Fine Motor Fun: Grades K and 1

Make a sensory bin by emptying dry rice or beans into a plastic box or container.   Use small cups, spoons, or measuring cups to scoop and dump.   Add small items such as puzzle pieces, dice, building blocks, or plastic animals to find.   

Basic No-Cook Playdough Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup of flour
• ¼ cup of salt
• 1 Tablespoon cream of tartar
• ½ cup of warm water
• 5 drops of food coloring

Instructions

1. Mix together the flour, salt, and cream of tartar.
2. Mix together ½ cup of warm water with a few drops of food coloring.
3. Slowly pour the water into the flour mixture, stirring as you pour. Stir until combined, then knead with your hands until the flour is completely absorbed. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour until it doesn’t stick at all.
4. Repeat process for whichever colors you want to make.

Notes

Mixing the food coloring with the water before combining with the dry ingredients allows you to blend them by stirring, without staining your hands.

From: https://www.diynatural.com/homemade-playdough-recipe/

Snack mix recipe

This is a great way to practice pouring and dumping. 

Materials:

3 or more of your child’s favorite small crunchy snack foods such as goldfish crackers, mini pretzels, animal crackers, cheerios, cheese crackers, mini graham crackers, or peanuts. You can also choose a sweet ingredient like raisins or craisins.  

1/4 or 1/3 c. measuring cup

Large bowl

Mixing spoon

Snack cup or bowl

Directions:

1. Demonstrate how to pour the snack food from the package into a small measuring cup and then into the bowl. 
2. Now turn the job over to your child.
3. Mix the ingredients together with a large spoon.
4. Use the spoon to scoop the snack into a cup or bowl for snacking.
5. Stores in a re-sealable bag for several days.

Print the scavenger hunt and see how many things you can find.  

Look at the picture.  How many do you see?

Yellow Eggs

Pink Eggs

Blue Eggs

Purple Eggs

Orange Eggs

Football Eggs

Basketball Eggs

Can you find:

a red crayon         an Expo marker

blue chalk             scissors with a black handle

an eraser              a pen

a sharpie              a pencil

Hidden Money!

Can you find:

A square coin

4 coins that have 2 colors

A coin with a pineapple

A coin with 7 sides

A coin that is smaller than a penny

Five US Dollars