Taken from the other Fine Motor Skills Task Boxes sets, these snap cube cards are a perfect addition to your morning tubs, early finishers, centers, or busy boxes. This fine motor set includes 48 task cards with designs for students to create with connecting cubes as well as 26 alphabet initial sound designs (some of which duplicate or are similar to the original 48 pictures). It also includes an activity label and instruction card designed to fit on a standard-sized pencil box. ▶▶ These task cards are taken from my other Fine Motor Skills Task Boxes. If you have already purchased those activities, do not purchase these. This set is for teachers who wish to only purchase the cube activities from all the fine motor sets. ◀◀ These Fine Motor Skills Task Boxes are part of a bundle. What You’ll Find in this Snap Cubes Set: This set includes 48 printable cards, each with a snap cube design and a label. You will also find 26 alphabet picture cards (a is for apple, etc.) with an accompanying label. These task cards are designed to fit into a standard plastic pencil box (along with plastic connecting cubes). The set also includes a printable label and picture directions. This task is intended to help your students build fine motor skills (finger strength, grip, dexterity) as well as spatial awareness and hand-eye coordination. All cards are included in color as well as in black and white. How to Use this Fine Motor Activity: Once you get your students started with these task cards with some initial instructions, they will be up and running and ready for independence! These snap cube building cards are perfect to grab during any of the times that you need students to be independent, engaged, and productive. Use this simple fine motor activity as one of your morning tubs when students arrive in the classroom (a soft start is a great way to let students gently adjust to the school day) or as an early finisher for children who complete their work quickly. These connecting cube cards are also useful during center time, indoor recess, or any time students need a quiet break to re-focus. To prepare this cube set, print and laminate the activity label, instructions, and task cards. Attach the activity label to the outside of the pencil box and the illustrated instruction card inside the lid. Place the cards and cubes in the box. Once assembled, this cube-building task box stacks easily on a shelf with other fine motor activities (or with duplicate copies of this same set. Teach your students what procedures you would like them to follow for use and clean up. Some teachers allow students to come into the classroom and quietly select any of the morning tubs, while others prefer a check-in/out system that encourages children to cycle through the activities. Another option is to make a selection of task boxes available at each table and rotate them as the week goes on. This option can cut down on transition time and allow students to quickly choose an early finisher or center activity. What Teachers Are Saying: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "My kinders love using these cards with our snap cubes. They have also sparked them to use more of their own creativity & imagination while building. Thank you for sharing!” –Rachel R. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "I used this resource during the first week of school for morning work. It was easy for my kindergarteners to understand. It was highly engaging – they didn’t want to stop using it. It is good for increasing visual/spatial awareness, as well as building fine motor skills.” –Maria M. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "This resource helped my students to be more engaged and creative with the snap cubes. Once my students were able to see what they could create they began to create things on their own. My younger students didn't know what to do and once they saw the cards, they were happy to create what they saw.” –A.T.C.L. These fine motor bins can be used alone or as supplements to my other fine motor task boxes, which you can find here! Why are fine motor skills important? Research shows that well-developed fine motor skills in young children are a predictor of academic success. It makes sense that children with dexterity and hand strength would be more successful in a classroom that requires writing and drawing, but researchers have found that the connection goes beyond that. Through a series of studies using longitudinal data that tracked students from kindergarten through eighth grade, researchers determined that strong fine motor skills in the early years of life help form connections in the brain that lead to greater academic achievement throughout the school years. Unfortunately, advances in technology have led many families away from traditional activities that promote fine motor development. The time that many children spend using computers, tablets, and smartphones is time that they are not spending building, drawing, and manipulating objects in the world around them. Many children are beginning school with a deficit of motor skills, both gross and fine. It is important for schools to give children many opportunities to build those skills. Save when you buy the bundle! This set is part of a money-saving bundle of over 100 fine motor activities. Click here to check it out! You may also like: ▶ Geoboards Task Cards ▶ Pony Beads Pattern Cards ▶ Early Finishers and Indoor Recess Fun Boxes Please see the preview file for more detailed images. If you have any questions, email [email protected] or use the “Q&A” feature on this page. I would love to have you as a follower! Click the green star to be the first to know about new resources. Thank you for shopping! Susan Jennings (My Happy Place) ___________________________________ Copyright © My Happy Place Teaching Resources Permission to copy for single classroom use only. Please purchase additional licenses if you intend to share this product.