“Don’t worry poms…I’ll save you!”
– Our Little Nugget/Ninja
Do you have an abundance of poms lying around your house? You know…those colorful little things that look like cotton balls? Well…one sunny afternoon we discovered that all of our poms had been trapped by Darth Vader and the Storm Troopers. Gasp! With our poms held captive, it would be impossible to use them for future craft projects or learning activities. We needed to save them…and quick! And thus began our Pom Rescue – Fine Motor Skills Activity.
We shared this awesome activity on Facebook and Instagram early last summer, but since it’s proven to be a lasting favorite, I figured I should write a quick blog post about it. I initially discovered this exceptional idea over on Emma’s (@play_at_home_mummy) Instagram feed, and I figured it would be a big hit with our daughter. Boy, was I right!
I love how this activity promotes the use of those all-important fine motor skills. The look of determination on our little nugget’s face, as she completed the pom rescue, was priceless. She would not rest until every last pom had been saved. And while I love the extra dexterity practice…what I truly adore about this activity is the amount of creativity and imagination that it sparks. As soon as I informed our daughter that her poms had been trapped, she immediately launched into superhero mode! She told me exactly who was responsible for confining our poms (once we determined that Cinderella’s evil step-sisters were in the clear). π And then she proudly introduced me to her superhero alter-ego…before finishing her bold rescue attempt.
Pom Rescue – Fine Motor Skills Activity
Supplies:
- Cardboard Box (with the top flaps cut off)
- Yarn, String, or Ribbon
- Poms (we used an array of different colors and sizes)
- Tongs (we used a pair of kitchen tongs, as well as one of theseΒ mini hand-shaped silicone tongs, that we found in a 4-pack on Amazon)
Instructions:
- Place all of the poms into the cardboard box.
- Wrap the box with yarn – wrapping from every direction – until you create a maze of yarn that essentially traps the poms inside. Make sure not to wrap the yarn too tightly, as you want your kiddos to be able to get a pair of tongs into (and out of) the box, without getting super frustrated.
- Hand your kiddos the box of poms and a pair of tongs. Let them know that all of their poms have been trapped…and it’s their mission to save them!
- Have your kiddos rescue the poms from the trap, using only the tongs.
Our little nugget absolutely loves this fine motor skills activity! I think making the activity extra fun and playful, by transforming it into a daring rescue attempt by our in-house superhero (or should I say our beloved Good Guy Purple Ninja), made all the difference. π
You can promote more learning opportunities with this simple activity, by having your kiddos sort the poms by size and/or color as they rescue them. And if you’re looking for more ways to utilize poms as educational tools, make sure to check out our Learning With Poms post, for a few more ideas!
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