5 Easy Ways to Use Clothespins!

Clothespins are small and inexpensive, yet a fun and creative way to work on hand strength, bilateral coordination and fine motor precision. You can also incorporate academics skills including working on letters, shapes and colors! Here are some fun and interesting ways to incorporate clothespins when working with kids!

1.Pinch pom poms and dip them in paint to use them as paint daubers. The short length helps to promote a more mature grasp, as it is hard to grasp a short writing utensil with a fisted grasp. You can use the paint daubers to outline shapes, letters, or color within lined boundaries. The best part is, after you're done, just release the used pom pom into the trash, and get a new one for next time!

2. Practice matching colors by clipping the clothespins onto coordinating colored popsicle sticks (or crayons, or whatever else you have handy that is long and thin). This is great for working on bilateral coordination as it requires the non dominant hand to hold and stabilize the popsicle stick while using the dominant hand to open and release the clothespins. This is also good to work on foundational cutting skills, as it requires the popsicle stick to be between the mouth of the clothespin, similar to how the paper is between the scissor blades, but since the popsicle stick is solid, it is easier to practice on than a flimsy piece of paper!

3. Use the clothespins as legs for animals. Kids love this activity, because the animals actually stand up after! I love following up this activity with feeding the animals (cutting pieces of play dough, and using a utensil to bring the play dough "food" to their mouths). Here's the template for the animals- I printed them out on cardstock and laminated them.

4. Make the pom poms "hop" over a line. This works on targeted grasping and releasing pom poms. You can practice colors by asking your child to find specific color pom poms to jump on each request, or stating 2-3 colors at a time to practice working memory.

5. Use the clothespins to mark a visual schedule. Visual schedules are fantastic for keeping kids on track, encouraging them to try non preferred tasks (if they can choose a preferred task after) or just being able to see how many more things there are to do on the list before their break. Being able to move the clothespin from one activity to the next also works on their fine motor skills and gives them a sense of control over what they are doing.

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