Trot, trot, trot, make that horse trot! Make this trotting horse along with your preschooler. It is a perfect story time prop. While doing the activity, your little one is introduced to a simple paper-folding technique — the accordion fold. This activity is a great way for your child to exercise their fine motor skills. Watch the little farmer trotting horse activity video to get a step-by-step to make your own horse.
Parental Involvement: High
Duration: 30 minutes
Skills Acquired: Symbolic Play, Coordination, Social
Materials
- Cardboard
- Coloured paper – brown
- Colouring tools – paint, crayons
- Sketch pen
- Scale
- Pencil
- Ice cream sticks
- Clay
- Glue
- A pair of scissors
Instructions for Little Farmer Trotting Horse Activity
- On the cardboard, sketch the front and rear of the horse.
- Encourage your child to colour the horse’s body and face — by finger-painting or using crayons. Let the paint dry.
- Cut out the parts of the painted horse.
- Fold the brown coloured paper into multiple folds and glue it to make it a thin strip.
- Help your child fold this long strip into many layers — like an accordion. Make small triangular cuts at both the ends of the strip.
- Apply glue at the ends of strip. Encourage your child to stick the horse cut-outs at the ends.
- Stick the ice cream sticks on each end of the horse.
- Roll some clay into small balls. Insert the ice cream sticks into them for the horse’s hooves.
Ta-da, your trotting horse is ready!
Encourage your preschooler to hold the horse and trot around the house. Ask them to move the horse like an accordion. Have a discussion about the horse — the sound it makes, how it looks, how it helps in the farm, etc.
Moving the puppet helps your preschooler develop their fine motor skills and coordination. How about a story of the horse that trotted across the entire globe? As you narrate the story, have your little one trot the horse for the story.
Activity by Vishwajeet