Roll a Frankenstein

OT Activity of the Day:

Roll a Frankenstein

Target Age Range: 2 and up

This is a fun activity that spans all ages!

For the young 2s you can just have them build to match your model (a great way to work on copying/imitating).

For the 3s-4s you can have them glue the pieces on Frankenstein (a great way to work on fine motor and sequencing).

For the 4s-5s you can put this into an obstacle course (work on sequencing), spread the face details out of the floor (to work on visual scanning), and even add some writing by describing Frankenstein or recalling the order in which Frankenstein was put together.

Enjoy!

Halloween Bean Bag Toss

OT Activity of the Day:

Halloween Bean Bag Toss

Target Age Range: 7 and up

I geared this activity towards my First and Second Graders and it was a big hit! It made that pesky handwriting work just a little more fun and excited and that’s always a win in my book!

For this activity I used my river stones, animal bean bags, and then the Halloween words I used with my Halloween bowling activity. The idea is that the child walks, one by one, on each river step, picks up the bean bag and then tosses it to the wall to try and hit a word. For each word they hit, they got to write on the dry erase board. When some kids did not hit any, they were able to pick 1-2 words they wanted to write and that worked just fine as well.

This is a great way to work on static and dynamic balance, under and overhand tossing, depth perception if you alternate big and little river steps, and of course, writing!

Happy writing and enjoy!

Pumpkin Decorating

OT Activity of the Day:

Pumpkin Decorating

Target Age Range: 18 months and up

This is an activity that you can do with just about any age. All you need is a picture of a pumpkin, something you can always find on Google image like we did!

This particular activity was designed for a 2.5 year old. We were working on using two hands together to rip pieces of paper from the strips I had cut. We were also using foam stickers to put on the pumpkin. Stickers in general are always a great fine motor activity, but foam stickers are my favorite.

Other pumpkin decoration ideas:

1. paint

2. glitter

3. sequins

4. crayons

5. dot markers

6. markers

7. cotton balls (and then paint them orange-or any color really)-great for different textures

8. pom poms

9. paper shreds

If you have an older kiddo, someone in Pre-K or Kindergarten, you can always add an element of writing. For your first graders and older, you can always have them write a descriptive sentence or two.

Halloween Matching Game

OT Activity of the Day:

Halloween Matching Game

Target Age Range: 5 and up

This is a super fun way to work on memory, short term recall, or basic attention with a child. I found these pre-made cards through the link below:

http://www.ck-creativekitchen.com/magazine/Kids/Holidays_-_Memory_game_free_printables/122

And then I backed them with black construction paper! Happy playing!

Witch's Brew

OT Activity of the Day:

Witch’s Brew

Target Age Range: 2 and up

If you have an empty tissue box or lysol wipe container, then you have a cauldron, just wrap it in black construction paper! From there you just need tongs (of any kind-or even a spoon), some pom poms, and then if you want to make “recipe” cards: paper and crayons.

Recipe Cards: I put different colored dots (and different amounts) on them and the children have to find the matching pom poms, great for sequencing, counting, and visual scanning.

If you have a younger child, 2-3, and you just want to work on the pincer grasp you can have them pick up the pom poms one at a time with their fingers and place them in the cauldron.

If you wanted to just work on hand strength you can skip the “recipe” cards and just use the tongs to pick up the pom poms one at a time.

Any way you want to play, it’s a fun and festive game for the season! Enjoy!

Dot Markers

OT Activity of the Day:

Dot Markers

Target Age Range: 18 months and up

My son, Max, loves dot markers. To play with these, I typically give him a lot of space and since dot markers are known to bleed through paper pretty quick, I like to use cardboard. This was a box from a wine delivery (I mean how else do we get through this pandemic?!) and I just broke it down and laid it out for us to use!

Dot markers are great because you can work on manipulating a twist top to use them. This is something that Max is getting pretty good at and something that we look for in child development before the age of 4. For us in this activity today, we talked a lot about the colors and then basic imitation. If you have a child who’s a little bit older, you can always make shapes for them to fill in, or you can work on basic line, shape or letter identification.

Stay safe and enjoy!

Halloween Sensory Bottles

OT Activity of the Day:

Halloween Sensory Bottles

Target Age Range: 2 and up

Disclaimer: Yes, VOSS bottles would’ve worked better, however, I had some leftover regular water bottles and decided to put them to good use. While tough to see in the photo, you can see Halloween items and glitter in real life!

Today we made a Halloween sensory bottle. This is a great activity to work on the pincher grasp in your young child (they have to pick up the glitter to put in the bottle as well as all the tiny toys) and works well as a sensory/calming bottle for when our kiddos need a moment to calm themselves down.

