Wide Tube Post

from 14 months · 5-10 min · Fine motor

What you need

Roll the side of an empty cereal box into a wide tube and tape it upright to a table or box.
Hand your toddler a large pom-pom or a rolled-up sock. Anything that fits through a toilet roll tube is too small.
Show them dropping it through the top opening.
Let them keep posting items through one at a time.

Lining up an object with a hole and letting go builds the same hand-eye teamwork they'll use with puzzle pieces.

Hand-eye teamwork: Lining an object up with a small opening and letting go is the exact skill behind fitting puzzle pieces or building blocks.
Pincer grip: Holding a pom-pom or sock steady to post it works the same fingertip grip used later for zippers and buttons.
Cause & effect: Watching the item disappear and reappear at the bottom teaches them that actions have predictable results, even out of sight.

Watch for them lining the object up before dropping it, rather than just pressing it against the tube.

Tape the tube to something heavy, as an unsecured tube will just slide away the first time they push on it.

Easier: make the tube shorter so the drop is quicker to see through

Harder: tape two tubes together for a longer, trickier drop