments

Here is a super simple push and pull homemade toy box you can make for children to play with. Using only a few materials that you’d find around your home or classroom, you can make this toy and it will be one that your child will have fun playing with and learn from many times over.  A […]

Filed Under: 0 - 12 months, 1 - 3 years, activities for toddlers, Fine Motor, Play Tagged With: box, fine motor, homemade, push and pull

Ice Painting

Ice painting activity for kids

June 5, 2017 by Kate 17 Comments

This ice painting activity for kids is lots of fun and a cool and unique way to get children to paint. It’s so simple to prepare and they will love creating vibrant colours and mixing them to make new colours.  You might remember a long time ago, Possum (currently aged 5 years), did some painting with […]

Filed Under: 1 - 3 years, 3 - 5 years, 5 - 10 years, activities for preschoolers, activities for toddlers, Art, Fine Motor, Sensory Play, Writing Tagged With: ice, painting

sticking toys down with sticky tape

Taped toys fine motor activity for toddlers and preschoolers

May 18, 2017 by Kate 12 Comments

If you’re looking for a simple and fun play idea then look no further than this taped toys fine motor activity for toddlers and preschoolers. As you can see, it’s easy to set up and will have your child working those fine motor skills in no time at all!  Taped toys fine motor activity for […]

Filed Under: 0 - 12 months, 1 - 3 years, activities for babies, activities for preschoolers, activities for toddlers, Fine Motor, Play, Uncategorized Tagged With: baby, fine motor, preschooler, tape, toddler

pom pom mixture with rice

Fine Motor Pom Pom Pick Up Activity for Kids

March 10, 2017 by Kate 4 Comments

I’m so excited to share with you a fine motor pom pom pick up activity for kids. It’s set up is easy and the task in collecting the pom poms using tweezers and transferring them is often achievable for even as young as toddler age.  Boo (aged 2 years) loves a challenge and this simple […]

Filed Under: 1 - 3 years, 3 - 5 years, activities for preschoolers, activities for toddlers, Fine Motor, Sensory Play, Uncategorized Tagged With: fine motor, pom poms, rice, sensory, tweezers

Threading activity for toddlers using cardboard beads

Threading activity for toddlers using large cardboard beads

February 17, 2017 by Kate 12 Comments

For some children, threading can be an incredibly difficult task. Small beads and undeveloped fine motor skills can make it incredibly challenging and cause them a lot of frustration. Instead, you might like to consider this threading activity for toddlers using large cardboard beads!  Boo (aged 2 years) loves all kinds of threading activities and […]

Filed Under: 1 - 3 years, 3 - 5 years, activities for preschoolers, activities for toddlers, Art & Craft, Fine Motor, Making Tagged With: cardboard, paper, preschool, threading, toddler

building construction with green objects

Green themed sensory play and discovery space for babies and toddlers

January 24, 2017 by Kate 8 Comments

Wait, you’re not going crazy, there is nothing wrong with your eyes. Here I’m sharing a green themed sensory play and discovery space for babies and toddlers. It’s super simple to set up, little ones will love it and learn lots from their time exploring the objects and playing.  Don’t ask me why, but the […]

Filed Under: 0 - 12 months, 1 - 3 years, activities for babies, activities for toddlers, Fine Motor, Sensory Play Tagged With: colour, sensory

photo-collage-2016-52weeksofplay

#52weeksofplay weekly photo challenge 2017

December 1, 2016 by Kate 4 Comments

Wow. Never in my dreams did I expect to get such a huge response to the 2016 #52weeksofplay Instagram photo challenge. We have seen close to 2000 photographs tagged with #52weeksofplay.  Click here to Join In – 2017 I’m SO excited to reveal the new list that will begin 1st January, 2017! I have to be […]

Filed Under: #52weeksofplay, Art, Art & Craft, Cook, Craft, Fine Motor, Halloween, Literacy, Making, Messy Play, Parenting

matching-letter-cases-using-sticks

Letter matching activity for kids using craft sticks

October 7, 2016 by Kate 5 Comments

Here is a really cool letter matching activity for kids using craft sticks. It’s easy to put together and will help your child develop their skills in recognising letters of the alphabet, learn the difference between upper and lower case letters and play a variety of literacy games at home or school.  I’ve spoken to […]

Filed Under: 3 - 5 years, 5 - 10 years, activities for preschoolers, busy bag, Fine Motor, Literacy

Glow in the Dark Alphabet letter Hunt

Glow in the dark letter hunt literacy activity

August 2, 2016 by Kate 14 Comments

Set up this fun glow in the dark letter hunt literacy activity because your children will really love it. It’s a unique approach to getting them to build on their knowledge of the alphabet. It challenges them to identify each letter independently and not in their usual sequence. Adding tweezers can also increase the level of difficulty and encourage […]

Filed Under: 5 - 10 years, activities for preschoolers, Fine Motor, Literacy, Uncategorized Tagged With: alphabet, glow in the dark, letters, literacy, preschoolers

Free printable number cards for learning with kids. Great for helping them to count, recognise numbers, 1 to 1 correspondence and more

Peg the dot number counting cards with free printable

June 13, 2016 by Kate 87 Comments

Here is my much anticipated peg the dot number counting cards! Yes, I’m giving you a super cool freebie that will have your child enjoying the experience of learning to count numbers 0 – 10, identifying and ordering numbers 0 – 10, identify colours, improve their ability in matching and developing 1 to 1 correspondence.  As a thank you to […]

Filed Under: 3 - 5 years, 5 - 10 years, activities for preschoolers, activities for toddlers, busy bag, Fine Motor, Giveaway, Numeracy, Printable Tagged With: counting, fine motor, free printable, numberacy

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Welcome
Hello and welcome!
My name is Kate and I am a mum to two little girls, Possum and Boo. We have lots of fun together learning with play at home and are pleased to share some of what we do with you.
Read my about page to find out more.

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