Colleen Beck OTR/L

Colleen Beck, OTR/L is a pediatric occupational therapist and the owner and author of The OT Toolbox website. She manages all of The OT Toolbox social media accounts and runs the popular newsletter. Read about Colleen's experience and career as an occupational therapist, including how The OT Toolbox began on our About The OT Toolbox page: https://www.theottoolbox.com/about-us/ Colleen created The OT Toolbox in 2011 and since then has written thousands of blog posts designed to support therapy providers, educators, parents, counselors, admin, and caregivers in promoting the healthy development of kids. Check out Colleen's blog posts below:

Christmas Sensory Bins

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Winter sensory bin with child's hand, and jingle bells on a floor. Text reads "Christmas Sensory Bins"

In this blog post, you’ll find fun and easy Christmas sensory bins to use as fun sensory play activities during the holiday season. These festive sensory bin activities are tactile and sensory motor play ideas that support learning and development. You can add these ideas to your Christmas occupational therapy activities in the clinic or home! Kids love this winter sensory bin!

Winter sensory bin with child's hand, and jingle bells on a floor. Text reads "Christmas Sensory Bins"

Christmas Sensory Bins

Sensory bins are sensory play activities in a container, offering tactile and sensory motor input with imagination and fine motor benefits. Therapy providers love sensory bins because they can offer a unique and enjoyable way to engage reluctant children who may initially be hesitant about engaging in the sensory elements of tactile defensiveness challenges.

We wanted to put together a collection of Christmas sensory bin ideas to allow kids to immerse themselves in the holiday season through the exploration of their senses. Add these ideas to some of our other Christmas sensory activities to support needs, as well.

Therapy providers love them because a sensory bin is an easy way to support a variety of OT intervention goal areas with one therapeutic tool. Whether creating one for a group of children in therapy or tailoring it to a specific child’s needs and preferences, Christmas sensory bins are a great way to engage their senses, including touch, smell, and sight. 

With Christmas sensory bins, children can engage sensory motor skills that impact fine motor development.

Fine motor skills like digging, touching, scooping and pouring, and interacting with the various tools and items in the bins are tools for development.

Adding in holiday themes results in a rich, multi-sensory experience that helps them embrace the holiday spirit.

How to create Christmas Sensory Bins

Need a basic guide to support your inspiration and begin creating a fun and engaging sensory bin for kids? Here are tips to use Christmas sensory bins in therapy sessions or at home. The nice thing is that you can tailor the holiday sensory bin ideas listed below to meet a variety of needs and sensory preferences:

  1. Select a Sensory Bin Container- Choose a container that works for your space, transport, or any specific child’s needs, and don’t forget to consider durability too! The most popular are plastic storage bins, but you can also use trays and wooden bins, and we’ve even seen cardboard boxes such as shoe boxes used as well. 

We’ve used sensory bins like:

2. Select a Base Material- Choose the type of base material that can be used to represent the festive Christmas holiday, such as fake snow, cotton balls, colorful tinsel, shredded paper, white rice, white beans, Epsom salt, or even white kinetic sand. This gives a snowy or wintery foundation. 

Here are our recommendations for sensory bin fillers and therapeutic considerations for each type.

3. Christmas Sensory Bin Themes- Next is coming up with a theme for your sensory bin. This is where the fun starts to begin! You could make it about a Christmas movie or book, a favorite holiday tradition, or something more tailored to each specific child. Think about movies like The Polar Express, The Grinch, Elf, A Christmas Story, A Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Prancer, etc. 

You could also do Christmas themes like:

  • reindeer
  • gifts
  • Christmas trees
  • stars

4. Gather Christmas themed sensory bin materials- Choosing the bin items can be so much fun, but can be a lot of work if you choose to change the bin up frequently for individual children. For a Christmas-themed bin consider plastic Christmas trees, toy trains and tracks, a sled with reindeer, plastic or plush figures like Santa and his elves, Christmas string lights, miniature gifts and stockings, tree ornaments, small nutcrackers, etc. 

You can add sensory bin cards that have letters or numbers on them too. You can find some in our Christmas Therapy Kit and can be used to find letters and then work on writing them. Some therapy providers even use a candy cane to practice writing the letter or number in a sensory writing tray after the sensory bin card is found.

5. Consider sensory implications- Now is when you work to individualize it more as the sensory piece is what you are attempting to address with this tool. Think about all of the senses and how you might be able to enhance the sensory experience with the themed bin.

Consider adding these sensory items to your Christmas bin:

  • jingle bells and instruments for sound,
  • cinnamon sticks, cloves, or peppermint for scent, 
  • textured materials like sandpaper, mini-pinecones, beads, pom-poms, colored pasta, cotton, and soft fabric for touch,
  • colorful base materials such as red and green filler items like dry green split peas, red and green pom-pom balls or plastic gems, shiny tinsel, garland, and colorful ornaments for visual appeal.
  1. Add Fine Motor Tools- You can add a hands-on interactive element with the use of tools such as spoons, scoops, mini-shovels, tongs, and whisks.  This adds a sense of movement while engaging fine motor skills and play opportunities.

Tips for Christmas Sensory Bins

If you’re using a Christmas sensory bin in therapy, there are a few things to consider. You’ll want to use the sensory bin with as many kids on your caseload as possible, because setting up a Christmas sensory bin can be a bigger task. The benefit is that you can accomplish many goals with this one treatment too.

It’s also very motivating for kids, so when the holiday break is looming and kids are a little less attentive, a Christmas sensory bin can be motivating and engaging to support therapy participation.

Consider these things when creating your Christmas sensory bin:

Safety of Therapy Clients- The use of sensory bins should always be supervised, especially if there are small objects that could be a choking hazard for kids. 

You’ll want to support the needs of each individual, so that might mean you have to remove some items before the session starts.

Cleaning Up the Therapy Space- It’s important to note these bins encourage open-ended exploration, so you should anticipate and consider that play might become messy. To make clean-up easier, consider placing a tablecloth or bed sheet underneath and around the bin – you’ll thank yourself later! 

You can involve the kids, and make it a functional life skill…sweeping up sensory bin items, cleaning up the space, and other IADLs to clean up the space are a great activity for the last 5 minutes of a therapy session.

Rotating Sensory Bins- Another tip for your Christmas bin (especially as the holidays come to an end); Consider rotating a variety of items within the bin to keep it fresh and engaging for children. You can rotate the items periodically, and consider introducing new sensory elements and other seasonal surprises. If you have a Christmas movie theme you can easily change out items to match the movie. Think about the change of items based on the timing of the upcoming Christmas holiday. Kiddos love to help with this too! 

Now that you have the tips to create your holiday sensory bin, let’s get to the ideas!

Christmas Sensory Bin Ideas

There are multiple Christmas sensory bin ideas out there if you just look around, but if you do not have time for that, we’ve got you covered! Just take a look at the ideas we have gathered for you below:

There are several ideas in our Christmas Carol sensory bin post, or you can try the ideas below.

Child reaching for items in a Frosty the snowman sensory bin with silver tinsel, baking soda dough snowmen, cotton balls, clothes pins, and red and green gems.

Frosty the Snowman Sensory Bin– Make the soda dough and use it in a sensory bin with flour or corn starch. This can be a messy play sensory bin, but it’s a good chance to practice hand washing skills.

Christmas sensory bin made with green split peas, potpourri, cinnamon sticks, and pine cones

Christmas Nature Sensory Bin– Use dry split peas as a green sensory bin base. Then add Christmas items such as pine clippings (soft branches), pine cones, cinnamon sticks, and pine cones. This holiday sensory bin has a festive scent!

Small child reaching for an ornament in a Christmas ornament sensory bin in a basket

Christmas Ornament Sensory Bin– Add plastic or soft Christmas ornaments to a basket for a toddler sensory bin. This is a fun way to explore holiday decorations and work on visual motor skills.

Christmas Pom-Poms sensory bin– Add craft pom poms in Christmas colors to a tactile and fine motor theme. Simply freeze red, white, and green pom-poms and use warm water tools to free them.

Here’s how:

  • Wet and freeze a sensory bin quantity of red, white, and green pom-poms of all sizes to represent the Christmas season. 
  • Once they are frozen, bring the pom-poms out of the freezer and place inside of a sensory bin. 
  • When presenting the frozen pom-pom sensory bin, be sure to place a towel underneath it, you’ll thank yourself later.  Then present a series of warm water tools such as eye droppers, ketchup or mustard bottles, water squirters, etc. for the child to spray and work on freeing the frozen pom-poms from their frozen despair. 

Christmas Search & Find sensory bin with a tactile and visual theme of seek and find by Still Playing School. Color acini de pepe pasta red, combine with green split peas, and add Christmas-themed objects. 

Here’s how:

  • Color the acini de pepe pasta read with use of gel food coloring and a little bit of vinegar in a bowl and then let it air dry in thin layer on large tray. Once dry, combine the pasta with green split peas inside of a sensory bin and viola you have festive Christmas colors! (Note: When the pasta dries it will be in small chunks, so children can work on breaking them apart into smaller pieces.)
  • Then add some fun Christmas erasers, tiny play gifts, festive foam shapes, etc. Really, you can add anything you want to your Christmas ‘I Spy’ bin just take a look around your belongings and add what creates a festive search and find atmosphere in the bin. 
  • You can choose to add small tools to the bin that will encourage scooping, pouring, digging, and picking out items.

