Pushpin Numbers

The idea for Pushpin Numbers came from Big Brother’s preschool teacher, who has been using this method for one of the alphabet centers in her classroom. It is super simple, great for teaching letter and number formation, and helps your child develop the proper grip needed for writing.

Rest assured, there was no one poked in the making of this post. ;)

Here’s what you’ll need:  corkboard, pushpins, construction paper, and a marker.

1. Write the number/letter on a piece of construction paper and then secure it to the corkboard with 4 pushpins. I also added the  corresponding number of dots to the bottom for some one-to-one correspondence as well.

 

2. Give your child an extra pushpin and instruct him/her to start at the top and poke holes on the number.

 

 Notice the grip of his fingers…the same grip he uses when he holds a pencil.

 

Little Brother also got a turn and did surprisingly well!

 

 

 

Little Brother has NEVER held a pencil correctly. But notice how he is holding the pushpin! :)

 

We took the activity to another level by putting it on our overhead projector to see what would happen.

 

Ta-Da! Look at the numbers!

 

Each of the boys pointing to their numbers.

 

 

Have you ever let your child use a pushpin?