Victoria Wood OTR/L

Foot Fidget- Ideas for Feet Fidgeting and Under Desk Fidgets

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child sitting at desk with feet on a partially inflated balloon. Text reads "foot fidget under the desk"

Recently we’ve had some questions about foot fidgets, or ideas for under desk foot fidgets. These movement tools support sensory motor needs and are a powerful tool to support not only attention in the classroom, but can also be a positioning device like our under the desk foot rests. In this post we will explore different ideas for feet fidgeting, and foot fidgets that fit under the desk. 

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foot fidget

A foot fidget is an under the desk fidget tool that supports movement needs while sitting at a desk.

Foot Fidgets

So what exactly do we mean by foot fidgets? A foot fidget, or an under desk fidget for the feet is a tool to allow movement and fidgeting to enhance learning. Some students need to move. These movement devices do just that: allow movement of the feet to facilitate an organized and regulated nervous system for optimal learning and classroom participation.

As a side benefit, a foot fidget under the desk can be a sitting posture device as well, to support sitting posture when writing or reading.

Additionally, a foot fidget is a great calm down sensory tool for the classroom, especially if it adds the needed movement some kids thrive on.

Do you often hit a road block with teachers when handing out fidgets for students to use in class?  They can be a visual distraction to other students if not used properly.

If this happens to you, try using a foot fidget instead. Even though the foot is not always as fidgety as the hands, calming one area of the body helps reset the others.  I like to call this the back door approach. The under the desk fidget tool is a quiet fidget for busy classrooms.

As you are aware, sensory based treatment is largely based on trial and error.  While nothing is one sized fits all, you can add these foot fidget ideas to your OT Toolbox.  

You can find the following products on Amazon. These are not the only site they are available, but rather examples to begin your search. Amazon affiliate links are included below.

Foot Fidget Products – the classic bouncy band

Bouncy Band – the most well-known is the bouncy band. There are different versions of this product, offering pros and cons to each one. 

At 29.99, these basic stretchy bands (affiliate link) are a great price for 12.  They are simple and easy to use (although not very easy to stretch over chair legs).

The negative comments I have heard about them is that the kids push them down with their feet and they end up on the floor, or fly off the chairs.

The Original Bouncy Band (affiliate link), while much more expensive is a far better product. It is sturdy and attaches to the chair legs directly. 

They are super difficult to stretch into place, but with a little help from a friend, you can do it!  I like that these fidgets are under the desk so they are not as much of a distraction as other fidgets.

innovative foot fidgets

Theraflow Foot Massager (affiliate link)– this little tool has a ton of good reviews. It is simple in its’ design and provides interactive foot movement. It is relatively small so it might be good to take to different classes.

The cons of the Theraflow would be; this does not attach to the floor to make it safe from students tossing it, and I bet it works better with bare feet than shoes. Here is the mini version of the foot massager (affiliate link) that can your students can easily carry in a backpack.

Foot Rest (affiliate link)- sometimes people just need a place to put their feet. This foot rest is great!  It is light and soft. 

While 19.99 does not seem too much to pay for this, it can be pricey if you need to buy ten of them.

Kids can place their feet on this or tap them up and down on it. I sometimes turn mine to the side and place my feet at an angle to stretch my ankles to the sides. I also turned it upside down to use as a rocker board similar to this one. This foot rest is large and not very portable.

Exercise Bike (affiliate link) – I love the idea of these under desk exercise bike!  The idea is great, the execution not so much.  The desk needs to be very high to have enough room under it to use the bike without hitting your knees on the desk.

If you have a high table that your student can reach the pedals while still sitting comfortably at their desk, this might be a good option.  Not super expensive, but if you need more than one, it adds up quickly.

SWYNX Surfer (affiliate link)– thinking outside the box, this gadget looks cool.  It does not have many reviews yet but they are all positive ones.

It seems like this would be a good option for small classrooms or home bound children as they are over 30.00 each. The manufacturer says it is easy to set up and you can use it anywhere, including restaurants.

Wiggle Feet (affiliate link)– this is a classic therapy tool. It allows for bouncing, as well as side to side movement. When you are not using under a desk, the Bouncyband Wiggle Feet is an excellent option for improving bilateral coordination, balance, and stabilization. 

A less expensive version of this under the desk foot fidget is using a partially deflated beach ball. Or, you could partially inflate balloons for an even less expensive option. You can add the amount of air that meets the needs of the individual user.

Rolling Foot Fidget – This is similar to the bouncy band but has a roller element to it. You need a therapy band (affiliate link) and a section of pool noodle. Cut the therapy band to fit around the legs of the chair. Then thread the therapy band through the center of the pool noodle. Attach the therapy band to the chair legs by tying the ends tightly. The user can roll their feet on the pool noodle.

They look neat, but are not inexpensive. The Think and Roll is meant to be rolled on the floor by rolling the pool noodle on the floor. Kids pushing down on them will not be an issue like it is with the bargain bouncy band.

Budget Friendly Foot Fidgets

Not everyone has a large spending budget at their disposal, or you have 100 students to buy for. In these situations, buying or making tools is the way to go. Be mindful if your place of work has restrictions on using home made tools. These can be part of your DIY fidget tools that you have in your toolbox.

Bungee Cord – you can buy a pack of three mini bungee cords at the dollar store.  You can easily attach these to the legs of a small chair. I can imagine there might be safety issues, so a bit of duct tape might be in order to secure them to the chairs.

Inflatable beach ball or small raft – get a beach ball or small inflatable raft at the dollar store.  Blow a small amount into your inflatable to make a great foot fidget. These also make great wiggle seats. You can secure them with double sided tape, Velcro, or Dicem.

Pool noodle – attach a cord or rope through the pool noodle, securing it to the chair legs. You can also find these at the dollar store. You can cut each noodle into several pieces to be more cost effective. Experiment with different positions and designs for this cool idea.

DIY Foot Swing – Melissa Souden, Occupational Therapist— created her own foot fidget swings using PVC to help sensory and inattentive kids pay attention in class. Here are the step-by-step directions so you can do the same!

Theraband foot fidget – use Theraband (affiliate link) or Theratubing across the legs of the chair or desk to make a resistance band.  These are not as inexpensive as pool noodles, rope, and bungee cords, but might be more likely to be approved as usable tools in your setting.

More thoughts about foot fidgets

You might be wondering why I did not add adaptive seating options to this list like ball chairs, wiggle seats, bean bags, rocker stools, etc.  While these are excellent options for improving attention and focus for your students, they are not as discreet as a foot fidget under the chair. 

They are also not as portable. If you are looking for a discreet fidget that will be less likely to distract the rest of the class, or make your student stand out from the rest, the foot fidgets are a great avenue to try.

Remember, nothing about OT (or children in general) is one size fits all.  Child A might do exceptionally well with a bouncy band, while children B, C and D create chaos with them.

This is often the case in classrooms. Think of adaptations like eye glasses or prescription medication. There are many variables that go into the right fit, compliance, cost, and effectiveness. 

This is often frustrating for therapists, however, think of yourself like a detective trying to solve a case.  Each case is unique. You can also just have these options in the therapy room for trialing and testing, or you can use the under the desk foot fidgets in a sensory calm down corner to be used with reading or other regulating needs.

The bigger your toolbox of ideas and supplies, the more likely you are to find the right fit for each student.

Victoria Wood, OTR/L is a contributor to The OT Toolbox and has been providing Occupational Therapy treatment in pediatrics for more than 25 years. She has practiced in hospital settings (inpatient, outpatient, NICU, PICU), school systems, and outpatient clinics in several states. She has treated hundreds of children with various sensory processing dysfunction in the areas of behavior, gross/fine motor skills, social skills and self-care. Ms. Wood has also been a featured speaker at seminars, webinars, and school staff development training. She is the author of Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes.

The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook
The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook

The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook walks you through sensory processing information, each step of creating a meaningful and motivating sensory diet, that is guided by the individual’s personal interests and preferences.

The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook is not just about creating a sensory diet to meet sensory processing needs. This handbook is your key to creating an active and thriving lifestyle based on a deep understanding of sensory processing.

Self Regulation Group Activities

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teacher leading group of children in a reaching exercise. Text reads "self regulation group activities"

Today we are covering fun ways to use self-regulation group activities to support regulation, social emotional skills, and coping strategies in a group setting. While the concept of self regulation is an individualized concept, there are many ways that a group activity like the ones described below can support individual needs. Let’s explain…

self regulation group activities

Self regulation group activities are appropriate for all ages, from preschool groups to small groups of middle school or high school students.

Self Regulation Group Activities

The term “self” and “group” in the title are oxymorons. Self regulation refers to “the ability to understand and manage your behavior, and your reactions to feelings and things happening around you”

This being said, there are many times that sensory strategies can not be done in isolation. A classroom is a good example.

