FM.H.39 NESTS 2 CUPS

Here is an activity in which one object must be put inside another. It strengthens the skill acquired in FM.D.38 (places a peg in a can).

In this activity, the child must work out which cup goes inside. If he tries to put the big cup into the smaller one, he will have no success. He must try another way in order to nest the cups together. The notion of trying again, or trying another way, is central to this sequence, and you can begin to teach it with this activity. It doesn’t matter whether or not the child ‘knows’ the difference between big and little, as long as he can persevere until he discovers the solution.

A set of nesting cups will be useful to you for quite some time, so it is worthwhile to buy one now. Look for round Cups rather than square ones. Most nesting cup sets can be built into towers, as well as nested together, which increases their versatility.

How to Assess

Materials: 2 nesting cups of distinctly different size. If you have a set of cups, choose 2 which are 3 sizes apart.

Method: Demonstrate putting one cup inside the other. Take the cups apart and put them on the table, saying ‘You do it’. Give 3 tries, varying the position in which you place the cups each time.

Score plus if your child places one cup inside the other in 2 out of the 3 tries. He may score plus if he makes a mistake on any try and then corrects his own mistake without your help.

How to Teach

The Fine Motor skill required for this task is much the same as that learned in FM.D.38 (places a peg in a can). Teach it in the same way.

In this activity, the child must also recognise, or work out by trial-and-error, which cup is smaller. When he tries to put the larger cup inside the smaller one, say: ‘Doesn’t fit. Try again.’ Always give your child the chance to correct his mistake himself before stepping in with physical help.

Place the smaller cup sometimes on the right, and sometimes on the left, so that he does not learn to recognise the smaller cup by its position alone.

As your child gets the idea, omit even your verbal reminders when he makes a mistake. Pause first, to see if he corrects his mistake without a reminder.

Playtime and Round-the-house Activities

This skill can be practised with any containers that fit one inside the other.

Remembering and Extending

This skill is directly extended in FM.H.65 (puts together 4 nesting cups). In the meantime, add an extra challenge by giving your child square or oblong containers to nest together – such as 2 shoe boxes of different sizes. You can also use the smaller cups in your nesting cup set, and work with pairs of cups that are closer together in size.