Mahi ā-ringa Manipulative Play

Manipulative Play | Mahi-ā-ringa

Manipulative play refers to activities where children move, screw, click, order, or make patterns with items. This helps control actions and build confidence in manipulating objects to suit their needs.

Learning and Development

Manipulative play teaches colour, patterns, texture, sequencing and cause and effect while developing decision-making, comparison and coordination skills.
Fine motor skills which are essential for writing and common daily tasks are strengthened.
Children practice problem-solving, analysis and creativity while working with materials.
Concentration and perseverance grow through hands-on activities.
Our centres provide age-appropriate materials, increasing complexity to match children’s skills and abilities.
Teachers use objects to teach size, shape, weight and texture with various materials such as wood, metal and plastic.
Great resources include beads, bottle tops, pinecones, nuts and bolts and magnetic tiles for pattern-making and recognition.

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How manipulative play relates to the primary school curriculum

Continuing Learning at Home

Stacking and seriation toys:
Measuring cups, mixing bowls or stacking rings encourage children to arrange items in order and explore concepts like size and balance.
Tube drop game:
Attach a cardboard paper towel tube to a chair leg and place a container at the bottom. Let toddlers drop small balls, pegs or other objects through the tube and watch them fall out the other side.
Natural resources & fabric for play:
Collect stones, shells, pinecones and pieces of wood to use in manipulative play. Offering fabric or material scraps in different textures and colours inspire creativity and decision-making.
Threading activities:
Provide large beads or cotton reels to thread onto thick string. As children grow, use smaller beads and thinner string to refine their fine motor skills.
Let children explore screwing nuts onto bolts or matching plastic jars with screw-on lids, promoting coordination and problem-solving.
Babies and toddlers enjoy exploring spoons, bowls and spatulas. This can evolve into making patterns and eventually dramatic play, pretending to cook.
Use wooden or colorful pegs for creating patterns, shapes and designs.