Best for: 1 to 2 year olds
What it’s good for
Posting a pipe cleaner into a small hole asks your child to line up finger and thumb and aim, which builds the neat little pinch they’ll one day use to hold a pencil, along with the hand and eye teamwork behind it. There’s no right answer here, so they can poke, pull out and try again for as long as it holds them.
What you’ll need
- A few pipe cleaners (or dry spaghetti, shoelaces, or string)
- A colander (or a steamer, a sieve, or a box with small holes poked in it)
What to do
- Sit the colander upside down so the holes are easy to reach.
- Give your child the pipe cleaners and show them how to push an end through a hole.
- Let them fill it however they like, pushing some through and pulling others back out.
- Talk about what they’re doing as you watch: “In it goes, and out again.”
We often leave a tray like this out for our youngest children at Holly Road and Heath Road to dip in and out of at their own pace.
Make it simpler
- Use a box with a few larger holes so aiming is easier.
- Hold the colander steady while they post.
Make it trickier
- Choose a colour to push through next.
- Make a pattern with the wires.
- Use position words as you go, like top, bottom and side.