[t] is for tiger and tweezers
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I grind my teeth at the thought of cleaning up craft activities involving sequins. Yes, sequins are so pretty and shiny, but they are next to impossible to clean. There’s always the elusive sequin that manages to escape the mighty cleaning powers of the vacuum cleaner. But I wanted to do a craft activity that involved the use of tweezers and sequins seemed a natural complement. Enter Smiling like Sunshine’s Making an Autumn Tree with Pumpkin Seeds. Ah ha – I thought! Let’s use seeds or beans instead. Brilliant!
This tiger craft was part of our introduction to the sound [t].
We used chick peas and lentils.
Armed with tweezers, N & M set to work covering a template of a tiger’s face with the beans.
Using tweezers allowed them to practise their fine motor skills. My fine motor skill teaching point for them was to hold the tweezers with one hand so that the index finger was on one side and the thumb on the other with their other fingers gently curled into the palm.
They practised opening and shutting the tweezers, trying to keep the correct position and action.
Great for: hand and finger strength; shoulder and elbow stability; and practise for the pincer grasp (helpful in writing).
Soon their hands and fingers couldn’t resist feeling the beans.
They then realised it was much faster and more effective for them to use their hands to scoop and pour the beans onto the tiger’s face.
When they finished covering the tiger’s faces with the beans we popped on some finishing touches.
Yes, our tigers seems to be missing stripes and whiskers… mmm it’s a working progress.
Simple ideas for introducing [t]
Show children a written lower case [t].
- Model the mouth movement and sound [t]
- Visually connect the picture/word “tiger” with the letter sound [t].
- Kinaesthetically simulate a tiger growling with hands shaped like a tiger’s claws.
N & M: 3 y.o.
October 2011
References:
Kaboose Tiger Cub Magnetic Frame, http://crafts.kaboose.com/tiger-cub-magnetic-frame.html
Scott, B 2009, Hands Up.. to preventing handwriting difficulties, PLD Organisation Pty. Ltd, Australia.
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About the author
Pauline LessonsLearntJournal; because #playmatters. On Lessons Learnt Journal you'll find activities for children, play, parenting, maths games, handwriting, reading and much more.
Pauline is a Christian, Wife, Mother of 4, Primary School Teacher. When not blogging, she may be found virtually hoarding on Pinterest, trying to decide which Instagram filter to apply, or compulsively refreshing her Facebook feed. Most days you'll find her chasing her kids and that much needed nap.
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What a great idea for both fine motor practice and an art project! Thanks for sharing on It’s Playtime.
Hi Rachele. Thanks for popping by and leaving a comment. Love your blog. I love the It’s Playtime link up. It’s huge and filled with such great ideas. Thank you for hosting.
Wow, such concentration and patience! My girls would have been done before they started, lol I love the finished products
Hahaha. The concentration didn’t last long as soon as they figured out that it was quicker to pour all the beans onto their pages.