fine motor

The Only No Cook Play Dough Recipe You’ll Ever Need

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I love love love love LOVE play dough.

When I was a kid, my sister and I would spend hours creating whole meals out of play dough. Burgers, peas, carrots, french fries, chicken nuggets…anything we could think of we would make.

Now that I’m all grown up, one of my favorite experiences to share with the little ones in my life is making play dough together. When my friends and their kids come to my house, they always go home with a bag of play dough that they made.

Here’s my super easy, kid friendly, NO COOK (yea!) recipe for play dough.

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More Than a Feeling: The Hidden Benefits of Sensory Bins

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You know those minivan and suv commercials where they make the car look like it can do literally anything?

That’s basically the same as a sensory bin.

What is a sensory bin?

A sensory bin is a container filled with a variety of materials cultivated to ignite one or more of the five senses: touch, sight, smell, sound, and taste. You’ve probably seen water tables and sand tables at Target or Walmart. You might even have one in your backyard! There are tons of tutorials on the internet that show how to use pvc pipe and storage tubs to create a cheap table. I’ve found that those plastic under the bed storage tubs straight on the floor work wonders. You can move it anywhere (speaking from experience, don’t try to move it when it’s full) and you can store your materials in it when you’re done!

Scroll to the end of this post for a list of materials for your sensory bin!

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Four Favorites: Fine Motor Fun

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Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Pexels.com

Last week we talked about the importance of fine motor development, so this week I want to share some of my favorite fine motor experiences with you! They all require gathering some materials but you can typically find most of these things lying around your house or at a dollar store. They’ll work to strengthen those little hand muscles needed to start writing and drawing and being more independent. These activities are sure to be home runs for your little ones!

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Where is Thumbkin?: Fine Motor Skills

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Late last year I read an article that continues to stick with me.

A surgery professor in London noticed a trend in his students over the last decade:  a decrease in their fine motor skills.

With the refinement and widespread use of technology, people are spending more time playing games on their phones, watching tv, scrolling through social media, and less time writing by hand, building things by hand, and basically doing anything by hand.

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