5 Ways to Use Straws
 Straws are a fun and affordable way to develop fine motor skills such as cutting and stringing. Straws also can be used for fun tabletop games or for arts and crafts. - Blowing bubbles: Who remembers blowing bubbles in a glass of milk as a child? Blowing bubbles are a great way for improving oral motor skills as well as improving muscle tone in cheeks and lips. An easy fun activity is adding a couple drops of dish soap with some water into a large bowl. To make it extra exciting, food coloring can be added. Have your child blow as many bubbles as possible by exhaling through the straw. A trick to make sure your child does not inhale any soapy water, is to cut a small hole near the top of the straw so the child is able to exhale but not inhale water!
- Cutting: Cutting different sized straws is a great way to develop scissor skills. Cutting straws helps to develop ability to snip and open/close scissors because straws are easy to hold and align. Plus there is the added fun factor that the pieces fly when cut!
- Stringing: Using cut up straws to string onto pipe cleaner or yarn is a great fine motor activity to increase pincer grasp skills, and bilateral hand use. Different beads can be added for color and they can make great bracelets or key chains.
- Painting: Place different colored washable paint dollops on a large sheet of paper and have your child blow air through a straw to create a masterpiece! The same technique can be used for blowing bubbles, cut a small hole near the top of straw to prevent ingestion of paint.
- Drinking straw maze: Glue straws to the top of a cardboard box lid to create a maze. You can use shoe box lids, or old soda cartons. Feel free to get creative and it can be simple or complex. Place a marble in the maze and have your child hold the lid using both hands to move box in order to have the marble travel through the maze. This is a wonderful activity that addresses bilateral hand skills, motor planning, and force modulation.
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 Using clothespins for fine motor activities is another fun and affordable way to help strengthen little fingers. We came across this great idea posted by Therapy Fun Zone to make using clothespins fun, interactive and interesting for little ones. You can use an octopus body printed out with 8 circles numbered one through eight on the bottom. The child must place 8 clothespins onto the body to form the legs. This activity helps to develop bi-manual skills, strengthen hands and fingers and encourages motor planning. If the clothespins are too hard for the child to open, rubber bands may be placed around the clothespins to decrease the amount of force required to open them. To go directly to the Therapy Fun Zone blog for this and other great ideas, click here.
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