Smashing peanut shells is a messy but fun fine motor and sensory motor activity for kids!
Smashing Peanut Shells with a Hammer
acrylic paints, and the wooden hammer
I started by cracking some peanuts. The kids were happy to join in for a snack they love. Let those kids crack their peanuts! Cracking peanuts is a fabulous fine motor activity. When we had a pile of shells, I gave them a quick rinse under cool water to remove the salt and any peanut dust. We popped the shells into an oven set at 200F for about 10 minutes to quick dry the shells. You could let them sit overnight as well.
Once the shells are dry, pull out the paints. I painted hearts on a few, and painted the rest red or pink. Little Sister (age 3) helped out with this part. She is my paint-loving kid. Painting the peanut shells was a fun twist on her favorite activity and a pretty cool way to be creative.
Let the paint dry. Admire the adorable-ness.
Valentine’s Day Proprioception Activity
This activity is awesome for proprioceptive input.
What is proprioception?
Proprioception is a sensory process of the body that allows input to be regulated and responded to with motor movements and positions. Whaaat, you ask?
Valentine’s Day Visual Perceptual Activity:
Visual perception is anther piece of the sensory systems in the body, and this Valentine’s Day activity is a great way to practice visual scanning and eye-hand coordination.
What is visual perception?
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Side-note: (This is your warning!) This activity makes a MESS! As much effort as I used to keep the dust and nut fragments contained, we still had shell pieces everywhere! I had the kids playing right on our hardwood floors, so clean up wasn’t too bad. A quick sweep up with the broom did the job.
The proprioceptive system receives input from the muscles and joints about body position, weight, pressure, stretch, movement and changes in position in space. Our bodies are able to grade and coordinate movements based on the way muscles move, stretch, and contract. Proprioception allows us to apply more or less pressure and force in a task. Instinctively, we know that lifting a feather requires very little pressure and effort, while moving a large backpack requires more work. We are able to coordinate our movements effectively to manage our day’s activities with the proprioceptive system. The brain also must coordinate input about gravity, movement, and balance involving the vestibular system.
Banging that hammer and smashing those nuts requires work to smash the nut shells. You can place the hammer on the nut and press down to get a satisfying “crunch” or you and hold the hammer over your head with both hands and swing it down HARD on the peanut shell. Either way is fun (and we tried both techniques!)
Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.