To fill our sensory bottle we used mostly water and then some clear hand soap. While I recognize that hand soap may be a hot commodity these days, if you have some to spare, make a sensory bottle! We also used toys and items of varying weights so that they fell at different speeds.

Halloween Bowling

OT Activity of the Day:

Halloween Bowling

Target Age Range: Kindergarten and up

This was a quick activity that I threw together for one of my handwriting kids. This created a fun way to work on writing. Depending on how many pins were knocked down, I had the child pick only 1-2 so the activity did not become overwhelming. While I worked on writing just the words, feel free to have your child turn these words into sentences!

Ghosts!

OT Activity of the Day:

Ghosts!

Target Age Range: 18 months and up

Over the weekend, my son, Max, and I made a ghost! We used “press and seal” wrap, painters tape, black construction paper (for the eyes), and cotton balls!

My main goal with this activity was for him to practice using his fine motor skills by pulling apart the cotton ball before placing it on the wrap. But this is an excellent activity to work on “coloring” inside the lines if you wanted to create an outline for a ghost. This is also a great activity to do in high kneel, or on one knee (something Max did independently and I loved it haha).

A few other variations:

1. placing the ghost higher up on the wall and working on standing on tip toes

2. having a child sit, or straddle, a peanut ball while completing this activity working on core activation/stability

3. have your child practice their scissor abilities and have them cut out the eyes and mouth (something I didn’t add here, but can be added on yours!)

Have fun and I hope everyone is staying safe!

Spooky Letters

OT Activity of the Day!

Spooky Letters

Target Age Range: 2 and up

This is a great way to get into the Halloween spirit and work on early fine motor grasping patterns and therapist/teacher/parent directed activities. This is also a fun way to work on letter identification. While I used one letter, you can make a name or spooky word!

I used a cotton ball and clothespin as my paintbrush because I liked the texture the cotton ball gives, but you can use a standard paint brush. You can also use a cork, just a cotton ball, a q-tip, or even dot markers!

Enjoy!

Shape Tree

OT Activity of the Day!

Shape Tree

Target Age Range: 2 and up

This is a quick prep activity and can cover a wide variety of skills! This activity was initially designed to work on shape and color identification, however it ended up being a great activity to work on “on/off” concepts as well! If your child is working on letter recognition you can always have the letters on the leaves.

This is a great activity to work in high kneel or seated on the ground or in a chair. You could also have the child straddle a peanut ball and work on trunk stability by bending to either side to collect the designated shape/color.

All you need is construction paper and some “press and seal “ plastic covering or clear contact paper, either will work!

Enjoy!

Basket of Apples!

Basket of Apples!

Target Age Range: 2 and up

Today I used this activity in several ways:

1. For my young Preschooler (2.5) we worked on balancing on our tiptoes to place the fallen apples back into the basket. This worked on dynamic balance as we squatted down and then stood up on our tiptoes.

2. For my older Preschoolers (4.5) we worked on visual scanning and placed the apples all over the wall. At the end of our obstacle course we had to locate an apple and place it in the basket before getting back on the course.

3. For my older Preschoolers/Kindergartners (5 and 6) we walked along the balance beam and collected the apples along the way through dynamic balance work. Sometimes I had the apples on the beam and sometimes the child had to reach past the beam and onto the floor. As they passed the apples they had to bend down and collect them so we could place them into the basket at the end.

Enjoy!

Name Tree!

Name Tree!

Target Age Range: 4 and up

It’s apple picking season and what better way to celebrate than with making a name tree in OT:). This is a great activity for your Preschoolers and Kindergarteners. It targets fine motor strength/endurance, fine motor control, early grip positioning, and name writing/sequencing. Oh and I almost forgot scissor skills. All and all it’s a fine motor dream!

Fun fact: coloring inside the lines is a great way to work on fine motor control. A skill later needed to write legibly and on the lines.

I found the apple pictures on Pinterest when I searched for “apple coloring pages”. Here I drew a tree, however you can always have your child trace their hand if you’re looking to add some bilateral coordination practice into the mix. If having your child trace their own hand is too tricky, you can always trace it for them:).

Enjoy!

Handwriting Woes

“I hate writing!” Since most schooling has been done at home these past few months, have you noticed that your child seems to avoid writing at all costs? Do meltdowns occur around tasks that involve handwriting? If so, there could be an actual skill deficit that is keeping your child from reaching their true writing potential! Here are some common underlying issues that can have a negative impact on your child’s handwriting potential:

1. It could be a hand strength issue. This could be noted by “sloppy” writing or difficulty properly holding the pencil.

2. It could be visual perceptual issues. This means that your child may have more difficulty following the lines when writing and reversals.

3. It could be visual motor issues. This means that it may be difficult for your child to properly copy or create letters/words that they see.

4. It could be an attention issue and it’s hard for your child to sit and focus. This could be evident by any difficulty sitting still.

