Pom Pom Fun!

Pom pom fun!

Kids love pom poms. What's not to love? They are soft, squishy, colourful, some are sparkly. They can be thrown without the worry of someone getting hurt or something being broken. They come in a variety of different sizes. We often use them for crafting or colour sorting. 

Colour sorting is a skill which should develop between 2 and 3 years of age. Sorting, in general, is the beginning of the development of maths skills which will later lead to the ability to sort data. It is an important skill which shows a child has an understanding of what is the same and what is different, a skill which is particularly useful when it comes to learning to read.

Our latest activity, involved pom pom blowing! This is great for fine motor skills development and coordination. Blowing is a fine motor skill which usually develops by 24 months. 

I placed some coloured bowls against the patio doors and scattered some pom poms a short distance away. Then I asked the children to blow the pom poms into the corresponding coloured bowls. It was more difficult than it looked but great fun trying! Soon, pom poms were rolling around everywhere!

When the children were beginning to lose interest, I gave them some straws which added a new element to the fun! My children just love straws! I think it was actually slightly easier to direct the pom poms into the bowls using the straws.

Then I placed some coloured tape on the floor in lines and and they tried to blow the pom poms along the lines. This was a pretty difficult task, even for me! You need to control the airflow so you don't blow too hard and send the pom poms flying!

Finally, the children had enough of pom poms and decided to walk, hop and jump along the lines. This is a great activity for gross motor development.