Pre-Writers Club: Egg Carton Bus

Expressive Arts and Design - Being Imaginative (40-60+ months):

Create simple representations of events, people and objects.

What you need:

I wanted to create a bus to use with a maths activity I had planned. I had visions of a red bus with wheels but Benji has his own vision and I let him go for it. He chose blue paint and squeezed it into the dish. He pulled the top off the egg carton, turned it upside down and started to paint his bus.

I was going to poke holes in the bus and attach cardboard wheels to straws but Benji decided that he wanted to put the bus on top of his car transporter and push it around instead.

It doesn't matter that the outcome wasn't what I expected, because he used his imagination, had fun and also worked on all of the same pre-writing skills whilst making it.

Pencil Grasp – Benji often holds a paintbrush with his whole hand so that his palm is facing sideways. I tried handing him his paintbrush and showed him how to point his index finger down. This is the next stage of pencil grip development which begins to allow for more controlled movements.

Hand Strength – Squeezing the paint develops the muscles needed to control a pencil when writing. Strong hands and fingers means it will be easier for your child to hold a pencil for longer periods of time before fatigue sets in.

If you have a go at this activity and share any photos on social media I would love to see them. Please tag @miniwritersclub and let me know how you get on.

Anna