Simple threading activity using cut straws and pipe cleaners

When you’re looking for something quiet and productive for your children then you might want to try this simple threading activity using cut straws and pipe cleaners. 

 

The concept is simple, children use their hands to thread various lengths of cut up plastic straws onto pipe cleaners.  That’s it. It might sound so incredibly simple and not that exciting, but believe me, your child will really be entertained by this activity and they’ll be developing their fine motor skills at the same time! 

Recommended age:  2 years + 
(Strict and active supervision is required at all times) 

Simple threading activity using cut straws and pipe cleaners  

Materials you will need – 

• pipe cleaners
• plastic straws
• scissors
• bowl or container

Simply chop up the straws in various lengths. Set them out on a plate or in a bowl and offer your child pipe cleaners to thread them on to. You may want to demonstrate this activity first. 

Fine Motor Development

This activity is a requires children to use the smaller muscles in the hand, which is required for completing simple tasks like holding a pen, writing, drawing, gripping etc. 

Measurement

Set up this activity for your child by cutting a handful of straws into different lengths. I varied the lengths because I thought it would be good for talking about the different lengths, comparing them and discussing which ones we thought were longer, shorter etc. 

This activity is great for –

• fine motor development
• coordination
• concentration 
• mathematics – comparing length of straw pieces
• increasing language vocabulary (threading, sliding, bigger, smaller, long, short etc)
• opportunity to create patterns
• colour matching
• problem solving skills

Here is a short little clip of Boo demonstrating this activity for you. 

 

You can really see the developmental benefits of children doing this type of activity.  

This is an activity that Boo (aged 3 years) absolutely loved doing. She has requested it many times since. Overall it’s a very simple activity to set up and easy for little ones to understand and complete. I love that it’s so great for developing fine motor and coordination skills as your child plays. 

Have you tried this simple activity with your kids?

If you like this idea then check out – 

    .