The Tool Kit is designed to strengthen the fine muscles of the hand. The various tongs, tweezers, and grabbers require different skills. Paired with the small items included they can present challenges to every skill level.
1. "Pass the meatball Please" - Give everyone a "plate" (napkin, piece of paper/felt, etc) and a tool. As the Chef, place a piece of "food" on one players plate. They must pass it to the next player's plate using only their tool. Of course any food that falls on the ground or they touch with fingers can not be served and must go back to the Chef. Players keep passing until all the food gets back the beginning. Food should be objects that vary in size and weight so both the tool and object change the challenge. Stop and switch tools frequently so everyone gets a workout.
2. Use tongs and tweezers to remove pegs from a pegboard and place in a container across midline. Or use to move game pieces on your favorite board game.
3. Use your zoo sticks to eat lunch or dinner! How much fun to use something different than a fork.
4. Keep safer tools like the trap, tongs, or strawberry picker in sensory bins to pick up hidden treasures like chips or mini erasers.
5.Sort different items into cups or a muffin tin. Try larger items like cotton balls, critter or spiney balls. Smaller items like mini dice, beans, or math counters can be a challenge with tweezers or 3 point grabbers.
6. Positioning can also be used to grade the challenge level or can actually be the goal and the tool kit materials used as the "distraction activity". Maybe using a wood tong and spiney balls appears too easy for a student; but positioning the materials to require crossing midline may be the real focus of the task. Or the materials are on the floor and the student in half-kneel must rotate and bend to reach them and place in a container on a table.