Many schools have a sensory room. This is a great location for group self regulation activities. Read about various ways to meet coping needs in our blog post on how to create a sensory room on a budget.

In this post we will review Self Regulation Group Activities, talk about the benefits, and discuss drawbacks to working on self regulation in a group.

self regulation in a Group

Before getting into Self Regulation Group Activities, we should take a minute to review.

Self regulation is used to:

  • regulate reactions to strong emotions like frustration, excitement, anger and embarrassment
  • calm down after something exciting or upsetting
  • focus on a task
  • refocus attention on a new task
  • impulse control
  • behave in ways that help you get along with other people.

As your child grows, self-regulation helps them:

  • learn at school – because self-regulation gives your student the ability to sit and listen in the classroom
  • behave in socially acceptable ways and control their impulses
  • make friends – self-regulation gives your child the ability to take turns in games and conversation, share toys, and express emotions in appropriate ways
  • become more independent – self-regulation gives your child the ability to make appropriate decisions about behavior and learn how to behave in new situations with less guidance from adults

All of these concepts can be covered and developed in a small group setting.

benefits to working on self regulation group activities

While there are certainly challenges to working on self regulation in a group setting such as a classroom, there are also benefits:

  • Efficiency – working with 25 children all together is much more efficient than working individually with those same students.
  • Peer learning – self regulation group activities foster peer learning and interaction. Students learn positive and negative interactions from those around them.
  • Improves group attention – learning to work in a group while also working on oneself takes more attention than individual lessons because students need to filter out group noise and movement.
  • Empathy development– discussing social emotional concepts in a group fosters empathy.
  • Great for data collection – while students are working in a group, adults can watch for trends, negative/positive responses, and pick out difficulties among a crowd. When comparing children together in a group it is much easier to see who is struggling than when seeing them all individually.
  • Group work is one of the key elements of school dynamics – self regulation group activities are often fun and rewarding. Practicing group work in this manner helps build a foundation of working together.
  • Executive function – a set of mental skills that include working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control.

drawbacks to working on self regulation group activities

Just the term “self” indicates it is preferable to work one on one rather than in a group. There are definitely some challenges to working on this complex and individual task within a large group:

It may be difficult to meet the needs of all students when discussing self-regulation strategies in a large group you may have different levels of learners, and more importantly different arousal levels and needs. Child A might need a “pick me up”, while Child B could benefit from a calming activity. The answer is to pick activities that foster general improved self regulation and arousal level.

The group setting may not be the best place for supporting a disorganized student. If your student is already overwhelmed or dysregulated, and in a high state of arousal, adding 24 other children is likely to set them over the top. This is the challenge in a classroom.

Difficulty with data collection – if 12/24 students are struggling in your self regulation group activities, it will be hard to gather data about each of their skill levels, behavior, and deficits.

Group work may make using the individualized self regulation strategies more difficult, unless the whole group is practicing one specific tool, all at the same time. If the purpose of self regulation is to: calm down after something exciting or upsetting, focus on a task, refocus attention on a new task, and control impulses, it is going to be tough for your students to do this while in a group.

ideas for self regulation group activities

While balancing the benefits and drawbacks to self regulation in a group, there are some great activities out there. Some of these ideas incorporate proprioceptive input for body awareness and others incorporate talking and learning about self regulation concepts.

  1. Brain gym – the is a popular program that incorporates 26 activities to work on learning through movement

2. Yoga for kids – yoga is an activity that can increase and decrease arousal level. It is a type of proprioceptive and vestibular activity that is grounding. These partner yoga poses can be a great activity for self regulation in a small group. Other ideas include:

3. Obstacle courses – turn your gym or classroom space into an obstacle course. Students work on their own self regulation while working in a group. They can crawl under desks, step over and around chairs, hop across tiles, do wall push ups, and more. This will help improve arousal level while working on key components of turn taking, social function, impulse control, and behavior.

4. Sensory play – sensory play can be an individual activity done in a group. Each student can work on their own project while the rest of the class is doing the same. This can include art, play dough, sand, building activities, or noise making

5. Sensory stations – similar to an obstacle course, sensory stations are a path that is followed with different experiences at every stop. This might include hopping, jumping, crawling, push ups, deep breathing, clapping and more. These are great in hallways and classrooms.

6. Centers – center time allows for a large group to be divided into smaller groups that rotate through different activities. You can hand pick which center a group of student needs most. Maybe these five need the quiet reading nook, while another five need playdough at the table.

7. Gross motor coordination activities – while an organized structured activity is preferable for working on focus and regaining self control, there are times when free play gross motor fun is great. Send the group out to play on the playground. Set out riding toys for all of the students. Throw a basket of balls around the gym. While this may be disorganizing for some students, it might be just the fast paced input several students need

8. Sensory eating – oral sensory input is a large part of sensory integration. Put on an audio book while giving your students some great sensory snacks. These might be popcorn, sour candy, twizzlers, crunchy veggies, flaming hot Cheetos, etc. While I am not a huge fan of giving kids junk food, it is rare that students will snack on carrot sticks and celery.

9. Group chores – why not enlist your group in a clean up session. Everyone can crawl around on the floor picking up paper shreds. Students can stack chairs or wipe off tables. We used to have to clack the erasers together, but smart boards did away with that fun task.

10. Emotional Regulation games– Pull out one of these games for teaching self regulation skills.

11. Talk about feeling words, and emotional responses to situations. Playing “what would you do” in a small group facilitates learning because students can hear the options and ideas that other group participants offer. This is a way for the students to build their emotional vocabulary.

reflection on self regulation group activities

Group activities have a benefit, as well as posing challenges. As the proverb says, “necessity is the mother of all invention”. Sometimes there are no alternatives to working in groups, or the benefits of group interaction outweighs the struggles.

The best compromise is self regulation group activities in which the student is more or less working individually while in a group setting. This takes strategic planning, but can be done successfully. Imagine a karate class where everyone is working side by side in a group, but focusing on their own balance, breathing, and coordination.

Victoria Wood, OTR/L is a contributor to The OT Toolbox and has been providing Occupational Therapy treatment in pediatrics for more than 25 years. She has practiced in hospital settings (inpatient, outpatient, NICU, PICU), school systems, and outpatient clinics in several states. She has treated hundreds of children with various sensory processing dysfunction in the areas of behavior, gross/fine motor skills, social skills and self-care. Ms. Wood has also been a featured speaker at seminars, webinars, and school staff development training. She is the author of Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes.

Alert Program Self-Regulation Program

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The Alert Program

Below we are covering on popular self-regulation program that therapy providers love: The Alert Program®. In therapy therapists say “focus” a fair amount. One parent report hearing her child mutter “focus, focus, focus” as he was walking down the stairs! Paying attention and staying focused are major struggles for students and their teachers.

There are several programs to help improve attention, focus, and self regulation. One of the newer popular program is Zones of Regulation. Today we will circle back around to the Alert Program. This is a classic program that makes sense. Alert Program Activities are a great way to introduce and use this great resource.

The Alert Program

Alert Program frameworks and tools support individuals with self-regulation needs.

What is The alert program?

The Alert Program® for Self-Regulation is also known as “How Does Your Engine Run?”®. This self-regulation program was developed by two internationally known occupational therapists, Mary Sue Williams and Sherry Shellenberger.

The Alert Program helps students understand the basic theory of sensory input as it relates to their arousal states, or the internal engine of their body. The primary focus is to help children learn to monitor, maintain, and change their level of alertness so it is sufficient for a situation or task.

The basic premise of the program is that the body is similar to a car engine. When the engine is running in its’ optimal state, things run smoothly. If the engine is running too fast or too slow, problems arise.

Therapists often use “Lightning McQueen” as an example of the fast car who gets into trouble.

One quote from the program that is helpful for children to understand is:

“If your body is like a car engine, sometimes it runs on high, sometimes it runs on low, and sometimes it runs just right.”

Alert Program

Of course you do not have to use “engines” for this program to work. Therapists have used Winnie the Pooh to describe states of alertness: Eeyore is in low arousal, Winnie the Pooh is just right, and Tigger is way too high. You can describe the actions and consequences of each character.

By using the engine analogy to teach self-regulation, The Alert Program helps children learn what to do if they are in a non-optimal state of alertness. It teaches children that there are five ways to change how alert they feel:

  • put something in the mouth
  • move
  • touch
  • look
  • listen

Alert Program for Self-Regulation

Alert Program goals teach students, educators, and parents the relationship between internal states and attention, learning, and behavior. With this support, Alert Program strategies help students to recognize and define the self-regulation strategies in a variety of tasks and settings.

