Did you know that September 10 is Sewing Machine Day? Have your little one get into the fun by doing these great sewing-themed activities! Grandma would be proud!
Activity #1: Lacing
Lacing toys are so much fun for little hands, especially when it is a picture of something they love, such as a teddy bear or a car. (If you have a Mickey Mouse fan, try these cute Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Wooden Lacing Cards.) Lacing is fantastic for children’s fine motor skill development and it also teaches children the concepts of “in and out” and “back and forth.” Instead of handing your child your iPhone or iPad, give them a lacing toy instead. It is a nice, quiet activity and will keep their minds and hands busy.
*Bonus Arts and Crafts Project*
Help your child create their very own lacing toy by cutting out a shape (a square is the easiest) in the color of their choice. Use a hole punch to make holes along the sides of the shape you cut out. Have your child decorate their lacing toy with stickers, drawings or even applique designs. Use a shoelace for the lace. (Note: Tie the end of the shoelace in a knot to keep it from sliding through the hole.) If your child doesn’t get carsick, lacing toys are great to keep in the car for those long drives.
Activity #2: Cutting
Children love to cut, cut, cut! Make sure you provide your child with safety scissors and show them how to properly hold the scissors before they begin. (Crayola makes great safety scissors for children ages 3+.) Properly holding scissors is a pretty difficult task at first and it takes lots of practice, so if you have a child that gets easily frustrated, make sure you are right there to be their “Cutting Coach” and give them words of motivation and encouragement. Always monitor your child while they are using the scissors. (Although they are safety scissors, they are still sharp enough to cut hair. Trust me.) If you Google “Cutting Skills Printables,” there are plenty of free worksheets for different skill levels. This activity is excellent for children’s fine motor skills development and is great concentration/focusing practice.
Activity #3: Color Sorting Buttons
For this activity, you will need an egg carton, markers, and three to four buttons in as many colors as you can find. (I found these super cute buttons and it costs less than $3 for 100 of them! There are so many different activities and crafts you can do with buttons, so having extra is a good thing.) On one side of the egg carton, color in the hole with different colored markers that are the same colors as the buttons. Place all of the different colored buttons in a bowl and then have your child have fun by color sorting the buttons. Your child will place the matching colored buttons in the holes across from the correct colored holes. As your child colors sorts, have them say what color it is. This activity is wonderful for color recognition and identification.