It's GOLD

OT Activity of the Day:

Gold Medal

Target Age Range: 2 and up

Gold medals for all!  Today we're continuing with our Olympic theme and using our fine motor skills for the win.  This activity can be scaled up or down depending on the age and skill level of your child.  For the younger kiddos you can have the medal pre-cut and they can practice using markers, stickers, or glitter to decorate their medal.  This will give your child a chance to hone in on their fine motor manipulation skills. 

For the older kiddos you can have them first cut out their medals before decorating and they can then use the hole punch to make a hole in the medal for the string.  This is a great way to work on improving their scissor skills and hand strength.  Add an element of writing and have your child describe their medal or talk about what sport they would win their medal in and why.

All you need are scissors, a hole puncher, string, markers, stickers, and anything else you may want to use. Enjoy!

The Olympic Torch!

OT Activity of the Day:

Olympic Torch

Target Age Range: 2 and up

It's hard not to get sucked into the Olympic spirit.  So today we're making Olympic torches.  This activity can be scaled up or down very easily.  For the younger children you can have the torch part pre-cut and the work can be primarily on ripping the paper for the flame (paper ripping being a pre-cursor skill to cutting).  For the older kids they can cut, rip paper, and even draw other details, a fine motor dream.  As always, you can add an element of writing at the end and discuss your child's favorite sport or what they would do if they won a medal.

All you need are scissors, paper, glue, and crayons.

Enjoy!

Coffee Filter Butterfly

OT Activity of the Day:

Coffee Filter Butterfly

Target Age Range: 2 and up

This is a quick, yet fun, fine motor activity.  All you need is a round coffee filter, a pipe cleaner or clothespin, markers, and a squirt bottle.  First you flatten the coffee filter out and decorate with the markers any way you please.  Next is the fun part, take the coffee filter outside and spray it with water.  As the coffee filter becomes wet, the colors start to have a tie-dye effect, it's fun to watch.  Then bring the coffee filter back inside and let it dry for a minute or two. Lastly, grab your pipe cleaner, or clothespin, and pinch the middle together so that you can make the antenna! 

Want added fun?  Create a simple obstacle course around the house, or outside, to take the butterfly through.  You can always add an element of writing and have your child either describe their butterfly or create a story based on their butterfly.

This craft focuses on fine motor manipulation, tool use, and hand strength.  Enjoy!

It's a fish!

OT Activity of the Day:

Paper Fish

Target Age Range: 4 and up

An ideal OT activity targets several skill sets all at once: crayon or maker use, scissors, using two hands together, movement, and writing.  This activity includes all the above.  

For this activity you'll need: construction paper, scissors, markers or crayons, and a pencil.  First cut a long strip of paper, then bring the ends together and cut small slits on the opposing sides so that you can hook the two ends together.  Next, unhook the two ends so that you can use the crayons or markers to decorate the fish.  Lastly, put the fish together and cut out small triangles for the tails.  

For those kiddos that are older you can always have the child create a small story about their fish or describe their fish in a few sentences to add some writing.  If you want to provide your child with some movement and work on simple sequencing you can always set up a small obstacle course that your child can take the fish through.  The options are endless!

Enjoy!

Homemade Sling Shot

OT Activity of the Day:

Homemade Sling Shot

Target Age Range: 3 and up

I saw this on Pinterest and wanted to make this ASAP.  I've already used it a few times and it definitely works;).  Here's what you'll need for 1 sling shot: 1 plastic cup, 1 balloon, scissors, and either a pom or a ping pong ball.  First you cut off the bottom part of the cup as well a small top portion of the balloon.  Then cover the cut portion of the cup with some sort of tape to protect your hands from the sharp, jagged edges (I used painters tape).  After that you stretch the cut balloon out and over the top of the cup and you have a homemade sling shot!

This activity allows your child to use their hands together in a coordinated fashion in order to use the sling shot.  Bilateral coordination is essential for appropriate scissor skills and writing and this is a great way to practice that skill set.  Depending on how involved your child is in making the sling shot they will be working on fine motor manipulation and scissor skills as well.  Decorate the cup with markers and add more fine motor work to the mix!

Enjoy!  

Red Solo Cup Fun

OT Activity of the Day:

Body bowling

Target Age Range: 4 and up

I would say that most kids love to bowl and, in general, build towers and knock them over.  Why not combine the two ideas?!  Here I've used red solo cups and built a large tower.  Now I can have a child lay on their bellies, or sit, on the scooter board to scoot into the tower and knock it over.

This can focus on development in so many ways.  Building the tower out of solo cups can be tough and will require your child to use their upper body stability and light touch to build the tower carefully.  As your child self propels and scoots the scooter board towards the tower they are focusing on improving their postural and trunk muscles, both necessary for a proper seated position in a chair.  And, ff you would like, you can build two towers and have your child copy your tower which will focus on improving those visual motor skills.

