Baby Bank Educational Activity

Let baby practice her pincer grasp all the way to the bank.

Submitted by
Sonam Adinolf

Your kid can spend hours carefully inspecting every inch of your floor for things to pick up. Yesterday's Cheerio? It's in her mouth. That tiny piece of lint in her hand? She picked it up herself (and put it in her mouth, too!). Refine her pincer skills with a noisy piggy bank educational activity ... before she finds (and grabs) that cobweb in the corner.

Piggy bank:
A can with a plastic lid will do. (Pringles, anyone?)
Cold, hard cash:
i.e., baby food jar lids
Scissors

Wash out the can (if you didn't lick the potato chip crumbs from it already!).
Cut a slit in the lid that's big enough for the baby jar tops to fit through.
Put the lid back on the can.
Hand your kid her allowance (this is the last time you'll be able to pay her in lids!) and let her start saving. Demonstrate how to put the lids in the hole in the can and encourage her to give it a shot. She'll get a kick out of the clanking when the lids hit the bottom of the can.
When she's gotten all the lids in the can, show her how to give it a shake to make some noise. A minute or so of that and you'll be ready to take those lids out of the can and start over again!
With any luck, you'll be able to remind her of this whole saving-money thing during her "I-must-have-every-American-Girl-and-American-Girl-accessory" years.