5 Minute Friday - Hair Ties and Scrunchies!

I seem to always find hair ties lying around. Luckily, they can be for more than just holding your hair back from a baby who loves to pull! Hair ties and scrunchies can be used for a variety of play activities and can be very beneficial!

Babies

• Place scrunchies or hair ties over babies feet to facilitate reaching for their feet! This is great for core strengthening, body awareness, and rolling readiness for babies 3 months + they are a cheaper alternative to booties
• Place a scrunchie over your baby’s wrist and encourage them to reach across midline to pull it off of their opposite arm. This will address hand strengthening and crossing midline

Toddlers

• Scrunchies are an excellent tool for practicing donning socks! Have your child sit on the floor and pull the scrunchies over their feet to facilitate the skill. This also acts as a bonus for core strengthening!
• Pick a favorite stuffed animal to pull scrunchies over. This is great for fine motor coordination, bilateral coordination (using both hands together) and problem solving
• Scrunchies can be a great tool for sorting! Have your child place similar colors together into containers. This addresses visual perceptual skills, executive functioning skills, and fine motor skills required to manipulate containers

Bigger Kids

Scrunchies and hair ties make great slingshots! Creating a slingshot and manipulating slingshots are great for building fine motor strength and bilateral coordination