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This is a simple activity for you to setup that requires focus and concentration for a one year old. It’s best done when they’re already in a quiet mood and is great for fine motor skills, and for working through things. My active child has a hard time slowing down for activities like this because we’ve never done them, but the other kids’ enthusiasm got him interested for 5 minutes or so.
Materials:
- Pipe cleaners
- Strainer with large enough holes or anything else like a small basket with holes
Fold over the ends of the pipe cleaners to prevent your child from accidentaly poking themselves with the inner wire of the pipe cleaner. Demonstrate the activity with lots of encouragement and soon your child will be trying it for themselves!
If your child has trouble with the lengths of the pipe cleaners another idea is to either fold them in half making it shorter but also thicker or to actually cut the pipe cleaners in half. A wire cutter is the best tool for the job.
One night when I was trying to make dinner and Harvey was fussy I thought of this activity. I grabbed the colander from the cabinet, some pipe cleaners from the shelf and voila! My 6 and 4 year olds ran over too because I never get out the pipe cleaners and they love them. They helped keep Harvey occupied while I cooked.
This idea isn’t JUST for 1 year olds!
There are 40 more activities in the book and ALL include an activity variation AND “As They Grow” section, making this a Grow-With-Them book.
Activities are suited to 1, 2, 3 and even 4 year olds!
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