Pom Pom Play

Our first attempt at pom pom play didn't go too badly. JJ was able to successfully transfer about half a dozen pom poms into ice cube trays before he decided he was done. 

I modeled how to transfer the pom poms by over emphasising my pincer grasp. He giggled at my 'pinchy fingers' did a few precise pincer grasp transfers, then proceeded to rake the pom poms instead. 

Eventually he just dumped them into the trays from the bowl. He ended by throwing pom poms everywhere.

By refining and strengthening JJ's pincer grasp it opens an avenue of tasks that we will be able to do with more efficiency. Writing with a pencil, buttoning buttons and undoing zippers are a few things he will be able to do. 

Next we tried putting pom poms into a 4oz baby bottle and removing them. He did quite well and was more focused on this task. He played attentively with it for twice as long as the first task. 

It was very difficult for him to get the pom poms out, but this just gave him some good problem solving practice and it never frustrated him. I ended up making things a bit easier for JJ but giving him qtips rather than pom poms to work with. He liked these just as much.