​Bean bags are fun learning materials for babies, preschoolers, and even older children. The easiest bean bag to make is to fill a child's sock with popcorn, beans, or rice, and then tie a knot in the end of the sock.

For babies, give them a bowl full of bean bags and let them pull them out and put them in. Say "out" and "in" as they move the bags. This is good for eye-hand coordination, hand strength, and learning the concepts of out and in.

As children become able to stand, bean bags work great for throwing games. For ways to teach throwing skills, see this post. A first step is just to have your toddler stand over a bowl and drop the bean bag in. Next, you can teach the throwing motion. Have your toddler or preschooler hold the bean bag and swing their arm back and forth. Tell them to let go when their hand comes forward. You can have them experiment with letting go at different points so that they can see what happens. It takes some time to get the hang of letting go when you swing your hand forward.

Bubble Art

Stage 1: When teaching a child to blow through a straw, have them put it in their mouth and hold their hand at the other end so that they can feel the air come through the straw when they blow out (instead of sucking in).

Stage 2: Since children are more accustomed to sucking in than blowing out, use water in a glass to show the difference. Place the straw in the water and have the child blow bubbles in the water to practice blowing out.

There are many activities one can do with children while staying inside and getting energy out. Today, we’ll list a few ideas to get you through the spring showers that lead to summer flowers!

Obstacle Course

As with most of these activities, it’s all about using what you have on hand. An obstacle course can be constructed of anything like a rope laid out on the floor or some masking tape to make a tight rope to balance across. If you have unbreakable, sturdy bowls these could also be used for balancing on when turned upside down. Set out any kind of container that can catch bean bags (or rolled up socks) when they are tossed. Use a tunnel or box as an obstacle to crawl through, over, under, balance/climb on, or jump off of landing on a soft couch cushion. As long as the children are safe, there are many options available.

​If you're looking for a versatile toy with tremendous developmental benefits, a simple length of string, rope, or yarn is the way to go. Here are some games you can play with that string that address various areas of a child's development. Many of these can be played anywhere! Keep yarn or string in your purse or pocket to pull out when your little one is getting bored and needs something fun and challenging to do.

Balance and Coordination String, yarn, or rope makes a perfect balance beam. Stretch the string out on the floor, and show your child how to walk on it, putting one foot in front of the other. Your child can do lots of fun things on a balance beam:

• Walk on a curvy or zigzag line
• Balance on one foot on the string
• Do an arabesque (or scale)
• Jump zigzags back and forth across the string
• Hop on one foot either on the balance beam or from side to side
• Walk backwards
• Do forward rolls
• Walk on tiptoe on the beam

For more ideas, see this post.

As mentioned previously, children today are learning to type but their hands aren't strong enough to write or do other tasks like being able to eat without spilling on themselves which is a skill that requires hand strength and coordination. People want and need to write legibly and quickly. Arts and crafts, the playing of musical instruments, cooking, measuring....all parts of life require finger strength.

Here is a list of some ways to build finger strength:

• climbing trees or jungle gyms
• folding clothes (make a matching game out of the socks)
• crawl through toy tunnels or cardboard box tunnels
• pretend to be animals and crawl around
• sweep with a child-size broom
• wash the car (or make a car wash tunnel with a garbage bag cut into strips - this can also be seaweed that they can crabwalk through on the ocean floor)
• cooking! stir, knead, cut, roll
• play with playdough or clay (which is even better for strengthening)
• give the baby doll a bath or handwash the doll clothes - wring them dry and hang them out on the line with clothespins
• sewing cards that progress to learning stitches, sewing on a button, and more
• ball puppets (see below)

How to make a ball puppet:

​Did you know that you can work with a newborn on ball skills? Ok, she's not going to be playing catch with you right away, but playing ball involves a complex group of skills, some of which you can be helping your child develop from infancy. Here is a sequence of activities that you can work on with your child as she grows to help her develop coordination, strength, and motor skills that will benefit her all her life.

Two notes: as with all activities, stop before your child gets bored or tired. Very short spurts of these activities are fine—in fact, great! Second, if your child is not a baby any more, it's not too late! You can still play these games together and use many of the same activities to teach a preschooler or elementary schooler to catch.

