Guest Post: Snowman Craft that Builds Fine Motor Skills
The following is a Guest Post from Colleen from The OT Toolbox, a member of our Craft Project Ideas Blogger Network!
We all know the child that needs to strengthen fine motor skills. They might fumble with pencil grasp, struggle with clothing fasteners, or are challenged by opening lunch box containers. What if we could combine fine motor work with a fun snowman craft? That’s just what we did and we are sharing the how to below! This is a craft that kids can use to really boost fine motor skills!
Read on to find out how to make a snowman craft that uses a few craft supply closet staple items AND works on the fine motor skills like hand strength, precision of grasp, and other skills, too.
We used some basic craft materials to make a snowman craft that has been as much fun to make as it is to play with! The fact that this snowman craft is on a clothespin makes it a fine motor powertool. Kids can pinch the clothespin to attach the snowman to anything from a folder, to a book, to a backpack, to a flowerpot! Our snowman craft showed up hanging out on the side of a flowerpot and it is still there!
This snowman craft is a cutie that we made with a few items from craftprojectideas.com. The best thing about this little snowman is that while making him, we powered up on fine motor skills like neat pincer grasp, pincer grasp, bilateral coordination, in-hand manipulation, eye-hand coordination, hand strength, finger isolation. All of these fine motor skills are needed for every-day tasks like pencil grasp, management of clothing fasteners, cutting with scissors, manipulating small containers, shoe tying, and so many other areas. So many of our kids are struggling with fine motor skills…why not sneak them in with a fun winter craft like this clothespin snowman craft?
You will need a few materials for this snowman craft:
Materials
Clothespin
White Poms
Small Black Poms
Red Fuzzy Stick
Brown Fuzzy Stick
Black Paint
Craft Glue
Instructions
Step 1.
This was super easy to make:
Use the craft glue to stick the white craft pom poms onto the clothespin. The bottom of the snowman should be at the end of the clothespin that opens when you pinch it.
Step 1.
This was super easy to make:
Use the craft glue to stick the white craft pom poms onto the clothespin. The bottom of the snowman should be at the end of the clothespin that opens when you pinch it.
Step 2.
Glue the small black craft pom poms onto the belly of the snowman.
Step 2.
Glue the small black craft pom poms onto the belly of the snowman.
Step 3.
Use the red pipe cleaner as a scarf by cutting a smaller piece. About 4 inches long is perfect, because you can then trim it as short as you would like. Thread the pipe cleaner behind the head of the snowman and bend it around the front. Twist it into a “knot” and bend the pipe cleaner so it stays in place with the ends hanging as you would like them. Trim the excess from both ends of the scarf.
Step 3.
Use the red pipe cleaner as a scarf by cutting a smaller piece. About 4 inches long is perfect, because you can then trim it as short as you would like. Thread the pipe cleaner behind the head of the snowman and bend it around the front. Twist it into a “knot” and bend the pipe cleaner so it stays in place with the ends hanging as you would like them. Trim the excess from both ends of the scarf.
Step 4.
Use the brown pipe cleaner to make the arms of the snowman craft. Thread the pipe cleaner behind the snowman’s head. At this point, you can add a bit of glue to the red and brown pipe cleaners to keep them both in place.
Step 4.
Use the brown pipe cleaner to make the arms of the snowman craft. Thread the pipe cleaner behind the snowman’s head. At this point, you can add a bit of glue to the red and brown pipe cleaners to keep them both in place.
Step 5.
Use paint to make a face on the snowman craft. We used squeezable gel glue from craftprojectideas.com (the kind that is use for window suncatchers) because it really adds a fine motor strengthening component.
And that’s it! Your snowman craft is ready to hang out AND work those fine motor skills!
Step 5.
Use paint to make a face on the snowman craft. We used squeezable gel glue from craftprojectideas.com (the kind that is use for window suncatchers) because it really adds a fine motor strengthening component.
And that’s it! Your snowman craft is ready to hang out AND work those fine motor skills!