One of my favorite distraction tools for New Kid is our big bag of pom poms. They are great for fine motor manipulation, art and craft play, pretend play as well as a tossing around the apartment without worrying about breaking anything!
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We have gigantic one pound bag of poms but even a smaller amount like this will get you started. This week my youngest son was playing with the pom poms again so I thought in addition to showing you his most recent pom pom play I’d do a round up of past activities.
1. In the above photo you can see New Kid decided to sort them by size.
2. He also likes to pick them up with chopsticks. This is one of our favorite activities for developing fine motor skills. these kid chopsticks are awesome for all sorts of fine motor activities.
3. We like to use our homemade catapult for a little target practice.
4. Work those tiny finger muscles by pushing them through slots in a container lid. This is one of my absolute favorite activities to bring out on the spur of the moment. It is sort of amazing how much the kids like to do this again and again.
5. Make art by shaking poms and paint in a container. Use the art later for lovely gift cards.
6. Save your egg cartons for counting…
7. and color sorting.
9. Stick them on toothpicks. A lollipop forest, maybe?
10. And finally, a little free play with egg cartons and cardboard rolls. This is also an excellent distraction for toddlers!
What have you been doing with pom poms lately?
maryanne @ mama smiles says
August 10, 2012 at 11:45 pmI would never have thought to put them on toothpicks – fun!
Emma says
September 2, 2013 at 10:59 pmOur favorite at the moment is a pom-pom shooter made from a balloon and plastic cup. My 4-year-old likes to shoot things across the room and I like that pom poms can’t actually do any damage! This is a great list!
Erica MomandKiddo says
September 3, 2013 at 5:53 amThat sounds like a lot of fun! My boys would love that.