Pipe Cleaner Fine Motor Skills

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When Travis sees pipe cleaners, he generally either wants me to bend them into shapes (hearts are a favorite) or into a loop to wear over his arm like a bracelet. So I wondered if he’d care at all when I presented him with this fine motor challenge! Happily, he took right to it.

The idea is self-explanatory from the photos: set your toddler up with pipe cleaners and a colander and let them go to town.

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Travis loved poking the pipe cleaners through the holes, although never quite got the hang of bending one so it could come back through a second hole.

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This game is the kind that’s great to leave out for a day or two. Travis would return to it in between playing with other toys, thread a few pipe cleaners, and then move on again.

All-Natural Finger Paints

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I’ve had these powdered finger paints in my craft cabinet for quite some time, and finally decided it was time to give them a try!

The paints from Wee Can Too are gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan, and conform to non-toxic standards i.e. they are edible if your child decides to take an experimental lick. This actually isn’t a worry of mine. as Travis just doesn’t put things near his mouth that aren’t food, but it’s nice to know in case a future son or daughter isn’t the same.

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When Travis was still eating jarred baby food, we had lots of fun dolloping spoonfuls on his tray each meal to trace shapes and letters. But we haven’t bought a can of pureed food in months now, and I missed our little mealtime educational exploration, hence why I broke out the edible finger paint at last.

When breakfast was over, I told Travis we weren’t getting up quite yet, and squirted a little of each of 4 colors on his tray.

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In a fully honest product review, the paints are very uneven in texture. The first tube I tried didn’t have enough water and was so thick and gloppy I had to throw it away. On my next try I added much more water, but the paints were too runny, hence not great for tracing. The mixture I achieved with purple came the closest.

Still, you can’t go wrong with some good old-fashioned messy finger painting! Travis liked mixing the colors and making ovals (his favorite shape thus far).

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You’ll definitely smell the turmeric used to color the orange and yellow paints, and it will stain a little (as turmeric is wont to do), but it’s nothing a good scrubbing with soap and water can’t remove.

Overall, I’d use the paints again, especially with a child who seems inclined to eat paint, as they felt very natural and safe.