Montessori pin push is a sensorial activity, designed for children aged 3-6 years to guide them to trace the outline of an object.
Pin push helps to develop a pincer grip that prepares a child’s hand for handwriting. It is also a great activity to introduce various subjects such as arts, language, geography, etc.
For example, if a child is studying about ‘South America’, you can ask the child to pin-push the outline of its map.
What are the Benefits of the Montessori Pin Push Activity?
Pin-pushing activity has therapeutic benefits such as
- It aims to develop order, concentration, coordination, and independence.
- It prepares the hand for handwriting by pincer grasp.
- It helps a child to trace objects such as letters, shapes, country maps, etc.
- It helps in bilateral coordination of hands as one hand is used to hold the cutout/paper and the other is used to hold and push a pin to draw.
- It helps a child to learn how much hand pressure is required to push the pin. It also teaches a child to be aware of the movement of their hand and to use adequate force while writing.
- It teaches a child motor planning and visual-spatial awareness. Also, it helps them to understand how their hand moves in space and where it is relative to the dots.
- It also teaches a child to practice hand-eye coordination and problem-solving skills.
Materials Required for Pin-push Activity
- A smooth surface (it may be a thick felt cushion, or a piece of remaining carpet, styrofoam, or a sheet of cork, etc.) so that it doesn’t create holes in the table
- Push pins
- Cutouts (can be shapes, flowers, continents, animals, etc)
Note: You can use toothpicks/ or bamboo skewers instead!
How do you Introduce Pin-push Activity to the Child?
- Invite the child to bring the pin-pushing tray to the table.
- Ask the child to place the cutout on the styrofoam. Hold the cutout with the non-dominant hand.
- Ask the child to hold the pin with the dominant hand using their pincer grip.
- Invite the child to prick the outline of the shape by applying pressure, as shown in the video.
- Now ask the child to push the pin along the perforated line until it is fully pinned.
Watch the video to learn more. Invite the child to pin different shapes and explore their inner artist. This activity can be extended by pinning names, letters, numbers, continents, and drawings.
Related Arts and Crafts Video Resources
To watch more practical life videos, click here.
Video created by: Strykun Olena
Tags
- English
- Practical Life
- primary
- primary level
