After working with preschoolers for a number of years...I have noticed while offering various lacing activities that most of the lacing sets came with laces or some sort of ropes for threading. In watching them play... I also noticed that the younger ones found it very frustrating to thread laces through. So I decided to come up with something that would make lacing more fun and enjoyable.
Firstly I opted to bring the old fashioned jug beads, which I find they are great for multiple activities:
- They are colorful and come in different sizes...so this created activities like sorting, colors and sizes
- I opted for jug beads with a bigger whole so it will be easier for little hands to handle
- they can be threaded through in color sequence or by size. They can also make their own patterns.
I also hunted through different options for the actual thread and I came along this plastic tubing which is perfect as it does not flop like a normal lace would......and the kids consequently started enjoying lacing more.
I am also presenting them in a little draw string bag in which they can put them back in after finish playing. The bags come in a variety of colors as well.
You can find this set in my Store here...comes with 34 assorted beads, plastic tube and bag....It is a great gift idea for someone's birthday...
Other lacing activities in store are:
8 comments:
That floppy thread is so frustrating, I agree. We use pipe cleaners at home and cable ties.
Bead work looks like fun. We also use pie cleaners or heavier thread for this.
Found your blog thru the We Play Link ups and have signed up to follow. Hope that you will come see my blog, too.
:) Colleen
I never did any sort of beading with Princess until we started making bracelets ... wire and little beads! What a starting point! So wish we had done some earlier!
Love those sewing animals though! I am teaching myself to knit and crochet, and then sew, and Princess wants to join in. They could be just the thing :)
Great idea the plastic laces and I also like the idea of the pipe cleaners in one of the comments. Lacing beads is a classic munipulative in most pre-school classrooms and the strings are frustrating. Thanks for the ideas I will be passing these much better stringers on. :)
Firstly thank you for stopping by...always a pleasure to hear your comments :)
Thank you for your suggestion as re pipe cleaners. Yes they would be great if one is just starting out although as one use them they can start bending and also one has to be careful not to point to someone's eyes with the little ones. With the plastic Tubing you can make it as big as you want..again under supervision. Will catch with you all on your site when I have a moment...thank you Colleen for joining here and hi to all !
ophs that was me before...hit the wrong button...
Love the plastic tubing suggestion. We also lace things on straws - pasta, cookies with holes, etc. Then it's fun to "snack" them off!
We still use pipe cleaners as Immy find them easier to manipulate than laces. I think it is great for children to experience all different types of threading experiences as part of their fine motor development, the plastic tubing sounds like a great idea.
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