We could all use this Alert Program framework at one time or another!

We all self regulate throughout the day, but rarely talk about it. Perhaps you don’t even think about it, it just comes naturally. What did you do to help wake up this morning? A cup of coffee, a jog, a steamy shower, television, or a fruit smoothie? Which system is your “go to” for self regulation? Are you a mover, eater, visual, listener, feeler, or a combination of several?

Children need to learn to self regulate by first talking about it, then doing it. As learners understand the program and start to mature, they too will do self regulation strategies without giving it much thought.

These tools that help to organize the individual’s nervous system using a framework including vocabulary, activities, and environments that work for the individual.

alert program activities through play

The “occupation” of a child is play. You will get much further with a five hear old through a game rather than a lecture. Another way to put it is:

“Play is the work of children. Through play, children learn about themselves and the world around them. When all that they see, hear, and feel makes sense to them, a process of sensory integration occurs.”

From Sensory Integration International’s poster, Children at Work, Jean Ayres Clinic, 1991

This means that when teaching any self regulation program, play-based activities not only make it fun and motivating, they help your learner understand how and why it works.

The Alert Program has five methods it describes for self-regulation that are intended to support the individual in reaching an optimal level of arousal. The framework helps the child to understand how arousal levels can change over the course of a day (and this is totally normal!) with periods of sensory overload (sensory dysregulation) and periods of low arousal (under-responsiveness or sensory registration problems).

The Alert Program helps the individual to attain, maintain, and change arousal appropriately for the given situation. We might all feel a lull in the afternoon after lunch, but using some coping tools, we can get to a state that allows us to attend a meeting and finish out the work day.

For the individual that responds with sensory defensiveness, we might see a fight, flight, or fright response of the limbic system.

Rather than using top-down approaches, or verbal reminders, picture directives, and telling the child to “sit still and pay attention”, the Alert Program framework offers tactics to support sensory motor needs from a bottom-up perspective, or by offering heavy work to the muscles and joints as input through the cerebellum in the brain as a way to activate the reticular formation in the brain stem.

Alert Program wording and strategies offer the calming and efficient tools of inhibition by activating the proprioceptive, vestibular, oral/gustatory, tactile, visual, and auditory systems.

We all have sensory preferences and the Alert Program walks through comprehensive checklists to select activities for each of the components. It helps the individual to find input that supports the brain and body for optimal learning and participation in daily activities, knowing that at different ages, we usually prefer differing intensities of input, changing duration of sensory motor input, and frequency.

  • put something in the mouth
  • move
  • touch
  • look
  • listen

In general, the supports allow for periods of movement or input followed by concentration and an optimal state of arousal.

These tools allow the individual to have a better quality of life, feel good about themselves, participate in meaningful activities. These tools are powerful when teaching children about mood and affect as a support for self regulation.

Alert Program activities

Before exploring specific ways to add self regulation, there are great activities for teaching the Alert Program.

activities to understand alert program basics

While there are many actual activities to self regulate, a period of introducing any program is needed for “buy in”.

  • Adults brainstorm with children regarding possible methods to change their engine speeds. Methods use sensorimotor strategies that are either calming (if the child’s engine is running too fast) or alerting (if the child’s engine is running too slow).
  • Children practice changing their engine speeds by performing sensorimotor activities (see list below)
  • Children can use individual engine speed identification worksheets (fast, slow, just right) to further define what behaviors should and should not be using at each engine speed. The information from these 3 individual engine worksheets can thenvbe added to the engine speeds worksheet and posted in the classroom to remindstudents and/or in a central location at home.
  • Teachers can set up an “Engine Check Station” in their classrooms; this station cancontain movement or “engine break” options for students to perform, as well asengine check feedback sheets for students to document how the use of the enginebreak affected their behavior.
  • An alert program social story can be developed to assist a child who may be having difficulty learning the program. It should be read/reviewed with him/her daily untils/he begins to understand the concept.
  • The adult labels his/her own engine speed using a large class speedometer or anindividual speedometer.
  • Children make their own individual speedometers using paper plates, markers, etc. Children then chart their own engine speeds on the class speedometer or their own individual speedometers.
  • Children may also enjoy playing the “Guess that Engine Speed” game, using magazine pictures and the engine speed posters. The adult shows pictures and has the child determine the engine speed of the individual pictured. The child can then fasten the magazine picture to the corresponding engine speed poster

The Alert Program offers a curriculum with really great activities to support the individual in each stage of the program. It has activities and ideas to help the child learn engine words and to help them develop an awareness of their engine “speed”. Some of the ideas include:

  • interactive activities
  • games
  • obstacle courses
  • crafts like collage art
  • stations
  • games
  • more

alert program activities for putting something in the mouth

The oral sensory system is a great tool for self regulation. The mouth has tons of sensory receptors, making it the perfect place to receive input. Here are some activities for “putting something in the mouth”. Note: not all activities are appropriate for small children.

  • Drink a milkshake or sensory smoothie (not only cold, but the resistance provides extra input)
  • Drink through a water bottle
  • Chew gum, beef jerky, Twizzlers (left out in the air to dry first)
  • Suck on hard candy, mints
  • Crunch on nuts/pretzels/chips
  • Crunch or suck on ice pieces (be cautious of dental work)
  • Tongue in cheek movements, suck on your tongue in your mouth, move your tongue around (oral motor exercises)
  • Eat popcorn/cut up vegetables
  • Chew on a fidget or pencil topper
  • Eat chips and a spicy dip
  • Take slow deep breaths: relaxation breathing
  • Blow a whistle, kazoo, harmonica
  • Hum
  • Drink carbonated drinks
  • Drink coffee/tea caffeinated/hot cocoa/warm milk
  • Eat a cold popsicle, crunch a pickle

This list was derived from the Sensory Preference Checklist from 1992. A lot has changed since then! I have removed smoking, chewing collars and sleeves, biting buttons, chomping toothpicks, chewing pencils, and biting your nails from the list as they are no longer deemed appropriate as mainstream strategies.

alert program activities for movement

Movement, or vestibular/proprioceptive input is often a go to for helping kids get regulated. They are often in constant motion, seeking this type of input, so it makes sense to use what they are craving.

  • Rock in a rocking chair, sit on a wiggle cushion or therapy ball
  • Sit with crossed legs and bounce one slightly
  • Shift or change positions in chair
  • Run/jog
  • Ride bike or a scooter
  • Aerobic exercise
  • Heavy Work Movement Cards
  • Tap toe, heel, or foot
  • Isometrics/lift weights/carry something heavy
  • Dance, yoga, obstacle courses, stretching and shaking body parts
  • Rock own body slightly
  • Household chores – cleaning, laundry, scrubbing, sweeping, vacuuming
  • Yard work

I removed “push chair back on two legs” from the original list, as it is not a safe practice to be teaching.

alert program activities for touch

Children seem to want to touch everything! This is the way babies learn about their environment. It makes sense for children to explore through touch. Here are some appropriate ways to get tactile input:

  • Twist own hair
  • Move keys or coins in pocket with your hand
  • Cool shower
  • Warm bath
  • Receive a massage
  • Pet a dog or cat, play with stuffed animals, get under a blanket
  • Rub gently on skin/clothes
  • Play in sensory bins with different textures. Here is a Year of Sensory Bins

Fidget with the following:

It seems funny (and a little scary) that I removed: phone cord while talking, put fingers near mouth, eye, or nose, and fiddle with cuticle/nails from the original 1992 list.

alert program activities for visual/looking

While Ipad and technology seems to be a great option for adding visual input, it is not. Technology is too alerting and disorganizing with the fast paced movement and visual clutter. There has been some recent research on the Negative Effects of Technology. Here is a post on The Effects of Technology on Children. While not all technology is bad, it needs to be used in moderation and at the right time.

Here are some better ideas for visual input:

  • Change the lighting, open window shades, add a dimmer, cover florescent lighting
  • watch a fireplace or a fish tank (funny enough there are television background screens with these on them)
  • Watch oil and water toys
  • Sensory Bottles – here are some great sensory bottle ideas

Be mindful of having too much visual input. Sometimes people need a break from input in a dark,quiet space. Often a cluttered classroom, or messy desk is enough to change someone’s arousal level.

self regulation ideas for auditory listening

It is interesting that “listening to music” is often recommended for auditory regulation, but this is such a complex strategy to navigate. People respond differently to various types of sounds. It takes time and practice to find the right type of auditory input at the correct time.

