Have you ever wondered how to teach kids to use chopsticks? If your kids aren’t around chopsticks that often, learning how to use them effectively can be difficult. so here’s a little hack, plus chopstick activity that will have them catching flies in no time.
It’s very simple to rig up some starter chopsticks with just of paper and an elastic band. Chopsticks, like these, that spring open by themselves are approximately a million times easier for a child to master than the regular kind.
A lot of people scoff at ‘cheats chopsticks’, but there’s nothing wrong with making something manageable for kids. If a task is too hard, grabbing the child’s attention will be harder – especially if your kid is a bit on the younger side.
This activity is perfect for kids from four up, if yours are a bit older, just start them off with the hacks they can practice getting their fingers in the right place. Once they have it down, you can take the elastic off.
For smaller children, it will take a few goes, but this how to teach kids to use chopsticks activity is a win-win, it’s not just useful for learning to use chopsticks, it’s also a great fine-motor activity and will help them develop the hand muscles that they need to hold a pencil. Because I used coloured felt balls and containers, it is also a colour recognition activity. But don’t confuse them by talking too much about this part.
How to teach kids to use chopsticks – what you need
- Chopsticks – I used kids sized ones, but the disposable wooden ones are the right size for kids.
- A small elastic.
- A long strip of paper (again, the paper cover that disposable ones come in are a perfect size.)
And onto the activity…
- Make up your cheats chopsticks using the steps above.
- Set out some cute little containers and felt balls if you have some, but you can really use anything you want. (kids will be naturally more interested in activities that are visually stimulating so pick cute ones if you can.)
- Make sure the child has their fingers positioned right and ask them to sort the balls into the right containers, then sit back and try not to interfere. It doesn’t matter if the balls go in the wrong colour or they cheat – the entire aim is to get them familiar with using chopsticks. If it’s fun they will keep doing it, too many corrections will have the opposite effect.
- When they have mastered the cheats chopsticks, you can take the elastic off and let them go for it. This process may take a while, like months! There’s no rush. Just make it fun and they’ll be rocking sushi train in style ASAP.