1. Tracking with the eyes. You know the saying, "Keep your eye on the ball"? Being able to track a moving object with the eyes is a skill that infants don't yet have, but that can be worked on and developed. Begin by catching his eye, then slowly move your face side to side. As you notice him being able to follow you with his eyes, you can begin to hang interesting toys on a string or shoelace and move it slowly side to side and then up and down. This not only prepares baby for ball-play, but lays a foundation for future reading and helps develop attention span.

Hitting a ball is a great activity for developing eye-hand coordination, and it lays a foundation for many sports activities as your child grows. As a bonus to you, this section provides some great games your child can play while you are cooking dinner or otherwise occupied!

Have you noticed how fascinated little ones are with balloons? Batting a balloon is a perfect early step to learning how to hit a ball. Start with a helium balloon anchored to the ground by a string. (Tie it to something heavy.) Show your child how to hit the balloon and then wait til it pops back up again before he hits it again. This helps him follow its progress with his eyes, work on depth perception, and develop a sense of timing in hitting a ball.

Once your child is batting a helium balloon well, tie a regular balloon to the top of a door frame, perhaps in the entrance to your kitchen, so he can practice while you cook or clean. The balloon should be hanging about waist-level for him. Show him how to hit the balloon with the palm of his hand (forehand) and with the back of his hand (backhand).

Now that you've been working on catching and hitting with your little one, you may want to move on to throwing skills. Obviously, your baby has probably been tossing toys around since he could sit up, but you'll want to work with your preschooler on how to throw properly and how to make the ball go where he wants it to.

The best place to start is with underhand throwing. Use something squishy that your child can easily grasp. A rolled-up pair of socks is perfect for this. Have him hold onto the "ball" and swing his hand backward, then forward, and back again. Then have him swing his hand back and hold it there, then forward and hold it there. This helps develop control.

Explain that when he swings his hand forward, that's when he lets it go. When he has practiced swinging his hand forward and letting go, then you can put out a big laundry basket and let him try to throw balls into the basket. Make sure to stop before he gets tired of playing.

​Hula hoops are great tools for developing physical skills, and they are lots of fun too! A preschooler probably won't be able to use a hula hoop for its intended use yet, but there is still a lot they can do with one. Here is a list of games and learning activities for hula hoop time.

Lay the hoop on the ground and use it as a target for a bean bag toss.

Put a series of hoops on the floor, and have your child follow directions to hop from hoop to hoop. They can jump with both feet, step, hop on one foot, etc.

​The ability to write, once a child is old enough, largely depends on the finger and hand strength and the coordination he has developed in his early years. You would think this would happen naturally, but teachers and physical therapists are seeing more and more children whose hands and fingers are not up to the task. Even in third and fourth grade, teachers are sending home notes asking parents to please help their children to do tasks which develop finger strength.

Good news! There are many fun activities from infancy on that you can do with your child to prepare him for success in this important area of life.

Tummy Time

​Bouncing spirals hanging from the ceiling fan. Paper dolls. Hula skirts for toys. Fringed placemats. Paper-plate angels. Toilet-paper-tube puppets. When you know how to use scissors, you can make the best crafts!

So how do you teach the skills necessary for all those fun crafts?

Introduce the Scissors

​When my oldest daughter was 15 months old, her dad built a sandbox. I (Kirby) knew it was going to be perfect! I could hang clothes out to dry while my toddler blissfully discovered pouring and measuring and building and dumping. Montessori had come to my house!

I gathered up my basket of wet clothes, led my little girl over to the new sandbox, and headed for the clothesline. But she just stood there, staring at the sand and looking puzzled. Then it hit me—she didn't know how to play with sand. So I abandoned my laundry and we spent time making mountains together and filling up her dump truck, pouring water onto the sand, and digging holes. After that, she knew what to do, and she knew how much fun it could be.

It's not just kids who haven't learned how to play with sand. Lots of parents don't know what to do with a sandbox either. So here's a list of activities you can do with your pre-schooler in the sand. All of these games build cognitive and physical skills too.

Kids like moving their bodies! Here are three fun activities that build flexibility, balance, strength, and coordination.

Crab walk: Have children sit with their knees bent, feet flat on the floor in front of them, feet apart. Next show them how to place their hands down by their sides, but slightly behind their backs. Then, they can raise their hips off the floor. Now they can walk forward, backward, and sideways, pretending to be crabs.

