Rhymes and songs for stronger hands

What to do 

• Say an action rhyme with your toddler – choose one that has actions which include opening and closing your hands.  
• A really simple rhyme, for this, is 'Open Shut Them'.  
• Say this with your toddler and encourage them to open and close their hands as you say the rhyme.  

The words are:  

Open shut them, open shut them, give a little clap.  

Open, shut them, open, shut them, put them on your lap.  

Creep them, creep them, creep them, creep them, right up to your chin. 

Open up your little mouth... but do not put them in. 

Good to know 

When you are thinking about your toddler mastering a skill such as using scissors you might feel the focus needs to be on repeatedly practising the skill itself. 

Sometimes thinking about what underpins the skill can give other ideas of activities to support your toddler.

To use scissors your toddler needs strength and control of their hands. If you want to give them some practice but don’t have time to get the scissors out (and tidy bits of paper afterwards) you can still strengthen their fine motor muscles by singing some finger rhymes and songs.