Stuffing Stockings Fine Motor Activity

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Stuffing stockings this year? I just love to fill my kids’ stockings with all kinds of small gifts, just because I know how much joy it brings them when they find it filled on Christmas morning!This is a simple fine motor activity as part of our activity tray series every Wednesday in December, today we are stuffing stockings!

Originally, I set this tray up for my almost 3 year old, but my older child loved this simple activity too! I used one of our beloved trays, together with two small stockings and fake presents ornaments.

This activity works mainly on fine motor skills: using a pincher grip to hold onto the present and adding it to the stocking. It works on bilateral coordination skills too: one hand must open he stocking, while the other hand places the presents inside. Also hand eye coordination: getting it into the opening!
I added a challenge to the activity and asked my older child to count how many presents will fit into the stocking: adding playful counting opportunities.

Here I asked my 3 year old to only fill it with green presents, then blue presents etc. Working on visual discrimination and classification sorting the colours.

Such a simple idea, but really so educational. It would work great as a work station in a classroom or one could turn it into pretend play too: In Santas workshop, the elves stuff the stockings on Christmas Eve…