Montessori For Learning: To Be or Knot to Be -- Our Next Fine Motor Lesson

This weekend I decided to clear some clutter and went through my closet and drawers and tossed/gave away unneeded items. Although I had been putting off the task because I am not good in that area at all, my much dreaded activity quickly turned into a treasure find.

I have found that it is not quite as challenging to engage young children in activities that strengthen fine motor skills, as it is older children. What do you do after pushpin, tracing insets, and lightbrights after children get a little older and tire of these activities?

Thanks to the scouting book I found while cleaning out my sock drawer (I have no idea how it got there, but I'm glad it was there), a treasure of great activities, which included knot-tying, helped me decide on my next approach to strengthening our fine-motor skills.

Although the book itself did not go into great detail on how to tie individual knots, I found some wonderful online sites that displayed clear diagrams. I printed and cut the diagrams/directions to create instruction cards.

I found my "rope" at a fabric store. I figured the thick yarn robe would be large enough for them to practice the knot-tying, but gentle enough not to create scratches on their hands.

I ran an errand to our local Lowe's Home Improvement store and purchased a couple of pieces of small wood used for porch posts and then scoured the aisles until I found just the right thing to insert in the pre-made holes so the kids would have something in which to practice tying their knots (some of the diagrams do not show tying around an object, but many displayed knots being tied to posts or hooks, so I wanted to
add a variety of options)