
Here is a bunny (hold up a hand with two fingers up)
With ears so funny (wiggle your fingers)
And here is his hole in the ground (make an "o" with the other hand)
When a noise he hears, he pricks up his ears (straighten fingers)
And jumps in his hole in the ground (jump fingers down into the "hole")
It is sweet to see the children try to hold up two fingers, and one realizes that it is a fairly tricky task to hold up two fingers and pin the other two down with the thumb. Even the "hole" is difficult for them because it's not really a fist, but requires all the fingers to be bent and touching one another. Simple fingerplays like this engage both the hand and the mind, and require memory, as they say the poem each day, and careful thought for the positioning of the fingers. These little poems help children to prepare for writing later on down the road, but are fun enough that they request to do them again and again!
I also introduced some screws in a slab of wood. It offers a good movement of turning the wrist while gripping with the fingers. It's also just plain satisfying.