Christmas Lights & Rice open play sensory bin with the visual appeal of colorful mini-by 3D Dinosaurs. Fill a bin with white rice and small ceramic Christmas tree light bulbs for scooping and picking out using tools. 

Here’s how:

  • Fill the sensory bin with simple white rice. 
  • Add some ceramic Christmas tree light bulbs which are like small pegs. 
  • Then toss in a couple of cups and some tweezers to help with scooping and picking out light bulbs from the rice. 
Red and green Christmas jingle bells on the floor

Jingle Bell Sensory Bin– A Jingle Bell Christmas sensory bin with the auditory theme of jingle. Dye pasta green, add colorful bells, and provide tools for sorting and stringing. Add colorful containers for sorting the jingle bells.

Here’s how:

  • Dye your pasta of choice green with use of green coloring gel. Think about dyeing wagon wheels, rotini noodles, and shells. Let them air dry.
  • Once they are dry, toss them into a sensory bin and add in some festive colored bells. 
  • Use an upcycled egg carton with the sections colored to match the jingle bells. You could also use other small containers or ice cube trays and a tablespoon or even a set of tongs for children to sort them into the trays. 
  • Add pipe cleaners and children can string the bells.
Candy cane moon dough sensory bin on a tray with red and white bowls and a child's hand scooping moon dough with a spoon

Candy Cane Scented Moon Dough sensory bin with the olfactory theme of mint. Create red and white moon dough with red and green food coloring, add peppermint oil, and customize with objects based on the child’s needs. 

Here’s how:

  • Color moon dough with red and green food coloring and then add a bit of peppermint oil. Let it dry.
  • Once the rice is dyed, scented, and dry, fill a sensory bin and place on top of a towel. (This helps with clean up later.)
  • It’s your choice to add whatever you want to the bin based on the child’s specific needs. 
Christmas sensory bin with red, green, and silver tinsel, cookie cutters, and Christmas bows

Tinsel & Christmas Bow sensory bin with the tactile and visual theme of tinsel.  Use festive-colored tinsel and include red, green, and white holiday bows for digging and sorting. Add cookie cutters and Christmas bows for a variety of tactile input.

Here’s how:

  • Gather festive colored tinsel and fill a sensory bin.
  • Place red, green, and white Christmas bows into the bin for a dig and find activity.  
  • You can have plates or cups to have children sort and collect each color of bow. 
sensory bin in a pencil case with black beans as a sensory base and yellow stars. Child's hand reaches for a yellow star

Christmas Star Sensory Bin– Make a mini sensory bin with the tactile and auditory theme of dry beans and miniature stars (love this unique material base). Fill a container with the dry beans and stars. Add tongs or tweezers.

Here’s how:

  • This is a unique sensory bin where you use dry black beans as your sensory bin filler. You can choose whether to cut our foam or paper stars or use star manipulatives and toss them into the bin. 
  • Toss in some holiday-colored bells and pom-poms to add the festive flair to the bin. 
  • Grab some bottles and have children sort the stars from the dry beans and then shake the bottles to hear the difference. 

Gingerbread Man sensory bin with a fine motor emphasis while building tactile (brown rice) and olfactory (nutmeg) while building gingerbread men with cookie cutters by Pre-K Pages. Fill a bin with brown rice, add gingerbread-themed objects, and provide scooping and pouring tools. 

Here’s how:

  • Gather brown rice for this bin. If you desire, you can dye the rice a darker shade of brown and scent it with nutmeg by mixing nutmeg spice into brown liquid watercolor that you will then use to dye the rice. Let the rice dry and then fill a sensory bin.
  • Add colorful pom-poms that are the same color as gum drops. Add some gingerbread play toys and cookie cutters. Gather measuring cups and spoons for scooping and pouring.
  • Let children free play with this sensory bin and add other gingerbread themed items to make it more festive. 
Christmas nativity sensory bin with egg carton people

Nativity Scene sensory bin with a spiritual theme that provides the opportunity to reinforce the Christmas story with kids and is easily paired with many children’s books that tell the story of Jesus’ birth. Use dry corn or beans as the filler, and include nativity scene pieces for retelling the Christmas story. 

Here’s how:

  • Use dry corn or beans for a sensory bin filler.
  • Add whatever nativity scene pieces you may have on hand such as foam or wooden wise men, shepherds, sheep, camels, Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, angel, star, etc. 
  • Another sensory bin filler for this spiritual theme could be straw or shredded brown paper with the same nativity scene pieces. 
  • Read the story and act it out with the nativity pieces. 

Find the Christmas Bells sensory bin has a tactile theme with use of shaving foam by Science Sparks. Fill a bin with shaving foam and add Christmas bells for a tactile experience. 

Here’s how:

  • Use shaving foam to fill a sensory bin or tray and then add Christmas bells.
  • Children can use their fingers or a pair of tongs to retrieve the bells from the foam and then wipe the shaving foam from them. 

Christmas is just around the corner and incorporating sensory bins into your holiday activities can be a fun and therapeutic way to engage with children, encouraging creativity and learning during the Christmas season. Follow the step-by-step guide we’ve provided, and reduce your stress of creating a bin allowing your creativity to take command and shine! Now, go and build a unique Christmas sensory bin that you and your kids will enjoy exploring this Christmas holiday!

Christmas Sensory Bin Fillers

All of the holiday sensory bin ideas can be adjusted to meet the needs of all kids. Try adding these items for more tactile sensory input:

  • Pine Cones– Natural pine cones provide a tactile experience and a festive scent.
  • Cinnamon Sticks– Cinnamon sticks add a wonderful aroma and a unique texture to the sensory bin.
  • Bells– Jingle bells of different sizes contribute to auditory stimulation and visual interest.
  • Fake Snow– Artificial snow or white sensory material can create a wintry atmosphere.
  • Ornaments– Plastic or shatterproof ornaments in various shapes and colors for visual and tactile exploration.
  • Tinsel or Garland– Strands of tinsel or garland provide a shiny and reflective element.
  • Holiday-Themed Cookie Cutters– Use cookie cutters in the shape of Christmas trees, stars, or snowflakes for cutting and molding activities.
  • Miniature Trees– Small artificial trees can add a three-dimensional aspect to the sensory bin. You can find these at a Dollar Store.
  • Baubles– Colorful and lightweight baubles can be included for sensory exploration.
  • Ribbon Strips– Cut pieces of festive ribbon for sensory play and visual interest.
  • Sleigh Bells– Include sleigh bells for additional auditory stimulation.
  • Pompoms– Soft and colorful pompoms in holiday colors for tactile exploration.
  • Candy Canes (Wrapped)– Wrapped candy canes provide a sweet scent and a textured surface.
  • Holiday Lights (Battery-Operated)– Use battery-operated string lights to add a warm and festive glow.
  • Red and Green Rice or Lentils– Dyed rice or lentils in Christmas colors for a unique sensory texture.
  • Gingerbread Men or Holiday Shapes (Foam or Plastic)– Foam or plastic holiday shapes for tactile exploration and creative play.
  • Scented Playdough– Make or purchase scented playdough in holiday scents like peppermint or gingerbread.
  • Wrapping Paper Scraps– Small pieces of festive wrapping paper for crinkling and tearing.

Have you played with a Christmas sensory bin this time of year? It’s a holiday activity that kids love!

Regina Allen

Regina Parsons-Allen is a school-based certified occupational therapy assistant. She has a pediatrics practice area of emphasis from the NBCOT. She graduated from the OTA program at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute in Hudson, North Carolina with an A.A.S degree in occupational therapy assistant. She has been practicing occupational therapy in the same school district for 20 years. She loves her children, husband, OT, working with children and teaching Sunday school. She is passionate about engaging, empowering, and enabling children to reach their maximum potential in ALL of their occupations as well assuring them that God loves them!

Looking for done-for you therapy activities this holiday season?

This print-and-go Christmas Therapy Kit includes no-prep, fine motor, gross motor, self-regulation, visual perceptual activities…and much more… to help kids develop functional grasp, dexterity, strength, and endurance. Use fun, Christmas-themed, motor activities so you can help children develop the skills they need.

This 100 page no-prep packet includes everything you need to guide fine motor skills in face-to-face AND virtual learning. You’ll find Christmas-themed activities for hand strength, pinch and grip, dexterity, eye-hand coordination, bilateral coordination, endurance, finger isolation, and more. 

Click here to grab the Christmas Therapy Kit.

Fine Motor Play with Tissue Paper

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Colorful tissue paper squares crumbled up and placed in two plastic water bottles. Text reads Crumbling paper activity and lists the fine motor benefits of crumbling paper.

Today we have a tissue paper crumpling activity (or paper crumbling!) that builds many fine motor skills, including hand strength. In this easy tissue paper fine motor activity, we are working on pinching and crumbling paper is an excellent fine motor exercise for children.  It is an activity that works the small muscles of the hand and really strengthens the arches of the hands. 

Colorful tissue paper squares crumbled up and placed in two plastic water bottles. Text reads Crumbling paper activity and lists the fine motor benefits of crumbling paper.

There are many fine motor benefits of crumpling paper into small pieces!

Paper Crumpling

Paper crumpling (or paper crumbling) is a great way to play with paper that builds fine motor skills in the hands.

If a child has weak muscles in their hands and the arches are not defined, you may see them holding a pencil or small items between their thumb and the side of their index finger.  The arches of their hand may not be defined and nice and round.  You may also see them holding their hands close to their chest as they attempt to gain stabilization of their arms to do the small motor task.

