This has been an activity that has been swimming around in my head for awhile, fine motor velcro chains for kids. Such a simple idea that is great for building hand strength, fine motor skills and confidence with basic dressing requirements for toddlers and preschoolers.
Recommended Age: 2.5/3 years +
To be honest, my challenge and what has stopped me sharing this with you earlier has been the cost of velcro! It was way too expensive when purchased at a craft or haberdashery store and what was available only really only seem to come in a few boring colours. You can imagine my excitement when I came across these multi-purpose velcro bands from Daiso. The bright colours and $2.50AU price tag was exactly what I wanted.
The pieces I had were 18cm long.
Catering to your child’s needs
Possum (aged 2.5 years) doesn’t yet have the skill to create the links using the velcro but was very good at pulling them apart and simply joining the ends individually, so this is what we focused on. Of course it’s all about making an activity suit your own child and their needs. If they are able to make chains, wonderful! Be sure to check out this post by Shill O’pop whom I credit for inspiring this idea, they made felt chains.
Opportunities for learning
The coloured velcro strips created a great opportunity for us to discuss and name colours. If you had lots of velcro and in two, three or four colours, you could have your child create coloured patterns. Velcro is also great for children to explore for sensory reasons. Older children would have lots of fun using formal and informal tools for measuring it’s length and test their abilities to estimate how much more velcro they’d need to double it’s length, for example. Possibilities are endless. Have you ever read about how velcro was invented? The story is quite interesting and I would encourage older children to conduct research into how it was discovered.
Busy Bag Idea!
I love a good busy bag and these velcro chains make a fabulous educational and entertaining bag for toddlers and preschoolers. It’s incredibly light weight and can be easily taken out in times of need, like at a cafe. LOL
Would your child have fun with these velcro chains?
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Just scheduled a visit to Daiso!
Cool idea.
So cute! I really love this activity. Thanks, Kate, for linking to my site!
I did not know Daiso was a chain! I rarely go there but I might have to just to pick up the velcro to do this! I know some little ones that would really enjoy pulling them apart if I made them. I’m going to schedule a share for this on my fb page (My Buddies and I). Hope that’s okay.
Oh I adore Daiso and always have to get a few things when I visit. Yes, I hope you do get a chance to do this activity. Thank you kindly for sharing this. I look forward to learning more about your page.