Sorting Box

This is an idea I've had stashed away in my Pinterest boards for a while now, and have just never gotten around to trying. I was going to do it for Erik when he was younger, but then I took so long doing it that I figured I might as well wait a little longer and try it with Paisley. This comes from mamasmiles.com, and is a really simple but fun activity. It's a great way to practice hand/eye coordination, develop a sense of spatial awareness, and develop those fine hand muscles.

Mamasmiles used an orange box that came with holes already in it, but we had to improvise a bit. I took a box that my birthday present came in and used a steak knife (any knife with a serrated edge should do) to cute largeish holes in the top. I made each hole a different shape just for fun, but I also made sure that each hole was large enough that the shape didn't really matter; you could fit any kind of object through the opening.
This next picture sums up the reaction to this box pretty well. I finished getting it ready, then I plunked it down on the floor for the littles to explore. Paisley was not interest, and headed off for a more interesting toy. Erik, on the other hand, took one look at it and then grabbed the nearest toy and dropped it in the hole.

Erik and I kept playing with the box, until finally Paisley decided to come and see what we were up to. 

I handed her a small toy and encouraged her to drop it into the hole. She was not real sure about this idea.

"wait, you just gave me a cool toy and now you want me to drop it into that dark black hole?"

We eventually got her involved in pulling things out of the box, but she has yet to get interested in putting things in. Oh well, we'll keep the box around for a few days and see if she starts to figure it out. At least it's keeping Erik pretty busy!