Finger Friendly Hammer Practice

This activity (which I found here) has been on my to-do list for a long time now, so I was excited to finally get around to giving it a try. Set up is simple and cheap, two of my favorite things!
Let's gather our supplies:
-Large chunk of styrofoam (I bought mine at Dollar Tree, but you can use whatever you have handy)
-Golf Tees
-Hammer (depending on your child this can be a real hammer from dad's toolbox or a toy hammer, your call)
 

 

Both kids were pretty excited to get started on the fun. They really enjoyed pounding away on the golf tees. Erik was able to do this with no trouble, but for Sharli this took some concentration. 

 

 Erik was kind of picky (at least at first) about where he drove the tees into his foam block. If they didn't go in the right place he'd pull them out and try again.

 Sharli decided that the hammer was too much work, so she just shoved the tees in with her hands. Maybe this wasn't quite as much of a hand/eye coordination workout, but it still built small motor strength so you don't hear me complaining.

 One of the things I loved best was that this required so little effort on my part. I just dumped the supplies on the table and turned the kids loose. I was able to sit nearby and feed the newborn while they hammered away. Perfect!

Did you spot our Sticky Wall in the background? That's another great low prep activity for when mom can't/doesn't have time to do much prep work or clean-up.

*Diedre Mower is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. This post contains affiliate links.