To really work those muscles, you could have your child first tear the bits of tissue paper before they crumble them up.

Defined arches are very important in shoe tying, handwriting, and managing clothing like buttons and snaps.

You can see how to incorporate tearing paper into this activity using the video below. Towards the end of the video, you’ll see ways to build fine motor strength and finger dexterity using crumbled paper pieces. The tissue paper squares that we are using in our activity today can be used like shown in the video for more finger strengthening exercises.

Working on fine motor skill development through play supports functional tasks, plus it’s fun!

Paper Crumpling Activity

We came up with this tissue paper crumbling activity many years ago, and it still stands as a great way to work on skills:

We’ve talked about the benefits of tearing paper before, and this activity expands on the skills a bit, because after you tear the tissue paper, you can have your student crumble the paper and then push it into the mouth of a water bottle.

While this is a really simple fine motor activity, it’s great because you build so many skills, and kids typically enjoy this simple task.

Tissue Paper Crumbling Activity

For this activity, you really can use items you have on hand. We used empty plastic water bottles, and colorful tissue paper squares.

  1. Cut tissue paper into small squares.
  2. Remove labels from plastic water bottles.

To increase the fine motor work, you could have the student rip pieces of the tissue paper to really increase grip strength work.

Ask the student to take one piece of tissue paper, and crumble it up with their finger tips.

Then, they should push the crumpled tissue paper into the empty water bottle.

You can make this activity a game by asking them to roll a dice and place that many squares of tissue paper into the bottle. Or you could have them sort colors by filling each water bottle with a single color.

 

plastic water bottles full of crumbled tissue paper and tissue paper squares on a table
 
This was an easy and fun little activity to throw together.
We have a bunch of little tissue paper squares in our craft supplies.  Put them next to a couple of empty plastic bottles, and the kids know what to do!
 
 
 
Pushing the tissue paper into the spout of the water bottle is great for encouraging a tripod grasp (using the thumb, index, and middle finger).
 
Holding the bottle with the non-dominant hand allows the child to work on their bilateral hand coordination (using both hands together in a coordinated manner…kids need this when they begin shoe tying and managing the zipper on their coat).
 
When you ask kids to crumble paper using just the tips of their fingers, you really isolate thumb IP joint flexion as they bend the tips of the fingers. This is needed for dexterity and precision skills in functional tasks such as writing with a pencil.
 
collage of child placing crumpled tissue paper into an empty plastic bottle, child holding plastic water bottle full of crumbled tissue paper, and water bottle and tissue paper squares
 
…And everyone loved the cool crunchy sound the bottle made when you squashed it!
 
Child holding a plastic water bottle full of colorful tissue paper
 

 

There are so many ways to build skills with this simple tissue paper crumpling activity!

More fine motor fun…

Working on fine motor skills, visual perception, visual motor skills, sensory tolerance, handwriting, or scissor skills? Our Fine Motor Kits cover all of these areas and more.

Check out the seasonal Fine Motor Kits that kids love:

Letters Fine Motor Kit
Kit de motricidad fina de verano
Summer Fine Motor Kit
Outer Space Fine Motor Kit
Space Fine Motor Kit
Spring fine motor kit
Valentines Day fine motor kit
winter fine motor kit
Winter Fine Motor Kit

Or, grab one of our themed Fine Motor Kits to target skills with fun themes:

Want access to all of these kits…and more being added each month? Join The OT Toolbox Member’s Club!

Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

Candy Cane Puzzles

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Child cutting a candy cane puzzle with text reading "free candy cane puzzles"

Today’s free printable candy cane puzzles are a fun Christmas occupational therapy activity that supports skill-building this time of year. Are you searching for a creative and educational solution to enhance your child’s fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, scissor skills, and visual perception? Look no further! In this blog post, we’re unveiling the secrets behind free candy cane puzzles and providing you with a free printable PDF to get started.

You could pair these candy cane puzzles with our peppermint moon dough for multisensory play.

child cutting a candy cane puzzle with scissors. Text reads "free candy cane puzzles"

Why use mini candy cane puzzles?

We’ve created several versions of these mini puzzles over the years. They are all available inside The OT Toolbox membership club. However, we do have a free version of our pumpkin puzzles here. We love using these mini puzzles for many reasons. It’s a great Christmas fine motor activity and when used in sensory bins, can even be a Christmas sensory activity for this time of year.

Let’s break it down.

The thing is that puzzles are a fine motor learning tool that supports several crucial developmental milestones in children.

Building puzzles in occupational therapy sessions is a fantastic activity that contributes to the development of various underlying skills in individuals, especially in children. Puzzles are a nice way to support carryover of skills at home as well.

Here are some key skills that are enhanced through puzzle-building:

  • Visual perceptual skills: Looking for puzzle pieces on a table that fit in a specific space in a puzzle uses skills such as form constancy, visual closure, visual figure ground, visual attention, and visual spatial relationships.
  • Problem Solving: Puzzles require individuals to analyze the situation, develop a strategy, and apply logical reasoning to find a solution.
  • Critical Thinking: Engaging with puzzles encourages individuals to think critically, evaluate options, and make decisions based on available information.
  • Fine Motor Skills: manipulating pieces, pressing puzzle pieces into the space they fit, these tasks support finger isolation, separation of the sides of the hand, coordination, and more.
  • Hand-Eye Coordination: Manipulating puzzle pieces and fitting them together promotes the coordination between visual information and hand movements.
  • Precision and dexterity: Placing smaller pieces accurately hones fine motor skills, aiding in tasks that require controlled hand movements. Puzzles can sometimes be a tool used in manual dexterity goals in OT.
  • Shape Recognition: Sorting and fitting puzzle pieces into specific spaces enhance spatial awareness and the ability to recognize shapes. This is a task that is great for developing skills in letter recognition.
  • Visual Discrimination: Distinguishing between colors, patterns, and details in puzzle pieces develops skills needed for distinguishing between letters, numbers, and shapes. These skills include form constancy.
  • Visual Memory: Remembering the shapes and patterns of puzzle pieces helps improve short-term and visual memory.
  • Pattern Recognition: Identifying recurring patterns in shapes and colors in the puzzle pieces supports memory and cognitive flexibility. Here is more information on the skills used in pattern recognition.
  • Collaboration: Working on puzzles with others fosters collaboration, teamwork, and communication skills.
  • Turn-Taking: Sharing the activity requires individuals to take turns, promoting patience and social interaction.
  • Vocabulary Building: Discussing the puzzle, describing pieces, and talking about the process contribute to the development of vocabulary. This includes Expressive Language (explaining one’s thoughts and strategies during puzzle-solving) and receptive language skills.
  • Emotional Regulation: Building puzzles supports several areas of emotional skills including Frustration Tolerance (facing difficulties in puzzle-solving helps individuals develop patience and manage frustration when confronted with challenges.) and Sense of Accomplishment (successfully completing a puzzle boosts self-esteem and a sense of accomplishment).
Child putting together pieces of a candy cane puzle

These underlying skills make puzzle-building a versatile and valuable activity for individuals of all ages, contributing not only to academic readiness but also to overall cognitive, social, and emotional development.

Here is a video we made showing how to use these candy cane puzzles in developing skills:

Print off these free candy cane puzzles and build skills this holiday season!

How to use candy cane puzzles in OT sessions

If using a mini puzzle with a holiday theme seems like a fun way to build skills, you can use the free candy cane puzzles we have here on the site.

  • Step 1: Download the free printable PDF with candy cane puzzles.
  • Step 2: Color the candy canes to work on visual motor skills. Coloring is a great fine motor task.
  • Step 3: Cut out the squares for simple cutting tasks. Then cut on the curved lines.
  • Step 4: Build the puzzles by matching the lines to target fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, scissor skills, and visual perception.

You can use these several ways, including building puzzles by grading the activities. Offer the student just one or two puzzles at a time to make the activity simpler. Or, increase the number of puzzles to sort the different shapes and line forms.

You can also place the puzzle pieces in a sensory bin or in OT obstacle courses to support different skills.

Before diving into this hands-on activity, ensure you have the following:

  • Tools: Scissors, printer, and colored markers/crayons. Here are our favorite types of scissors to use to meet different needs with scissor skills.
  • Safety: Supervise scissor use to prevent accidents.
  • Laminate: You can laminate these puzzle pieces for durability.

Free Candy Cane Puzzles

Incorporating free candy cane puzzles into your child’s routine can be both fun and beneficial. Download the free printable PDF today and witness the transformative impact on your child’s developmental journey. Take a proactive approach to learning through play!

These candy cane puzzles are delivered by email. Enter your email address into the form below and the printable will be delivered to your email inbox. OT Toolbox members can log into their account and access this printable under our Christmas activities.

FREE Candy Cane Puzzles

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    Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

    Looking for done-for you therapy activities this holiday season?

    This print-and-go Christmas Therapy Kit includes no-prep, fine motor, gross motor, self-regulation, visual perceptual activities…and much more… to help kids develop functional grasp, dexterity, strength, and endurance. Use fun, Christmas-themed, motor activities so you can help children develop the skills they need.

    This 100 page no-prep packet includes everything you need to guide fine motor skills in face-to-face AND virtual learning. You’ll find Christmas-themed activities for hand strength, pinch and grip, dexterity, eye-hand coordination, bilateral coordination, endurance, finger isolation, and more. 

    Click here to grab the Christmas Therapy Kit.

