Wooden Pounding Bench — Tap the Pegs, Flip and Repeat

A wooden bench with coloured pegs standing up out of it and a wooden hammer. Your child taps each peg down flush with the surface — and when they are all down, the bench turns over and every peg is standing up again. It never runs out, which at this age is the whole point.

How you play

1. Stand the bench where your child can reach every peg.
2. Hand over the wooden hammer.
3. Tap a peg until it is level with the surface.
4. Work across until all the pegs are down.
5. Turn the bench over and start again.

What it builds

• Hand-eye coordination, aiming a hammer at a small target
• Controlled force — enough to drive the peg, not so much that it misses
• Colour naming, in the middle of doing something physical
• Completing a set, which the flip immediately renews

Three ways to play it

• Name the colour of each peg before hitting it
• Count the pegs as they go down
• Let your child hold the hammer in the other hand and try again

The details

• Ages: 1–3 years
• Material: wood