Finally! We overcame the fear of pom pom transfer game 🙂 fear of pom pom transfer game you ask? Does that even exist? Well, in our world apparently it does.
We tried to transfer some pom poms when my little human was 15 months old but that just ended in huge frustration. I thought he was ready because he started to demand to hold his spoon while eating and he tried to scoop with his spoon just about everything around him. But maybe it wasn’t his day or it was just too soon to try this kind of activity. He hasn’t managed to scoop a single pom pom. He got really frustrated and it left so bitter taste in his mouth that since then he didn’t want to try again. Not even once. He actually started to cry every time he saw pom poms and a scoop together. He is special, I know 😀
Now, we are 17 months old so we tried again together and after a few tries, it worked! He was soooo excited like never before and he actually played with it multiple times in a day. In the next shelf rotation, I will definitely try to put this activity on the shelf. I feel like he has the need to master it now.
Setting up a “Pom pom transfer” activity
It can’t get easier than this. Just place some pom poms into a container, scoop some and transfer to a bowl. This activity is great for eye-hand coordination and it exercises a child’s fine motor skills. It is an important practical life skill. Also, it is the beginning of using math concepts such as less and more or cause and effect.
I should mention, there is a reason why I chose to place pom poms in this big container and not just any bowl. Scooping is a skill that L has yet to master. That means he needs to focus just on exercising this one skill – just scooping. In a smaller bowl he would first need to figure out that he needs to hold the bowl with one hand so it doesn’t move. Then, he would need to hold the bowl firm enough with one hand and try to scoop with the other hand… That is too much distraction. But this way he has great Montessori activity that allows him to practice just one skill.
Summary
Resources: pom poms, scoop, one bigger container that doesn’t move easily to place pom poms in, one smaller bowl
Focus: fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, practical life skills
How to: just scoop some pom poms and transfer to a bowl
Alternatives: using bottle caps or bigger pasta instead of pom poms
A note about pom poms: they can be easily put in noses, ears and mouths so use good judgement if your child is ready for them!