Snacks in a Bottle
Here's What To Do
Let me watch you put a piece of cereal or other small snack into a small clear container with a narrow opening (like a spice bottle).
Hand me the bottle to let me try to get the snack out.
If I try lots of experiments but can’t get the snack, show me how to turn the container over. Then let me try again.
Let me practice turning over containers in other play- like using water in a trial-size shampoo bottle to wash a doll’s hair, or putting sand in a spice shaker during sand play.
Put PEER Into Action
Pause:
- Give me a big hug before we begin.
Engage:
- “Look, I’m putting the snack puff in the bottle. Do you see? There it is!”
- “Can you get the cereal out of the bottle?”
Encourage:
- Give me plenty of time to explore the bottle before you help me. Trial and error is how I learn.
- Cheer my efforts, like: "That was a good idea to shake it up and down. Can you think of another way to get the cereal out?"
Reflect:
- Did I keep experimenting until I found a strategy that worked to get the snack out?
Not quite ready?
If I’m not able to get the snack out on my own, gently guide my hand and wrist to help me learn the motion I need to make.
Ready for more?
Give me other problems I can solve with “tools”- like moving toys around using a wagon, or reaching something that rolled under the couch with a spatula.
As your child masters this skill...
They will try different strategies to get a small object out of a container.