    Learn to Dress Toys

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    images of clothing fasteners- buckle, button, zipper, shoe with shoe laces, and text that reads "learn to dress toys"

    This blog post on learn to dress toys, was originally written 11-10-2014 and was updated 12-4-2023.

    Occupational therapy practitioners work with children on a variety of self-care tasks, one of them being teaching kids to dress themselves. Because of that, we often use learn to dress toys in building dressing skills like managing zippers, buttons, the sensory motor skills involved with clothing snaps, tying shoes, etc. In this blog post, you’ll find information on what age should a child dress themselves as well as toy recommendations to make the self-care task of children dressing themselves fun and engaging through dressing skills toys.

    images of clothing fasteners- buckle, button, zipper, shoe with shoe laces, and text that reads "learn to dress toys"

    Learn to Dress Toys

    Looking for toys to support kids in self-care, especially in independence with self-dressing skills? These occupational therapy toys are fun ways to build skills in self care! 

    Parents often question when should child dress themselves, and there is much to consider. We cover all of the fine motor skills needed for dressing skills in a different blog post, because there are many underlying skill components that are needed for getting dressed.

    When it comes to learn to dress toys, we can foster the development of getting dressed skills in kids because the toys make working on these sensory motor skills more engaging and fun. When paired with a toy or dressing skills doll, the self-care task becomes part of the play, combining functional performance areas.

    In order to play with the learn to dress doll, a child needs to manage the buttons, snaps, zippers, etc. And, if they are playing with a dressing toy that has small clothing, or other fasteners like clips or buckles to place the doll into a stroller, they are are strengthening fine motor skills.

    The play easily meshes with the functional performance area of self-dressing because the same motor planning skills are used and can be transferred to self-dressing.

    We’ll cover specific toy recommendations for teaching dressing skills below. First, let’s go over the dressing developmental milestones for each age range. It’s important to know these general dates and dressing milestones because the toy recommendations can follow these guidelines. Also, when parents ask about when should a child be able to dress themselves, this information can go hand-in-hand with toy ideas to support developmental milestone progression.

    Dressing Developmental Milestones

    Teaching children to get dressed on their own can be a tricky subject.  Kids achieve many developmental milestones at different ages and teaching independence skills can be frustrating.  The ability to dress oneself is a self-care task that is part of child development.

    Teaching kids to get dressed depends on many small splinter skills that make up the end result of clothing on, fasteners done, and child ready to go for the day.  

    Learning to get dressed takes time and it depends on the development of fine motor skills, gross motor skills, visual-motor skills, and even self-confidence.  Children may reach some milestones ahead of “schedule” and require more time or practice to reach others.  It is important to remember that every child is different. 

    Childhood Milestones for Getting Dressed

    Here, we are sharing some approximate self-care milestones in dressing for kids and toys that can help with this skill. Remember that every child is different and the age ranges listed below are approximate.

    This list of dressing milestones for each age is progressive, meaning that the list includes the milestones attained previously. Skills will progress as sensory and motor skills are accomplished. Previously achieved milestones may become easier, more fluent, and automatic as the child develops.

    Dressing Skills for a One year old: 

    • Takes off socks
    • Helps with pushing arms through sleeves

    Dressing skills at Eighteen months:

    • Removes shoes

    Dressing skills for Two years old:

    • Helps with pushing down pants
    • Helps with pulling on socks
    • Pushes arms through sleeves once shirt is over head
    • Removes hats
    • Assists with pants by pushing legs into pants
    • Unbuttons large buttons

    Dressing skills for Two-and-a-half years old:

    • Attempts buttons
    • Able to pull on an open front shirt or jacket with assistance
    • Removes open front shirt/coat (without fasteners)

    Dressing skills for Three years old:

    • Puts socks and shoes on 
    • Able to pull on a shirt correctly
    • Able to put on shoes (may be wrong feet)
    • Able to put on socks (may be incorrectly oriented)
    • Able to pull up a zipper if engaged
    • Able to button large buttons

    Dressing skills for Three-and-a-half years old:

    • Able to unzip a jacket
    • Able to unbuckle a buckle- Buckle toys are great for this skill!
    • Able to pull shirt on and orient clothing (front to back correctly)
    • Takes off shirt and pants

    Dressing skills for Four years old:

    • Buttons coat or shirt
    • Able to put socks on with correct orientation
    • Able to initiate zipper by inserting one side into the zipper carriage

    Dressing skills for Five years old:

    • Put shoes on correct feet
    • Dresses independently

    Dressing skills for Six years old

    • Zips/unzips independently
    • Ties shoes

    Dressing skills for Seven years old and older:

    • Chooses clothing appropriate to the weather

    Each of the dressing skills noted above can be generalized, according the the needs of the individual. For example, children from various cultures or environments may have different types of clothing or clothing fasteners that are required at various ages. These differences may mean more or less exposure to different dressing skills.

    Toys to help kids learn to get dressed

    Now that we’ve covered dressing milestones and ages, let’s go over some toy suggestions for dressing skills.

    The learning to dress toys include a variety of options:

    • Learn to dress dolls
    • Zip, button, buckle, tie dolls and toys
    • Dressing boards
    • Dress up puzzles
    • Clothing fastener supports
    • Dressing lap pads
    • Getting dressed supports like fun visual tools
    gift guide toys for helping kids to learn to dress themselves independently

    When a child needs to work on some skills for their independence, toys can be the way to go!  These toys are great for developing independence in dressing skills.  This post contains affiliate links.  

    Sequencing Toys for Dressing Skills

    Picture sequencing puzzles like this What Happens Next puzzle (affiliate link) is great for kids who need to gain insight into concepts of before and after.  You can not put your shoes on before you put your socks on.  Cognitive concepts can be tricky for children to understand if auditory processing of these ideas are difficult.

    These picture puzzle pieces are not all about dressing skills, but the first, second, last sequence and order words are a helpful first step for children learning to get dressed on their own.

    Books about learning to get dressed

    These learn to get dressed books support skills like why wearing appropriate clothing for the weather is important. They can be a great way to incorporate discussions of interoception into the task of self-dressing skills.

    Oliver West Gets Dressed (affiliate link)  is a fun book for the smallest children.  This book will introduce terms and language needed for independence in getting dresses.

    “Ella Sarah Gets Dressed” (affiliate link) is a fun book to read for getting dressed ideas.

    These toys to work on clothing fasteners are dressing boards. They can be incorporated into play by using in different positions, in sensory play, and in obstacle courses.

    Working on buttons, snaps, and other fasteners is great for practicing on boards, books, and dolls.  However, it is often difficult for children to relate the skills they learn on these tools to real clothing that is ON their bodies.  

    Manipulating clothing and fasteners is actually OPPOSITE movement patterns when fastening these same fasteners on the body verses on a board or doll that the child is looking at.  

    This Special Needs Sensory Activity Apron (Children & Adult Sizes)(affiliate link) solves that issue as the child can manage the clothing fasteners right on their lap.  This is so great for children with motor planning difficulties.  

    You could also use a Montessori Buttoning Frame with Large Buttons Dressing Frame (affiliate link) and lay it right on the child’s lap.

    Children’s Factory Manual Dexterity Vests – Button-Zipper Combo Vest (affiliate link) is a good way to practice buttons and zippers right on the child.

    Other dressing board toys include (affiliate links):

    Sometimes managing a zipper can be difficult because grasping the zipper is ineffective or clumsy.  A large zipper pull can make managing the zipper on clothing or a backpack much easier.  

    These 4 pcs Large Flowers Zipper Pull / Zip pull Charms for Jacket Backpack Bag Pendant (affiliate link) are great for flower lovers, or maybe your child would rather have cool princess zipper pulls (affiliate link). You could also incorporate crafting and make your own DIY zipper pull fidget using a pipe cleaner and beads.

    More fine motor practice can be done with the Buckle Toy “Bentley” Caterpillar (affiliate link). I actually love this for the Toddler age set who LOVE to buckle car seats, high chairs, and all things buckles.  This cute little caterpillar also works on numbers for pre-math learning, too. Here are more of our favorite buckle toys for therapy.



    Practice basic clothing fastener skills like buttons, zippers, snaps, and ties with the Melissa & Doug Basic Skills Board(affiliate link).  The bright colors are fun and will get little fingers moving on clothing fasteners.

    Learn to Dress Dolls

    The nice thing about using learn to dress dolls is that they are a part of play and make the skill-building fun. However, just because the phrase “learn to dress doll” has the word “doll” in it, doesn’t mean that you can only find dolls that offer these sensory motor skills. There are learn to dress figures and toys like monkeys and other fun figures.

     Learning to Get Dressed Monkey (affiliate link) is a fun toy for clothing fasteners.

    Here are other fun learn to dress doll options (affiliate links)

    Dress Up Puzzles

    There are dress up puzzles and mix and match dressing toys that help younger children to play with and explore different clothing options. This is nice for those struggling with clothing options based on weather or activity.

    Some of our favorite dress up puzzles include:

    Responsibility Chart for Getting Dressed:

     I Can Do It! Reward and Responsibility Chart (affiliate link) is a great idea for kids that need a little motivation to be independent.  Making the morning routine smoother can make a big difference in independence.  Older kids may benefit from this chart for self-confidence or working on responsibilities. 

    Shoe Tying Gifts

    There are many shoe tying toys out there…

    Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wood Lacing Sneaker (affiliate link) is a fun toy for shoe tying practice. The big, chunky shoe makes it fun.  Sometimes different colored shoe laces help when a child is learning to tie shoes.  I love these Easy Tie Shoelaces (affiliate link) that come in two different colors.

