“Gymnastics” for the brain

When a child crosses their arms to drop a pencil into the opposite cup, their left and right brains must work together more intensively. This is extremely important for the later development of skills like reading and writing.

Coordinated work of both hands: Inserting pencils with both hands at the same time teaches the child to synchronize their movements and better control their body.

Thinking and planning: The child must consciously think about their movement, stop and change the direction of their hands, which is a great way to practice attention and concentration.

Finger Precision: Properly picking up a pencil and aiming it into the opening of a glass prepares the hand for holding a pencil and drawing.

Tips for playing at home:

First, we start easy – we put the cup straight in, each hand in its own cup. When the child has mastered this, we move on to the “advanced level” and ask them to cross their arms. If you notice that instead of their arms, the child turns their whole body to the side to avoid crossing them, gently hold their shoulders. If you don’t have pencils at hand, straws, spoons or wooden sticks will work just as well!