Let’s play…..and spray!

Hand strength is really important for little ones – if they don’t develop the strength they need, they are unable to grip a pencil and use it for writing. Over the past few months, the Little Learners in my session have really enjoyed using spray bottles, so I thought I’d share some of our activities for you to try too!

You can pick up a simple plant sprayer in garden centres, hardware stores and even supermarkets. Most have a part at the front that controls the spray – either a direct jet, or a wide, lighter mist. I tend to go for the latter, especially when using paint in the bottle. It also requires less pressure, which for smaller hands, is ideal. You can also use an old bottle but make sure that you have cleaned it thoroughly before use.

Grab some paint, water it down until it’s the depth you’d like and then get spraying on some paper! Rolls of wallpaper or lining paper are perfect for this – lay a tarpaulin down first. This is an ideal activity to do in the garden – just make sure anything that MIGHT get covered is well away! Hands and feet will get messy too, so dress your little one accordingly.

The cheapest activities are often the best activities! Fill your sprayers with water and let them go wild! Spraying onto a fence or brick wall or pavement, watering the plants (or a ball in the case of my youngest nephew!), or if it’s warm enough, spraying at each other.

If you’re feeling brave, give your little one a cloth and encourage them to spray the windows and doors – these big movements are great for the gross motor skills as well. You can see my dad enjoying this activity too!

Using water to spray pre-painted pictures can be fun! The image below shows a large tuff tray with a raincloud painted on it, but you can do anything. Spraying chalk as well can create an interesting effect. Get a tuff tray here.

Don’t forget, lots of these activities can happen when it’s raining too – the British weather is notoriously terrible, so pop on raincoats and have some fun in the rain!

Your local Little Learners session has lots of activities that will develop hand strength – why not pop along to a class and find out for yourself? Click here to find your nearest session.

Have fun!

Anita

Little Learners South Colchester