    Other toys that build skills…

    Gift Guide: Toys to Promote Improved Pencil grasp

    Gift Guide: Toys for Sensory Play

    Ages of typical development for children in getting dressed. Developmental milestones for independence.
     

     

     

    Do you have any favorite learn to dress toys, dressing boards, or dress up dolls?

    Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

    Amazon Deals for Occupational Therapy

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    Amazon Prime deals for occupational therapy

    In the ever-evolving world of pediatric occupational therapy, finding the right tools and toys to support sensory motor development in children is a question that comes up often. Parents often ask OT providers for their therapy toy recommendations to support their child’s developmental needs. And the fact is that OTs and OTAs often build their own supply of therapy tools and toys using their own funds…so finding the very best deals out there is essential.

    Amazon Prime deals for occupational therapy

    That’s where this Amazon deals for occupational therapy tools comes into play!

    You may even want to consider some of these Amazon deals for OT providers as an occupational therapy gift…to make the therapy provider’s day a bit easier and more fun!

    These links below are Amazon affiliate links in which commissions are earned from qualifying purchases. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Amazon Deals for Occupational Therapy

    If you’re an occupational therapy provider dedicated to enhancing a child’s motor skills…

    or a parent seeking the perfect playtime solutions for your little one’s developmental journey…

    or a teacher looking for the best Prime Day deals to fill your classroom with the best developmental toys and tools…

    Because we get questions all the time about what’s the best developmental toys for the kids we serve, we decided to put together a blog post with the best deals out there for sensory, motor, and developmental toys!

    From fine motor finger dexterity to gross motor coordination, our picks of the Prime Days deals on toys and items used in occupational therapy will hopefully help you with savings on toys that not only captivate young hearts but also facilitate their growth.

    Let’s get to the deals!

    Amazon affiliate links are included below.

    Amazon Prime Day Deals for Occupational Therapy

    We do have The OT Toolbox Amazon storefront (commissions earned) listings over on Amazon, and this is probably the best place to find toys and items for specific underlying skill areas. You’ll find toys for gross motor, handwriting, visual motor skills, sensory diets, and more.

    And, for printable lists of toys (because parents are constantly asking for toy recommendations around the holidays and for birthdays), we have our free printable lists of toys recommended by occupational therapy providers.

    While those are great resources for therapy providers and anyone working with kids, this blog post will highlight some of the deals happening right now…

    Occupational Therapy Deals on Amazon

    We love these deals on toys that support development:

    Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese Pizza– 20% off (Amazon affiliate link-commissions earned)

    • The game Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza is so much fun and a real challenge for building attention, focus, and hand-eye coordination skills.
    • Work on visual motor skills and fine motor skills to hold and sort cards.
    • Modify the game to grade it easier or harder.

    Gravity Maze– 20% off (Amazon affiliate link-commissions earned)

    • Gravity Maze is an awesome tool for supporting and developing skills in visual memory, visual tracking, visual scanning, fine motor skills, and executive functioning skills.
    • Use the easy cards to grade the game easier or use the challenging cards to make it more difficult.

    Sequence Game– 55% off (Amazon affiliate link-commissions earned)

    • Sequence is a great game for developing skills in executive functioning areas: sequencing, planning, prioritization, task completion, etc.
    • Also work on visual scanning, memory, visual attention, fine motor skills, gross motor reach, dexterity, and more.

    Yeti in My Spaghetti– 10% off (Amazon affiliate link-commissions earned)

    • Yeti in My Spaghetti is a fun fine motor game for all ages. Target fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, grasp and dexterity, precision skills, wrist extension, and more.
    • It’s a great executive functioning skills for younger kids, too.

    Spoons– 40% off (Amazon affiliate link-commissions earned)

    • Spoons is a traditional card game that older students and players will love. This set comes with a convenient carrying case and color coded spoons.
    • Target visual motor skills, visual perception, scanning, fine motor skills, executive functioning skills, and more.
    • It’s a great executive functioning skills for older kids, too.

    Pickle Picker (set of 2)– 20% off (Amazon affiliate link-commissions earned)

    • A pickle picker is always in my therapy bag. Use it to build strength and stability in the base of the thumb in open thumb web space tasks
    • Push down on the spring loaded button to isolate the thumb IP joint for strength and precision work.
    • Sort small items like mini erasers or craft pom poms.

    Rainbow Sorting Bears, Colorful Containers, Dice, and Tongs- 44% off (Amazon affiliate link-commissions earned)

    • Colorful and stacking bears for pincer grasp, precision, and fine motor development
    • Includes colorful pots for sorting by color, with shapes for visual perception and visual motor skills
    • 3 different dice to improve fine motor skills and visual motor skills.
    • Includes activity book and mini tweezers, GREAT for hand strength!

    8 Colorful Mini-Tongs– 21% off

    (Amazon affiliate link-commissions earned)

    • Mini tongs for building hand strength, intrinsic strength, open thumb web space, and arch development.
    • Includes 8 colors, GREAT for sorting colorful items like craft pom poms or crumbled up pipe cleaners

    Magnetic Block Set– 66% off (Amazon affiliate link-commissions earned)

    Amazon deal for occupational therapy-blocks
    • These Magnetic Blocks are great for building hand strength, and pinch strength. Press them together for resistance work.
    • Plus work with them on a vertical magnetic surface to build core and shoulder strength.
    • Great for visual motor skills.

    Fine Motor Cactus Counting Activity Set– 45% off

    (Amazon affiliate link-commissions earned)

    prime deals for occupational therapy
    • These colorful cactus counters offer young learners an engaging way to explore math concepts while honing their fine motor skills with a tripod grasp.
    • Pushing the counters into the holes supports hand strength.
    • As children sort, count, and create patterns with these fine motor counters, they develop crucial visual motor skills, visual perceptual skills, hand-eye coordination through learning.

    Gross Motor Indoor Climbing Toy– 44% off with $10 off coupon

    (Amazon affiliate link-commissions earned)

    gross motor climbing toy
    • This one is a bit pricier, but for the parent who is looking for an indoor toy that offers a sensory break, heavy work, and multiple motor skill tasks, this climbing toy hits the mark.
    • Support skills like balance, coordination, core strength, upper body strength, grasp strength, and more. It’s a brain break toy and sensory diet tool all in one.

    Learning Resources Sorting Surprise Pirate Treasure– 27% off

    (Amazon affiliate link-commissions earned)

    • This set is a fine motor treasure trove! Kids can develop visual perceptual skills to match the correct shaped key to the treasure chest.
    • Then, use fine motor grasps to manage the key and open the chest.
    • Then, manipulate and sort coins and matching colorful items. This toy is a goldmine for visual perception, fine motor, eye-hand coordination, and visual motor integration all in one.

    More therapy Toys on Amazon

    We’ll update this post regularly with Prime Day deals or everyday Amazon deals for therapy skills. Stay tuned! For more specific therapy toy recommendations, check out our toy lists:

    Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

    Baking Soda Dough Snowman

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    baking soda dough snowmen

    This post on baking soda cornstarch dough was originally written January 22, 2014 and updated November 18, 2023.

    Many years ago, we made this baking soda dough cornstarch recipe to make baking soda dough snowmen. It was a fun sensory play activity for Christmas, and one of the many Christmas occupational therapy activities that we love to do with kids to support tactile play and sensory touch. However, you could extend the play out to all of the winter months, along with our other Winter fine motor activities.

    Today I have something fun to share: baking soda cornstarch dough! We tried a baking soda dough recipe and used it to make snowman in a way to help kids strengthen fine motor skills and hand strength.

    Just playing with the baking soda cornstarch dough has so many benefits. Specifically, we’ve covered the fine motor benefits of play dough (and soda dough counts in that regard!)

    If you’ve been a follower of this website for long, you know that we are big fans of play dough, salt dough, clay…any dough is tops in our house! It’s a great way to build fine motor skills with a fun sensory dough activity.

    We’ve tried a lot of different recipes for different doughs and have our favorites, definitely.  We wanted to make some snowmen one day and tried a new (to us) recipe…Baking Soda Dough!    

    Baking soda dough and soda dough snowmen to help kids build fine motor skills.

    Baking Soda Cornstarch Clay

    Ingredients:

    • 1 cup baking soda
    • 1/2 cup cornstarch
    • 3/4 cup water

    Instructions to make Baking Soda Cornstarch Clay:

    1. In a medium-sized saucepan, whisk together the baking soda and cornstarch.
    2. Gradually add the water to the dry ingredients, stirring continuously to avoid lumps.
    3. Place the saucepan over medium heat and continue stirring the mixture. As it heats, the mixture will start to thicken.
    4. Keep stirring until the mixture reaches a clay-like consistency. It should pull away from the sides of the pan and form a soft, pliable dough.
    5. Once the desired consistency is reached, remove the saucepan from heat and allow the mixture to cool.
    6. Once the baking soda clay is cool enough to handle, transfer it to a clean surface and knead it for a few minutes to make it smooth and more pliable.

    Now, your baking soda clay is ready for sensory play! Children can use it to create shapes, textures, and engage in imaginative play. It’s a great way to promote fine motor skills and sensory exploration.

    If you’re using this recipe in an educational or therapeutic setting, you might consider incorporating elements that align with child development principles. For example, you could guide children to create shapes related to their fine motor skill development or use the clay to explore different textures for sensory input.

