OT Activity of the Day:
Legos
Target Age Range: 3 and up
From my experience, I've found that just about every kid loves legos. Whether it's the fancy lego sets that challenge you to build the Millennium Falcon or just your Classic containers, they allow kids the opportunity to enter the magical world of imagination. Not only are these sets fun for all, but they target some pretty key areas of development for children. Here are just a few:
1. Fine motor manipulation- These things can be pretty tiny, so your child has to hone in on the fine motor abilities that allow them to manipulation these small objects. That translates into better tool (pencil and scissors) use in school.
2. Visual Motor Skills- Most legos sets will come with a booklet of building instructions for different animals or structures. This is great for your child's visual motor skills. Can they accurately duplicate these objects? It's also great for sequencing (following all the directions in order), and problem solving (hmm it doesn't look like it goes there, where else would that piece go?).
3. Group development- I've used these sets in social skills groups before and have challenged the children to take turns describing the instructions to their peers. Not only were the kids working on descriptive language, but also following directions and cooperation. I've also challenged the children to build one object together (something they can all agree on) and each take turns placing legos on the structure as they see fit. The challenge being that no one can tell the other where to place their lego and you may not move a lego after it's been placed. Great practice for flexibility, cooperation and allowing all voices to be heard. Fun all around!
Enjoy!