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Pasta threading activity for toddlers

March 16, 2014 by Kate 47 Comments

Here is a simple fine motor activity that I think your toddler will really enjoy. It’s very easy to set up and it involves them threading pasta onto straws, with the support of some freshly made play dough.

Pasta Threading - a fine motor activity for toddlers #threadingactivity #toddleractivity #toddleractivities #finemotor #finemotorskills #funforkids #playdough #playdoughactivity #threading #straws #toddlers #preschoolers #earlyyears #pastathreading #indooractivities #busykids #lovetoplay

Importance of fine motor skills in toddlers

Fine motor skills involves the development of the smaller muscles in the hand. By developing these muscles at a young age, children will be able to go on to complete everyday tasks, such as writing, drawing, cutting with scissors and button fastening.

Play Dough recipes and simple play ideas for kids to learn and play

What you'll need to thread pasta #threadingactivity #toddleractivity #toddleractivities #finemotor #finemotorskills #funforkids #playdough #playdoughactivity #threading #straws #toddlers #preschoolers #earlyyears #pastathreading #indooractivities #busykids #lovetoplay

Possum (aged 2.3) had a wonderful time playing and developing those fine motor skills in a way that allowed her to feel a great sense of achievement due to the large size of the pasta used and the stability of the straws in the play dough.

For this pasta threading activity you will need –

  • Rigatoni pasta
  • Straws
  • Playdough

Poking Straws into play dough for fine motor activity #threadingactivity #toddleractivity #toddleractivities #finemotor #finemotorskills #funforkids #playdough #playdoughactivity #threading #straws #toddlers #preschoolers #earlyyears #pastathreading #indooractivities #busykids #lovetoplay

The activity is simple, children poke a small number of straws into the play dough and thread the pasta onto each straw. I chose the large Rigatoni pasta because it caused less room for error and a great staring point for children developing skills.

Threading pasta onto straws for fine motor skill development

It’s so important children feel a sense of achievement when completing a task. They gain so much more when it’s approached in this way. This was also really great for developing her concentration to a particular task, because as we know, toddlers rarely sit still. LOL

Threading pasta onto straws for fine motor skill development

Of course I always encourage active supervision with all my activities, which is no doubt a blessing for you as parents or carer of children. It’s so important to get involved in play.

Love the concentration in this photograph! x

Pressing Pasta into Play Dough

What learning is achieved from this activity?

Children gain so much from completing an activity like this.

  • Fine motor skills
  • Hand- Eye coordination
  • Threading
  • Creativity
  • Concentration
  • Feeling of success and achievement when completed

Of course this activity can be easily be modified to suit your child’s individual needs. To simplify the activity, use rings cut from a toilet roll. To challenge, use BBQ skewers and experiment with a wide variety of pasta types that can be threaded.

Do you think your toddler would enjoy this type of activity?

Simple play dough ebook with recipes and play dough activities for kids.

Here are some more ideas you might like –

Learning basic shapes for toddlers and preschoolers    Sorting sizes - toddler activity  Guess the objects covered in tin foil

 

 
Great value ebooks featuring Laughing Kids Learn

Zero to Two: Book of Play    Three to Five Playful Preschool ad     love-sensory-play-1

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Filed Under: 1 - 3 years, Fine Motor, Playdough Tagged With: fine motor, toddler

Comments

  1. Sarah says

    March 21, 2014 at 12:47 pm

    Wow! What a great idea. Can’t wait to try. I’m so glad to have discovered your page!

    Reply
    • Kate says

      March 24, 2014 at 11:44 pm

      Oh Sarah! It’s so wonderful to have you visit Laughing Kids Learn. Thank you so kindly for your comment. 🙂

      Reply
  2. maryanne @ mama smiles says

    April 12, 2014 at 2:39 pm

    My toddler will love this! Thanks for the idea. I love that you used straws, which are softer than the skewers I often see for this activity.

    Reply
    • Kate says

      April 12, 2014 at 9:19 pm

      Thank you lovely Maryanne. Skewers are a little scary for us. LOL

      Reply
  3. Claire says

    October 21, 2014 at 2:59 am

    What an awesome idea! Love using big chunky rigatoni noodles for this – perfect for little hands! Thanks so much for the idea! 🙂

    Reply
  4. neha says

    January 21, 2015 at 10:54 pm

    Hi Kate,
    Hope u r doing well. I just wanted you make crafts for decorating girls room about 10 – 12 year old girl.
    Hope you have a time.
    Xoxo

    Reply
  5. Keren says

    July 23, 2015 at 6:24 am

    Are there ideas for ages 3-4?

    Reply
    • Kate says

      July 23, 2015 at 12:56 pm

      Click this link Keren – https://laughingkidslearn.com/category/3-5-years/

      Reply
  6. Bethany L Westbrook says

    May 16, 2017 at 11:06 pm

    Love this.

    Reply
    • Kate says

      May 17, 2017 at 12:46 pm

      Thanks Bethany! So much fun for little ones. 🙂

      Reply
  7. Jambo says

    August 8, 2017 at 5:24 pm

    Thank for sharing i love this post.I wil bring it to my son.

    Reply
  8. May says

    September 19, 2018 at 6:33 pm

    How adorable she is, yeah these loverly games should help in improving motor skills, glad I found this blog.

    Reply

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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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