keeping 5 yo hands busy

[dfunk98]

my 5 yo is a "fidgeter" aka she is constantly having to touch something or do something, she never sits still. dh is the same. for example, she is constantly taking out her earrings at school. we lost 3 pairs this year and at least once a week, the earrings would come home in a baggie bc they "fell out". meanwhile, they're the "huggie" type earrings that require both hands to open
yesterday, i bought her a new pair that are REALLY hard to remove, so she has resorted to taking out her ponytail, hair clips, etc. when that doesn't work, she puts her fingers in her mouth. i'm at the end of my rope and summer vacation hasn't even started!!
so, who out there has some suggestions to keep her hands busy? like something low-key to relax with? she mostly does these things when she's bored or mindlessly watching tv, which is only 30-60 minutes each day. it's hard trying to always think of things for her to do, especially if i'm busy with housework, or MDC
thanks!!

[Tjej]

A necklace with a nice thing to play with/chew on/move around.

Tjej

[Banana731]

No more earings until she can leave them in.

Stretchy bracelets she can pull on or play with on both wrists. A long necklace with chunky type beads like pp suggested. A stress ball. Teach her how to flip a coin.

That's all I got. Better busy hands than biting her nails, you know. My 2 year old bites her nails and it makes me CRAZY and there is NOTHING I can do about it.

[crowcaw]

Yarn and string. My 4.5 yo with fidgety hands loves to tie knots and twist string. She likes finger knitting and finger weaving and I just got her a spool knitter that she's beginning to get the hang of.

[LynnS6]

Tangle and Tangle Jr. are good toys to keep fingers busy. Bendy dolls work too. If you search sites that sell products for sensory integration, you might come up with a lot of fidgets.

For school, you might try a necklace or a bracelet, as someone suggested. If the teachers will let you, you can also try pencil toppers that give sensory feedback.

Just remember that she needs to fidget, so your best bet is to find socially acceptable ways for her to do this. It probably helps her focus, believe it or not.

[dfunk98]

these are all great ideas!! thanks!!

[jillmamma]

DS sometimes likes to slide the beads along on a necklace we made with yarn and big plastic beads.

[AZgirl2207]

DD loves to play with pipe cleaners--she makes necklaces and bracelets--they are also easy to string beads onto. Not sure if that would be acceptable at school.