Using household objects, baby will practice fine motor skills (especially grasping) and use visual spatial reasoning to drop paper towel tubes or plastic balls into muffin tins.
Learning Area(s): Physical Development
MATERIALS
- Muffin tin
- Paper towel or toilet paper tubes, cut into 3-inch rings OR plastic balls (golf ball sized) OR other small objects that fit inside a muffin tin (wooden cubes/blocks, shape sorter shapes, etc.)
LET'S PLAY
Sit your baby on the floor. Put the muffin tin and pieces of paper towel rings in front of your baby. Show your baby how each ring can be placed in one muffin tin section. Encourage your baby to pick up a ring and explore it. Encourage the baby to drop rings one at a time into the muffin cups.
This activity can also be done with plastic golf balls. The baby can drop the balls into the muffin cups and listen to the sounds as the ball rolls around and hits the bottom of the muffin tin.
TIPS
- If your baby is having trouble grasping an item, she can observe and listen as you drop different items into the muffin tin, or you can change the item to something she can grasp.
- If using small balls, try to use ones that do not bounce too much, as they may bounce back out of the muffin tin.
- Your baby may want to put in and take out one ring or ball repeatedly, instead of leaving each one in a muffin tin cup. You can demonstrate the idea of putting a new one into each cup to fill the tin, but if your baby still wants to do it her own way, that is okay.
- Careful supervision is required as baby may try to put the objects in her mouth.