Cardboard bead threading: a quiet-time activity that builds fine motor skills

The nice thing about this activity is that it’s designed to give everyone — including you! — a little quiet time. Your little ones will occupy themselves, and even build their fine motor skills, while you can enjoy some “me” time.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• String or pipe cleaners


• Cardboard tubes, such as paper towel rolls


• Several different colours of paint


• Scissors or a utility knife


• Foam paint brush

Let’s get started!

1. Use the scissors or utility knife to cut the tubes into three to four inch sections. Be careful not to flatten the rolls; these are now your “beads”!


2. Task your toddler with brightening the beads up. Pour some different paint colours into containers and have them paint several beads each colour.


3. While your beads are drying (or the next day), create a rope with either pipe-cleaners joined together, or an actual piece of string or rope. If you’re using pipe-cleaners, be sure to curl the ends so there are no sharp bit sticking out.


4. Get those fine motor skills going by having your toddler string the cardboard beads onto the rope. If your kid is really young, you might want to attach the first bead to the end of the string, so they don’t keep slipping off.


5. The distraction tactics don’t end once all the beads have been threaded! Your kid can pull them all off, and start again. Get their imaginations going by having them make a different item every time they thread the beads: maybe it’s a necklace the first time, a snake the next, and so on. Or, they can practice their numbers, counting each bead as they add it to the thread.

If you’ve really been missing time to yourself, turn this into a two-day activity! Paint the beads on day one, then thread them on day two. Voila: twice the time for you to read, meditate, watch a movie — whatever helps you unwind.