To teach children how to get between the tooth and the gum, use this trick. Cut a strip of cardboard (the side of a cereal box works well). Press modeling dough on top, about a half inch thick. Press Easter eggs into the dough so that they just touch each other.

Guide your child to glide the floss between the egg and modeling dough. If needed, squeeze the dough up higher to make sure it is in the way of getting under the “gum.”

Buy a tooth model and have your child practice brushing it while counting ten seconds for each section of teeth.

Kids aren’t brushing for long enough? Get a 2-minute timer that attaches to the bathroom mirror with a suction cup.

If your child has expressed an interest in clipping their own nails, but you’re not ready to trust them with the process just yet, have them practice using a nail clipper on pasta, such as fettucine.

Practicing on all different kinds of pasta can be great for fine motor skills (and lots of fun), as well. Curved pasta can help prepare them to cut the edges of nails (especially toenails).

There are many great toys that help children practice tying laces. But before they are ready to learn with cloth, children will greatly benefit from practicing with pipe cleaner, which is much sturdier so that the bow won’t fall apart when your child pauses or messes up halfway through, forcing them to constantly start from scratch.

Find a small shoe box. Poke two holes near one end. Push pipe cleaner through, then twist it together and tape it down so it stays in place. Make sure to use different colored pipe cleaner so that your child can tell which lace is which.

If you cut off one of the ends of the shoe box, your child can place the box over their foot in order to make the practice feel more realistic.

Do your children have trouble telling their right foot from their left? Cut a character sticker in half and place half on the inside of each shoe, so that when placed together the sticker is whole.

Use modeling dough with real utensils to help your child learn to cut food.

For more guided practice, print these pages, then laminate them. Use alone or place modeling dough on top. Have children use the guidance of the pictures to see how to hold their knife and fork in place.

To teach children how to get all of their hands properly scrubbed with soap, use this fun activity. Have your child put on a pair of rubber gloves. Pour some paint for the soap (yes, red makes it look like a horror scene, but a strong color contrast between the gloves and paint is important).

Teach your child to start by rubbing their hands together. Have them face their palms up, to check that they are fully covered in paint.

Then, have your child put one hand over the other, to get the paint from the palms to the back of the hand. Rub fingers in between each other, so that the paint gets between fingers. Repeat on the other hand.

Place the hands together like they are “holding hands.” Scrub the nails against the palms of each hand.

Lastly, make a fist around each thumb, to make sure that the web space (yes, that’s the official name for the area between the thumb and other fingers) is clean, and rub around the wrists.

Have your child hold up their hands to inspect them, and see if they have any of the glove color showing. They should see only the color of the paint.