E and V enjoy bows. While they do like us to put them in their hair, as intended, they really enjoy pulling them off items, particularly clothing they are wearing.

After watching their love for bows, I thought I would turn that into a few different activities. The bows we use are made for fine hair and are sturdy, yet soft. We love the bows from this Etsy shop, but they just aren’t the best for these particular activities although they are absolutely gorgeous in hair.

There’s a common, simple activity I put together for them with clothespins. It was a pinching activity that would help prepare particular finger muscles for writing later. They would pull the clothespins off…and that was it–showing no other interest in the activity. So I put it aside, preparing to reintroduce it at a later time. But then bows!

-The first activity I put together with the bows was the same one that I had previously put together for them with the clothespin. While the clothespins weren’t a hit, the bows were! To introduce, I placed three small bows on a small tray I purchased from the Dollar Store. I showed them pinching the correct end of the bow to open it and then clipped it to the side of the try. Then, using one hand, I would hold the tray and with the other hand I would pull the bow off and put it back on the tray.

-The second activity was pouring. They are really into pouring at the moment and lately we have been running out of rags for cleaning up water, even with our daily load of laundry, haha. So I wanted to find materials that they would enjoy pouring, weren’t liquid, wasn’t a food item, and wasn’t a choking hazard. Bows to the rescue! A small tray, two small cups, and a few bows created a quick activity that they keep coming back to.

-The third activity is transferring with tongs. Using the wooden tongs from this set, a small tray, one small cup and a few bows made transfer work that was slightly more challenging than what they were used to. They first began transferring with their hands and then a scoop. With those mastered, tongs seemed like the perfect next transferring challenge.

I first introduced these activities to E and V separately. Lately, I’ve combined them, but in such a way that it’s still simple. This is so that they can easily go between the three and just do their own thing. I just place three bows in one of the two cups and their wooden tongs on a small tray and that’s it. It’s still simple, not overwhelming, but gives them options and variety.

When did your toddler first show an interest in transferring activities?

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