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Pushpin (or pin poking) activity is one of the popular fine motor activities in the Montessori classroom. I would like to share with you different ways to use pins and pin poking which greatly benefit the child’s development. You will find that pins are often used in activities for different purposes.

how pin activities benefit a child’s development
- help develop deeper concentration
- prepare for writing
- enjoyed by children
- exercise patience and attention to detail
- help perfect fine motor
- strengthen finger muscles
there are many variations of pin poking activities
- The metal inset extension activity – the child pin pokes the shape after tracing a metal inset shape.
- The knob puzzle extension activity – the child pin pokes outline after tracing a shape.
- Pin-poke a picture outline.
Here are a few examples of introducing pin activities to children
PRESCHOOLER
Print a picture outline on regular paper or construction paper and cut cards to match your push pin mat size. Place cards in a box on a tray along with a push pin or the Montessori puncher, corkboard, or wool mat to absorb the pricks of the poking stylus.
Invite the child to punch holes in the line and take him or her to the window to look through the light and make sure the holes are close together. Show them how to gently tear punched shape from the rest of the paper, get a glue stick, and glue it to the construction paper. The child may also like to color the shape first.
As I mentioned earlier children often enjoy pin-poking continents of the world after working with the Montessori Continent Knob Puzzle. However, this can be done with every puzzle that has knobs. Puzzle pieces with knobs make it easier for children to trace outlines.
A video introduction of pin poking activity
Push pinning printables free printables
South America Preschool Hands-on Activities
Africa Preschool Hands-on Activities
Asia Hands-on Activities
Europe - Preschool Activity Set
North America - Preschool Activities
Eco Learning Preschool and Kindergarten Activities
Montessori Winter Pin Punching Cards
Pin Poking - Fine Motor Skills
Insects and Crawling Creatures - Fine Motor, Cutting, Pin Poking, Coloring
MORE Free Printables From Montessori Nature
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- Signs of Spring in Nature
- Parts of a Plant Sorting
- Animals of Continents Sort Editable Labels
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- Letter D Student Activity Page Phonics Free Language Printable
- Letter E Student Activity Page Phonics Free Language Printable
- Letter F Student Activity Page Phonics Free Language Printable
- Letter G Student Activity Page Phonics Free Language Printable
- Letter B Student Activity Page Phonics Free Language Printable
- Letter C Student Activity Page Phonics Free Language Printable
- Letter H Student Activity Page Phonics Free Language Printable
- Letter i Student Activity Page Phonics Free Language Printable
- Letter J Student Activity Page Phonics Free Language Printable
- Letter K Student Activity Page Phonics Free Language Printable
- Letter L Student Activity Page Phonics Free Language Printable
- Letter M Student Activity Page Phonics Free Language Printable
- Made By Nature Made By Humans Sorting
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- Physical And Chemical Changes Pairing Fine Motor With Pegs
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- Christmas 3 Part Cards
- Christmas Matching Fine Motor With Pegs
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- Fall Playdough Mats
- Christmas in Australia
- Free DIY Art Puzzles Coloring Pages Printables – Silent Night by Viggo Johansen
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- Matching Fine Motor With Pegs The Nutcracker Free Christmas printable
- Free DIY Puzzles And Coloring Pages – Raphael The Sistine Madonna
- Fall Leaf Shapes Match Up With Pegs
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- Free DIY Puzzles And Coloring Pages – Paul Cezanne Still Life Painting Curtain, Jug And Fruit Bowl
- Fall Pin Punching And Tracing Cards
- Fall Match Up Initial Sounds With Pegs
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- Fall Leaves And Fall Flowers
- Fall Match Up Opposites With Pegs
- 10 Types Of Vertebrates And 10 Types Of Invertebrates Fall Printable
- 10 Types of Insects and 10 Types of Flowers Sort
- Fall Match Up With Pegs
- Types Of Exotic Apples 3-Part Cards, Posters, Student Booklet
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- Signs Of Fall – Free Printables, Posters, Cards, Student Booklets
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- Gemstones 3 Part Cards
- Wild Animal Families Puzzles And Cards
- Forest Matching Cards – Free Nature Printable
- Beach Poster, Match Up Cards – Free Printables
- Whale Size Comparison Poster, Match Up Cards
- DIY Puzzles And Coloring Pages – Vincent Van Gogh Vase With Twelve Sunflowers
- 10 Types Of Vertebrates And 10 Types Of Invertebrates
- Coral Reef Animals Poster, Match Up Cards
- 10 Types Of Terrestrial Mammals And 10 Types Of Marine Mammals – Free Summer Printable
- 10 Types Of Butterflies And 10 Types Of Ladybugs – Free Sorting Printable
- Skip Counting Student Helper Posters And Worksheets s
- Number Tracing And Formation Activity
- Sums With Bead Bars – Clip Cards And Worksheets With Teen Numbers
- Addition Clip Cards
- Number Bonds – Addition With Bead Bars Sums Of 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, And 10
- Place Value Mats, Task Cards, And Tracing Worksheets
- Gemstones – Posters And Matching Cards
- Nature Journal
- Valentine’s Day Coloring
- Geoboard Task Cards
- Free One Week Planner For Preschool Children With Low Prep Hands-On Activities
- Free Montessori Baby And Toddler Printable Materials
- DIY Winter Puzzles And Art Activities – Painting “The Starry Night” By Vincent Van Gogh
- Winter Animals
- Arctic Animals
- DIY Winter Puzzles And Art Activities – Painting “Maslenitsa” By Boris Kustodiev
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- Types Of Flowers Match Up
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- Animals In Spring – Activities, Resources, And Free Printables
- Multiplication Charts
- Lined Writing Paper Handwriting Practice
- Nocturnal And Diurnal Animals Sort
- Viviparous And Oviparous Animals Sort
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- The Earth Goes Around The Sun – Free Geography Printable
- Tulip Life Cycle And Parts Of A Tulip
Very cool! I haven't done much with pin poking at all. I LOVE these ideas!
For some reason kids love these too! I am so glad you were inspired to do more pin poking with your kids! Thank you for stopping by!
These are so cool! We did some tooth pick poking with my daughter's name, she loved it, I'm sure she'll love these ideas too.
Thank you so much, Kyle, for sharing your experience! I love the idea of using tooth picks for poking! I never tried it before!
Oh, I just adore this post! Thanks for the printable, they will be very useful for home and the classroom.
Fab, fab resource. Thank you! Pinned. xo P
Thank you, Janice, I hope you enjoy using these materials!
Many thanks, Pauline!
My four year old loves using push pins to make his own geoboard type thing… he'd love this activity! thanks!
Love this!