OVERVIEW
Prep time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy Peasy
Estimated Cost: All home-based objects
Mess level: Non
What you need
6-12 clothespins
A basket
A tray
Instructions:
Demonstrate to your child by taking the clothespins one-by-one from the container and peg it to a basket or piece of paper.
Show your child how to open a clothespin.
Remove the clothespin and put it back to the container.
Encourage your child to try.
How to adapt:
Use pegs to peg washing on a low or child-size clothes hanger.
Peg their artwork on a hanging art line/wire.
Colour match cloured pegs with coloured paper.
Benefits:
Through peg play, children can learn colours and counting, improve fine motor skills, and enjoy experimental play. Peg play can include sorting by colours, playing with sound, and playing dress-ups with toys.
Good to know:
The pincer grip (the ability to use the thumb and index finger to grasp an object) is an important fine motor skill development. Activities that exercise the pincer grip prepare the child to hold a pencil (muscle development and control, coordination, purposeful movement). Dr. Montessori believed that exercising these muscles would prevent the child from becoming fatigued when they started to write.