    Baking Soda Dough

    Add this activity to your snowman crafts and activities line-up or if you are using snowman in a therapy theme. More snowman activities can be found here:

    Snowman bilateral coordination activities– Our baking soda dough snowmen make a great addition to the snowman themed bilateral coordination activities shared in a previous post. Rolling, pinching, and manipulating baking soda dough supports bilateral coordination development.

    Snowman Fine Motor Craft– Add the baking soda snowmen to a fine motor theme when it comes to using snowmen in helping kids develop skills.

    Baking Soda Dough is the neatest stuff to play with.  This soda dough was soft and easy to mold into little snowmen.  Rolling the balls of dough with the hands is a powerful way to help kids develop hand strength.

    In fact, kids can improve intrinsic hand strength using dough by rolling small pieces with their fingertips. The kids loved playing and creating with our soda dough.  It was easy to roll little snowmen bodies and  so we made a bunch!   

    lump of baking soda dough on a blue plate

     We were inspired to make soda dough before Christmas when we made thumbprint reindeer ornaments for Christmas gifts to grandparents.  Jen over at Mama.Papa.Bubba. made these Baking Soda Clay Ornaments and we thought they were beyond adorable!  They made perfect little gifts from the kids. 

    It was an easy recipe to follow and perfect for little hands to mold, roll, and smash!  

    child's hands pressing lump of baking soda dough on a table

    We made these Soda Dough Snowmen one day when Little Nephew was over to play.  The toddlers were big fans of this dough!  They had so much fun making snowmen…we ended up making 12!

    child's hand rolling baking soda dough into a snowman

      Pinching, rolling, stacking…this was great fine motor play here!  Working the dough uses the small muscles of the hand (the intrinsic muscles) that are so important for small motor activities like button management and endurance in coloring and handwriting. 

    child's hand holding a ball of baking soda dough in the palm of their hand

    Once we had our family of snowmen, I put them on a cookie sheet and let them dry for two days.  At the end of two days, they were still a little soft, so I then threw them into the oven set at 150 degrees F.  I let them bake for about 2 hours and they seemed to be hardened up. 

    If you make snowmen like ours, keep an eye on them in the oven.  It will probably take longer if you bake them from the onset.   

    Our snowmen were hardened and ready for play and pretending. 

    Want more ways to boost fine motor skills with a snowman theme or winter theme? The Winter Fine Motor Kit is on sale now!

    winter fine motor kit

    This print-and-go winter fine motor kit includes no-prep fine motor activities to help kids develop functional grasp, dexterity, strength, and endurance. Use fun, winter-themed, fine motor activities so you can help children develop strong fine motor skills in a digital world.

    More than ever, kids need the tools to help them build essential fine motor skills so they develop strong and dexterous hands so they can learn, hold & write with a pencil, and play.

    This 100 page no-prep packet includes everything you need to guide fine motor skills in face-to-face AND virtual learning. Includes winter themed activities for hand strength, pinch and grip, dexterity, eye-hand coordination, bilateral coordination, endurance, finger isolation, and more. 

    Click here to grab the Winter Fine Motor Kit!

    Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

     

    Dinosaur Game Kids Love

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    dinosaur game spinner and toy dinosaurs on white background with text that says "dinosaur gross motor game"

    If you have kids, you probably have heard of the dinosaur game on Google where a click of a button sends a T-Rex running across the screen. However, we have a dinosaur game that challenged active movement, balance, and gross motor skills. This dinosaur game is a huge hit among kids. It’s a movement-based dinosaur activity that kids of all ages love. If you are looking for creative dinosaur games to use in therapy, at home, or in the classroom, then be sure to add this dinosaur game for kids to your list!

    dinosaur game spinner and toy dinosaurs on white background with text that says "dinosaur gross motor game"

    Use the dinosaur game below along with these dinosaur exercises and other dinosaur themed activities in therapy sessions. You can even incorporate handwriting and visual motor skills into dinosaur games with this printable dinosaur visual perception worksheet.

    toy dinosaurs beside game spinner. Text reads "dinosaur game"

    As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Dinosaur Game

    The dinosaur game described below is an older blog post here on the website, but it’s a gross motor activity that is well-loved for many reasons.

    There is just something about the stomping and roaring of a dinosaur game that takes me back to my own kids at their preschool ages! This is an older post here on The OT Toolbox, but one that is one of my absolute favorites.

    Plastic toy dinosaurs laying on white table with game spinner. Text reads "dinosaur movement game"

    We read the dinosaur book, Dinosaurumpus by Tony Mitton…and created a fun dino game that the kids loved! Our dinosaur movement game inspired tons of giggles and wiggles as we moved our way through this book with a gross motor activity!  

    The gross motor coordination tasks and motor planning skills make this dinosaur game the perfect addition to dinosaur physical therapy and dinosaur occupational therapy themes.

    When kids play this dinosaur movement game, they build skills in areas such as:

    The specific activities in the game allow kids to develop skills such as hopping, jumping, twisting, stomping, and other gross motor tasks.

    How to Play the Dinosaur Game:

    We’ve included Amazon affiliate links in this post for the book and items you’ll need to create the DIY Dinosaur game.    

    Have you read the book, Dinosaurumpus!?  (affiliate link) This is a book that is sure to get the kids moving with it’s loud and active rhymes as the dinosaurs dance an irresistible romp. 

    Using this book and the game you’ll find here together is a great dinosaur game for toddlers and preschoolers to address listening skills, comprehension, and regulation through movement and play.

    My kids couldn’t help but move and groove as I read them the story.  We had to make a movement gross motor game to go along with the book!  

    We talked about the fact that dinosaurs have big feet and big bodies that sometimes move too fast in the space around them.

    This is a great lesson on body awareness that kids can relate to while developing balance and motor planning skills!

     

    Dinosaur movement game for kids. This gross motor game is based on Dinosaurumpus the book and is a great activity for auditory and visual recall in kids.

     How to make the Dinosaur Game

    You’ll need just a few items to prepare the dino game for use in therapy or at home:

    • Dinosaur printable below
    • Cardstock or cardboard
    • Brad to attach the spinner
    • Mini dinosaur figures

    To make the spinner for the dinosaur game:

    1. Make this game easily using our free printable for the game board. We listed out the dinosaurs in the book and the actions they did.    
    2. These went onto a game spinner that I made on  card stock. (affiliate link)
    3. We used dinosaur figures for part of our movement game.  These ones (affiliate link) are a great deal!  
    Free dinosaur game printable

    Dinosaur Game Printable

    To play the dinosaur movement game:

    This is a dinosaur movement activity for preschool and older aged kids. Use in in the classroom or home as part of a story and reading activity, or use it as a dinosaur brain break in the classroom. 

    First print out the free printable.  You’ll also want the game rules for easy play and the spinner piece.  

    1. Print your printable on card stock (affiliate link) OR you can use regular printer paper for the game board, but the arrow won’t spin as well. You may want to print the game spinner on paper and then glue to cardboard for more sturdiness during (active) play. Make your game board and ensure the arrow spins using a brass fastener (affiliate link).
    2. One player hides the dinosaur figures (affiliate link) around the room or outdoor play area.  
    3. The first player spins the arrow and reads the action.  He or she then races off to find one of the hidden dinosaurs.  
    4. When she finds a dinosaur, she races back and performs the action.  

    Hide dinosaur figurines and use them in the dinosaur game for preschoolers and toddlers to develop motor skills.

    There will be shakes, stomps, jumps, and TONS of giggles with this gross motor activity!   

    We loved this game activity for it’s gross motor action.  It would be a great activity for rainy day fun or indoor play when the kids need to get the wiggles out.  Racing off and remembering the action they must perform requires a child to recall auditory and visual information necessary for so many functional skills.  

    Dinosaur game rules for kids
    Child's hand spinning a game spinner for a dinosaur game with words for gross motor skills: stomp, shake, run, dance.

      We hid the dinosaurs in all sorts of fun spaces in the house.  

    Child spinning a game spinner with words like dive, jump, twist, spin, shake, stomp like dinosaurs.
    Spin the wheel on the dinosaur game to support fine motor skill development, too.

    The dinosaurs in the book, Dinosaurumpus! (affiliate link) move a lot!  Get ready for stomping, shaking, diving, dancing, running, jumping, twisting, and spinning!  

    Child jumping in a living room

    My kids love any kind of scavenger hunt game and this one, with its movement portion, was a HUGE hit!

    Three plastic dinosaur toys beside dinosaur game spinner

     Gross motor skills are important to develop through play.  It’s essential for attention and focus to build core body strength.    

    More Gross Motor Games

    Looking for more ways to work on gross motor skills like core strength and proximal stability for improved attention and distal mobility?

    Some more of our favorite gross motor activities that you will love:  

    .

    If you are looking for more dinosaur activities for kids, be sure to check out our Dinosaur Jacks activity to promote more motor skills, and our Dinosaur visual perception worksheet to work on visual perceptual skills.

    Dinosaur game for kids that is a great preschool dinosaur activity for gross motor skills.

    dinosaur gross motor activities

    Want to use our dinosaur games in your therapy sessions with a dinosaur theme? We’ve pulled together a few dinosaur gross motor activities that you can use to target gross motor skills and development of skills.

    Here are some dinosaur-themed gross motor activities that kids will love…In The Member’s Club, you’ll find a dinosaur therapy theme, with printable handouts, worksheets, crafts, and writing pages. Use them along with these ideas!

