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    You are here: Home / Play Activities / Motor Skills / DIY Toddler Lacing Activity for Little Hands with Big Dreams

     

    DIY Toddler Lacing Activity for Little Hands with Big Dreams

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    Toddlers love lacing activities and this easy homemade toddler lacing activity made from paper rolls and a ribbon is a fun change from beads and string.

    My toddler loves to lace beads on a string. Despite his fierce determination, his fine motor skills are not quite ready for little holes and so he screams, "need help!" at me the entire time. He needs a toddler-friendly lacing activity, so I made this simple lacing set for him!

    Paper roll cut into pieces with white ribbon threaded through and tied at the end with a knot in a square of cardboard.

    The instructions are very simple. You are such a smart parent, you can figure it out from the photo and probably aren't even reading these directions. Ha ha ha!

    Materials

    Paper rolls, like paper towel rolls or toilet tissue rolls.

    Scissors

    Length of ribbon

    Small piece of cardboard

    Instructions

    Cut the paper rolls into pieces about 1-2 inches long.

    Next take the square of cardboard and poke a hole in the center.

    Thread the end of the ribbon through the hole and knot the end of the ribbon. This will provide a stopper so that your toddler won't pick up the ribbon only to be distraught when all his paper rings slide right off the ribbon! (Not that I know that from personal experience. Ahem)

    Now you can present your homemade toddler lacing activity to your little one. Demonstrate how to perform the threading action and you're all set!

    A "just right" toddler lacing activity for little hands with lofty goals.

    **I wish I could have gotten a photo of his efforts, but whenever I bring out the camera my sweet toddler stops what he's doing and yells, "camera, camera!"

    MORE IDEAS FOR TODDLERS:

    • Activity ideas for 2-4 year olds with printable list
    • Indoor toddler activities
    • Stacking activities
    • Toddler pounding activity

    For more fun play activities visit my Giant List of Indoor Activities for Kids.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Christy says

      January 19, 2011 at 12:03 pm

      Great idea!

    2. Michelle Willow says

      January 19, 2011 at 6:25 pm

      Good thinking! 🙂

    3. Raising a Happy Child says

      January 19, 2011 at 7:00 pm

      Nice modification for those little hands!

    4. Ellen says

      January 20, 2011 at 3:32 am

      this is SUCH A GOOD IDEA. i'm thoroughly impressed.

    5. aly in va says

      January 20, 2011 at 7:43 pm

      Easy, Quick and Cheap. Love it. I'm afraid my little one may try to ball it all up through....I'll try it and link back to you though 🙂

    6. Kristi@Creative Connections for Kids says

      January 22, 2011 at 4:02 pm

      This is great! I just wrote a post on lacing/stringing. If it is OK, I will add this link to the bottom of my post to pass along your activity too. Thanks! Kristi

    7. Scott says

      January 22, 2011 at 5:28 pm

      Really great idea! Last year on the "No Time for Flash Cards" blog, they used large plastic napkin rings for lacing, too. (http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2010/02/napkin-ring-necklace.html)

      Thanks for the idea.

    8. Mom of Toddlers says

      December 27, 2011 at 3:14 am

      Activity like this is a very good alternative to watching cartoon!

    9. HawaiianLibrarian says

      February 10, 2012 at 12:43 am

      Smart easy to replicate idea! Mahalo for sharing.

    10. Zoe says

      February 26, 2012 at 12:16 am

      I like this ideas:)it's good to do for my kids, thank you.

    11. Anonymous says

      July 13, 2012 at 12:30 am

      I did this for my students (2 year olds) but I had them decorate the "beads" with construction paper and glue, we turned them into necklaces to give to their mommies. It was cute and a great idea considering it was raining all day today

      -Alyssa, TX

      • Mom and Kiddo says

        July 13, 2012 at 8:57 am

        That sounds like a nice variation on the activity. Thanks for the suggestion.

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