Beading for Fine Motor Skills Practice

Beading for Fine Motor Skills Practice

I found a box of old large wooden beads in my parent's basement {that used to be mine} and showed them to Baby Bear.  She loved the sound that they made in the box and immediateness started exploring the different sounds that they made inside the metal box they were stored in.  We peeked inside and saw the beads and I got a big "wow" from Baby Bear and "What is this?".  She loved jewelry so she was thrilled to know that you make necklaces with them.

Materials

Large wooden beads or Cherios 

Waxed Linen String

I took out the ball of waxed linen that was on the shelf by the box of beads and tied a bead on the end so that she could string them without beads falling off. 

Then I cut the other end off in a slant. Since the linen is waxed, it should keep its shape for a while, but you may need to keep cutting it for easy beading.

Then I let Baby Bear put on a bead while I was holding it.  She wanted to hold it and was able to still thread the beads.

We talked about the different colors and sizes 'big' or 'small' as she picked out the beads.  

I also let her just experiment with beads and string herself. 

When you are finished tie it for a necklace, or we just put the beads back to play again another day.  

Note:

I understand that that this is not an activity for every 2 {just turned} year old to do since many kids still put things in their mouths.  Baby Bear is really good about this, but I still keep a close eye on her while she is touching the beads.