The Kissing Hand counting and pegging activity

As part of our Back to School theme, we introduced the book The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. This book is about Chester Raccoon who was reluctant to go to school. Mummy Raccoon took his hand, gave it a kiss and folded the palm. She told her that should Chester feel lonely or misses her in school, he can just put the hand on his cheeks and he would feel her love for him. The kissing hand provided comfort and security to Chester on his first day at school. This has helped some children settle in as well.


To complement the book, I came across an interesting counting and pegging activity. The cards are printed with a number of kissing hands and a selection of three answers. The objective is to let the child count the number of kissing hands on each card and use a peg to note down the correct answer.


This activity helps to reinforce counting and encourages a child to peg. Pegging is a very useful activity as it strengthens finger muscles as well as enhances the pincer grip - all vital preparation for writing. Pegging also develops concentration, especially this particular pegging activity as the child needs to peg it at the correct spot. A few variations can be made, by just changing the pegs. Some pegs are easy to use, others needs more strength and effort.


Do you know that pegs can also be used to make elaborate constructions? I have some children who can spend a long time joining hundreds of pegs together to make a train track, an aeroplane and even a robot. Unfortunately, I did not manage to capture any photos yet. I'll certainly post the pictures when I have them.