5. It could be a combination of a few, which can often be the case.

Whatever the issues, handwriting does not have to be a “chore”. With help from your occupational therapist, we can identify the issue(s) and establish a plan that will help your child move forward on their writing journey.

This Fall we will be offering handwriting groups both in person and virtually. This can be a fun way to work on writing and takes some of the pressure off of you, the parent. If you’re interested in enrolling your child in a handwriting group, or for a handwriting evaluation and therapy in general, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Melissa Grant, the Director of FUNdamentals, at OTcanbeFUN@gmail.com.

Building Letters and Shapes

Building Letters and Shapes

We are continuing with our “building” theme this week at Camp Splish Splosh. Today we used wikki stix and pop its (I honestly do not know what they’re called, I ordered them from Amazon and the wording on the bag is in a language I’m not familiar with).

This is a great way to work on prewriting skills/writing skills. Some children needed to work on building shapes from a model, some worked on building letters from a model and some worked on building words independently. The pop its are always a great way to work on fine motor stability (pushing them together) and motor planning (you have to turn them sideways to pop them together).

So if you have a Preschooler or rising Kindergartner and you would like to work on some prewriting/writing skills, grab some wikki stix or beads and enjoy!

Stay safe everyone!

Marble Mazes!

Marble Mazes!

This week at Camp Splish Splosh we’re talking about “building”. This can be building all sorts of things. Today we built marble mazes!

We used shoe boxes, game tops, and Amazon boxes, straws, and painter’s tape to create our very own marble mazes. This is a great fine motor and problem solving activity. First we had to cut up the straws so we had both big and little obstacles for the marbles. We then were able to work on ripping tape (a skill all children can stand to work on) and taping the straw pieces down (a great multiple step challenge). The trick was to make sure that we were able to build a maze that allowed the marble to move from one side of the box to the other, something that was a perfect challenge for all campers:).

You can also do this with legos or empty toilet paper rolls if you do not have straws.

Have fun and stay safe!

OT FUN with Shaving Cream Part 2!

OT FUN with Shaving Cream Part 2! Building at Camp Splish Splosh:).

Today at camp we were building to a model and we were using shaving cream to help! This was a great way to work on visual motor skills (copying skills) in a fun way:). We pre-made the models, an activity that does not take long at all, and easily done at home. The children were so into using the shaving cream that they didn’t even realize they were working on important prewriting skills! So if you have blocks and shaving cream then you too can have Camp Splish Splosh style fun!

Stay safe and enjoy!

OT FUN with Shaving Cream Part 1

OT FUN with Shaving Cream Part 1! Giving the dinosaurs a bath! I actually did a car wash with toy cars at a home visit, but the dinosaurs were all I had in the clinic. So give anything a bath:).

This is a great activity for not only our sensory seekers, but those that need a little help with their hand strength! For our sensory seekers it’s a great opportunity to play with shaving cream. An activity I might suggest for outside time if you have a kid who is serious about their sensory play;).

For our kiddos who need some hand strengthening work, the use of the spray bottle is for them! The kids are so excited to give the toys a bath they’re not even aware they’re building strength in their hands! Try to see how long they can use their dominant hand by itself!

This is an activity I would suggest be done outside or in a large container with towels underneath, it’s going to get messy!

Stay safe and enjoy!

OT FUN at Home

Today in our “OT FUN at home Telehealth Series”, we had a “nail salon”! I’ve seen activities like this on social media and for all those who have done this before me, let me tell you all the great things you were working on!

First, coloring in general is a great fine motor activity. If you practice staying in the lines then you’re working those teeny tiny muscles in the hand that are responsible for writing, the perfect muscle set to build up in those young hands.

Second, while coloring in general is great, if you used crayons or colored pencils then you’re working even more on fine motor endurance. Markers mark on paper easily without much effort from the child, crayons or colored pencils require more effort to produce marks and therefore promote more fine motor strength and endurance.

Third, this is the opportunity to work on coloring in patterns or promoting your child’s imagination by adding to the hand, maybe the person is wearing a watch or a ring or a bracelet, or all three!

So now that you know what skills you’re promoting, keep coloring in those hands!

Stay safe and healthy!

Painting with Empty Toilet Paper Rolls!

Today at Camp Splish Splosh we painted with empty toilet paper rolls. While group work looks different these days, we’re moving forward and adjusting to the times. Each child painted on their own paper plate and once the plates dry, we will be taping them to a large mural and, there you go, group work in the age of COVID!

This was a fun fine motor activity and can be done in just about any household. All you need are empty toilet paper rolls, paint, and something to paint on! We opted for paper plates due to their sturdy nature, however you can use regular paper if you’d prefer!

Happy painting! Stay safe and healthy!