This is the kind of activity that costs nothing and comes together on a whim. A tub of drinking straws and a few household things full of holes, and suddenly there is an afternoon of posting, slotting, and threading to be had. It started here on a day we were stuck indoors, and it turned out to be one of those open-ended setups a child takes in directions you never planned. Ages 1.5 to 3.
What you need
Just straws and a collection of things with holes in them. Raid the kitchen and around the house:
- A big tub of plastic drinking straws, the more colors the better.
- A colander, a plastic dishwasher or laundry basket, anything with holes the straws can slot through.
- A flat grater, propped up, for smaller holes that take more aim.
- An old lampshade frame or a few cardboard tubes for posting into.
Set it all out together and leave a child to discover what goes where. There is no method to teach, which is the whole point.
What happens
The first thing tends to be emptying the entire tub of straws onto the floor, often one at a time with a running count, starting again at one after every ten. Then the posting begins. Threading a straw through a basket hole, or balancing one through the holes of a grater, takes real aim and a steady pinch, and the colors invite a running commentary of which one is going in next.
The lampshade frame was a surprise hit, with its ring at the top making a perfect target to feed straws down into. Each different object asks for a slightly different movement, so the same handful of straws keeps a child busy far longer than a single toy would.
Why it works
For something so simple, it covers a lot of ground. All that posting and threading is solid pincer and hand-eye practice, the counting and color-naming slip in for free, and the open-ended nature means a child leads the play rather than following instructions. It is also endlessly repeatable, since the straws just tip out and start again.
For another posting and dropping activity that works the same fine motor skills, our pom pom mirror drop uses pom poms and a bottle on a mirror. And for a quiet sit-down option, our free summer coloring pages are ready when the energy dips.