Yesterday, I was looking for a quick fine motor activity to do with the girls that would not take much time and not require a big cleanup. I remembered a fine motor activity I had seen on Sugar and Spice that involved play dough, pasta and cheerios. Doesn't that sound yummy? Okay, so you don't eat the pasta or the play dough, but you can eat the cereal when you are done. I didn't have cheerios (what kind of mom am I?) but I did have fruit loops and they worked just as well. My kids were so proud of how high they made their fruit loop towers. For more fun ideas check out 18 Fine Motor Activities for Preschoolers.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE FRUIT LOOP TOWERS?
- Plastic cups (we used cleaned apple sauce cups)
- Play dough
- Linguine
- Fruit Loops
HOW DO YOU MAKE AN EASY FINE MOTOR ACTIVITY FOR KIDS?
I gave each girl a ball of play dough and stuck a piece of uncooked linguine in it. I then filled some cups with fruit loops (we were out of cheerios and you'll see why fruit loops may be more fun). My girls think fruit loops are the biggest treats since they rarely have them, so I decided to make their day.
Have your child try and put each loop onto the piece of pasta. This requires a great deal of concentration and careful fine motor work. I was so excited that even B, who is a little weaker on the fine motor side, did this with no trouble.
When they were done they were so excited to see the tower of rainbow colors they had made. See, if you deprive your kid of fruit loops, you just get a beige tower. The other plus to using fruit loops is this turned into a color identification activity as B went down her fruit loop tower and named each color. A (middle name should be Not to be Outdone) did the same thing. They were so proud of themselves. I did this activity around snack time so when they were done I just had them eat the fruit loops for snack. Lazy parenting at it's best!
If your enjoyed these Fruit Loop Towers, check out quick and easy activities for toddlers and:
Marianne Botting
Amazingly simple activity - genius. Love it!
The Outlaw Mom
This is totally awesome! Love this idea 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Martha
Your little girls are darling! and you are certainly good at keeping them busy! Thanks for stopping by and following. Have a blessed week!
Amanda
Wow, I really like this one! Thanks to Athena from Columbia Basin Signing Academy for introducing us to your site. We'll definitely be visiting here again soon!
AthenaS
Thanks for this. I used it tonight in my parent/child signing class to reinforce the signs for "cereal" and "more." The mom there loved it. She's looking forward to using it again with her little girl (she has Downs and spent the activity eating her fruit loops instead of stacking them). 🙂
Vicky
Julia, you sound like my kind of woman. 🙂
Julia Deering
Hello there. WOW - so many comments on this post. I'm popping by from Adventures At Home, London UK.
Love the idea of the fruit loop stacks. We've made edible snack-necklaces before (with one end of elastic attached to the floor with masking tape to stop the 'beads' falling off the end. We've used mini pretzels, Hula Hoops, apple rings - that kind of thing.
Will try the spaghetti trick now - my two kiddos will love it I'm sure.
Vicky
Pam, thanks so much for all your kind words.
Pam (Haslem) Dana
Vicky, thanks so much for the comment on our blog! Your blog is adorable! This is totally something my Nathan would LOVE! I'm now a follower on both here and FB! Thanks again!
Pam from http://www.overthebigmoon.com
Vicky
Jennifer, yes, this would be a fun playdate activity.
Vicky
Jess, cheerios would be perfect too!
Vicky
Dianne, that would happen if I were making it too.
Vicky
Nicole, I am following you as well.
Jennifer
Ooh! I love this one! I have two other little ones coming over tomorrow for a play date with my girls and this will be a perfect activity for all of them to do together!
Thanks for visiting my site yesterday and for letting me know about yours!
Jess
That is a great idea!I don't think we have coloured hoops in England but cheerios would work fine.My little one would love to do this!Thanks for sharing