How to Promote Pincer Grasp

Cheerio Spaghetti Stacking

For some children writing and pre-writing may be very difficult, and this can be due to a couple different reasons. The first reason may be due to decreased grasp strength, specifically pincer grasp, which is needed to hold a writing implement (crayon, marker, pencil etc.) This activity works specifically on using a pincer grasp to pick up each cheerio 1 at a time and threading them onto the spaghetti. Some children also have difficulty integrating both sides of their body in order to complete a task. For instance when using scissors you need to hold the paper with one hand while cutting the paper with the other hand, this is called bi-lateral integration. This activity builds the skill of bi-lateral integration by holding the piece of spaghetti still with one hand, while threading the cheerio onto the spaghetti with the other hand. This activity also works on visual motor skills. If your child is having difficulty completing puzzles, or shape sorters they may have some deficits in visual motor processing. This pertains to how your eyes perceive the item in front of you and measure how far away it is, how big or small it is, or the way it needs to be turned in order to fit in a specific place. This activity works on this skill by working to find the small hole of the cheerio and placing the spaghetti in the middle, over and over again. 

Supplies:

-playdough, 

-uncooked spaghetti 

-cheerios

Directions:

-Have your child roll the playdough into a ball, place 2-3 pieces of spaghetti in the playdough (straight up) and start stacking cheerios onto the spaghetti!

-This simple, fun task helps to build bi-lateral hand skills, pincer grasp development, as well as eye-hand coordination to find the hole of the cheerio to thread onto the top of the spaghetti. It also works on regulation, to make sure your child does it slow enough, and soft enough to not break the spaghetti. 

Make it a game!!

1. You can make it into a game by timing your child to see how many cheerios you can stack before the timer ends!

2. You and your other kids can also participate with your child and have a race to see who wins by stacking a specific amount at one time (ex. 10)