Fine Motor Activities::St.Patrick's Day Themed Lesson::Slotted Can with Shamrocks

This video continues the series of fine motor activity videos we are starting.  Fine motor activities are extremely important with preschool age children.  Such important functions such as writing, cutting, and more require the coordination and a certain amount of strength in the small muscles of the hands and fingers.  In addition, fine motor activities require intention and concentration.  In particular, using lessons that require passing objects through a slot works on developing wrist movement as the child tries to orient it into the container as well as serving as a practice for hand eye coordination. In this video I used a three finger grip which was encouraged by the Montessori school I worked previously.  This lesson can easily be adapted for other themes/seasons by changing the shape/type of the objects being used to put into the can.  In addition instead of using a baby formula can, I have seen other educators use chip cans as well.  I also laminated the shamrocks for added durability with my two year old class.

Materials:
-can
-scissors
-cut out objects (shamrocks)


Our YouTube Video demonstrating the process: