FM.D.97 PUT 6 SMALL PEGS IN A PEGBOARD

This skill requires very precise aim and the ability to control small objects held between finger and thumb.

How to Assess

Materials: A pegboard with holes about 2 mm in diameter, with small pegs to match.

Method: Demonstrate putting a peg in a hole. Give some pegs to your child and ask him to put them in.

Score plus if your child places six small pegs in the holes.

How to Teach

Teach by gradually increasing the difficulty of the materials you give your child, from FM.D.43 on.

Playtime and Round-the-house Activities

At your toy library, preschool or toy shop, look for pegs which have holes in the tops and sides, allowing the child to build towers and other structures; beads that snap together to make bracelets and necklaces; mosaic pegboards and so on.

REMEMBERING AND EXTENDING THIS SEQUENCE

You will find many ways to help your child to remember and extend his precise putting skills. The kitchen is an excellent place for practice. You could make small holes in the tops of unbaked biscuits and ask your child to put a sultana in each one. Let him add a ‘pinch’ when the recipe calls for one. Sprinkling, using finger and thumb, is a good exercise too.

Perhaps your child would enjoy planting seeds in the garden or putting together nuts and bolts from the tool box. There are endless applications for this skill, and as long as you are aware that your child needs new challenges, you are sure to find them.