Have you watched your child work on a lacing toy? Their cute face will be scrunched up in concentration as their hand tries to find the next hole. The look of triumph when they pull the string through each hole is not just adorable, it’s informative.
For a toddler or a preschooler, lacing requires the simultaneous use of several skill sets that are just developing such as bilateral coordination, fine motor skills, and spatial awareness. The repetition helps, but each time they pull the string out is still a little victory!
So this week’s co create activity is a simple lacing game. Are you ready to get creative?
Benefits of the DIY Raindrop Lacing Board
This week’s co create activity is once again brought to you by Aisha Chandarana. Aisha is a DIY Blogger and mom to four-year-old Ninaad. You can see her previous activity, a Wipeable Rainbow Wheel, here.
This activity is called a DIY Raindrop Lacing Board and is perfect for older toddlers and preschoolers who are working on their fine motor and spatial skills. The benefits of this activity include:
1. Invokes creativity
2. Improves eye hand coordination
3. Boosts concentration
4. Enhances fine motor skills
5. Teaches lines, slant lines, and geometrical figures
6. Teaches shapes
Not a DIY person? You can still give the benefits of lacing to your child by exploring our lacing toys collection.
Creating the Lacing Board
Age group:
This activity can be enjoyed by children between 3 to 5 years.
Materials required:
1. A piece of cardboard.
2. Paints, sketch pens, and craft supplies.
3. Large needle and yarn.
4. Sharp pen or screwdriver to poke holes in the cardboard.
How to create the frame:
1. Take a rectangular piece of cardboard and paint it sky blue.
2. Draw clouds, rainbows, and raindrops on it. (Based on the theme, you can draw relevant elements.)
3. In straight, symmetrical lines, draw and mark holes at regular intervals. These should look like rows of raindrops falling.
4. Poke uniform holes into the cardboard with a sharp pointed object such as a pen, pin, or screwdriver.
Playing with the DIY Raindrop Lacing Board
Your Rainbow Lacing Board will have holes in it made at symmetrical intervals. These can be looked at as rows and columns. The aim of the activity is for your child to sew through each hole and make different creative patterns on the board!
You can start by asking them to thread through the holes to make rows of raindrops. Once they are comfortable with this, let them get creative and map other patterns on the board!
To add more of a challenge, give your child a graph paper and ask them to imitate the patterns on the board. You can also ask them to stitch through alternate holes, make simple cross patterns, or repeat a pattern.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this activity. If you would like to share your experience playing this game, tag us at #CoCreatewithshumee. Stay home and stay safe!
Aisha Chandarana creates DIY activities with cardboard and nature elements, providing amazing play experiences for children. You can follow her @toontots on Instagram.