Stringing Beads

Strengthening a child's fine motor skills and pincher grasp are an important part of writing readiness. We placed interesting objects on our art table along with fine wire and the children spent time stringing lengths. 

This was a very challenging activity that required patience and persistence. 

In an effort to represent our children as members of a larger community we displayed their creations together. 

Using frames sends the message to children that their creations are valued. 

Exploring Sunflowers

Over the summer we grew a large striped sunflower plant in our garden. After the seeds had developed and the flower wilted, we dried out the head of the plant in our house. This week I thought it would be fun to let the kids explore the seeds a little further.

Using tweezers I encouraged them to dissect the plant, one seed at a time. While they did this we discussed how plants have a life cycle (seed to plant to seed) and how our food comes from plants.

Using the tweezers also helped my children develop good fine motor control - a great skill especially for Caleb as he practices his pincher grasp, which is essential for writing skills later on.

It was interesting to see what the sunflower looked like as the seeds were removed. Lots of conversation occurred as we described the way the sunflower looked!

Once we were done picking seeds we added them (along with the sunflower head and remaining seeds) to our platform bird feeder.

It didn't take long for some hungry visitors to discover the new treats awaiting them!