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Brain Builders: Lacing Shapes
by Heather Davis, MCM Early Learning Manager
You can spend money on expensive craft kits, but it’s more fun (and more economical) to DIY it. Have some extra cardboard lying around? You can create lacing shapes of your own at home!
All you need to create your own lacing shapes is some cardboard, scissors, yarn/string, and some tape.
Instructions
- Cut out some shapes–we chose hearts but you can try anything you can cut out.
- Cut slits in the sides of the shape.
- Cut a length of yarn (we did 3 foot pieces).
- Tape the end of the yarn to the back of the shape.
- Bring the yarn to the front of the shape sliding into the slits.
- Lace your shape! We did some that were random and some that were patterns.
Why is lacing shapes a brain builder?
This activity promotes fine motor skills, math skills/patterning, as well as working memory and flexible thinking. Most children will want to hold the end of the string to lace the shape. This activity requires holding the shape in one hand and sliding your fingers along the yarn to keep it taut with the other hand. Young children might need reminders of where to hold the yarn.
For toddlers: Most toddlers won’t have the skills to lace the shape, but we enjoyed playing with the heart and running our fingers up and down the yarn. We especially loved exploring pieces of sticky tape!
Brain Builders is part of MCM at Home. Follow us on social media for more tips, games, crafts, and ideas to learn through play at home.
