Sensory Motor

OT Activity of the Day:

Color and shape identification with movement

Target Age Range: 3 and up 

This is a lot like the game "Hullabaloo" only more adaptable.  You can add as many shapes and colors as you want and pace at whatever speed your child is at.  You can also place letters or words on the cards and practice identifying letters and sight words.  All you need is colored paper and scissors.

The idea is to spread all the cards around the room.  Again, make as many shapes or use as many colors as you would like, the sky is the limit!  Then challenge your child to move in different ways (bear walk, frog hop, walk backwards, on tiptoes, etc...) to the different cards you call out.  Call out just a color or shape (yellow or triangle) or get more specific and call both together (red triangle), it depends entirely on your child's ability.  Play together or challenge your child on their own.  Switch it up and have your child challenge you!

You're targeting so many wonderful skill sets:  color identification, shape identification, letter/word identification, visual scanning, gross motor skills, processing auditory directions, and following multiple step directions if you call out several movements at once.

Enjoy!

Sensory Motor

OT Activity of the Day

Therapy (ab) Ball as a chair

Target Age Range: 5 and up, though depending on the size of the ball, this age can be younger.

While ab balls are great for exercise, they are also excellent alternatives to chairs.  There have been several news articles in more recent months and years talking about how some schools, or classrooms, have shifted entirely over to sitting on therapy balls versus chairs.  After a super quick internet search, I found these two articles, though there were many more out there:

http://www.news-herald.com/article/HR/20110413/NEWS/304139951

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-health-school-bouncy-balls-story.html

Both of these articles highlight these two principles:

1. Sitting on a therapy ball allows the child movement/input throughout the day, which in turn will help them stay focused for longer periods of time.

2. Sitting on a therapy ball will help naturally improve posture and trunk stability.

Swap the therapy ball for a chair during homework time and you should see positive results in your child's attention and focus!  I bought my therapy (ab) ball for 25 dollars at Target.  I bought the medium size because I will be using it mostly with elementary school children.  If you have a younger child you would like to use the ball with, make sure to get the smaller size.  

My ground rules for using a ball over a chair are 1. always keep two feet flat on the ground and 2. while you may bounce, your tush must stay on the ball, we should not be bouncing so high we fall off.  Give your child a few minutes (supervised) to explore and play with the idea/concept before holding them to the rules.  I find this approach tends to work best versus setting the rules right away before the child has fully explored this new idea.

Enjoy!

Improving Hand Manipulation

OT Activity of the Day

Finger Gym

Target Age Range: 4 and up 

Give those little fingers a work out!  This activity is great for promoting fine motor manipulation and visual motor skills.  

I used play doh to hold the pipe cleaners in place, though you could use tooth picks if you don't have pipe cleaners, and then just some beads.  I started the activity by color sorting, though I gave up on that quickly.  I had so many other colored beads it was becoming more work just to sort out and find the beads that I needed.  But if you have the extra prep time and would like to work on color identification and matching, feel free to provide only matching beads, or have the kids sort out the beads that they need!  

Other adaptations:  To work on visual scanning as well, break the play doh into smaller pieces and place the play doh and pipe cleaners out on different parts of the table.  Then provide only matching beads and challenge the child to scan the table to find the match.

Enjoy!

Improving Hand Strength

OT Activity of the Day

Bubble wrap

Target Age Range: 2 and up

Kids love bubble wrap.  They love popping the bubbles with their fingers, elbows, knees, feet and tush!  Here's how I've used it:

1. Improved pincer strength.  Have your child pinch the bubbles with their index finger and thumb.

2. Improved finger isolation.  How many different fingers can you use to pop the bubbles?

3. Improved body awareness.  Help kids identify different body parts, like elbow, knee, toes, belly.  See if they can pop bubbles with the different body parts you call out.  I've done this in a group setting and it was a big hit!

4. Improved attention to task.  How many times have you asked your child to sit still to do their homework, eat, etc..  Give them a 5 minute movement/sensory break and cut a piece of bubble wrap for them to demolish any way they please.  

5. Improved gross motor skills.  Trying to teach a child to jump with two feet? Have them practice on bubble wrap.  Want to work on walking backwards? Practice on bubble wrap. Want to work on imitation of gross motor movements? Practice on bubble wrap.

6. Want a few minutes to yourself?  Give your child some bubble wrap, they will be entertained.

You can buy this in bulk at Staples, Target, Office Depot, or any other packaging store.

Enjoy!   

