FM.E.91 THREADS 4 LARGE BEADS
Bead threading requires steadiness in both hands at once, precise aim and, most important of all, the ability to work through a sequence of actions.
To thread the bead you must hold bead and string correctly, put the string in the hole, push it along, readjust your grip and then pull the bead to the end of the string.
Toy shops do sell suitable beads, but we have found that the best way to collect a range of beads is to visit a craft shop.
How to Assess
Materials: At least 5 large beads, about 3 cm across, with large holes of about 1 cm across. A long pipe cleaner or plastic-coated wire with a small bead attached to the end. Your ‘string’ should not droop when held about 8 cm from the threading end.
Method: Demonstrate with the first bead, then put the remaining beads and the string on the table. Direct him to ‘Put the beads on the string’. You can repeat this direction for each bead.
Score plus if your child threads 4 beads and pushes them along the string without physical or verbal assistance.
How to Teach
To learn this skill your child needs a strategy that he can follow every time. Take care to work out a suitable strategy before you start teaching. Think about which hand should hold the bead, and which hand should hold the string. How far down the string should he grasp it? Thread several beads yourself, noting every movement that is necessary. Your strategy will look something like this (though it need not be exactly the same).
- Grasp the string in the right hand, about 8 cm from the end.
- Grasp the bead in the left hand.
- Push the string through the hole (or put the bead onto the string).
- With the left hand, release the bead and grasp the end of string.
- With the right hand, release the string and grasp the bead.
- Push the bead to end of the string.
- Grasp the string with the right hand about 8 cm from the end and release the left hand, ready to start the next bead.
Complicated, isn’t it? But if you guide your child through it using exactly the same steps and also exactly the same verbal reminders each time, he will learn the strategy. As you sense that he is mastering a particular step, withdraw your assistance at that point. Give him a chance to anticipate what comes next.
When he has threaded his beads he has made something – a necklace or a bracelet. Let him be proud of it!
Playtime and Round-the-house Activities
All sorts of things can be threaded. Seek out large things now and keep the smaller ones in mind for later. Perhaps you have some large nuts in the tool box. You could try slicing up a piece of old hose into short sections. Or, if you are feeling creative, lovely beads with fascinating shapes can be made out of dough or modelling compound and hardened in the oven.
Remembering and Extending
You will work on threading smaller beads in FM.E.92.