1. Put pieces of masking tape (approximately the length of the child's foot) : one piece for hopping and two side-by-side pieces for jumping along a path. Wherever you put the two pieces, direct your child to "Jump!" and when they get to the single piece of tape remind them to "Hop."

This course can be as long or short as you like, indoor or outdoor, from the kitchen table to the bathroom to brush teeth after a meal, etc. This activity is growing muscles in your child's body, teaching the ability to balance (especially when hopping), and learning to follow directions is a benefit as well.

Find many creative ideas to get children leaping ahead in their physical development, all while done with things found at home. This is the time to take a minute to watch these and strengthen your options while stuck at home. Enjoy!

Ways to Make a Hoop:

1. Buy a hula hoop.
2. Garden hose: Make different sizes on your own using and old garden hose. Cut in preferred lengths, bend it, buy dowels to connect the ends (take a small piece of hose to the store as a sample so the dowel will fit exactly). The dowel should be cut into 1-1.5 inch pieces. Stick both ends of the hose tubing into the wooden dowel until stuck together, then tape over that seam with clear or duct tape (hint: if children can see the seam, they may want to take it the tape off). 
3. Coat hanger: Stretch out a wire coat hanger using pliers, leaving the twisted part intact. Cut off the hook and turn down the stump. Make the remaining part of the hanger into a hoop then tape over the sharp twisted part.

How to Use a Hoop:

1. Place the hoop on the floor, one for each person (including parents), and take turns telling each other how many body parts to put into your hoop. Be creative: elbow and knee, bottom and two hands, etc….any two body parts. This aids in learning inside/outside and number of parts. (Parents/grandparents: only do what you can safely do. If you have any concerns, check with your doctor.)
2. Kukla is a Turkish game most commonly played by making an O in the dirt and piling up rocks in the center. This can also be played indoors with a hoop and homemade bowling pins or a pile of blocks inside the hoop. Once the pile is set, use bean bags or rolled up socks (socks are one of the safest indoor balls) to throw and knock it down. If anything is knocked down, everyone yells in unison “Kukla!” We celebrate any success, even a slight movement: “Look it moved. You almost got it! Let’s see if you can knock one down this time.”

In an earlier article on gross motor development, we focused on the upper body as the development stages go from the head down (and the core outward). Today, we would like to revisit gross motor early intervention with a focus on strengthening balance. This is a task that can easily be accomplished in the small moments of daily routine such as while waiting - give the child the challenge to stand on one foot, switch feet, put arms out to the side to help them balance, etc.

We have touched on this topic before in the blog so we'll put some links as well as some additional ideas here for you:

• put a long piece of yarn on the rug making straight lines, then curvy lines along with more ideas listed under pretend balance beams using large steps and small steps (more difficult)

One of the main tasks of the toddler and preschool years is developing autonomy. This can be a great inconvenience to parents, who know that, for example, getting out the door would happen much faster if three-year-old Trevor didn't insist on dressing himself when he can\'t do the buttons, tying his own shoes when he doesn't know how, or struggling into his jacket without help…backwards.

One of your jobs, as a parent, is to facilitate the emerging autonomy of your children. This doesn't mean suddenly abandoning your child to the mercy of his shoelaces, but it does mean supporting your child\'s drive to learn to do things himself.

You can survive your child's growing autonomy by:

In our final hoop installment, we'll look at how to use hoops to teach more complex ideas while keeping it user-friendly for children. Preschoolers cannot think with adult logic but they can grasp more intellectually by using tangible objects, for example using hoops to learn sorting. 

When using hoops to teach sorting make sure only two varieties (colors/shapes) are being used. For a 2 year old, place the hoops on the ground next to each other and present a group of circles and squares that can be sorted into the hoop for circles and the hoop for squares. The same could be done with two colors. In general, most two year olds can grasp this concept. For three year olds, it is always best to start with two varieties. If this is easy, move to three options to sort and so on with four varieties of color/shape, etc.

When the child is using their body to sort by placing/throwing the object into the hoop for that specific category, this helps them learn faster and better. It also helps with physical development. Keep this activity simple for the first four and a half years of life. The approach should be to try a game and if it doesn't work try again in a couple of months. Try to find a way to involve the child's body. Some children need to feel to learn (just as we do when making letters out of sandpaper for them to trace with their fingers).