Activity 60 – The Last Straw!

Age Range – Preschool and Up

Areas Being Developed – Fine Motor Skills and Counting

Stand opposite each other and get ready to pass a group of ten straws in a clockwise direction. Start by holding all ten in your right hand. Then pass them one at a time to your left hand. Then pass them one at a time to your child’s right hand opposite your left hand. Ask your child to pass the straws one at a time to his or her own left hand. Keep passing the straws one at a time around in this clockwise direction.

Each time you pass them, try to do it faster and faster. In addition, you can count the straws as you pass each one. If one drops as you play, pick it right up. That will be part of the play. For each turn you will always want to make sure you have passed the last straw.

NOTE: Regular drinking straws work best for this game.

Enrichment…

Gross-motor development is basic to fine-motor development! The principle is similar to a tree’s growth. The trunk and root system must be healthy and strong for the branches, stems, and leaves to survive. Therefore general body exercise should be kept up along with all the fine-motor experiences.

Ideas of March!

So many child-friendly parts of this game:

• Readily available play material
• Going faster and faster
• Counting

No straws available? How about pencils, crayons, markers or other objects you may find?