Prewriting Strokes

OT Activity of the Day

Drawing

Target Age Range: 3 and up

By the age of 3 children should have no problem copying a vertical line, horizontal line, or circle. By the age of 4 and a half children should be able to copy a square and be working towards copying a triangle.  These are what we call "prewriting strokes".  By being able to look at these lines and shapes and accurately copy them, children are displaying adequate visual motor abilities that signal they are ready to start writing letters.  Visual motor is the ability to recreate with your hands/body what you're seeing.  While this skill is very important in life in general, it's very important to your child's ability to write.

To practice visual motor skills at an early age, you can draw pictures with your kids using just the basic shapes.  Start with just one aspect of the picture and see if your child can copy it, from there you can build until you have a full fledged picture!  If you can look past the masterpiece I've drawn, you'll see that this picture is made up entirely from these prewriting strokes.  In case you can't tell, it's a train on a track.  Trust me it's a real crowd pleaser with the kids.  Other things that can be made up from simple shapes: a person, a house, a truck or a car just to name a few.

If you have an older child (like 6 and up) and feel like they struggle with visual motor skills (learning to write letters and words is just harder for them) you can go on Pinterest and search "drawing tutorials for kids".  When I did that I was looking at numerous pictures that had been broken down and laid out in a step by step format.  Your child can practice their visual motor skills by drawing what they see and hopefully create a picture to be proud of.  This is so much more fun that practicing letters to improve visual motor skills.  

Enjoy!  

Hand Strength

OT Activity of the Day

Tennis Ball Man

Targeted Age Range: 5 and up, though try with your 4 year old if you'd like!

I took a tennis ball that I bought from Target, a very sharp knife (like a box cutter or something similar), some glue, eyes and made myself a tennis ball man.  There's no trick to cutting the ball, just a straight line somewhere in the middle will do.  The longer the line the easier it is to squeeze open, on the flip side the shorter the line, the harder it is to open.  

In this activity, the child can dig a bead out of the therapy putty (or play doh) and then "feed" the tennis ball man.  This activity is targeting hand strength through the therapy putty and squeezing the tennis ball open, bilateral coordination when using both hands in a coordinated fashion to "feed" the man, and then fine motor manipulation with the small beads.

We want those little hands to be strong so they can support the school work that needs to be done in the years ahead.  The stronger the hand, the more legible and controlled the writing tends be!  If you feel like your child is struggling with handwriting, this is a great activity to start introducing.  Generally speaking, handwriting issues tend to stem from a lack of strength/endurance in the hand, though in some cases it can be more than just hand strength.  An OT could help you pin point the exact problem. 

As with all activities, if you would like to deviate and add your own flare, please do!

Enjoy!

Sensory Motor

OT Activity of the Day

Rice/Bean Sensory Bin

Target age range: 2 and up, again, as soon as your child won't eat the rice or beans this is a great activity to introduce.

As OTs we love our "sensory bins".  These are bins that are filled with dried rice or dried beans or water beads or dirt or any other tactile modality that your child enjoys to touch and explore. (You can also use a sensory bin to expose a more "tacitly sensitive" child to these textures in a more controlled way.  As with the shaving cream, they can play with the texture and tolerate it without having to touch what makes them uncomfortable).  

I've put together a rice/bean bin, which is like an indoor sandbox.  This is a great way to work on fine motor development and also have fun.  Pictured in the bin are beads that can be strung, tops that can be twisted on and off, scissor tongs, small animals and a scoop.  However, as with other activities, don't feel constrained to just these manipulatives.  Recycle old items into the bin!  For example, I am using an old spice container and protein scooper that have been cleaned and repurposed:).  

Initially allow your child to just play in the rice and see what they come up with.  If after a few minutes you'd like to engage them a bit more, "challenge" them to complete 2 out of the 3 activities that you have placed in the bin.  For example, "How many beads can you string?" or "How many animals can you collect with the scissor tongs?".  Time them if you want, children loved to be timed.  All in all, if your child plays with all of these items pictured, they will be improving fine motor manipulation, scissor skills, and wrist/forearm rotation.  

Rice and beans that have escaped the bin are easily cleaned up with a vacuum.

Enjoy! 

Handwriting and Hand Strength

OT Activity of the Day

Outside FUN

Target age range: 3 and up

All you need is paper, crayons, a hole punch and anything that can be scavenged from outside.

This is actually two activities in one.  In the first activity, you are focusing on letter recognition and building letters with things that have been collected from maybe a walk, or simply your backyard or your front yard.  Moving is so important for kids, it helps with overall regulation, coordination, and building strength and endurance.  So encourage your child to run around and collect as much "nature" as they can so you can build all the letters of their name, or even the alphabet! 

