Water play threading, a sensory and fine motor skill experience

I am a sucker for browsing in those cheap dollar shops, always looking out for little bits and pieces I can use for play experiences. Today I was blessed with a real treasure of a find. The longest neon coloured straws I have ever seen. I
don't even know why they are manufactured because from a drinking straw perspective they are as useful as a waterproof teabag. I mean who keeps their drink a meter away when drinking? I guess you could have your drink on the floor and use the straw so you don't have to pick it up but really these straws were screaming for a repurpose! The other awesome find I found was foam beads! I can't believe they sell these. I bought a packet for 99 cents that were flower themed. 

I know there will be a hundred different ways I can turn these straws into a fun activity but last night they became the key piece (or pieces if you will) in a bath time game. That game was Water Play Threading and it kept my daughter busy and happy for a whole half an hour. It would have been longer if I wasn't concerned about the level of wrinkliness her hands and feet were sporting. For the activity I just cut up a few of the straws and gave my daughter a plastic stringy thing ( I'm not sure of the technical term) to use to thread them through. It became a lot more fun than normal threading because she had to sieve through the bubble bath foam to find pieces. Kind of like a treasure hunt game and threading all wrapped in one activity.

So that I can show you some photos of the activity ( I couldn't get any of her in the tub where her pink bits didn't show)  I set up the activity again in a tub for the play room. The little one enjoyed it just as much as she did in the bath which is great because sometimes you just want to play with water without having to shampoo your hair at the end!

As you can see in this photo, before I really foamed thing up with dish washing detergent, I just needed to add the foam beads, cut up straws and a plastic thread.

Note: bit of a bubble/foam hack- use a whisk to make bubbles and foam without having to splash about! So easy and quick!














This activity is more than just water play, it is also very good for developing fine motor skills while honing in on the sense of touch. You see the pieces are hardly visible when hidden in the bath foam so my daughter only has her sense of touch that she can use to find the pieces. You can also give your child pattern making charts that he/she can use to thread colour patterns making it also a numeracy experience.

I have to say using the plastic thread makes it much easier for younger kids to complete the activity too. Unlike regular string it is quite stiff and stays straight while a child threads things on. The wider circumference of the straws also makes it easy to thread. I highly recommend using these items for first time threaders!

If you are interested I'm developing a pirate and mermaid theme version of this activity so stay tuned!

Happy threading and happy playing.

P.S Thanks Papa for letting us girly you up a bit!