Paper clip Jewelry
by
Barbara Sher 
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You’ve probably made a paper clip necklace at some point in your life. But, did you think to give your child this handy activity? All you need is a simple box of paper clips. If you want to go “all out”, get the colored ones. Your child’s eyes will widen if given a whole box of clips, but you will likely found them scattered around the house for forever after. Better is giving a whole bunch in a bowl and presenting your demo on “How to Make a Paper Clip” necklace. Besides the challenging fun, you can take parent pride in knowing that you’ll be increasing the fine motor skill and attention span of your young. But just as good is that while they are spending quality time focusing, you get long quality minutes to yourself. Every parent’s need! A win-win.
When the necklace is done, you can encourage a bracelet or necklaces for Dad and the neighbors.
You could also show her or him how to use paper clips the traditional way: putting two pieces of paper together. Supply papers that need to be coupled together by cutting up used paper or tearing apart a cheap note pad. Or you could use a piece of cardboard from the sides of a cereal/cracker box and have your child slips paperclips all around the outside. Paper clipping is, after all, a learned life skill.
However, s/he might have to be a little older before introduced to the fun and frustration of another life skill–stapling!
Barbara Sher M.A.,O.T.R, an occupational therapist and author of nine books on children’s games. Titles include EARLY INTERVENTION GAMES SPIRIT GAMES and EXTRAORDINARY PLAY WITH ORDINARY THINGS.
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This post originally appeared on our May/June 2015 Magazine
