After a windy day out at the beach watching kites flying overhead I knew we would have to create a Kite fine motor play activity. This adorable fine motor activity provides with an opportunity to learn numbers as we play with our counting kites.
Other than mini pegs, you probably already have at home all the other materials needed to make counting kites. Let’s start with a list of supplies you will need.
Materials needed to make counting kites
To make counting kites for your child, you will need:
- cardstock or patterned cardstock paper
- ribbon
- marker
- mini plastic clothespins (find here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom)
- hole punch
I cut eight kites from one piece of coloured card and added a number from 1 to 8 to each kite using a permanent marker pen. With a little assistance, my son used a hole punch to create a hole at the bottom of each kite.
We threaded a trip of ribbon onto each kite and secured it in place with sellotape. I placed the kites and a container of small plastic pegs onto the table.
With this, all the preparations are completed and it’s time for play!
How to play counting kites activity?
The idea of the activity was for my son to attach the correct amount of pegs onto the ribbon. So, place kites and a container with clothespins on the table. Let child read the number on each kite and pin as many clothespins as requested on each kite.
As the pegs were so small this involved lots of concentration, perseverance and strengthened his fine motor skills. He had to press hard in order for the miniature pegs to open.
My son decided that one colour would be allocated to each kite. As well as using fine motor skills in order to sort through and pick out the correct coloured peg, he also had to use his mathematical knowledge.
At first my son needed assistance to hold the ribbon in place whilst he manipulated the peg. Larger pegs would have been easier for little fingers. He decided to alternate the pegs in order for them to look like ribbons on a kites tail.
Throughout the activity my son talked about how many more pegs he needed in order to complete the kite and enjoyed placing the finished kites into numerical order.
My son loved to pretend that each mini peg was a crocodile that wanted to open and snap onto the kite tail. Once the correct number of pegs was on the ribbon he lifted the kite into the air and flew it around the room.
The fun didn’t stop there. Once all the eight kites had finished, he practised taking the pegs off of the ribbon. He found this process much easier. His finger muscles certainly had a work out during our Kite fine motor play activity.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Skills children work on as they play fishing:
- Development of fine motor skills – hand strengthening
- Eye & hand coordination
- Concentration
- Learning numbers and counting
Extend the play with a book!
In this gently rhyming board book, a young girl makes, flies, and loses her kite on a windy day. But when she returns home, something special is waiting for her. Simple and evocative language and charming illustrations describe a girl’s experience on a windy day. Find In the Wind by Elizabeth Spurr and Manelle Oliphant here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom
Will Hillenbrand’s Bear and Mole series is the perfect choice for storytime sharing or reading aloud. Strong verbs, repetitive phrases, and fun-to-read sounds keep young listeners and readers engaged with the story, while the gentle illustrations add detail and quiet humor. Kids will delight in poring over these books again and again. Find Kite Day by Will Hillenbrand here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom
The gentle and appealing Biscuit books are a wonderful first introduction to reading for little pups, and this My First I Can Read friendship tale is perfect for shared reading in a classroom or at home. Books at this level feature basic language, word repetition, and whimsical illustrations, ideal for sharing with emergent readers. The active, engaging stories have appealing plots and lovable characters, encouraging children to continue their reading journey. Find Biscuit Flies a Kite by Alyssa Satin Capucilli here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom
Other counting activities to try!
Here are few options for playful math activities you can try with your toddler or preschooler to help them learn their numbers in fun and entertaining way:
- Combining sensory play and math activity we came up with this super simple Lego color graphing sensory play idea.
- Counting roses activity helps with learning numbers 1-5 and doubles as fine motor skill practice.
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