Even though the holidays are over, there are plenty of winter projects that you can create with your children at home! I always like to remind parents that there are numerous activities that you likely participate in at home already that incorporate a variety of age-appropriate skills and help your child grow and learn. One such activity is making paper snowflakes. Paper snowflakes can be as simple or as complex as you would like them to be and will certainly make your house appear to be more festive this winter!
Paper Snowflakes
Materials: paper (colored or plain), scissors, pencil, decorations (e.g. sequence, glitter, markers) and a hole puncher. Use string if you want to hang them like garland.
Directions:
- Fold the paper at least 2 times (e.g. in half and in half again)
- Use a pencil to draw out particular shapes if you have a design in mind
- Cut out various shapes from the creased sides of the paper
- Open up the folded paper to see your snowflake
- Add decorations as you like and/or punch a hole in the top and hang from string like garland
Skills Addressed:
- Folding paper- The child has to line up the edges and produce a crease
- Cutting- The child has to manipulate his scissors to cut out various shapes within the folded paper (which also addresses hand strength)
- Bilateral skills- The child has to hold and turn the paper in one hand and manipulate the scissors with the other hand
- Visual Motor skills- The child must be able to visualize how many shapes are able to fit within the crease of the paper and if the scissors will be able to fit to successfully cut out the shapes
- Creativity- The child has the chance to use his/her imagination to make his snowflake look however he would like it to look. Encourage your child to be as unique and individualized as possible- there is not a ‘correct’ way when making crafts!
As you can see, crafts provide more than just a ‘time-filler’ for you children! Crafts help to address fine motor skills, visual motor skills and direction-following. Try using a theme or a topic of interest for your child and watch his imagination take flight! Feel free to reach out to your child’s teacher or occupational therapist if you have any questions or concerns that are related to your child’s fine motor or visual motor skills.
