Zip Up the Coat
What you need
- their own small coat with a zip
- a grown-up's coat with a chunky zip, laid over a chair
How to do it
- Lay your big coat over a chair with the zip undone, and show them how the two bottom ends hook together.
- Let them try to hook it while you hold the bottom of the coat still, then pull the zip all the way up.
- Swap to their own coat on the chair and do the same.
- Then try it with their coat on: you hook the ends together, and they pull the zip up to their chin.
Why it matters
A big, chunky zip on a coat that stays still is easier to see and grip, and the same moves work on their own coat at the door.
What they're learning
- Starting a zip
- Fitting one end into the other takes two hands working together.
- Pulling up
- Holding the bottom down with one hand while the other pulls the tab.
- Doing it myself
- Their coat, their zip, done by them.
What to look for
Notice them holding the bottom of the coat down with one hand as they pull, without being reminded.
A tip
Practise when you are not in a hurry to leave. A zip tried on a calm day is much easier than one at the door with everyone rushing.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: hook the ends yourself every time and let them do the pulling up
Harder: let them hook the ends together on their own coat while they are wearing it