  • Listen to classical music
  • Listen to hard rock, country, pop, jazz, or other genre
  • Download and audiobook or podcast
  • Listen to others hum or sing
  • Work in quiet room
  • Move to a noisy room
  • Sing or talk to self

Be mindful of negative sensory input that can set someone off. How do you respond to a scratch on a chalkboard, fire alarm, dog barking, a sudden noise, someone chewing, or snoring?

self reflection

Take some time during the next few days to notice your own arousal level. Be mindful of what activities you do to self regulate. Think about what is working for you, and what you could do better.

Victoria Wood, OTR/L is a contributor to The OT Toolbox and has been providing Occupational Therapy treatment in pediatrics for more than 25 years. She has practiced in hospital settings (inpatient, outpatient, NICU, PICU), school systems, and outpatient clinics in several states. She has treated hundreds of children with various sensory processing dysfunction in the areas of behavior, gross/fine motor skills, social skills and self-care. Ms. Wood has also been a featured speaker at seminars, webinars, and school staff development training. She is the author of Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes.

Emotion Crafts

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emotion crafts

In this blog post, we’re covering all things emotion crafts…or crafts designed to foster emotional development and emotional intelligence, through play and crafting! These emotions crafts are great tools for supporting emotional intelligence in all ages. When you think about it, crafting is a coping mechanism for many, both young and old! Let’s explore specific feelings craft activities that support kids!

emotion crafts

emotional regulation Crafts

An emotion craft is one that teaches emotions, or feelings through the craft activity. An emotion craft might include facial expressions, or the ability to express one’s own feelings through the art and craft process. There are many ways kids crafts facilitate underlying skills and development, and emotions and feelings crafting does just that!

How many times have you thought, “I need a time out”, during the past week? As adults, once we recognize the need for a break, we are often able to find a successful strategy to take one.

Children are not as fortunate. They are not able to articulate needing a break, or navigate appropriate activities to help them feel better. Young learners use play as their method to self regulate. In this post we will explore play through Emotional Regulation Crafts to help with this process.

Emotional regulation is a key to success. Getting into the “just right zone” helps with executive function and productivity. The “just right zone” is similar to the Goldilocks effect; not too big, not too small. In the Zones of Regulation® method, the “GREEN ZONE” is often considered the “just right zone”. Emotional regulation in the “just right zone” feels like neither too much or too little input. However, it is tricky to find that sweet spot and stay there.

Practice through communication and play can help your learner find that “just right” feeling. Here is a great overview post on Self Regulation Activities. Building or making things with the hands, can help spark understanding of self regulation, as well as provide much needed input.

Emotional Regulation Crafts are just one strategy to building this understanding, and get your learners into their optimal learning zone.

emotion crafts for teaching

There are different levels of crafts and ideas out there for different types and abilities of students. Some involve journaling, drawing, and writing ideas and feelings. Younger students are not ready to complete this type of self reflection task. They need something more simple and concrete like these emotion craft ideas:

pumpkin emotions
  • Pumpkin Emotions– This activity uses a pumpkin to explore emotions, but you can use any shape or theme. Just add fun face to create facial expressions.
empathy activities
  • Empathy Beads– Make a set of bracelets and discuss empathy and feelings.
emotion coffee filter craft
  • Coffee Filter Faces– Use paint and googly eyes to create monster faces with all sorts of emotions and facial expressions.

slime emotion faces
  • Slime Emotion Faces- This is an activity we shared many years ago our Instagram page. Make a small ball of slime and pat it down to a flat “face”. Then add googly eyes and use a pipe cleaner to make smiles, frowns, or surprised facial expressions.
pet rock emotion craft
  • Rock Emotion Faces– Also from our Instagram page, making pet rocks with facial expressions is a fun emotions craft. Just paint the rocks, add googly eyes, and then use a marker or paint to add facial expressions.

  • Play with Clay – use clay or play dough as a medium for expressing emotions. Not only is this a great idea for learning, the deep pressure and tactile input involved in sculpting and molding the clay is great for self regulation. Learners can make faces into the dough by poking into it, or adding other colors for facial features. You can add googly eyes, sequins, or other items if needed. Adding different colors for the faces (red for angry, blue for sad) may be another method for teaching feelings, although this may be too abstract for some learners. Other benefits to using clay include the fine motor exercise with clay play.

  • Face Masks – print emojis or pictures of different facial expressions onto cardstock. Students can decorate, color, and cut out the faces. They can be glued onto a large craft stick or pain stirrer. Play a pretend role play game with these, or have students learn to hold them up when they want to express a feeling. Use a paper plate to create an emotions face mask. Cut the plate in half and attach string. Then, decorate the mask according to an emotion name.

  • Paper Windmill Emotion Craft – learners can create a paper windmill using cardstock or construction paper, a brad to fasten, and a stick. Students can write emotions or draw faces on it to decorate if they like. As students blow onto the windmill, they can learn about soft and hard breathing. Getting direct feedback about their breathing is a helpful learning tool as well as a great way to calm down.

  • Tissue Worry Box – Use an upcycled container like a tissue box, or food container to create a worry box. Decorate the box like a monster with a wide open mouth. Students can create their own personalized worry monster by decorating the monster. Then, they can write or draw their worries on paper (or dictate), then put them in the box to give them less power. If this idea takes off, you can purchase (or make) a (Amazon affiliate link. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases.) Worry Monster to keep on the bed or under the pillow.

  • Plastic egg faces – use plastic Easter eggs and markers to design faces. Have the eyes on one side of the egg and different mouths on the other. Students can have fun mixing and matching different faces

make your own sensory tools

  • Make your own fidgets – how cool are these?! Crafting a keepsake, or one to share with others is a great idea
  • Identify feelings – Have students cut out faces from magazines and identify what zone they are in, their arousal level, or how they are feeling. They can make a big chart to sort all of the people
  • Do it yourself calm down bottle – Fill a water bottle with oil and water, then add glitter, or other fun stuff. Making this is an enjoyable activity, then using is as a calm down tool is a great idea.

emotional regulation crafts for adding input

Sometimes arts and crafts do not have to have an “end product”. Often just the process of creating or playing is a great strategy for self regulation.

  • Sand table or tray – free play in sand is great. Add tools, water, and other toys to build it to the next level. I love these (affiliate link) Zen sand trays for simple relaxing play.
  • Kinetic sand – another relaxing sensory art game without limits. Check out this 3 ingredient kinetic sand recipe.
  • Painting – finger paints, painting on large paper, painting with Q-tips, painting on ice, the options are endless. Here are 105 Creative Painting Ideas!
  • Art play – here is a resource from the OT Toolbox for Art Play ideas
  • Scribbling – have you ever wanted to grab all of the markers at once and just scribble all over the paper? Do it! There is something liberating in just scribbling for no good reason.
  • Creative collage – all you need is some craft supplies and glue. Pull out the sequins, pompoms, stickers, colored rice, beads, googly eyes, or whatever else you have handy and some liquid glue. Let your students get creative, or just sticky!
  • Partner Art Trade – Making things to share with others is a great “feel good” activity. Friendship bracelets – the art of knotting string is a great stress reliever (unless you are frustrated by the process). Other ideas might be macrame, knitting, crochet, drawing, sewing, or other projects that make us feel proud of accomplishment, while regulating emotions.

emotion crafts for older learners

Older kids can benefit from emotion crafts too. Some ideas include more complex crafting or art processes like bead work, ceramics, or weaving.

Several of the feelings craft ideas include :

  • making a cootie catcher
  • drawing the Zones of Regulation
  • making a feelings spinner
  • Emotions play dough mats
  • feelings flip chart
  • make your own worry doll
  • Use this monster emotions I Spy activity
  • During the holidays, try this Santa emotions worksheet
  • circle of control – write the things you can control in your circle, and all of the things you can not, on the outside
  • create a poster of a personal mantra that lifts you up or makes you feel good
  • a hand made emotions boardgame might be a fun activity for a group
  • Paper craft chain – write/draw/dictate positive traits and happy thoughts to make into a paper chain
  • wearable fidgets are a great self regulation tool, and fun to make and share

other activities for emotional regulation

If your students are not into arts and crafts, or find them more frustrating than helpful, there are other ways to use play to learn about or improve emotional regulation. Emotional Regulation Games are great activities.

what is your go to activity for emotional regulation?

While I hate to admit it, I have an unhealthy relationship with Etsy and Amazon. Browsing, shopping, and receiving cool stuff is a thrill. I try and mix this up with some light reading, coloring, crafting, laying by the pool, and an occasional nap. While my kids were young I neglected my needs and did not use my emotional regulation tools often enough. This led to some serious Caregiver Burnout. Make sure that while you are focusing your attention on helping those around you, that you take a minute for yourself as well.

