What did kids play with before they had television and video games? Button buzzers have been a popular toy throughout history. They were used by colonial children, American Indian children and pioneer children. They're easy to make, and they'll give your child a great chance to boost her fine motor skills!
What You Need:
- Button (2 holes, flat on both sides, at least 1inch wide)
- Permanent colored markers, optional
- Heavy-duty string (cotton or cotton-poly mix)
What You Do:
- If your child wants to decorate the button, invite her to color it with the permanent markers. She can add polka-dots, stripes, or anything else she can think of to make the button her own.
- When she's done decorating, it's time to assemble the buzzers. Cut 2 feet of string. The string you choose must be strong enough to withstand twists and rubbing but fine enough to slide easily through buttonholes.
- Thread the string through both buttonholes. If your child wants to string the buttons herself, pre-treat one tip of the string with glue and shape it to a point for easier threading.
- Knot the ends of the string together, and place the button in the middle, so that loops come out from each side of the button.
- Have her place the knotted end of string over one index finger, and the other end of the loop over the other index finger.
- Touching index fingers to thumbs, encourage her to swing the button in a circular motion until the string is tightly twisted.
- Then, have her gently pull and release the twisted string in accordion fashion. The button will make a buzzing sound!
Adapted with permission from "The GIANT Encyclopedia of Kindergarten Activities." Copyright 2004 by Kathy Charner (Editor), Maureen Murphy (Editor), and Jennifer Ford (Editor). Used by Permission of Gryphon House, Inc., Maryland. All Rights Reserved.