In the second activity your child is using a hole punch to make holes in leaves, just like the very hungry caterpillar.  Bonus if you have the book, you can read it together and then head outside to act it out, what other things can your child find to have the "caterpillar" eat so that he/she can grow into a butterfly?  In addition to fun, the hole punch is a great method to help build hand strength!

Enjoy!

Hand Dominance

Activity of the Day 

Establishing Hand Dominance

Target age range: By the age of 5, at the absolute, very latest.

Ok, Melissa, why should I worry about my child pulling beads out of play doh, or using scissor tongs, or playing with shaving cream, or participating in any of the other activities that are shown in this picture?

Great question, all this talk about improving hand strength or finger manipulation in your young child is so that your child can establish hand dominance.  Hand dominance is so important because once your child has established dominance they can start to really control and understand the roles of their dominant versus helper hand.  They will also be able to really start strengthening and preparing their dominant hand for future demands.  Why is this important?  This will help with eating (using a fork or spoon), dressing (manipulating all those little buttons and zippers), playing, and ultimately writing.  

Children are expected to do some much these days at such a young age.  By the end of Kindergarten, you child will be writing both upper and lower case letters, words, and even small phrases. (Remember when Kindergarten was just for play?? I'm pretty sure I just had to know my name in Kindergarten, maybe more??, and even then I'm pretty sure I reversed both my "s"s and was still considered to be of "average" development.)  If your child is on the later end of establishing hand dominance then this will all be very challenging for them as their hand simply will not be strong enough to keep up with the work.  If severe enough, this can lead to illegible handwriting, a complete dislike of school work and homework, more than what would be standard, and a lower overall confidence in their abilities.  I've seen this scenario play out countless times.  And while I can't change the curriculum or school expectation, I can tell people to have their children pull beads out of play doh, play with scissor tongs, play with shaving cream, and participate in any of the other activities that are shown in this picture.  

So, enjoy!   

Do you have a young child and are unsure if they will be a righty or lefty?  For a week or so, place whatever utensil, fork, spoon, crayon, in front of them on the table but in the middle of their body between the right and left hand.  If you place the item too far to the left or right they may just go with that side out of convenience.  However, if you place the item in the middle of the body then the child has to choose which hand to use, and 9 times out of 10 they will always opt for the hand that will be their dominant hand.  Tally which hand they use the most, and you will know if you have a righty or a lefty.  Once you feel confident in the handedness of your child, start encouraging tool use in that hand only.  

Sensory Motor

OT Activity of the Day

Shaving Cream Fun

Target age range: 2 and up (honestly, you can start to expose your child to this activity whenever your child won't eat the shaving cream)

Hand strength and hand manipulation are so important for children.  If your child has a weaker hand, or is unable to manipulate and move their fingers well, then most fine motor tasks will be completely unbearable down the road, for your child's teacher, for you and most importantly your child.  There are so many fun ways to improve, or target, these two skill sets I don't even know where to begin.  While I thought long and hard, I decided on shaving cream.  This is such a fun activity and most of the children I work with love when this is on the schedule for the day.

In the picture above the lion and the car are both getting a "bath".  In this activity, the child is working hard to improve their hand strength and manipulation by squirting the shaving cream, squeezing the squirt bottle full of water (because cleaning up shaving cream without water is a total bear), and then using their hands, or any other manipulative you want, to "wash" the toy.  I've added paint brushes, scissor tongs and regular tongs, though don't feel limited in any choices.  These manipulatives are great because if your child is hesitant to touch the shaving cream, they don't actually have to do so.  I've also placed this activity on a tray to "contain" the mess, though you can be as free with the mess as you dare.  Another tip if you would like to manage the amount of shaving cream or water being used, count to 5 for each: 5 seconds to squirt the shaving cream and then 5 squeezes of the water bottle, or more or less!

Another reason shaving cream is pretty amazing, is because your child can get messy and the shaving cream won't stain anything, clean up is relatively easy as long as you use water, and the only real lasting affect is your child will smell like a man for the rest of the day.  I also like that this entire activity costs next to nothing, the shaving cream is less than two dollars and the squirt bottle was found for a dollar at Target.  Everything else you need can be scavenged from around the house!

Enjoy!   

Scissor Skills

OT Activity of the Day:  Scissor Skills:  Target Age Range:  2 and Up

Now, I know what you're thinking, "Why on earth would I ever give my 2 year-old scissors??"

