Pom Pom Hanukkiah Drop

I love posting activities, especially DIY ones, for all their fabulous fine motor skill practice as well as the added benefits when they are holiday themed, like our Pom Pom Hanukkiah Drop! I love how this set up invites conversations about the special Hanukkah symbol and object, the Hanukkiah. It is also an easy way to practice color matching and identification.

What You’ll Need

Box
Pom Pom Hanukkiah template or draw your own
Scissors (or drill!)
Pom Poms
Tape or glue
Markers or crayons (optional)
Tongs (optional)

Putting It Together

To create your Pom Pom Hanukkiah Drop, tape or glue the Pom Pom Hanukkiah template to the top of a box.
Cut circles for the Hanukkiah flames. Make sure there are still colors visible around the holes; if not, color around the holes with colored markers or crayons. I used a drill to cut my circles because it is a lot easier than to make them with scissors. And it looks a lot nicer. But the holes were not big enough so I had to enlarge them with scissors. Totally works, just a little more effort from us parents!
Bring out pom poms in the same colors as your flame circles.
Invite your kiddo to transfer pom poms to the corresponding colored flame circles, either with their fingers or tongs. Say the color of the pom pom as you grab the pom pom and/or as you drop them in.

Finished & Loving It!

Creating your own posting activities can be super easy and they can have such a big impact on your kiddos’ fine motor skill practice. I try to do posting activities whenever I can (I did a popsicle stick hanukkiah posting box in the past!). My kids are not only interested and engaged with these activities, I can see how they work to use their pincer grasp to grab the objects and their focus and concentration when transferring them.

I targeted the two year old with this Pom Pom Hanukkiah Drop because we’ve been working on his color identification and articulation in speech therapy. Inviting him to name the colored pom pom before transferring and dropping it into the candle flame hole was such a fun Hanukkah-themed way to practice these goals! I always look for opportunities to practice his speech articulation with colors during play and activities that he loves. It’s so simple to hold a pom pom, ask the color, then have him grasp then transfer it to the correct color and drop it in! So many skills are getting practiced with this one sweet activity.

It’s also of course such a great fine motor activity. He has to grasp the small pom pom and transfer it to the hole. And while I call this a Drop … it takes a push to get it in! Which is of course great coordination, focus and concentration practice for my guy and his little fingers!

In the Hanukkah Activities Packet for Early Learners is a Pom Pom Hanukkiah matching worksheet that can be used along with this activity, or used separately. I liked how I could print out that worksheet and do a quick tabletop matching activity with it. The same pincer grasp, transfer skills, and speech skills all get practiced. But with this Pom Pom Hanukkiah Drop we get the added benefit of having to maneuver the pom pom into the hole. It can be quite challenging! Which means it’s great practice for hand eye coordination, bilateral coordination, focus and concentration. And of course so easy to set up that it’s a total win for parents and kiddos alike!