Penguin rescue with tweezers

Children move pompom 'penguins' onto an ice floe with tweezers and tongs – a game for finger precision and hand–eye coordination.

Steps

1. Black and white pompoms float in a bowl of water or lie on a blue tray – they are penguins whose ice is melting.
2. Children move the penguins with tweezers onto the 'ice floe' – a white ice cube tray or paper with circles.
3. Each spot on the floe has a colour or a number of dots: the penguin must go in the right place.
4. Harder version: moving them with kitchen tongs or children's chopsticks.
5. At the end children count the rescued penguins and give them names.

Tip: Children's tweezers are large and plastic. Teach holding them like a pencil – thumb, index and middle finger – the same grip they will need for writing.

Materials needed

• Children's plastic tweezers (1 per child)
• Coloured pompoms (1 pack)
• Silicone ice cube trays (1 per 2 children)