Age: 2.5 to 5 years

Get Ready: From a grocery store, get 10 spring-type clothespins. Find a container with narrow sides — a small bucket or even a cardboard box top will be perfect! You’ll need this container for the activity; plus it’s the perfect place to store the pins until it’s time to learn again!

Get Set: This one’s easy! Simply clip the clothespins around the top of your container and you’re set!

Sit Back and Watch Your Child Go: With a young child you might want to begin by showing him how the clothespins move when you squeeze them. Beyond that…no explanation needed. By removing and replacing the clothespins, your son will begin to build the muscles that he’ll need later on to draw and write.

Want to amp up the learning? Talk to your son as he does the activity. Use words like: clothespins, on, off, remove, replace, squeeze and pinch!

Get Creative: For a child as young as 18 months, use push-on clothespins. If you have colored clothespins, you might want to ask your child to group them by color.

As your child grows: When your child is four or five, add some very tiny spring-type clothespins to the activity (the Wal-Mart craft aisle, Hobby Lobby or Michaels would be good places to look). Squeezing these small clothespins makes those writing muscles develop even more. Reinforce math and counting skills by saying something like: “Please take four clothespins off. Now, can you tell me how many clothespins are still clipped to the box?”

Your child will love: The interesting container, the clothespins, squeezing the clothespins and the responsibility of carrying the container when he puts it away.

YOU WILL LOVE: The way your child concentrates!