BUTTON PICKUP
 
     
Materials Purpose Process
 
 
 
 
 
MATERIALS
 
  • A bag of small buttons.
  • A small container (plastic cup).
 
 
Warning: The child should be old enough that the tendency to put the buttons in the mouth is not a problem.
 
Parent supervision is required.
 
 
 
PURPOSE
 
     
  The purpose of this activity is to develop fine muscle control in the thumb and finger for picking up things. This activity will help the child gain fine muscle control and "soft" touch needed when holding a pencil or crayon or picking things up.
 
 
     
PROCESS
 
Note: Rather than use buttons for this activity you may wish to start with larger items from around the house, such as, plastic cups of different sizes and colors; boxes of cereal; spoons; etc... As the child's skill develops, smaller items can be used.

1. Open bag and spread the assorted buttons on the table in front of the child.

2. Place the container in an appropriate position within easy reach of the child.

3. Ask the child to look at the buttons and decide what ones are the smallest. Have the child show you what they think are the smallest buttons. If the child selects any other buttons than the smallest, select three or four buttons, lay them in front of the child then show them what the smallest looks like.
 
 
4. Have your child separate the smallest buttons from the buttons on the table and put them in a pile beside the plastic cup.
 
 
5. Once the child has extracted all the small buttons spread them around the plastic cup then ask the child to pick them up one by one and place them in the container. An extended activity may be the counting of the buttons as the buttons are placed in the container.

6. When the buttons are all in the container, the container may be emptied back into the bag.

7. The container can be placed in front of the child again and the smallest buttons left on the table may be separated and placed in the container.

 
 
8. This activity can continue until only one size of button is left.

9. The child may want to record the number of buttons in each group.

10. Another activity may be selecting the biggest buttons.

11. Let the child put together a sequence and see if you, the parent, can remember it. This can be a lot of fun for the child.

12. Making shapes with the buttons in sequence can be a great deal of fun.