Feathers in Styrofoam

Sweet Pea is 28 months old.

From: While Sweet Pea was doing the arranging feathers activity, she wasn’t able to put them exactly where she wanted.  The feathers would either fall over in the vase or were too squished together.  It occurred to me that pushing the feathers into Styrofoam would allow her to actually arrange them much better.

Material:

• Feathers.
• Styrofoam, craft or floral foam.
• Tray (optional).

Procedure:

• Put several feathers and a piece of Styrofoam on a tray.
• Sit next to your tot and demonstrate picking up a feather.  Tightly hold the quill of the feather just below the vane with your thumb and pointer finger.  Push quill of the feather into the Styrofoam.
• Repeat the demonstration if necessary and allow your tot to try when they are ready.

Observations: I had to show Sweet Pea how to stick the feather into the Styrofoam several times, but once she got it figured out she was crazy about this activity.  I would highly recomend this activity for older tots, but it does require quite a bit of dexterity.

She worked for a long time sticking each of the feathers into the Styrofoam and as usual, did _not_ want any help from me regarding where to put them.

Also, as usual, the activity took an unexpected turn.  After she had put the feathers into the Styrofoam, Sweet Pea jumped up and put it on the floor.  She then started pushing it around and talking about how she had made a boat.  I thought it was adorable and she played with her new “boat” for quite a while.

Notes from the Trenches: Showing your tot how to hold the feather correctly is essential because otherwise he or she won’t have the leverage to push the feather into the Styrofoam.  Go very slowly when demonstrating how to pick up the feather and push it in.  I was sloppy with this the first time, and caused Sweet Pea a  lot of frustration.  She kept trying to hold the entire feather in her fist and mash it onto the Styrofoam.

Rating: 3 Stars * (Fun, Easy, Independent)