Victoria Wood, OTR/L is a contributor to The OT Toolbox and has been providing Occupational Therapy treatment in pediatrics for more than 25 years. She has practiced in hospital settings (inpatient, outpatient, NICU, PICU), school systems, and outpatient clinics in several states. She has treated hundreds of children with various sensory processing dysfunction in the areas of behavior, gross/fine motor skills, social skills and self-care. Ms. Wood has also been a featured speaker at seminars, webinars, and school staff development training. She is the author of Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes.

social emotional activities for kids

Exploring Books Through Play: Friendship, Acceptance, and Empathy Activities for Kids is a digital ebook with crafts, activities, and hands-on exploration of social emotional skills, all based on popular children’s books.

Letter C Worksheet

by
letter C worksheet

Moving through the alphabet, we are ready to learn how to teach the letter C with our free Letter C Worksheet! Keep an eye out for posts for all accurately forming all 26 letters! Each post will offer information on how to teach the highlighted letter, including a free download. Today’s post will address letter “C” and include a free printable Letter C Worksheet. All the alphabet posts will have tips to the teach the selected letter, review the prewriting skills needed, and highlight different letter rhymes and prompts that are helpful to teaching the letter.

Letter C worksheet

You’ll also want to check out our letter formation worksheets resource, where we have other writing printables as well as a full list of these printable pages.

letter c worksheet

The Letter C Worksheet is designed for students to cut the page into sections, then staple all the pieces together to create little alphabet tracing books by grouping the dotted, tracing, playdough, and color sections together. 

Today we are talking about the Letter C, both in its upper and lowercase form. There are many terrific ways to teach letter recognition and formation.

It is beneficial to find multiple different ways to teach each skill, as not all students learn the same way. Multisensory learning meets the needs of different types of learners

The Letter C Worksheet is divided into six sections: 

  • Build Letter C
  • Tracing Letter C
  • Do-a-Dot Letter C
  • Write Letter C in Size Boxes
  • Write Letter C on Lines

Each section covers uppercase C and lowercase c for size awareness as well as the motor plan needed to form the letter. Motor planning in handwriting is a concept that ensures accurate formation of letters.

Play Dough letter C

This section of the worksheet is great for building a motor plan for making letter C. hands-on learners will love the building section of the letter C worksheet. You’ll fund a playdough uppercase C and lowercase c in the image.

Students can mold the letter C out of play dough, clay, sticks, or other manipulatives.  Keep reading for more great ideas to build letters out of common items.

This section of the worksheet can be cut out and used as copy cards or as a mini play dough mat, if letters are formed right over the images.

The letter C has arrows for proper stroke sequence.

Tracing letter C

Kinesthetic learners learn by doing, and will benefit from all the sections in these handouts, especially this section on tracing letters. Kinesthetic learners like to touch and engage in order to learn and retain information. That’s where this Letter C tracing activity on the printable comes in.

Students can use their fingers, a wand, popsicle stick, or add a writing tool to trace the letters. You can also laminate the letter pages, place them on a tray covered with sand, salt, or shaving cream, and have students trace the letters this way.

Do a Dot Letter C

The Do a Dot Letter C printable section of the page is a mini version of a full Do a Dot worksheet. We created the page with this in mind so that a smaller version can be practiced, using broken cotton swabs or the end of an eraser dabbed in paint or a stamp pad.

Users can dab the dots to make the letter C by following the lines of the letters.

Then, copy the letter onto a larger piece of paper by using bingo type markers or dabber stampers to fill in the letters. Kids love the banging movement and sound of these dot markers. Students can also dip Q-tips or fingers into paint to make dots on the paper.  There are all kinds of stampers available on the web. What else can kids use to make dots on paper?

Color letter C

The Color the Letter C and c section of the worksheet page encourages several areas of motor skills:

  • developmentally appropriate grasp patterns (broken crayons work wonders for developing a tripod grasp)
  • work on coloring inside the lines
  • color selection
  • attention to detail
  • hand strength
  • fine motor skills

Explore different mediums for coloring including markers, gel pens, pencils, crayons (of all types), paint, glitter, or glue and small items to fill the space.

Write letter C

Next on the worksheet page are two sections for using a pencil to write uppercase C and lowercase c.

These two sections are for students to put their practice into letter formation. They will practice writing the letters on the lines with correct sizing, formation, line placement, and details. Students also practice fitting the letters inside the small boxes to improve letter sizing and accuracy.

As with the other sections, this section can also be laminated for reusability. Be mindful that some students do not write well with dry erase markers.

To print your copy of this Letter C/c PDF, you will need to enter your email address into the form at the bottom of this blog post. Then, click the button and check your email to get the FREE downloadable PDF letter C worksheet.

how to teach letter c

This letter C worksheet is a great start to teaching letter formation. Whether you are using the Handwriting (Learning) without Tears curriculum which teaches the letters by group, or teaching the letters in alphabetical order, these great worksheets provide a consistent method for teaching and tracking letter formation and understanding.

There are several sites online with different phrases available for teaching letters.

  • The HWT curriculum lowercase “c” narrative says: magic c.   For the uppercase letter C, HWT says: big curve. While the HWT curriculum does not use cute poems and rhymes, the consistent language that is taught using straight and curved lines is beneficial to learning.
  • Songs for Teaching’s rhyme for lowercase c says, letter c’s like a circle, but it does not close up. C is for cotton candy and carrots and cups
  • Songs of Sounds UK, teaches lowercase c: Curl around the curled-up caterpillar. Uppercase C: From the top, curl around to the left to sit on the line.
  • Twinkl, teaches lowercase c: start drawing a circle and curve around slowly, stop before it has finished and you have made a c!
  • Uppercase C says: capitol C is easy, don’t you know? Just start like a little c and make it grow! A curved line from the start to the end, move your pencil slowly around the bend.

specific skills needed to learn letter c

In addition to the skills above, students will need to know how to form curves to make upper and lowercase C.

For forming a Letter C, a curved line is used. This is a beginner pre-writing skill, so the curve should be an earlier one that is achieved.

However, letter C requires pencil control in order to start and stop the lines of the curve.

  • Teach them about starting at the top, and pencil control to stop the curve before making a circle.
  • This is a good time to start demonstrating talking about the similarities between upper and lowercase C.

Because uppercase C and lowercase C are the same form, this is a good beginner letter to practice. However, targeting size awareness is a good idea for controlled use of the pencil as well as visual motor skills needed to differentiate between the upper case and lowercase forms.

There are dozens more additional skills children need to learn before they are truly ready for handwriting. Children who are missing these important skills may struggle with handwriting, along with other fine motor tasks.  A lack of these foundational skills can lead to poor letter formation, fatigue, compensation strategies, and inefficient writing.

prewriting skills needed to learn to write letters

If forming a letter C is difficult, it might be wise to step back and take a look at the pre-writing skills.

As you are working on the Letter C Worksheet, be sure your students have the prewriting skills needed for writing letters. Here is a comprehensive post about the Prewriting Skills needed before letter formation.

Some of the prewriting skills for letter formation include:

  • grasping skills for holding the writing tool – it is preferable to work on forming a correct tripod grasp, but not essential for starting letter formation. Children begin to form a tripod grasp around age four. You can improve pencil grasp by working on hand strengthening activities
  • finger isolation is what is needed to be able to tuck fingers into the palm when writing
  • in hand manipulation – start working on training the intrinsic muscles of the hands
  • following directions – this is a key to learning any new skill and quite often the biggest barrier
  • hand strength needed hold pencil and manipulate objects. Students with weak hand strength often have shaky, lightly written letters, and hold the writing tool lightly
  • crossing midline is an essential skill for letter formation, otherwise letters like “t” are written in four pieces rather than two intersecting lines
  • beginning hand dominance – do not worry if it is not solidified by age four, just encourage fine motor tasks, and watch for signs that one hand is stronger than the other
  • imitating movements is important as many children do not respond to verbal directions only
  • visual perception is making sense of what is written or seen.  These might include same/different, scanning, or discrimination
  • prewriting strokes – being able to write lines and circles is important, as these are the foundation for forming upper and lowercase letters
  • copying from a model
  • social function skills such as attending, work tolerance, controlling impulses and body, taking turns, waiting, sharing, and more are needed skills for effective learning.

Activities to teach letter c

In addition to the rhymes above, there are other great activities to teach letter formation and letter recognition for letter b/B:

  • Letter immersion: surround your students with letters. Use games, activities, books, gross motor games, and whole lesson plans to immerse students in learning the letters. Hang up letters, sing songs and rhymes, point out letters, and talk about them.  The Dollar Store is a great place to buy all kinds of supplies
  • Letter I Spy: ask your child to identify and find letters as you go about your day together. Use the letter of the week as well as previously learned letters.

  • Making letters using nature: Take a nature walk and gather materials found on the ground. Use these supplies to form letters. Note: Rocks and leaves are easiest for forming rounded letters like letter C, and sticks are best for letters with straight lines (A, J, T). These rock letters are a fun way to practice letter C.

