I’ve got exciting news! I’m joining a team of bloggers in a (mostly) weekly blog post about learning with manipulatives. As an Occupational Therapist, there is really no better way to learn while developing fine motor skills than with items that can be manipulated with the hands. Kids learn through play and this series is sure to be a fun one as we share creative ways to work on fine motor skills while learning!
Today’s learning with manipulatives activity uses something that I LOVE. I had these plastic chain links in my therapy bag for years, and used them daily in school based and outpatient occupational therapy treatment. Now, I get to play with my kids using these plastic rainbow chain links. Today, we used them with my toddler to practice color sorting.
And, here’s a little preview for you: We went a little crazy with playing with these chain links. I’ve got a bunch of fun chain link ideas coming your way, soon!
Rainbow Chain Link Manipulatives for Fine Motor Skills and Occupational Therapy
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Chain links
are completely awesome for find motor skills in kids. Linking the chains together and pulling them apart requires intrinsic muscle strength, bilateral hand coordination, tripod grasp, and pronation/supination of an extended wrist. These chain links
are tools that can used to work on so many goal areas. From using two hands together, to a functional pencil grasp, to using spoons and forks with an appropriate write positioning, to holding a zipper with the right wrists angle…these little guys are great skill builders!
are completely awesome for find motor skills in kids. Linking the chains together and pulling them apart requires intrinsic muscle strength, bilateral hand coordination, tripod grasp, and pronation/supination of an extended wrist. These chain links
are tools that can used to work on so many goal areas. From using two hands together, to a functional pencil grasp, to using spoons and forks with an appropriate write positioning, to holding a zipper with the right wrists angle…these little guys are great skill builders!
Linking the chains together requires a bit of muscle oomph, so for preschoolers and school-aged kids, building chains are a great strengthening activity.
together requires a bit of muscle oomph, so for preschoolers and school-aged kids, building chains are a great strengthening activity. 
Toddler Color Matching Activity Using Plastic Chain Links
For this activity, we used our Learning Resources Link n Learn Links (This set comes in a big bucket of 500, so you’ve got plenty for multiple kids playing at the same time, or different age-appropriate activities happening with the chain links.)
and colored card stock in matching colors. I cut squares of equal sizes and placed them out on the table. I figured this would be a great activity for older toddlers, but my 19 month old completely surprised my by correctly placing the colored links
on the matching paper squares. I had a few links in place to show her what to do and she was able to put them on the correct squares.
(This set comes in a big bucket of 500, so you’ve got plenty for multiple kids playing at the same time, or different age-appropriate activities happening with the chain links.)and colored card stock in matching colors. I cut squares of equal sizes and placed them out on the table. I figured this would be a great activity for older toddlers, but my 19 month old completely surprised my by correctly placing the colored links
on the matching paper squares. I had a few links in place to show her what to do and she was able to put them on the correct squares.
I even put an incorrect colored link on a different colored square and she was able to fix the mistake. It was a proud mama moment!
Looking for more learning activities using rainbow manipulatives? Stop by our Learning With Manipulatives team to see what they’ve come up with:
AND, be sure to stop by Instagram and check out the #toolsforlearning hashtag to see them all. Tag your hands-on learning ideas using rainbow manipulatives, too! We would love to see them!
Graphing with Rainbow Bears from Still Playing School
Size Order Rainbow Bear Cards from Life Over C’s
Color and Size Sorting with Rainbow Counters from Line Upon Line Learning
Alphabet Formation Compare Bears from Adventures of Adam
Size and Color Sorting {Learning with Rainbow Bears} from Squiggles and Bubbles
Animal Counters Sensory Bin & Color Sort from Raising Little Superheroes
Color Graphing with Rainbow Bears from Schooltime Snippets
Rainbow Bears Sensory Bin from Something 2 Offer
Rainbow Bears Addition Cards from The Kindergarten Connection
Measuring with Rainbow Bears from Mom Inspired Life
More fine motor activities you will LOVE:
Thanks a bunch for sharing this with all of us you really know what you are talking about! Bookmarked. Please also visit my website =). We could have a link exchange arrangement between us!