Spoon it in

Watch your child concentrate as they put tiny spoonfuls of pantry items into small containers. They’ll have to work hard to control their scooping and concentrate on their hand movements. This is an essential skill for later reading and writing.

 What do I need?

• Bowls of small pantry items such as dried beans, lentils, rice or rock salt – you will only need a small amount
• Teaspoons or small scoops
• Ice cube tray
• A tray to sit everything on

 How do I do it?

1. Collect a range of small pantry items and put them into separate bowls.
2. Sit with your child at a table, a space on the floor or on the ground outside. See if your child can name any of the items in the bowls.
3. Encourage them to spoon the items from the bowls into the ice cube tray. Take turns to fill each hole.
4. Don’t worry if everything gets mixed together. You can keep it in a container with a lid, and next time you’ll be all set with a lovely mixture to scoop. 

No-one knows your child better than you.  So, choose and/or adapt ideas here to best suit you and your child. Remember it’s the talking and time spent together that matters most.