  • Guess the magnetic letter: Have your child close their eyes before handing them a single magnetic letter of your choice. See if your student can identify the letter in their hands by touch. For children who are still learning, provide choices for them to guess between (“Do you have a ‘T’ or a ‘B’ in your hands?”).

  • Letter matching cards: Start by cutting out rectangles of paper or cardboard for your cards (or use index cards), one for each uppercase and lowercase letter. Write a letter on each of the cards, or have your student practice writing it themselves.
    • Your child can decorate the cards, or glue an object that corresponds to each letter as a visual aide (like an apple on each of the “A” cards, a balloon for the “B” cards, and so forth). 
    • When you are finished making the cards, mix them all up on the table and have your student select one. Their task is to find the matching upper or lowercase version of that letter from the pile. Here is a set of cursive letter flash cards.

  • Make a Letter C craft: Have your student form the letter using your chosen material. You can supply every student with the same material to work on copying from a model, or let them try their creativity. These will be great to try on the “build or trace” template included in the letter C worksheet.

  • Post it notes letter C: Write an uppercase letter C on several Post it notes. Then, use the remaining ones for lowercase letter c. Next, alternate placing uppercase and lowercase letters onto your wall or whiteboard. Point to the uppercase “C” and ask, “Can you find the lowercase letter that matches?” If your child correctly identifies the letter “c,” have them pick it up and stick it below the capital “C.”

  • Screen time: If your curriculum includes a bit of educational screen time, the HOMER Learn & Grow app is a great way to let them practice their letter identification skills.
    • If you set up a free trial, send us an email at contact@theottoolbox to let us know! We’ll email you a few accompanying resources to support letter formation activities!

  • Letter similarities and differences: Make or buy flash cards.  Work with your student to help you sort them into two groups: those that look the same in upper and lowercase and those that look different. 
    • You may need to model this for your child a few times. For example, hold up the capital “S” card and ask, “Do you see a lowercase letter that looks like this?”
    • Let your child examine both letters and highlight similarities and differences between the uppercase and lowercase versions.
    • Continue sorting, letter by letter. Once your child sorts all the letters, have them count the cards in each bowl and see if there are more that look alike or more that are different. This is a great visual perception activity for attending to details.

more tips to teaching letter c

  • surround your students with letters. Use games, activities, books, gross motor games, and whole lesson plans to immerse students in learning the letters
  • here is a list of 20 different activities to practice forming letters
  • write letters in the air with big arm movements
  • make letters in sand, shaving cream, chalk, sandpaper
  • teach the letter names and sounds before forming the letters so students understand what they are writing
  • use the whole body to teach letter formation
  • sing songs and rhymes about letters
  • practice prewriting skills through activities and play
  • encourage family to practice with their children at home
  • follow the same curriculum throughout the teaching for consistency. Whether you use Learning without Tears, Teaching Mama, Songs for Sounds, or another curriculum, being consistent helps students learn the language and follow the prompts
  • The OT Toolbox has some great resources to add to this packet for working on letter recognition and formation.

how to use the letter c worksheet

As described above, this free Letter C Worksheet, can be cut into sections and made into mini workbooks. There are many other great options for using these work pages:

  • Laminate the pages to make them reusable. Punch holes in them, and create a binder. This is especially helpful with the play dough cards
  • Take a photo of the letter made of playdough, rather than having students trying to keep their dough formations stuck in their books
  • Enlarge each section to make them full page sized. This might be helpful for younger learners who may need more room to write and color
  • Separate each kind of activity, and group them together to make an alphabet book. For example, make a book of all the “do a dot” letters. Keep going until your students have six mini alphabet books
  • Cut the pages into six sections, then staple together. Each book with have six pages, all relating to the same letter. For example, the Letter C Worksheet would be turned into a small booklet with a traced C, written C, colored C, dotted C, playdough C, etc.
  • Make your own modifications to some of the sections. Instead of tracing, students can fill the section with glue and glitter! In the coloring section, students can fill them with small manipulatives. Wikki sticks can be used instead of Playdough. Water color, paint, or any other creative medium you can find to fill in the spaces
  • Have bins of manipulatives ready for creative play with this Letter C Worksheet
  • Glue and bits of paper, or other findings are always handy to have around
  • Making an activity fun will hopefully encourage the reluctant learners
  • Add this letter C worksheet to part of your bigger lesson plan including gross motor, sensory, social, reading, math, or other daily fun activities

a final word on letter c

When you get excited about teaching, it will become contagious. Your students will feed off your positive energy.  Teaching is not one size fits all, so it will take some trial and error to find something that works.  Find something that you feel you can teach over and over again. Sometimes the lessons become repetitive, so you need to like what you are teaching. 

Free Letter C Worksheet

Want a free printable letter C worksheet that you can use to work on learning the motor plan for letter C? We have a free worksheet that offers several multisensory letter formation strategies. Print off the page and use all of the sections to create uppercase letter C and lowercase letter c. Or, cut the worksheet into sections to create mini booklets to form the letter in a single sensory style.

Enter your email address into the form below to access your copy.

This printable is also available inside our membership club!

FREE Letter C Worksheet

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    Victoria Wood, OTR/L is a contributor to The OT Toolbox and has been providing Occupational Therapy treatment in pediatrics for more than 25 years. She has practiced in hospital settings (inpatient, outpatient, NICU, PICU), school systems, and outpatient clinics in several states. She has treated hundreds of children with various sensory processing dysfunction in the areas of behavior, gross/fine motor skills, social skills and self-care. Ms. Wood has also been a featured speaker at seminars, webinars, and school staff development training. She is the author of Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes.

    Want printable handwriting and sensory motor activities to target the visual motor skills needed for letter writing? Grab a copy of our Letters! Fine Motor Kit. The printable PDF contains 100 pages of hands-on letter writing practice for multisensory handwriting!

    Letters Fine Motor Kit

    Inside the Letters Fine Motor Kit, you’ll find:

    • A-Z Multisensory Writing Pages: Roll a ball of dough letters, ASL sign language letters, gross motor movement, small-scale letter box writing task, finger isolation letter trace, and writing practice area
    • Alphabet Fine Motor Clip Cards– Clip clothespins or paper clips to match letters with various fonts to strengthen the hands and focusing on eye-hand coordination, bilateral coordination, visual processing skills, and more.
    • Cut and place Fine Motor Mazes– Cut out the letter pieces and trace the maze with a finger to work on eye-hand coordination and finger isolation. Place a small letter on the letter spots to address in-hand manipulation and dexterity skills.
    • A-Z Cotton Swab Cards– Includes upper case and lower case letters. Dot the cards using a cotton swab or laminate the cards and use them over and over again.
    • A-Z Pattern Block Cards– These cards include a section for tracing with a finger tip for separation of the sides of the hand, eye-hand coordination, and finger isolation during letter formation. There is also a space to “finger write” the letter using the fingertip. This multisensory letter formation activity can be a great brain break during handwriting or literacy tasks. Learners can then form the letter using parquetry blocks.
    • Fine Motor Letter Geo-Cards– These geo board cards include A-Z in upper case forms. Users can copy the letter forms in a variety of multi-sensory strategies.
    • A-Z Color and Cut Letter Memory Cards– These upper case and lower case letter cards can be used to color for letter formation. Then use them in fine motor matching tasks or in sensory bins.
    • Color By Size Sheets– Help learners discriminate between tall letters, small letters, and tail letters. This visual perception activity invites learners to color small areas, using hand muscles for strengthening and handwriting endurance.
    • A-Z Building Block Cards– These LEGO block cards invite users to copy the cards to form letters using small building blocks. Users can place the blocks on the cards or copy the letter to address visual shift and visual memory. This activity set comes in upper case and lowercase letter forms.
    • A-Z Play Dough Letter Formation Cards– Print off these cards and laminate them to create play dough mats. Learners can form the letters using the arrows to correctly form letters with play dough while strengthening their hands and visual motor skills. Each card includes a space for practicing the letter formation, using a dry erase marker if the cards are laminated.
    • Graded Lines Box Writing Sheets– Users can trace and form letters in boxes to work on formation of letters, line awareness, starting points, and letter size.
    • Alphabet Roll and Write Sheets– Roll a dice and form the letter associated with the number of dots on the dice. This is a great way to work on letter formation skills using motivation. Which letter will reach the top first? This activity is easily integrated with a rainbow writing task to increase number or repetitions for letter practice.
    • Pencil Control Letter Scan– Use the letter bubble tracks to scan for letters. Users can fill in the letters of the alphabet to work on pencil control skills.
    • Color and Cut Puzzles– Color the pictures to work on hand strength and letter formation skills. Then cut out the puzzles and build visual perceptual skills.

