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The Empowered Educator

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Easy Fine Motor Spider Game for Toddlers!

by The Empowered Educator 4 Comments

It seems to be getting harder and harder to find the time to blog lately but I couldn't resist sharing this easy fine motor activity with you as my family day care toddlers absolutely loved it. To be honest the preschoolers had just as much fun too!

I love thinking up simple games and activities to support the strengthening of those little fine motor muscles and coordination and this one couldn't be easier!

When trying to engage toddlers in an activity it is always a good idea to do the following 3 things…

1. Make it simple so they can experience a sense of achievement and want to keep going
2. Use materials/resources they have shown an interest in  – think of ways to incorporate and extend those interests (In this case wet sand and spiders).
3. Join in with them at first and make it a game…get them excited about what they can do.

 
My spider scooping game ticked all of the above and the toddlers kept finding new ways to play even after the initial concept had been followed and achieved numerous times. They made it their own and I love watching that happen right in front of me!
 
It really couldn't be simpler to get started….
 
 
First I filled our water trough/ship with some coarse sand. We have a huge sandpit but lately I have found the toddlers prefer to play with sand in a smaller space so this has been perfect.
 
I used brickie's sand as it holds together well and makes fantastic roads, hills and castles. It also hides things well!
 
Easy fine motor fun for toddlers with spiders and sand - see how to play at Mummy Musings and Mayhem.com
I pushed lots of little rubber spiders (a large packet I picked up cheaply from the dollar store) into the sand, some I made harder to find, some easier.

Don't be tempted to make it too difficult at first as toddlers are easily frustrated and distracted and will just wander off.

Easy fine motor fun for toddlers with spiders and sand - see how to play at Mummy Musings and Mayhem.com

I then added a few little buckets and some teaspoons. Would also work well with tongs but we have been doing lots of squeeze and release activities lately, this time I wanted to challenge their coordination, control and wrist movement by using a scoop, balance and twist to tip out motion.

Easy fine motor fun for toddlers with spiders and sand - see how to play at Mummy Musings and Mayhem.com
 
As they found the spiders they had to balance them on their spoons until they found the bucket closest to them and then turn and tip them inside. This often challenged their spatial awareness too .
 
Easy fine motor fun for toddlers with spiders and sand - see how to play at Mummy Musings and Mayhem.com
 
There was lots of opportunity for turn taking and communication and when the buckets were full we counted them together and then the toddlers loved being given the important task of hiding them again.
 
Easy fine motor fun for toddlers with spiders and sand - see how to play at Mummy Musings and Mayhem.com
 
There was lots of chatter about where spiders live and who had seen one at their house, we even went on a search around the backyard and luckily found a few that I ‘accidentally' dropped when they weren't looking.
 
Easy fine motor fun for toddlers with spiders and sand - see how to play at Mummy Musings and Mayhem.com

They played with the spiders in lots of different ways and I let them continue to explore and communicate among themselves.

It's good to take advantage of opportunities like this for intentional teaching but also important to let them learn in their own way as they play and process too.

Easy fine motor fun for toddlers with spiders and sand - see how to play at Mummy Musings and Mayhem.com
Got some budding little excavators at your place? Why not give this one a try, I promise they will love it and there is very little for you to clean up afterwards.
 
You could use any little toy the children are interested in at moment….rocks, fairies, cars, animals etc and if you don't have sand why not try rice, hay, beans or flour?

What would your child love to find hidden?

Find more ideas like this for early learning and network with other early childhood educators from around the world in The Empowered Ed Community

 

A Little About Me

Jodie Clarke is an early childhood professional supporting educators who want and need to stay passionate about the work they do! She has 30 years hands-on experience in the early childhood and human services sectors across many different roles.


Jodie is mum to 3 in Australia and has already helped thousands of educators with their work through her popular blog posts, activity ideas, online training and e-books.

Filed Under: eylf, family day care, fine motor fun, Home daycare, sensory fun, toddler, toddlers

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Comments

  1. Sheryl Cooper says

    14/06/2014 at 6:28 pm

    Love this idea, Jode! I’m going to try it with our toddlers.

    Reply
  2. nancy john says

    01/07/2014 at 5:58 pm

    sometimes we forget how hard this can all be for a small child. Thanks for this insightful post. We have not had to move countries, but my kids do attend an immersion school.

    Premature Children disabilities

    Reply
  3. Fionna Hird says

    07/05/2017 at 8:34 pm

    As always. Just the idea I needed.

    Reply
    • The Empowered Educator says

      08/05/2017 at 1:27 pm

      Have fun with it Fionna!

      Reply

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Jodie
Hi, I'm Jode, Mum to twins and a teen, and an early childhood educator.
I love to share ideas & resources for play based learning
Find out more about me here...

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