Some time ago, during one of our homeschooling playgroup sessions, I noticed that Noah’s fine motor skills needed to be worked on, and learnt that the ‘button snake’ was a fun way to help him hone those skills. It was really easy to make, and needed very few items, so I decided to make one for Noah to play with.
Noah still lacks perseverance, especially when I ask him to do things that he deems “too difficult”, so he doesn’t always want to work on the button snake. I don’t insist that he does, as I know that I’ll just end up losing my temper when he refuses to do it properly. Anyway, here’s a quick tutorial for those of you who might want to make your own button snakes for your kids to play with!
Materials Needed 2 Large Buttons (Yes, I know. Duh.) 1 strip of fabric ribbon Needle and thread 10 or more pieces of felt
I got my buttons and ribbon from a small handicraft shop, but I think you can get them from Spotlight as well. I was too lazy to cut my own felt, so I bought the pre-cut ones from Daiso. More industrious mums will cut the felt into different shapes, so that the children can learn about shapes at the same time, but I tried cutting ONE into a circle, failed miserably, and figured that square was a good enough shape.
Instructions
1. Sew the buttons onto the two ends of the ribbon.
What do you do with ribbons, buttons, a needle, and some thread?
This!
2. Cut small slits in the middle of the pieces of felt. Make sure that they are not too big (because the button will fall right through the holes), and not too small (so that your child won’t get frustrated trying to shove the button through the slits).
Sample
See my pathetic attempt to cut the yellow one into a circle?
The button snake with the packet of felt from Daiso that I used
Simple enough, right? I really love these easy craft projects! (Check out my super easy DIY light box if you haven’t already done so!)
I brought the button snake along with us when we went to Penang last year, as it’s small and light enough to pack into my hand carry bag, and it kept Noah entertained while we waited for our flight. He recently got better at it, and was very busy trying to walk it like a pet dog after he was done with it. Watch the video to see what I mean!
Working on the button snake at the Penang airport
Playing with the button snake
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