    1. Dinosaur Stomp: Have children pretend to be dinosaurs and stomp around like mighty T-rexes or long-necked sauropods. They can make dinosaur noises and use their arms and legs to imitate the movements of different types of dinosaurs.
    2. Dino Obstacle Course: Set up an obstacle course with dinosaur-themed challenges. Children can crawl under “dinosaur caves” (tables or chairs), jump over “lava pits” (hula hoops or cushions), and navigate through “swamps” (pools of pillows or cushions).
    3. Fossil Hunt: Hide dinosaur-themed toys or fossil replicas around a designated area. Children can search for the fossils, using their gross motor skills to move around, crawl, and reach for hidden treasures.
    4. Dino Dance Party: Play lively dinosaur-themed music and encourage children to dance and move their bodies like dinosaurs. They can stomp, sway, and wiggle to the rhythm, pretending to be different types of dinosaurs.
    5. Dino Relay Race: Divide children into teams and set up a relay race. Each team member can carry a toy dinosaur or a picture of a dinosaur as they run or hop from one point to another, passing the dinosaur to the next teammate.
    6. Dinosaur Yoga: Incorporate dinosaur-themed yoga poses into a session. Children can try poses like “T-rex stretch” (standing with arms extended out like T-rex arms), “Dino Egg” (curling up into a ball on the floor), or “Stegosaurus Balance” (standing on one foot with arms extended out for balance).
    7. Dino Limbo: Set up a limbo stick or a dinosaur-themed rope and have children take turns bending backward to go under it, pretending to be dinosaurs crouching or ducking under obstacles.
    8. Dino Footprints: Place large cutouts or drawings of dinosaur footprints on the floor. Children can follow the footprints, jumping from one to another, and imitating the movements of different types of dinosaurs.
    9. Dino Toss: Set up targets with dinosaur pictures or cutouts and have children throw soft dinosaur toys or bean bags at the targets, aiming for accuracy and coordination.
    10. Dino Parade: Lead a dinosaur parade where children can march or walk around, following a designated path, while carrying or wearing dinosaur-themed props or costumes.

    We wanted to touch on the skills that you can develop by playing a version of this dinosaur game, depending on the individual needs of the child you are working with in therapy sessions, or at home.

    Dinosaurs have captivated the imagination of children and adults alike for generations…and many kids are fascinated by dinos of all types! That’s what makes this dinosaur therapy game a hit. You can develop specific skills with a fun dinosaur activity.

    Let’s take a look at how you can target enhancement of gross motor skills, balance, visual scanning, endurance, and coordination.

    Our featured dinosaur game provides an immersive experience that not only thrills young players but also becomes a valuable tool in the hands of therapists. Let’s delve into the therapeutic benefits it brings to the table.

    Dinosarur game Gross Motor Skills

    In the world of dinosaurs, movement is key. Players are prompted to engage in activities that encourage reaching, stretching, and crawling, promoting the development of essential gross motor skills.

    These movements are fundamental for a child’s overall physical development, making the game a dynamic tool for therapists targeting this aspect.

    Mastering Balance

    Surviving in the dinosaur era requires a keen sense of balance, right? Kids can play this dinosaur game and challenge skills like balancing on one foot, staying in one position, freeze dancing, and balancing on their tip toes.

    The game incorporates elements that challenge players to maintain equilibrium, fostering the improvement of balance skills.

    Therapists can leverage these challenges to enhance a child’s ability to control their body’s position, a skill crucial for everyday activities.

    Work on grading skills and challenging balance development by targeting more difficult tasks like:

    1. Single Leg Stance:
      • Description: Standing on one foot.
      • Purpose: Enhances static balance and weight-bearing control.
    2. Tree Pose:
      • Description: A yoga pose involving standing on one leg with the other foot resting on the inner thigh of the supporting leg.
      • Purpose: Challenges static balance and encourages weight shifting and offers proprioceptive input.
    3. Tip-Toe Standing:
      • Description: Rising onto the balls of the feet.
      • Purpose: Strengthens the muscles in the lower extremities and promotes ankle stability during daily activities.
    4. Half Kneel Position:
      • Description: Kneeling on one knee while keeping the other foot flat on the ground.
      • Purpose: Improves dynamic stability and challenges core strength during functional tasks.
    5. Squats:
      • Description: Bending the knees and lowering the body as if sitting back into a chair.
      • Purpose: Targets lower body strength and stability to build base of support and stability during functional mobility.

    These activities are tailored to address different aspects of balance and can be adapted based on individual needs and progress. When implementing these exercises, it’s crucial to consider the client’s abilities and gradually progress the difficulty of the activities as their balance improves.

    Enhance Visual Scanning

    Dinosaurs are not always easy to spot when it comes to pre-historic land! But dinos aren’t the only ones that need to scan their environment.

    Visual scanning skills impact learning, reading, social and emotional skills, and practically everything we do throughout our day.

    This dinosaur activity supports the development of visual scanning skills as players to search for items, dinosaurs, or clues.

    This element contributes significantly to the development of visual attention and scanning skills, addressing therapeutic goals for children with specific needs in this area.

    Endurance Skills with Dinosaur theme

    Roaming the prehistoric landscape demands stamina just like a T-Rex or Brontosaurus. Certain activities within the game encourage continuous physical activity, contributing to the development of endurance.

    This aspect is particularly beneficial for children undergoing endurance training, aligning the game with therapeutic goals for enhanced stamina and managing deferent surfaces.

    Try adding an unstable surface during the dinosaur game tasks:

    Here are other balance beam ideas to incorporate.

    Dinosaur Coordination Skills

    Navigating the dinosaur world requires precision. The game’s mechanics challenge players with obstacles and control requirements, promoting precise movements and coordination.

    Therapists can use these aspects to target coordination skills, crucial for a child’s ability to execute controlled and purposeful movements.

    In conclusion, our dinosaur game transcends the realms of entertainment to become a valuable therapeutic tool. By incorporating elements that support the development of gross motor skills, balance, visual scanning, endurance, and coordination, therapists can harness the excitement of dinosaurs to achieve therapeutic goals.

    Free Dinosaur Game Printable

    Want to play this dino game with kids you work with in therapy or in the classroom? Print off the game pieces using the free printable. Simply enter your email address into the form below to access.

    Want to add this resource to your therapy toolbox so you can help kids thrive? Enter your email into the form below to access this printable tool.

    This resource is just one of the many tools available in The OT Toolbox Member’s Club. Each month, members get instant access to downloadable activities, handouts, worksheets, and printable tools to support development. Members can log into their dashboard and access all of our free downloads in one place. Plus, you’ll find exclusive materials and premium level materials.

    Level 1 members gain instant access to all of the downloads available on the site, without enter your email each time PLUS exclusive new resources each month.

    Level 2 members get access to all of our downloads, exclusive new resources each month, PLUS additional, premium content each month: therapy kits, screening tools, games, therapy packets, and much more. AND, level 2 members get ad-free content across the entire OT Toolbox website.

    Join the Member’s Club today!

    Free Dinosaur Game

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      Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

      Easy No-Sew Felt Christmas Cookies

      by
      felt Christmas cookies on a baking tray

      This holiday season, why not incorporate no sew felt crafts with a set of felt Christmas cookies? Many years ago, we created these felt Christmas cookies as a holiday dramatic play activity with pretend Christmas cookies. Not only is this a fun Christmas dramatic play idea, it’s also a way to build skills this time of year…making it a fun Christmas activity for occupational therapy!

      felt Christmas cookies on a cookie tray with kitchen utensils

      Felt Christmas Cookies

      In this blog post, we will explore the world of no-sew felt crafts, delve into the realm of Christmas cookie dramatic play, and understand how these activities contribute to the development of essential skills in children, including fine motor, bilateral coordination, and eye-hand coordination.

      There are so many dramatic play benefits, and these felt Christmas cookies fit the bill!

      No Sew Felt Craft

      No-sew felt crafts like the felt Christmas cookies that we made are a tool for creating imaginative and interactive projects. Felt is a great tool because it is a soft and pliable fabric, and wonderful for fine motor skill work.

      For parents, educators, and occupational therapists alike, no-sew felt crafts offer a chance to engage children in a hands-on, mess-free activity that stimulates creativity and fine motor skills.

      Christmas Cookie Dramatic Play

      These felt holiday cookies are perfect for a Christmas cookie dramatic play, where children get to experience the magic of the holiday season through imaginative scenarios.

      This pretend play activity involves crafting felt cookies that look remarkably real, providing a multisensory experience for children. From rolling out felt dough to “baking” and decorating cookies, this activity fosters creativity, social skills, and cognitive development.

      We love this activity because it builds skills through play.

      Engaging in felt Christmas cookie activities is more than just play; it’s a learning experience that targets key developmental areas in children.

      1. Fine Motor Skills: The intricate nature of crafting felt cookies requires children to use their fingers with precision. Cutting, shaping, and decorating felt pieces contribute to the refinement of fine motor skills, essential for tasks such as writing, buttoning, and tying shoelaces.

      Manipulating felt pieces during play can contribute to the refinement of fine motor skills. Studies have indicated that engaging in fine motor activities positively impacts hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity in children.

      2. Bilateral Coordination: Rolling out felt dough, cutting shapes, and assembling cookies involve the use of both hands in a coordinated manner. This promotes bilateral coordination, crucial for activities like tying shoelaces, using scissors, and participating in sports.

      3. Eye-Hand Coordination: The process of crafting felt Christmas cookies encourages children to visually guide their hands as they manipulate the felt pieces. This enhances eye-hand coordination, a fundamental skill for tasks such as handwriting, drawing, and playing musical instruments.

