To continue to find out what fine motor activities the infants would enjoy, Shannon brought out different material straws and a big cardboard tube with multiple holes drilled in it. There were cardboard straws and reusable hard plastic straws.
Parker, Nihal, Theo, and George dropped the straws down into the middle of the big cardboard tube and tried to reach in to pull them back out, hanging over the edge as far as they could reach. Parker and George liked to use their gross motor skills to pull the straws out of the holes that Shannon and their friends stuck in half way. George was the only one to pull the straws out from the inside of the big tube, before pulling them out from the outside of it. Once the tube was on its side Parker wiggled his body through it. I wonder if you thought it was a tunnel.
Later Parker lifted the cardboard tube using his gross motor skills, looking through it, while playing peekaboo with Theo on the other end. This made the boys giggle and Theo say, “Boo."
Nihal rocked the big tube back and forth until it tipped over, to find all the straws from inside on the floor.
Margo was the first one to notice the small drill holes and line up a straw to push it through. Leila also pushed the straws in the holes easily lining it up. Both girls tried multiple hand positions and the three different material straws as they got each one in easily. What great fine motor skills and hand eye coordination.
Margo was trying to figure out how to get the straws out from the middle of the cardboard tube. Melody pointed out the straw on the floor sticking out from underneath. Margo used one and then two fingers to lift the edge of the big tube to flip it over onto its side revealing all the hidden straws. Way to use your problem-solving skills when one finger wasn’t enough. Margo lifted the green straw and said, “green." Shannon passed Margo each straw labeling each colour (green, red, blue, orange, yellow, and white).
Theo explored his strength and gross motor skills, as he tried to bend each different material straw. He could bend the cardboard white one and smaller cardboard blue straws in half, and to Shannon and Melody’s shock he also slightly bent the hard-plastic reusable straw. Shannon thought he was going to snap it in half. Wow so strong! He then attempted over and over to stick a bent straw through the holes in the big cardboard tube. With a bit of Shannon’s assistance to change the direction of the straw, Theo pushed it the rest of the way in. Theo also placed the straws through the middle of the tube on its side, and would reach in to pull them back out. Theo tried fitting the straw one inside of the others but kept trying with two of the same kind of straws. He also noticed that his finger fit into the holes in the cardboard tube, what fun. Theo pushed in a straight hard reusable straw and watched at the end of the tube as he moved it up and down, discovering cause and effect of movement. Theo bent a blue cardboard straw in two spots and cranked it like the handle on a Jack in the box, to get it into a small hole. What a clever idea!
Leila noticed with the big cardboard tube on its side, that the straw fell inside and she peeked in the center and then reached in to pull the straws back out. Shannon left out this activity and the infants kept coming back to explore.
Nihal came back and with focus and determination he used his fine motor skills and hand eye coordination to figured out how to put the straws into the small drilled holes all by himself. Way to go, Nihal!
Margo discovered another place where the straws fit. She pushed the straw into different spaces and holes on the Busy-Beads toy….so clever Margo. Leila came over and joined in the fun and together the girls placed each and every straw into the busy beads toy. When they asked for more to Shannon’s surprise she lifted up the busy beads and found them all. Wow, so many straws.
I wonder what other activities we can explore using straws and where else in our classroom you can find they fit.