Totally understandable, scissors can be dangerous, especially to those little fingers, and possibly to the supervising adult.  However, I have administered countless evaluations on 3 or early 4 year olds and the child has bombed the scissors portion, mostly because the parent says the the child has never been exposed to scissors.  As OTs, we start looking at and assessing snipping abilities between 25-26 months of age. 

In the long run, solely not being able to cut isn't going to keep your child out of Harvard, however learning to use and master scissors is important. In these early years of life this skill improves, or focuses on, the child's visual imitation by being able to accurately duplicate what is being demonstrated to them and it also improves and demonstrates the child's hand-eye coordination.  

So, to make it safe for your young child to learn to cut, I would start with play-doh and play-doh scissors or the handy scoopers that I got of Amazon (4 to 10 dollars).  Both are safe and effective and the child is working hard without even noticing, hopefully! Enjoy!

Color Identification

OT Activity of the Day: Color Search and Match:  Target Age Range:  2 and up

Supplies:  Colored paper and then anything that matches the paper!

So many great things happen during this game.  Your child is working on color identification and matching, visual scanning and problem solving to look and gather items around the room or house, and then, if you want, counting the items found, writing number totals, and even the games of the items collected.  At the end, challenge the child to recall where they got the toy and then correctly put it away.  Enjoy!

Hand Eye Coordination

OT Activity of the Day:  Target Practice:  Targeted Age Range: 2 and Up

Supplies: Roll of painters tape (you won't use the whole roll, unless you want to), paper, and magazine pages for the "ball". Trust me, you want magazines, regular paper just won't stick-I just spent entirely too long trying with regular paper and just when my confidence in my throwing abilities was at an all time low I switched to magazine pages, so much better! Even OTs don't get it right the first time!

I love this activity because you can make so many different modifications. You can have more, or less, painters tape, you can take away the point value or change the value, and you can assign certain places for kids to stand and then add additional point values. Ask your child for any input, they may have great ideas for other variations!

While having fun, you're also working on hand manipulation by ripping out magazine pages and bunching them up into small balls( rip the pages in half, the smaller they are the easier they will stick). You are also working on overhand and underhand tossing, look and cue for that lead foot and trunk rotation. And lastly, you can work on adding, or subtracting depending on your rules, and writing numbers.

I mean, how many times have you asked your child not to throw inside?? Now they can! Enjoy!

Sensory Motor

OT Activity of the Day:  Rainy Day Obstacle Course:  Target age: Any age!

Supplies: Anything lying around the house. I used a chair, an ab ball, a 5 pound weight, painters tape, and throw pillows/bed pillows shoved in a fitted sheet. 

Rainy days can be challenging, especially for those kiddos who benefit from the extra movement/input they might get from playing outside to stay focused/regulated in school or at home. 

A simple way to combat this lack of movement/input is to make an at home obstacle course! Start with a scavenger hunt for obstacles, anything can be fair game and it will be fun to see what the kiddos come up with. Then plan out the course, this is a great way to work on sequencing and problem solving, how will the obstacle course work? What's first? Last? You can also work on collaborative play as they work with siblings or friends to build this course, have each child pick one aspect to plan so all ideas are heard. Target writing skills by having them write the start/stop signs, or write out the obstacles. Repeat the course as many times as necessary!

I designed this course so that I could challenge kiddos to complete jumping jacks, or other movements, on the taped X, crawl under or over the chair, jump into the pillows, bounce or lay on the ab ball, and using 2 hands together lift the weight in the air. 

** I would always suggest supervision for any gross motor activity. Safety first! I would also suggest a calming activity like play dough, Legos, or drawing afterwards to help the kiddos calm down.

Handwriting and Hand Manipulation

OT Activity of the Day:  Not your average Tic Tac Toe:  Targeted Age Range: 4-7

Supplies: Crayons/markers/pencils, Play-doh and paper.

Move away from the traditional "x" and "o" and you and your child can focus on practicing various upper case/lower case letters as well as spelling small words.  Use Play-doh and you can focus on bilateral coordination, pincer grasp, and overall hand strength.  Enjoy!

Scissor Skills and Handwriting

OT Activity of the Day:  Decorate your letters!  Targeted Age Range: preschool (3-5)

All you need are a pair of scissors, paper, crayons/markers, and some glue.

Helps with letter identification, spelling name or other sight words, improving scissor skills, if you chose to cut, or improving wrist/forearm rotation and fine motor manipulation, if you chose to rip paper instead.