Monkey See Monkey Do

You will need:

• Thera-putty (I like orange…available here on MissMancy’s AMAZON Shop)
• Plastic monkeys (or any small items available here on MissMancy’s AMAZON Shop)

The Activity:

Ask any therapist, they will all tell you the same thing… Kids love to play with thera-putty. Putty comes in different strength depending on the color. I like the orange one best as it usually provides the “just right” resistance for most age groups. The only thing you want to watch out for with putty is to not let it get on clothing or carpets. It will never come off!!! Playing with putty should therefore always be supervised unless making a “permanent” mess is not an issue.

I love to hide all sorts of items in the putty and have the children find it. (I don’t suggest any metals such as coins as they become faded and dull.  So I’m always looking for small, fun items I can hide in the putty and have the kids look for them. My favorite things to hide are these tiny plastic monkeys that I found online and available on MissMancy’s AMAZON Shop. They all have different body positions and facial features.

Ask your child finds one of the monkeys, tell him to imitate what the monkey is doing! Kids absolutely love this game! You are not only working on finger strength but the added component of imitating the monkey helps your child develop motor planning skills. In other words I see what the monkey is doing, now how do I get my body to do the same thing!