Practical Life Activities

These activities are designed to prepare a child for real life experiences, to help him develop skills which will increase his independence and confidence in himself.

While these activities appear completely non-academic, the concentration needed for later academic work is being developed, as well as muscular skills and left to right orientation will be needed for writing and reading.

Twisting and Turning  - to develop coordination

Put together a basket or box of containers and lids of various types.  

Examples:  perfume bottles, make-up containers, lotion containers with lids, bottles with stoppers.  (Make sure all containers are fully cleaned and no residue.)  Match container to lid and attach.

Nuts and Bolts

Provide nuts and bolts of different sizes and match.  Have a board drilled with holes for the bolts.  Use with a screwdriver to tighten bolts.

Egg Beater

Use with a small amount of detergent in a basin.  As the child turns the handle, bubbles will appear.

Squeezing and Pinching - to develop small motor coordination, and strength, especially for the fingers needed later for writing

Use a sponge or dishcloth with a dishpan of water colored with food coloring.  Add Ivory flakes and have child make colored foam by squeezing the sponge.

Water Transfer

Using a double cat or dog dish, fill one half with colored water and have the child transfer the water to the other half using the sponge.  This can be done with two bowl on a tray.

Basting

Provide a plastic type baster for the children to transfer water from one bowl to another.

Clothespin Clipping

Have children place (clip) clothespins around the edge of a small plastic bowl or basket.  You can mark the spots on the clothespins where the child needs to hold it to press.  You can also mark the bowl or basket where the pins should be clipped.  Purchase plastic colored clothespins to sort by color.  Program the clothespins with numbers for number sorting.

Sorting - to develop classification skills

Buttons, according to size, shape or color.  You can use buttons for a math exercise by providing a different number of each color.

Macaroni, elbow, wheels, bows, spirals.

Screws, of different sizes.

Colored beads from a broken necklace.

Stones or shells.

Bottle caps.

Socks, different colors.

Office supplies, sort paperclips, rubber bands, erasers, etc.

Silverware or eating utensils.

Blocks, according to shape or color.

Straw, of different lengths or colors.

Nuts, peanuts, walnuts, pistachios, pecans, etc.

Jar lids, milk bottle lids, according to size or color.

Pouring - to develop large and small muscle coordination, to provide experiences in following a simple sequence

This activity should be first introduce with large dry materials until the children have mastered it.  This provides and audial as well as a visual control of error.  Then the children can be introduced to smaller dry materials then to liquid.  Stress SLOW pouring for control.  Whenever possible, use clear plastic containers so the contents can be seen.  Use trays to place pouring activity on to contain the mess.

Things to pour:

-lima beans

-nuts and bolts

-beads or pebbles

-rice

-salt

-colored water

-milk (for snacks)

Transfer - to emphasize working from left to right and completing a simple sequence

(moving contents from one container to another without pouring)

Use hands, a scoop, ladle, small shovel, fork, a small cup, or can.  Use the same materials as in pouring.  

Use a baster, eyedropper or sponge to transfer liquids.

Tweezer Sorting Boxes

Provide several narrow containers about 4" deep, straws of different colors to sort and tweezers to sort them with.  The height and narrowness of the containers is important so that the fingers cannot fit into them and the tweezers must be used.

Tonging

Provide cotton balls, pom poms, or golf balls and have the children move from one bowl or basket to another.

Colored Popcorn

Provide tweezers to place popcorn into different containers.