    Get your copy of the Letters Fine Motor Kit today!

    Want the rest of the worksheets in this series? You can also grab:

    Hook Grasp

    by
    hook grasp

    Today, we are covering one type of grasp called a hook grasp. If you saw my earlier post on grasp patterns, you may have noticed a grip you are unfamiliar with. The grip pattern called the Hook Grasp, is a functional grasping pattern that is used daily in various fine motor skills. Today we will take a moment to further explore the hook grasp, talk about its’ functional uses, and get resources for exercises and activities to strengthen this grip.

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    hook grasp

    what is a hook grasp?

    A Hook Grasp is a type of motor pattern in which the fingers are bent at all the joints in a slightly flexed pattern with the thumb either assisting to grasp an object with the hook pattern, or in opposition with an open thumb webspace.

    In the hook grasp pattern, digits 2-5 (pointer finger, middle finger, ring finger, and pinkie fingers) are used in a hook position. The fingers bend as if carrying the handle of a briefcase. The thumb may or many not be used in the grip’s positioning.

    The hook grasp is characterized by a flat hand, curled fingers, and thumb used passively to stabilize the load. The biomechanics of the hand for a hook grip use a stable wrist, finger flexion at the IP joints, and extension at the MCP joints.

    When you think of “hook grasp” you are might be picturing Captain Hook. The hooking motion used in this grip is similar to the way Captain Hook holds onto items. The objects hang in the curve of the Captain’s hook. Similar to this idea, in the hook grasp, the tips of the fingers are bent into a curve to grab onto things.

    A hook grip is used to hold objects with a small diameter. For objects with a diameter of 2″ the hook grip strength can achieve the strength of a power grip. Very narrow handles decreases hook grip strength by pressing deeply into the hand and fingers.

    Check out the video which explains what a hook grasp is and what this type of grasp pattern looks line in daily functional activities. If you can not see this video due to blockers on your device, check out the video explanation over on our YouTube channel.

    examples of the hook grasp

    Some examples of a hook grasp in functional task include:

    • holding onto the handle of a bucket
    • hanging from a bar
    • weight lifting with a barbell
    • lifting and carrying shopping bags
    • grasping a steering wheel
    • lifting a box that has cut out holes for handles
    • carrying a briefcase, purse, or bag by the handle
    • doing pull ups
    • holding a garden hose
    • using a hairbrush with a slim handle
    • pulling a refrigerator door handle
    • holding onto the overhead safety handle in the car
    • grasping the skinny edge of a container to lift it
    • carrying a jug
    • Holding the handle of a suitcase
    • Holding onto a ladder rung

    In each of these tasks, the load, or the work of the grasp, is supported by fingers. This grip is most effective when the arms are down at the side of the body. For visual learners, here are some illustrations of the this grip in action.

    Rigid handles can cause discomfort when carrying a heavy load for long periods of time. If you have ever tried to carry a grocery bag with skinny plastic handles for more than a couple of minutes, you know how quickly the pain sets in. Of course, someone invented a solution for carrying plastic bags. (affiliate link) This gadget uses the hook grip, but distributes the weight of the bags better.

    hook grip in weightlifting

    The hook grip is a method of gripping a barbell used in many strength-related sports such as Olympic weightlifting, CrossFit, and powerlifting. Here is an informative article on the benefits of using a hook grasp in weightlifting.

    In weightlifting, the hook grip is further strengthened by placing the thumb on the bar and wrapping the fingers on top of it.

    This takes practice and pushing through the pain, but according to the resources, the hook grasp becomes quite the power grip during heavy lifting.

    Hook Grasp Exercises

    To develop overall hand strength, tools such as hand grip strengtheners can be used in grip strength exercises, along with functional activities.

    Try these specific activities:

    • Squeeze things whenever you can. Use tools, putty, games, playdough, a rolled up towel, tennis or stress balls
    • Use a (Amazon affiliate link) grip strength kit specifically designed to improve grasping. While this may be repetitive and boring to some, it is a measurable way to build grasping.
    • Prohands grip master (affiliate link) is a popular hand strengthening tool. It can be used to increase different grip patterns including the hook grip
    • Play with a squirt bottle or squeeze container
    • Classic ring toss game
    • Milk a cow (or pretend using the hand motions)
    • Carry a laundry basket that has side holes. Play a game of carrying the basket while gathering items
    • Hang from a trapeze swing or ladder swing
    • Climb a ladder practicing the hook grasp by not using the thumb
    • Tape the thumb out of the way for an exercise of picking items up without using the thumb to support it
    • Provide a small purse with a handle or a suitcase for your learner to carry around. This can be filled with treasures and collectibles. Kids love to carry things, and this will build their hand strength
    • Play a game of carrying buckets while filling it with items along the way
    • Easter egg hunt picking up eggs while carrying the basket
    • Fill buckets with water to dump them. This is a great beach activity as children carry water back and forth across the sand
    • Encourage heavy lifting, carrying, pushing and pulling to strengthen grip and improve function and independence.

    final thoughts on the hook grasp

    Next time you are using your hook grasp to carry grocery bags, or laundry basket, pay attention to the amount of work your fingertips are doing. There is a lot of force right on the ends of your digits. Imagine if you were missing a digit, or had an injury to one. Now the amount of force is only spread among three fingers instead of four. Finger injuries may seem small, but they effect the power of grasping, as well as fine motor precision.

    Other types of grasps to consider when it comes to fine motor skills include:

    Want to improve overall hand strength and finger dexterity with done-for-you, printable activities? Grab one or more of our Fine Motor Kits. Each one is full of fine motor tasks and activity pages designed to develop precision, dexterity, coordination, and fine motor skills!

    Our Fine Motor Kits are also fond inside The OT Toolbox Membership Club.

    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!

    Victoria Wood, OTR/L is a contributor to The OT Toolbox and has been providing Occupational Therapy treatment in pediatrics for more than 25 years. She has practiced in hospital settings (inpatient, outpatient, NICU, PICU), school systems, and outpatient clinics in several states. She has treated hundreds of children with various sensory processing dysfunction in the areas of behavior, gross/fine motor skills, social skills and self-care. Ms. Wood has also been a featured speaker at seminars, webinars, and school staff development training. She is the author of Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes.

    Under the Desk Foot Rest

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    under the desk foot rest

    If you are a tall person, you might not give much thought to an under the desk foot rest.  Your feet might naturally sit on the floor.  You might be thinking “what is the big deal?” The big deal is about posture, core strength, and improving function. Here, we’re covering how a desk foot support can improve sitting posture when writing. While it feels cool to swing your legs under your desk, it is not beneficial in the long term. Let’s explain…

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    Under the desk foot rest

    Under the desk foot rest

    An under the floor desk foot rest may be an essential tool to support upper body positioning that offers the stability needed for distal mobility when writing, reading, and completing fine motor or visual motor tasks.

    These positioning devices can be a great flexible seating option as well.

    What is an under the desk foot rest?

    An under the desk foot rest is just as you might imagine it to be…a supportive place to rest the feet to promote optimal alignment of the body in a chair. We cover specific reasons to use an under the desk positioner below.

    Let’s break this down…

    Enter the (Amazon affiliate link) Squatty Potty as Exhibit A. The people who invented the squatty potty did research to show that having your feet on the floor (or elevated on their stool), helps you go #2 by improving body position. Positioning is one of the first areas an occupational therapy practitioners addresses when it comes to potty training interventions.

    There is a long list of other benefits to having your feet on the floor while using the toilet. I think the best one is comfort.  If a stool is beneficial for one of the body’s basic functions, imagine what it can do when supporting the feet under a desk!

    The positioning needs of sitting at a desk are not much different. An optimal position is needed for working at a desk with refined motor skills.

    The layout of workstations has not changed much over the years. Even though the workforce is more inclusive today, workstations are still set up for people 5”10” or taller.

    School desks and chairs are set up much the same way.  Adults of shorter stature (5’6” for males and 5’2” for females) can benefit from an under the desk foot rest.  Children of smaller size can also benefit.

    The benefits of having an under the desk foot rest

    Let’s break down the benefits of using an under the desk foot positioner.

    Comfort – I already mentioned comfort in regards to toileting. If you are of shorter stature, think about sitting on a stool at a bar.  Your feet are dangling, and it feels like you are about to slip off the chair.  You keep scooting backward trying to get some traction.

    While you keep scooting and squirming in your chair, you are conscious of your body and not on the conversation you are supposed to be having. 

    This is the same for people in any kind of chair.

    Health benefits – Footrests align posture, reduce fatigue, and ease pain or discomfort in the feet, ankles, knees, and thighs.

