ADNY Clubhouse: Cloth pegs...fun learning tools

I wonder if any of you have experience having to bring wooden cloth pegs to school for art project...and ended-up with something like this:

But that's not what i was thinking.
Few days ago, kids were brought to one of nearby RM2 shops. Among other things I selected as their toys include a pack of cloth pegs which just cost RM1...real bargain for learning tools!

What was initially in mind...is to use it to strenghten Ameen's fingers and help him with fine motor skills. Later on, it turn out that fellow brothers also use them to play...(I don't use them at home, so it's something new..huhu!)

Umar bought himself a plane and add accessories that he thinks will make the plane fly faster!

How these pegs help our toddlers to write and learn?

It works like a hand grip exercise tool!...Ameen had to adjust the pegs and learn to hold and use them few times to master the right grasps and holding them. At first, he uses his palm to press the pegs. Later on, he was shown to use index and thumb to pick up small things or simply arrange the pegs on the cardboard or container to make up a cage for small animals. While doing this, Ameen improves his grip, which is an essential step for holding a pencil to write, insyaAllah.

These pegs can also be used to help him with colours and categorize them accordingly...not to mention counting :)

Other uses of cloth pegs that can be tried out (kindly click on the links to read the original source for details) :

1. Hand exercise

Draw a single dot on one side of a clothes peg, and two dots on the other side. This shows your child where to place the fingers for maximum fine motor benefit.