Pipe Cleaners and Pony Beads

For the last few weeks I have been thinking about new activities Charlie can do. He seems to get bored with his toys really fast and I have been having trouble keeping him entertained and occupied. He is almost three, so I decided to start working on some dexterity skills.

This morning we tried my first idea—pony beads and pipe cleaners. I sat the boys at the table and showed them how to string the beads on. The pipe cleaners are fuzzy enough so the beads will not fall off. Charlie knows his colors well, so this activity re-enforced colors and worked on counting. I didn’t think Noah would be able to get the beads on, but he surprised us and enjoyed counting to three over and over again and got a good introduction to colors.

An added bonus: they sat for 15 minutes playing with the beads.

I will have to start spending more time looking for activities that they can do at this age. They both enjoyed the challenge and were so proud of themselves once they got the hang of it!