Busy Box 5 - Threading

Threading is fantastic for developing children's fine motor skills.

All you need is
- Large needles and thread ( I used plastic needles, pack of 3 was $3 from spotlight, even through they are plastic they are still sharp so close supervision is required and some old wool).
- things with holes to thread.  Start with large things (e.g. pasta and you can decrease the size as children's skill level increases).  I used coloured pasta, straws, and paper.
I tied a piece of pasta to the end as an anchor and showed my 2.5 year old how to do one piece and he ran with it.  It is up to you if you make items to keep (e.g. necklaces) or simply cut the bottom off and start again each time.

This necklace took my 2 year old about 15 minutes to make.  He made a few, I love anything that can keep a 2 year old occupied for over 30 minutes.

Coloured pasta - I made this by
- Put about 125g of pasta in a plastic bag
- Mix food colouring (enough to reach desired colour) in with 1 tablespoon of vinegar.
- Pour the vinegar into the plastic bag with the pasta and rub until the pasta is covered.
- Tip out onto a tray and leave to dry (about an hour)

Busy Box 4 - Tongs and Things

I included tongs as part of my kitchen play and found they were a hit with all children.  My son would walk around the house finding all sorts of things to pick up.

Basically you can add anything that can be picked up with some tongs to this box.  I would start by tipping them out and asking them to pick the things up with the tongs and then put them back in the box.  As their fine motor skills develop give them smaller containers (e.g. a jar, or tin with a small hole cut out) and get them to pop the things in the top.