Enjoy!

Kerplunk!

OT Activity of the Day:

Home Made Kerplunk

Target Age Range: 4 and Up

Continuing on the theme of using old toilet paper rolls, I made a home made kerplunk game!  All you need is an empty toilet paper roll, a hole puncher, some pipe cleaners and marbles.   

This is a great way to work on upper limb stability and smooth controlled movements as you and your child carefully pull the pipe cleaners out without disturbing the marbles.  Setting up and creating the game is also a great fine motor activity. It's targeting hand strength, problem solving, and fine motor manipulation.  

Enjoy!

Blast Off to Fine Motor

OT Activity of the Day:

Rockets!

Target Age Range: 4 and up

3...2...1...Blast off!  Looking for a use for those empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls?  Look no further.  Grab some scissors, glue or tape, construction paper, stickers, markers, and just about anything else and you too can make a rocket.  While making this, I can attest to the fact that your child will be challenged to use their scissor skills, bilateral coordination abilities, and their fine motor manipulation skills.  All three areas are key for an appropriate handwriting foundation so the more fine tuned these skills, the easier writing will be!

Do you have a younger child who would like to make a rocket?  Eliminate the cutting and have pre made shapes all ready for the child to glue or tape on.  What about an older child?  Add an element of writing and talk about where the rocket will go on it's journey.  

Fun for all ages, enjoy! 

5 Minutes of Fine Motor

OT Activity of the Day:

5 Minutes of Fine Motor

Target Age Range: 4 and up

I know I've said this a million times, but fine motor strength and manipulation is so important for those little hands and fingers.  The movements of your child's hands will be responsible for helping them write, button, tie their shoes, zip up their coat, open containers, and so much more. 

Here is a 5 minute fine motor challenge designed to move those fingers and strengthen up their hand: move the orange pom from start to finish while following the path.  I actually had a lot of fun making this and completing this task this morning, so I hope you and your child will as well!

Enjoy!

We Need More Space!

OT Activity of the Day:

Popsicle spacing tool

Target Age Range: 5 and up

When I'm assessing a child's handwriting, I'm looking at a few factors: letter placement, letter formation, letter sizing and spacing between words to name a few.  However, I've noticed over the years that the letters can be any size and floating all over the space, but if there is a space between the words, then it's more likely you'll be able to decipher the sentence.

There are so many ways to ensure that your child is spacing between words, and one fun way to do this is to create a spacer!  A spacer is any object that a child can place in between words to ensure that there is adequate space.  To make your own, grab a popsicle stick, decorate in any way you would like (a little fine motor work;)), and ta-da, you have a spacer that your child can bring to school and keep with them.  

Enjoy!

Paint, markers, dot markers, oh my!

OT Activity of the Day:

Decorate a telescope or binoculars

Target Age Range: 3 and up

Today is supposed to be a scorcher in the Washington, DC area.  If you're looking for an inside activity to keep your kids out of the heat, look no more!  Grab an empty paper towel roll (future telescope) or empty toilet paper rolls (future binoculars) and you can have hours of fun!

First you need to decorate, just grab whatever is available, it could be crayons, markers, paint, dot markers, etc...  I've tried to put stickers on a paper towel roll before, which was less than successful, however feel free to try it for yourself!

After you decorate your telescope or binoculars, your child can become an explorer (writing down all their finds throughout the day), a pirate (create a pirate ship!), or even just play "Eye Spy".  A great way to work on fine motor skills, ideation, and cooperative play while staying cool.

Enjoy! 

Hand Strength

OT Activity of the Day:

Feed the tennis ball!

Target Age Range: 3 and up

This is a client favorite.  In the past I've typically paired the tennis ball and beads with therapy putty, however the tennis ball is such a hit it can stand alone!

Here I've added dice to the mix and we have ourselves a little game.  First you take the dice, and shake them (in both hands, we want to work on that bilateral coordination) and roll them.  Then you take that amount of beads and feed the tennis ball one at a time. This is a very simple game and puts emphasis on improving the strength and manipulation in those little hands.  This is great practice for those kiddos who struggle with writing endurance and overall control.

Enjoy!

Shoulder Stability

OT Activity of the Day:

Color on the wall!

Target Age Range: 4 and up

Shoulder stability is important in the development of fine motor skills, most importantly, handwriting.  It's hard to use our hand muscles and control a pencil when our arm and shoulder are having a hard time maintaining their position!

