Posting down a tube
Posting items down a cardboard tube is a fun game where toddlers learn about anticipation from repetition. It supports problem-solving and explores science (gravity, momentum, force). When played with whānau, language and turn-taking skills are developed.
Why do it?
- Posting items down a tube provides opportunities for children to strengthen their hand–eye coordination.
- When they repeat the activity, it strengthens their problem-solving skills.
- Sharing an activity and attention with their parent strengthens the relationship between them both.
- It’s also an opportunity for strengthening language by using language-building strategies — parallel talk, self-talk and stretch talk — as parent and child explore and talk about the activity together.
How to do it
- You’ll need a cardboard tube (like a cling wrap roll), some pegs and other objects that fit down the tube such as a pencil, a small car or a small ball.
- Make sure you supervise this activity closely, as small items are a choking hazard, and your child may still want to mouth them.
- Sit with your toddler and invite them to post the peg down the tube. You could say, ‘Pick up the peg and put it in the tube.’
- If they do, that immediately tells you they understand a two-step instruction.
- They may need you to show them first. Do so, and then give them a peg and say, ‘Your turn!’
- Ask them, ‘Again?’ and see what happens.
- Try posting other objects down the tube.
- If you have a fat tube, try cutting it in half long-ways to make a half-pipe, and they can let an object go down and watch it slide.
- Supervise your toddler — they may try to walk around with the tube in their mouth, which could be dangerous if they were to fall.
Using more te reo Māori
| Te reo Māori | English |
|---|---|
| Tukuna | Release, let go |
| Purua | Put in |
| Ko koe te tuatahi | You go first |
| Ko au te tuarua | I'll go second |
| Nōu te wā | Your turn |
| Nōku te wā | My turn |
| Kohia ētahi... | Collect some... |
| Homai te... | Give me the... |
| Mauria mai te... | Bring me the... |
| Pene rākau | Pencil |
| Motukā | Car |
| Anō | Do it again |
| Mātiti | Peg |
| Kohiā te mātiti | Pick up the peg |
| Whakaretiretitia | To slide, slide down |
| Ngakuru | Drop out |
| Haere ki raro | Going down |
