Happy Fine Motor Friday! And Happy New Year! I am so excited to be continuing Fine Motor Fridays into the new year with Lalymom, Craftulate, And Next Comes L, School Time Snippets, Little Bins for Little Hands, P is for Preschooler, Racheous, and Still Playing School! Every Friday we share fun activities for toddlers and preschoolers that help build fine motor skills. At the end of this post you will find links for more great fine motor activities from my co-hosts. Be sure to check them out!
Today we are in the midst of the first major snow storm of the year! So I thought it fitting to build our own indoor mini snowman while we wait for enough snow to fall to build a real snowman outside! I saw this idea on Pinterest from Our Cup of Tea and knew it would make the perfect fine motor activity for Caden! But instead of playing with this idea as a sensory bin, I made it into a fine motor skills craft.
To make your own build-a-snowman you will need:
- 3 styrofoam balls (any size or sizes will work, I think we used 2 and a half-inch)
- toothpicks
- googly eyes
- an assortment of buttons
- a bead for the nose
- a scrap of fleece for a scarf
- a stray sock for a hat
- craft glue
Optional supplies include:
- pompoms
- twigs for arms
Caden needed some help with this activity to stabilize the styrofoam balls and apply the glue. I also out the hat on since that was tough even for me, and I tied the scarf too.
But he really did enjoy sticking the toothpicks into the balls and stacking the balls to build a snowman. Caden also took care of the placement of the eyes and nose.
After placing the eyes and nose, Caden was finished. I think he got a bit of glue on his fingers which turned him off to adding any more details. I could have pushed him to add some buttons but I am working hard at letting him learn at his own pace and in his own way. This includes creativity. Besides, I think this little snowman is adorable just the way he is!
Although it didn’t go exactly as planned (no cute button smile or buttons down the front), Caden still enjoyed building his snowman and that is what matters most!
Happy Fine Motor Friday!
Go check out these great fine motor ideas from:
Hot Chocolate Party from Still Playing School
Pre-Writing Practice from Craftulate
Confetti Fine Motor Skills Sensory Search from Little Bins for Little Hands
Fine Motor Dialing Lid Wheels from Lalymom
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So cute! I really like how he turned out, my daughter would have fun making this!
This turned out to be educational AND adorable!
What a cute idea. I love how you use the toothpicks to keep the snowman together. Thanks for sharing.
Renae at http://everystarisdifferent.blogspot.com
I love the spare-sock-hat!! It would be fun to get a huge bag of styrofoam balls, a bunch of toothpicks and see what the kids could create!
That would be a fun idea! Might just have to try that this afternoon!
Had braced the cold weather last night to pick up styrofoam to do this with the kiddos last night! Love your snowman! Olof forward to making ours : )
Have fun! And be sure to share how yours turned out!
Very Cute! We are making similar snowman next week! 🙂
I love this idea and I am going to try it out with Aarya, he is going to Love it.
Thank you for sharing this! You inspired me to use this activity in my classroom. We used brass fasteners to attach the eyes and pipe cleaners for noses and arms so it can all be taken apart and built again in a different way. The kids loved it!
What a cute snowman! Thanks so much for sharing this in the styrofoam craft hop!