Materials
Snug pair of infant socks
A variety of 10 to12 small objects in a range of shapes and textures (e.g., a shell, a button, a paper clip)
Instructions
1. Place the objects on a table and encourage the children to handle each item. Ask them to observe how their fingers and thumbs help them with this task.
2. Ask, "What do you think it would be like to pick things up without using your fingers or thumbs?" Allow time for responses.
3. Place a snug but not tight or binding infant sock over each hand of a child volunteer. Ask the child to pick up a few of the objects, one at a time. Promote comparisons with questions such as, "Which are easier to pick up, the smooth things or the bumpy ones?" Repeat this step with the remaining children.
4. After each child has had a turn, continue the activity by displaying pictures of animals that function without the use of fingers or thumbs. Discuss the ways in which these animals compensate.More to doArt: Invite your budding artists to illustrate lots of varied and unusual ways they might pick up small items if they did not have the use of their fingers and thumbs.
