Threading fun

You can do so many things with what you have lying about at home, or you can grab things from the $2 type shops (or The Warehouse), like Pom poms, pipe cleaners, wool, beads etc.

What you need:

Straw Snake:

Wool, Plastic needle, Plastic drinking straws (cut into 1 inch lengths)
Beads

Popcorn Necklace:

Cotton or fine string
Plastic Needle
Popcorn

Pom Pom Garland:

Wool / String
Metal darning needle
Pom Poms

Pipe Cleaner Letters

Pipe Cleaner
Beads

(Scissors are needed for all projects)

Number of players:

Activity:

Little fingers need extra help to steady & hold things, so after you thread the needle, tape the ends to the table. This gives a great anchor point. I started by showing him how to thread the needle and the first couple of straws then he happily kept on threading by himself. Choosing the different coloured straws one by one, he was planning on how it would look (and great to teach colours). I tied a wooden bead to the end to secure the straws. And voila … he was pretty happy with his SNAKE (Aka The Toy).

After we had made the snake he was getting hungry – Morning tea! So I though that making a plain popcorn necklace would very quick and oh so much fun! I chose cotton sewing thread so it wouldn’t leave any ‘fluff’ inside the popcorn. Cut a length long enough to slip over the head and tie up. Once again I taped the ends of the cotton to the table. He started threading, one for the needle, one for me, one for the needle, one for me – it didn’t take long to make and was fun to eat. (Aka Something edible)

By this stage he was a pro at the needle so onto the Pipe cleaners. My boy is all about the first letter of his name, so guess what he wanted to make?

We were outside so I improvised by pushing the end of the pipecleaner into a gap in the wooden table, but you could secure it with a mound of Playdoh on your table if you are inside. With the pipecleaner secured he started threading the different coloured beads – at the end I helped shape it into a W, but you could make any shape at all, animals, stars, hearts. (Aka the Letter) You could also thread cut up straws onto the pipecleaners and create moveable arms & legs on little people!

These would make great Christmas decorations or a mobile to hang in your child’s room.

After nap time he chose to use his soft blue Pompoms. We are planning for his big sisters b’day party so I thought making a garland to hang in the tree would be fun. The metal needle is easier and smoother to thread through the Pom Poms and I chose a bright contrasting thread. He concentrated hard threading each pom pom, a nice tactile activity as well. (Aka The Decoration)