In the Miller Function and Participation Scales there is an "origami" subtest that measures this against age appropriate norms.  Miller describes the skills needed for this activity to be similar to participation in home activities (eg. folding towels, napkins, clothes or the newspaper) or school activities (eg. turning pages in books or folding paper for art projects).

Mr 4 received a terrific book for his birthday recently with over 50 examples for folding paper planes. Whilst he needs lots of help to complete the simple ones, Miss 7 has taken over the book and has loved following the instructions to build a variety of planes.  Miss 7 and Mr 4 have spent hours flying the planes {outside, inside, down the stairwell}, decorating them and turning them into characters for stories (mostly Miss 7 with that one). Miss 7 has also attached messages to some of her planes (see the photo). Best of all it is something despite their different interests and abilities that they can do together. 

Here are instructions for one of Miss 7's favourite planes ... the "acrobatic".  Make sure you press down after each step.

Do your kids enjoy making paper planes?  What is their favourite? Send me a photo of your creations, I would love to see them!

Note: This post may contain affiliate links.  All photos and comments made here are my own.

Threading is a fun way for kids to use their two hands together.  

Older babies and toddlers love to post things into various containers.  As they develop skills in posting, they hold onto the container with one hand and post with other hand.  Gradually, toddlers are able to manipulate smaller objects and put them into smaller holes.  This is a precursor to threading.  

Threading requires coordination of two hands together.  That is, bilateral coordination.  One hand holds the "string" and the other hand holds the "bead". The "bead" hand needs to be held steady as the "string" hand moves to thread.  The child then needs to be able to grab onto the string as it pokes through the bead with the hand which was holding the bead.   

There are so many objects that can be threaded (anything with a hole) and there are many things that these objects can be threaded onto (ok...that is really obvious).  However, there are ways to help a child to develop threading skills depending on the objects used as the "string" and "bead". 

Here is a an example of how you can progress a child who is developing skills in threading.  Ages are approximate and may vary for different children.

Here is a quick and easy way to help your child who is learning to put their shoes on independently.  

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There was hammering and pushing of golf tees into the stryofoam block.  There was bilateral coordination where one hand held the stryofoam block steady whilst the other hand hammered.

Fingers were busy grasping the pom poms, balancing pom poms of different sizes as well as in-hand manipulation of golf tees and pom poms within one hand.  There was some finger isolation as they touched the tops of the golf tees.  There was colour sorting and matching.  

There was some pretend play where the golf tees became candles for Mr 3 to blow the poms off the top after singing Happy Birthday.

What a fun activity for home, preschool or in a therapy session! The stryofoam blocks survived the first battering...we will definitely be doing this again! 

Maybe you can find some keen golfers in your family too?

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A simple posting box made from a yoghurt container is a brilliant fine motor activity.  Read on to see the other benefits of doing this activity.

To make:
Cover a plastic container with scrapbooking paper (or decorate by painting or with stickers).
Cut three slits in the lids using a Stanley knife- horizontal, vertical and diagonal slits.

To use:

• This posting box is perfect for posting small buttons. Encourage a pincer grasp and open webspace of the hand when posting.  {The webspace is the open circular shape that is made by the thumb and index finger as seen in the photograph on the far left}.  This can be done with either hand. 
  
• The posting lid can also be propped up with some playdough.  This allows for the button to be transferred from one hand to the other through the slit.  When passing through the vertical slit, the spatial orientation is as you would need for buttoning shirts.  I have found this really useful for those who have difficulty buttoning up their own clothes {to practise this bilateral activity with the correct orientation to themselves}.  This visual spatial orientation is found in only a few other "natural" learning environments, so having this set up can bring great results. 
• You can also introduce concepts whilst doing this activity such as sorting the buttons according to colour or counting as your child posts.
• Your child may also practise in-hand manipulations skills by holding a group of 5 buttons in one hand.  Your child then needs to move one button from the group to the thumb and index fingertips, before posting. 

This activity is suitable for older toddlers, preschoolers and even school age-children.  Supervision is required for younger children as the buttons may be a choking hazard. 

Does your child struggle to do up the buttons of their shirt?  Have they ever practised with the correct visual spatial orientation to themselves? Will you be making a posting box?

Playdough is loved by kids everywhere.  It is so versatile.  It appeals to a wide age range of kids.  It is portable. It is fun!!

Playdough is great for sensory exploration, fine motor manipulation, finger isolation and imaginary play.  Playdough can also be useful to help a child learn concepts such as shapes, numbers and letters.  
Here are some of our favourite ways to use playdough. You could "invite" your child to play with one of the playdough props below each time they play. 

I love the playdough mats designed by "Planet of the Apels".  I have printed and laminated them.  I have used them with my kids in therapy.  I've also used them with my own kids and given away complete sets with some playdough as a gift.  You can find these free printables here.  

Here are a few helpful playdough tips:

• Playdough is suitable for children 12 months upwards (adult supervision is required for young children).
• Playdough should not be consumed by children or animals (there is a really high salt content).
• Use a large blob of playdough to help pick up little scrap pieces of playdough.
• Store playdough in an airtight container.  If you leave it for a while before packing away, it will dry up and you may have to throw it away.  You can store playdough in the fridge.
• Avoid carpet and rugs when using playdough.
• Try adding glitter or natural essence for a multisensory experience.