It’s getting colder, and for many of us, it’s time to take down the water tables. Luckily, however, it is NOT the end of utilizing the water table for something different.

This week, I cleaned out our water table and brought it inside for some fun holiday fine motor crafting.

Every year, my kids enjoy making homemade ornaments, and this year, the water table is the perfect place to do this activity. Our water table provided a kid area that kept all the items (mostly) contained. We’ve done similar projects described below at a regular table, but the water table kept everything in one spot longer, and it kept the much-used dining table clear of our sensory materials/craft supplies. Another alternative idea that works great for sensory exploration is to use a simple shallow plastic bin if you don’t have a water table.

This DIY ornament station is super simple, yet it keeps little hands busy and entertained for double-digit minutes at a time (if you have or know a toddler, you know double digit entertainment is HUGE and often times hard to come by).

Here’s what we did:
We stocked up on the DIY plastic hollow ornaments and tons and tons of pompom balls. We chose holiday pompoms, but any pompoms are sure to please!

*Also, close adult supervision was included for the littles who tried to eat such fuzzy fun treasures*

The simple task of squeezing the pompoms into the ornaments kept my kids entertained and working on their bilateral motor skills, fine motor skill development, and provided some great sensory feedback. Providing different sizes of ornaments and different sizes of pompoms allows for a great toddler learning opportunity.

In addition to the ornaments, I provided my kids with some fun tools to provide free play and opportunities for additional motor skill acquisition.

The best part was that both of my kids came up with their own games in the days that followed the initial ornament filling! My son popped the pompoms allover (like “popcorn”) and then had the opportunity to clean it up (luckily he’s into brooms) and my daughter used these awesome scissor tongs to fill Santa’s sleigh with the holiday balls of goodness.

So, this has completed our first step to this year’s DIY ornaments! It was so much fun… stay tuned to see the finished (painted) product!

*Disclaimer: The information presented in the blog is intended for information purposes only. Please consult your physician with any medical concerns and/or for medical advice. The information presented is not intended to be used in place of individualized therapy services, please contact your health care team for skilled therapy if you think it is necessary. Please supervise your children (or friends, spouses, etc)  if you decide to try any of the activities or ideas presented as the author or this blog does not claim liability for possible injury or negative consequences related to the activities and ideas presented here.

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