A great way to focus on shoulder stability is to color on a vertical surface.  Now I know not everyone has a giant chalk board on their wall, so I used some painters tape and taped a picture to the wall as another example.  You can have your child sit on a more stable chair or you can use a therapy ball, or they can even stand up.  By placing the crayons, or chalk, on the floor, the child is not only working on shoulder stability, but they are also using their trunk muscles to bend over and pick up and put down the crayons.

Color and Enjoy!  

Yoga!

OT Activity of the Day:

Yoga memory game

Target Age Range: 4 years and up

So I found these images on Google, printed them off, cut them out, and glued them to paper. I now have a yoga memory game!  This game is great for those kids who struggle with coordination, motor planning, regulation, and short term recall.  You can play this game one of two ways, for example: you can have your child do the poses that they match right away, or you can save all the matches and do the poses all together at the end.    

For some yoga moves! https://www.sclhealth.org/blog/2019/07/learn-all-about-the-benefits-of-yoga-for-children/

Namaste and enjoy!  

Hole Punch Activity

OT Activity of the Day:

Hole punch fun!

Target Age Range: 3 and up

Improving handwriting is often what a pediatric OT is known for.  When a child comes in for handwriting help, most often the difficulty stems from a lack of hand strength and stability.  For these kiddos, in addition to remedial handwriting work, I also focus on building up their hand strength.  A hole puncher is often a very fun way of doing this.

Here I have made a lady bug and a snake.  I have put together and cut out 2-3 pieces of construction paper and used a hole punch in the top layers for the spots!  Not only are we working on improving hand strength but also bilateral coordination, a skill necessary for displaying appropriate cutting skills. 

Add an element of writing and create a story about your bug.  Enjoy!

Cutting Activity!

OT Activity of the Day:

Popsicle Fun

Target Age Range: 4 and up

By the age of 4 most children should be ready to start cutting out more complex shapes like circles.  A great way to practice this skill is to expose your child to various cutting activities.  Here I've made a popsicle out of construction paper and then decorated the popsicle with small pieces of paper and stickers.  

This is a great way to not only work on scissor skills, but you can also work on improving fine motor manipulation but adding the stickers, small pieces of paper that you need to glue and anything more you can think of!  

For the older kids you can add an element of writing by asking the child to describe and write what they made! Enjoy!

Improving Fine Motor Manipulation and Strength

OT Activity of the Day:

Building with Clothespins and popsicle sticks

Target Age Range: 4 and up

On my latest trip to Michael's I found these popsicle sticks and clothespins.  While I bought them for other uses, I found a few examples on Pinterest of children putting them together and building with them.  

This is such a great idea for so many reasons.  For starters, using clothespins is a great way to improve fine motor manipulation and strength, skills necessary for writing and completing other fine motor tasks (scissors, buttons, shoe tying, etc...).  It's also a great way to use one's imagination and build structures that basic blocks may not allow.  Lastly, it's a great way to practice problem solving, how are you going to use both these tools to build your structure?  

A fun rainy day or downtime activity for the summer!  Enjoy!

Improving Fine Motor Manipulation

OT Activity of the Day:

Dot Markers

Target Age Range: 2 and up

Around the age of 2 children start to learn to unscrew a twist top.  This skill will help them open a lid to a jar, turn a door knob or even unwrap small pieces of candy, yum!  To help facilitate this skill and the coordination of their little wrists, fingers and palms I often use dot markers.  Dot markers are great because each marker has a screw top as a lid.  These are motivating and fun and a great way to place emphasis on this skill set!   

I found these dot markers and coloring book at Michael's.  Enjoy!

Improving Fine Motor Manipulation

OT Activity of the Day:

Lego letters

Target Age Range: 3 and up

Legos and play doh, two kid favorites joined together for a perfect match!  This is a fun way to work on fine motor manipulation and letter formation in young kids.  Add more play doh and you can even work on creating words, or small phrases, for the older kids! You can press the legos into the play doh with the bumpy side down or the open side down, both will leave a fun print behind.  

This is a fun way to work on letters over the summer and throughout the school year!  Enjoy!

ImprovingWriting and More!

OT Activity of the Day:

Writing and tactile play

Target Age Range: 6 and up

This is a great handwriting and tactile activity for kiddos.  It's fun and works on so many different skill sets at the same time.  First you'll need a dark bag of some sort and then you can walk around the house and place random but identifiable items in the bag.  The object of this game is to then have your child stick their hand in the bag and grab an item.  Have your child think about what that object feels like, they can write down their tactile observations, and then guess what that item may be.    

This works on the child's ability to use their tactile sense only to identify something.  This skill is important because it is the same skill children need when digging around in their backpack or desk for an item.  Not only that but this activity expands on their ability to use descriptive language, critical thinking skills, and writing.  If you have a group of children you can subtract the writing portion and have one child describe what they're feeling to the other children who then have to guess what the object might be.  

Enjoy!