Tongs are great for building fine motor skills.  They promote fine motor manipulation and separation of the two sides of the hand, which are both vital for development of a successful pencil grasp.  During play with tongs, be sure that your little one is holding the tongs correctly by having him grasp the tongs only with the thumb and index and middle fingers, while stabilizing with the ring and pinky fingers.

Here are 10 fun ways to encourage play with tongs:

1.  Have your child complete a craft activity using the tongs to decorate with cotton balls, pom poms, or tissue paper balls.

2.  Use the tongs to make a tower of small blocks and see how high they can go!

3.  Complete sorting games using the tongs to move the pieces, working on sorting objects by color or shape.

4.  Play board games, such as Candy Land, and have your child use the tongs to move her game piece around the board.

5.  Or play games, such as “Don’t Spill the Beans” or “Hi Ho Cherry-O,” using the tongs to move the pieces.

6.  Use the tongs to complete puzzles with small knobs.

7.  Use tongs during snack time or meal time to eat pasta, vegetables, meats, popcorn, fruit, raisins, etc.

8.  Create a short obstacle course in which your child has to navigate around pillows and under chairs while using the tongs to carry small objects.

9.  Place sand, cotton balls, or rice in a large bowl and have your little one use the tongs to dig for and remove hidden treasure.

10.  Encourage play with one of the many traditional games that incorporate tongs, such as “Bed Bugs” or “Operation.”  Or one of the more recent games that incorporate tong fun:

 

Feed-the-Animals Game

 

 

 

 

 

Wok and Roll

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scatterpillar Scramble

 

 

 

 

 

There are countless ways to incorporate tongs into everyday play.  Have any additional ideas?  Please share them with us!