      4. Social and Emotional Skill Development: Collaborative felt play, where children work together on projects, can contribute to social and emotional development. Research suggests that cooperative play helps children develop interpersonal skills, including communication, negotiation, and teamwork (Guralnick, 2011).

      These skills are listed on our social skills checklist resource.

      Incorporating felt Christmas cookies into your child’s playtime not only adds a festive touch to the holiday season but also promotes skill development in a fun and engaging manner. Through no-sew felt crafts and Christmas cookie dramatic play, children can explore their creativity, refine motor skills, and lay the foundation for future cognitive and social success.

      How to make Felt Christmas Cookies

      This was the play invitation I had set up for Big Sister today.  It was so easy to make these No-Sew Felt cookies…15 minutes tops.  And, with an hour+ of imaginative play time, I think it was a good investment!

       

       

       
      Christmas Cookie Pretend Play No Sew Felt Food. By Sugar Aunts
       
       
       
      I had the felt here at the house, but I’ve seen packs of multi-colored (Amazon affiliate link) felt sheets at the dollar store.  You could make a bunch of these little cookies for less than a buck.
       
      Christmas Cookie Pretend Play No Sew Felt Food. By Sugar Aunts
       
      I don’t have any pictures of the process of making the cookies, because it seriously was so easy to make…
       
      1. Trace the (Amazon affiliate link) cookie cutters onto the felt sheet.
      2. Cut the shape just inside of your pen mark.
      3. Trace another of the same shape on the “icing” color.
      4. Cut the “icing” color about 1/2 inch smaller than your pen mark.
      Done!
       
      Add some of your (Amazon affiliate links) whisk, spatula, cookie sheet, oven mitt, and get ready for some cheers in your house 🙂
       
       
       
      Mixing up a little gingerbread dough with the whisk requires bilateral hand coordination to hold the bowl and stir the whisk.
       
       
      After mixing, you cut out the shapes with the cookie cutters.
       
       
       
       
      Then, “spread” on the icing!
       
       
       
      These cookies were perfect for pretend play, multi-step direction following, child-led play, bilateral hand coordination, and imagination.
       
       
       
      Big Sister had so much fun making cookies for Baby Girl and me…adding sprinkles, matching the icing shape to the cookie shape.  It’s a new addition to the play kitchen food.  I’m ready for lots of yummy fuzzy cookies 😉
       
       

       

      UPDATE to this post: We’ve been playing with these felt cookies all year long and they are still staples in the kitchen pretend play.  We’ve been enjoying fuzzy cookies all year long!

      Looking for more Christmas-themed play? Try scented snowman playdoh!

      Looking for done-for you therapy activities this holiday season?

      This print-and-go Christmas Therapy Kit includes no-prep, fine motor, gross motor, self-regulation, visual perceptual activities…and much more… to help kids develop functional grasp, dexterity, strength, and endurance. Use fun, Christmas-themed, motor activities so you can help children develop the skills they need.

      This 100 page no-prep packet includes everything you need to guide fine motor skills in face-to-face AND virtual learning. You’ll find Christmas-themed activities for hand strength, pinch and grip, dexterity, eye-hand coordination, bilateral coordination, endurance, finger isolation, and more. 

      Click here to grab the Christmas Therapy Kit.

      Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

      Thanksgiving Tree

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      Thanksgiving tree

      This blog on about how to make a Thanksgiving tree was originally published 11-13-2012 and was updated 11-9-2023.

      Today we have a Thanksgiving occupational therapy activity that kids and adults love…a Thanksgiving Tree! This gratitude activity is a powerful and meaningful way to express thanks and gratitude this time of year.

      Thanksgiving tree

      What is a Thanksgiving Tree?

      A Thanksgiving tree is a creative and interactive way to express gratitude and celebrate the spirit of Thanksgiving. It typically involves a visual representation of a tree where individuals can attach leaves or notes expressing what they are thankful for.

      The Thanksgiving tree serves as a visual representation of collective gratitude, creating a positive and uplifting atmosphere within the classroom or therapy clinic…and it’s an occupational therapy craft that builds skills, too.

      A Thanksgiving tree can be set up in the home, school classroom, or public space such as a therapy clinic. This is a great way to build skills with OT, ST, or PT clients with a group activity.

      In a therapy clinic setting, a Thanksgiving tree can be a meaningful and therapeutic activity because all clients and therapy employees can help to decorate the Thanksgiving tree with their own thoughts of gratitude.

      How to Make a Thanksgiving Tree

      You’ll want to start by creating the tree, and this can be a group activity , or you can set up the tree base and then students and clients can decorate the tree. You can do this in several different ways:

      • Use a branch collected from outside (this is how we made our Thanksgiving tree shown in the images below). You can tape paper leaves right to the branch.
      • Use posterboard or construction paper to create a tree outline on the wall. With this option, you can use sticky tack to attach gratitude leaves to the wall.
      • Use a Christmas tree that isn’t yet decorated for the Christmas holiday. Attach paper leaves using string.

      Gratitude Leaves

      Next, create the gratitude leaves, made from construction paper. Or, you could use the gratitude leaf template we have inside the OT Toolbox Membership club under Thanksgiving Therapy Theme.

      1. Provide cut-out leaves or paper shapes for individuals to write or draw their expressions of gratitude. Or, you can ask the students to cut out their leaf shapes if you are working on scissor skills.
      2. Students can write a word or sentence right onto the paper.
      3. Add lines using a (Amazon affiliate link) LegiLiner.

      The leaves can be made from colorful construction paper to embrace the Thanksgiving season by incorporating autumn colors. Or, just use markers to write on printer paper.

      You can even use the same leaves to create a gratitude leaf garland to show thankfulness this time of year.

      Classroom Gratitude Tree

      This could be a great classroom activity for all of the students in a classroom to do as a group. The paper leaves can be used as a handwriting prompt for older students or a Thanksgiving handwriting center for younger students.

      Students can hang their own leaf on the tree as part of the exercise.

      This can include things like personal achievements, positive experiences, or the support they’ve received.

      Thanksgiving Group Activity:

      Make the classroom Thanksgiving tree a group activity where students and even other classrooms can collaboratively contribute to the Thanksgiving tree. This fosters a sense of community and shared positivity.

      In the therapy setting, a thanksgiving tree can support therapeutic goals, too. Connect the activity to therapeutic goals. For example, it can be linked to building positive affirmations, reinforcing coping strategies, or acknowledging personal growth.

      Thanksgiving Tree Mindfulness Activity

      You can use a Thanksgiving tree as a Thanksgiving mindfulness exercise, too. The activity allows students to engage in a mindful moment as they focus on what they are thankful for. This can be particularly beneficial in promoting a growth mindset.

      We know the benefits of mindfulness and how expressing gratitude can support students in the classroom or kiddos receiving therapy services.

      To extend the activity, pair the gratitude leaves with a Thanksgiving mindfulness activity, our deep breathing turkey visual prompt.

      Simple Thanksgiving Tree

      We have a tradition of making a Thanksgiving Tree this time of year.  It is one of my favorite things about this season.

      We started the tradition of making a Thanksgiving Tree three years ago.  The kids and I will pick a stick from out in the yard and bring it in for a centerpiece on our dining room table.  
       
      One of the kids or I will cut leaves from construction paper and they will tell me all of the things that they are thankful for.  

       

       
      I love to hear the things that they are thankful for. 
       
      I have been saving the leaves from each year in an envelope labeled with the year and keep it in a storage bin in our attic, along with the rest of our fall decor.  
       
      It was so much fun this year to read the leaves along with the kids. They loved hearing what they said last year and the year before.  We had quite a few leaves dedicated to various stuffed animals, a leaf expressing Big Brother’s thankfulness for our neighbor’s dog, and a leaf that commemorates Big Sister’s fondness for Miss. Hannigan from Annie.  There are the sweet ones that say “my little brother”, “my baby sister”, “Grandparents”, “my sippy cup”, and “Mommy and Daddy”.



       

      Thanksgiving Tree

       

       
      Planes and Fuzzballs got some thanks in this house last year….
       
       
      …And Zebras, Phones, and Annie the year before 🙂
       
       

      We tape the leaves on the stick and prop it up in a centerpiece to enjoy all season long.  They love to look at it during meals and say “What does that brown one say, Mom”, or “Does this one say cousins?”

       
      In previous years, I would start them out and say “I am thankful for…” and write my own leaf.  Big Sister did a pretty god job the first year of coming up with her own ideas.  Last year Big Brother was 2 and was able to identify some things on his own (“my silky blanket”).
       
       
       
      This year, Big Sister helped to write them in her upper case letter, new-writer handwriting… and I know I am going to look back at them years from now and LOVE reading them!
       

       

      They love this centerpiece on the table during meals…and this year, big sister is able to read some of the words herself.  Little Guy will ask her what they say and she’ll tell him “It says HOME”.

       

       
       

      Some of the cute ones this year…“God and Jesus”, “the mall”, “mac and cheese”, and Little Guy was sure to express his gratitude for “mustard”.

       
      And of course, where would Big Sister’s rock collection be without the dresser???
       
       
       
      Have you done a Thankful tree before?  I would love to hear about it!
       

       

      If you are looking for more Thanksgiving activities to do along with your Thanksgiving tree, be sure to grab a copy of the Thanksgiving Fine Motor Kit.

      Thanksgiving Fine Motor Kit

      Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.