Hamish recieved this little wooden threading sheep yesterday from Wool craft sa.
Wooden sheep
Beautifully crafted, this little sheep is accompanied by a wooden sewing needle and several mini soft balls of wool.
It is the perfect size for a toddler or preschooler to hold and would make an excellent christmas stocking filler or quiet time activity for travelling as well as being an essential learning tool for preschool.
Our experience
For someone who hates threading I was pleasantly surprised when Hamish immediately started sewing through the holes on the sheep.
In the beginning he struggled to get the wooden needle through and you could swop this for a plastic needle whilst your child gains confidence in the task, as the plastic needle will require less effort to slide through the holes.
Using more strength and effort however exercises the little muscles in the hand and finger.
This really was a hit straight away and by the time we were 5 minutes into this fun fine motor activity his sheep was called Sam and he happily kept threading because sheep need to have wool on them.
Invitation for learning
With his new found interest in Sam the sheep we were able to open up a conversation about sheep and where wool comes from.
Benefits of threading
Threading is so important for little ones as it helps with fine motor development and other important skills that are essential for drawing, writing, doing up buttons, tying shoe laces and opening/closing lunch boxes later whilst at school.
Threading also assists with:
. Visual perception skills
. Visual motor skills
. Increases concentration
. Enhances planning skills
. Inspires creativity
For some little ones threading beads can be difficult as they try navigate the thread through the holes so the introduction of threading/lacing activities are a much easier and more fun activity as they gain the skill and confidence to start threading items.
This little waldorf threading sheep retails at R75
You can purchase this from Natural Yarns
