5 Minute Friday - Muffin Tins!

Muffin tins are for more than just baking delicious treats! (Although involving kids in baking is an excellent task that highlights many skills!) They are great for developing several stable skills for babies- big kids! There is something about playing with a kitchen toy that is really motivating!

Babies

• Use your muffin tin to facilitate grasping patterns. Place small toys inside each pocket and allow them to practice arm, wrist and hand control to pull objects out. This is great for developing visual motor integration and raking grasp patterns
• Place different textures in a few pockets for an easy DIY sensory bin! Try different purees because mouthing is a real, developmentally appropriate thing!
  Using a muffin tray and hard toys such as marbles inside can also make a great noise maker. Simply shake it up to entertain baby during tummy time!

Toddlers

• Using a muffin tray is a great way to introduce and practice using a spoon. The sides of each pocket help provide additional assistance when scooping. Remember to have your child hold the tray still with their ‘helper’ hand.
• Using a mini muffin tray is great for placing small objects inside for refinding fine motor skills and grasp patterns. Have them pick up small toys with their thumb, index and middle fingers to facilitate a tripod grasp
• Muffin trays are great for sorting! Use different colored pom poms or a similar toy to sort by row or column. Use a spoon to sort for bonus scooping practice

Big Kids

• Use muffin trays and small toys (something the size of a marble) to work on in hand manipulation skills like palm to finger translation (holding a few marbles at a time and bringing one from the palm into the thumb and index finger and releasing into each pocket), finger to palm translation (picking up a few small objects from a pocket, and moving them from the fingers to palms)
• Use muffin trays to practice organizational skills and executive functioning skills by sorting from smallest to largest, by color, or by different properties.
• Using muffin trays to pour liquids in can help facilitate an understanding of volume (how much is too much), bilateral coordination to stabilize a muffin tin while pouring liquid from a cup or measuring cup, and self care skills to improve ability to accurately pour oneself a drink

Muffin trays are always a go-to in the clinic, and can be so much fun at home for all ages!