Buttoning a Shirt

Estimated time: 8 minutes

Students are asked to button a button-down shirt with socks on their hands.  It is very important that this activity is timed and that the leader is vocal about the time factor.

What you will need:

  1. One button-down shirt per student

  2. One pair of sport socks per student

Sample script:

I would like you to stand up at the side of your desk for this activity.  Please put the shirt on and put a sock on each hand.  Now I want you to button up the shirt.  You have five minutes.  Let’s see how you do.  Go!

(Have the volunteers go around the class and harass the students a little:  “Come on, the bus is coming, you are going to be late for school,” “Your friends are waiting for you, come on, let’s go, hurry, hurry.”)

(The actual time is unimportant.  It is getting the feeling of frustration that counts.  So after two minutes:)  Only three minutes left!

(Ask several children how they are feeling and have a volunteer write their answers on the board in the classroom:  “frustrated,” “UH this is awful,“ “I can’t do this,” “I don’t have enough time,” etc.)

(At the end of the five minutes ask them to stop.  Then engage in some conversation around the words on the board, i.e…)  That was difficult wasn’t it?  You couldn’t use your hands properly.  It was very frustrating.  It took you a long time to do it.  You felt silly.  You felt people were watching you.  It didn’t feel very cool.

Can anyone tell me the ability is called when you use your fingers?  Fine motor.     You know, there are people, including children, who have these kinds of difficulties, who have to deal with this every day, all the time.  Can you imagine what that would be like, how frustrating that would be?   Having to get dressed quickly, trying to keep up with others in school, trying not to get left behind?

Does this mean that someone is not smart?  NO!  It has nothing to do with being smart.  It just means that people have are on different parts of the rainbow.  So the next time you see someone having a hard time with “fine motor” skills, be patient, kind and respectful.