Photo Courtesy: Flickr-Jay_Elle

Pulling thread through a needle is a challenging activity for a preschooler, and the benefits are many:

It strengthens those fine finger muscles that will later lead to strength as she attempts to hold and manipulate a pencil.

It also increases eye hand co ordination, because both have to be used carefully to sew.

1. Give your child a piece of oak tag, and and a LARGE and BLUNT needle. Or use a plastic needle instead which won’t pierce. Use yarn instead of thread - it’s easier for her to control. Attach a piece of tape at the end of the yarn, or make a big knot. Draw a picture on it, and make holes along the outline. Use anything sharp to make the holes -a sharp tipped pen, a punching machine, screwdriver, anything. Let her thread each hole in sequence till she manages to complete the picture. Remember, the holes have to be big enough to allow a thick needle with double yarn to pass through.
2. For ready made sewing cards that cost nothing, bring out your old greeting cards and punch holes along the outline of the design.
3. You can also use a piece of felt, and a short darning needle with double thread.
4. Mesh and a plastic needle works well too.
5. You can also use drawings she has made, and paste them onto thick paper or card stock. Punch holes along the sides, and show her how to thread the yarn through.
6. Little girls will love making a purse. Just cut rectangular pieces of felt, and punch holes along three sides of both pieces. The holes should be punched a little close together. Show her how to align the pieces of felt, and thread the yarn through. This should be done only if she already has some practice with a needle and a thread.
7. Color different pasta shapes, and let her thread these through her plastic needle to make a necklace.
8. Use spools of thread in different colors to make a necklace or bracelet.
9. For a really glitzy necklace, color empty wood spools black on all sides, and after they have dried, use bright colored markers to paint dots, tiny stars, or flowers on them. Now, thread these black spools. Also, thread spools that still have some thread on them. The threads should be brightly colored. It works really well if you can color co-ordinate the color of the dots on the black spool with the color of the thread on the other spools. Use string in place of yarn or thread, and tie a knot after all the spools have been done to finish.

Enjoy!