    A rocking footrest improves the circulation in your legs by maintaining consistent movement throughout the day. This lowers the chances of leg pain, stiffness, and developing varicose veins or blood clots. 

    A chair that is too high may lead users to sit cross legged instead of feet on the floor.

    Positioning – there are several components to positioning. Some of it was mentioned under comfort. If a person is small and trying to sit in a large chair, they need to scoot forward to reach the edge of the chair, which results in slumping, or tired muscles from sitting without support.

    If they scoot all the way to the back of the chair, these students can not effectively reach the desk in front of them.  The front of the chair often hits their legs at inconvenient places other than the back of the knees. 

    Proper positioning which sitting includes the hips, knees, and ankles at ninety degrees.  Studies show that sitting cross legged for more than three hours per day may cause shoulder inclination, lateral pelvic tilt, and forward head posture.

    Fine motor precision – people are often given taller chairs to make them the correct height to reach the table. This is wise, as the elbows should be at ninety degrees for optimal fine motor output.

    A person who is falling out of their chair is less likely to produce efficient or effective output. While this taller chair gives the student a better tabletop position, it leaves the legs dangling.

    While the ultimate solution is a small chair and a small desk, this is not always feasible.

    Posture – posture goes hand in hand with positioning, or can be an effect of positioning. 

    People of short stature who can not reach the ground often slump in their chair to touch the ground, lean forward on their desks to try and gain stability, or tip laterally due to weakened core muscles. Check out this post on Writing Posture.   Also, read about: Why do Kids Slouch in their seats?  

    Sensory – while having your legs dangling due to an incorrect sized chair can be great sensory input, in can also cause disorganization and dysregulation. Sensory input, at its’ best is self-regulated. 

    This means that you have control over your body and what is happening to it. If you can not reach the floor to stop the movement and get grounded, this often leads to dysregulation.

    Dysregulation can add to inattention, lack of focus, emotional instability, and seeking or avoiding behaviors as your body and brain expends so much effort trying to stay in your chair.

    TYPES OF UNDER THE DESK FOOT RESTS

    An under the desk foot rest can range from home made boxes to deluxe apparatus.  This will depend on environment, budget, and needs.

    Homemade foot positioner options – if you are on a tight budget, or feel this accommodation might be temporary, making a simple home-made under the desk foot rest may be right for you. 

    This can be made from a stack of books, carboard box, pieces of wood, a plastic tub, shoebox, etc. You can also make an under the desk foot rest out of scrap wood or pallets if you are handy.  In the “old days” the Yellow Pages were great for making foot rests and booster seats!

    Basic foot rests – A basic foot rest (affiliate link) is a simple design that are basically no more than a box.  Use these for someone who needs nothing more than a place to put their feet.

    Slanted foot rests – A slanted foot rest (affiliate link) helps you sit back further in your chair and lean into the support of your chair.  A good one to look for has grippy surface to keep the feet from sliding on the slanted rest. It keeps you sitting upright in a more neutral posture.

    Rocking foot rest – A rocking foot rest (affiliate link) encourages leg and foot movement at a time of day where most people are inactive. It can increase metabolic rate and keep you healthy. This is a great option for individuals who need a quiet fidget tool at school in order to self-regulate through movement.

    Foam foot rest – A foam foot rest (affiliate link) has a soft cushion that feels good to use. The soft surface is comfortable on the feet. You can flip this over for a rocking surface, and get one with a base to raise the height. Most come with a washable cover to keep it clean.

    It is lightweight and portable, although big and bulky.  This might not be the greatest if you are in a dirty space, or come in from the outside with shoes on and step on it. 

    Sensory foot rest – some sensory cushions can double as an under the desk sensory footrest. (affiliate link) The wiggle cushion and square blue foot cushion not only provide great sensory input, they can bridge the height gap.

    One inexpensive sensory foot rest is to use a partially deflated beach ball. We love the sensory tool as a seating tool and under the desk positioning offers sensory input as well.

    ALTERNATIVE TYPES OF UNDER DESK FOOT REST

    Above are the more traditional types of foot rests. There are times when a traditional method is not feasible or the best for the user. Some of these offer heavy work through the feet and legs. Others on the list below offer a form of proprioceptive input. Others provide a base of support for better alignment.

    These are affiliate links to Amazon.

    • Bouncy band (affiliate link) – check out my post on Foot Fidgets to get an idea of under the desk fidgets. The bouncy band can provide a moveable surface to give input to the feet and legs.  It can provide some support, but is not going to be as stable as a traditional foot rest.  These however are more subtle, cost effective, and easier to move.
    • Exercise equipment (affiliate link) – an under the desk bike or elliptical can provide movement, but not as much stability.  If you need a foot rest because of sensory or health issues requiring movement, an under the desk exercise bike might be a good alternative.
    • Exercising foot rest (affiliate link) – this footrest has an exercising motion that improves circulation. It has a unique surface that helps stimulate and promote blood flow to your feet. This design is going to be more cumbersome if you switch desks a lot. It is super expensive, but very cool!
    • Foot massager(affiliate link) – if you need some extra comfort while you work, a massager might we what you need.
    • Foot bar (affiliate link) – this simple bar gives you a place to rest the feet and move with a swinging motion.  This is great for people who are required to stand in one place for long periods of time. Resting one foot at a time on the bar reduces pressure on the lower back and allows more dynamic posture throughout the day. There is also a foot hammock as another alternative…
    • Foot rest hammock (affiliate link)– this is a cool new idea to elevate the feet. Not sure how effective it is for positioning in the long run, but innovative.

    One of the the best solutions for an under the desk footrest is to change the workplace set up.  Creating a workplace that is ergonomically designed for your specific body is ultimately best for you. 

    While you still might benefit from a moving foot rest, you will not be dependent on one for height requirements. Check out this post on Alternative Seating Options.

    TIPS FOR SELECTING an UNDER The DESK FOOT REST

    As with everything in life, nothing is one size fits all.  Trial and error may be required to find the right solution, but there are general guidelines to consider:

    1. Measure the distance between the feet and the floor to get the best fit. Knees can be slightly elevated, and feet should be able to firmly sit on the foot rest.
    2. Check the type of seat provided. Is it too large, too small, too soft/firm, not supportive, or uncomfortable? Some people need arm rests and lateral supports. Other people need high back rests for optimum comfort.
    3. Make sure the foot rest is acceptable for the user and other people in their workspace. Something distracting or noisy might not be the best in a busy classroom. A student who moves to several different classrooms might need a stool in each room, or something small and portable.
    4. Safety first. Check for slipping of the feet on the foot rest, movement of the footrest on the floor, and ease of getting in/out of the desk with the foot rest there.
    5. Watch for other seating needs. Users might need a cushion, head rest, lateral supports, foot cups, and other adaptations to insure the best posture and comfort
    6. Check for compliance. Be sure that your user is using the footrest provided. If not, find out why. Maybe it is too distracting, embarrassing, ugly, improper fit, uncomfortable, or not allowed by the staff.

    Power of an Under the Desk FootRest

    What seems so simple, like sitting in a chair (or on the toilet!) can be full of complications that have a larger effect than first imagined.  Go back to the foundation when diagnosing and treating problems.

    Maybe visual motor difficulties stem from poor seating. Perhaps that neck and back pain have to do with sitting posture.  Sometimes a simple fix such as an under the desk foot rest can ripple into a big change.

    Victoria Wood, OTR/L is a contributor to The OT Toolbox and has been providing Occupational Therapy treatment in pediatrics for more than 25 years. She has practiced in hospital settings (inpatient, outpatient, NICU, PICU), school systems, and outpatient clinics in several states. She has treated hundreds of children with various sensory processing dysfunction in the areas of behavior, gross/fine motor skills, social skills and self-care. Ms. Wood has also been a featured speaker at seminars, webinars, and school staff development training. She is the author of Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes.

    FREE Letter B worksheet

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    letter B worksheet

    Today’s post will highlight letter B, and includes a free Letter B Worksheet. The posts will have tips to the teach the selected letter, prewriting skills needed, and verbal prompts helpful to teaching the letter. As we continue our travel together through learning the alphabet with letter formation sheets, I want to remind you that this post is part of a letter skills lesson that will include all 26 letters of the alphabet in upcoming posts.  Each post will offer information on how to teach the highlighted letter, and include a free download for that letter.  

    You’ll also want to get a copy of our letter A worksheet and all of the other 26 letters of the alphabet in upcoming blog posts on letter formation worksheets.

    letter b worksheet

    letter b worksheet

    The Letter B Worksheet is another one of our multisensory worksheets designed for students to cut the page into sections, then staple all the pieces together to create little alphabet tracing books by grouping the dotted, tracing, playdough, and color sections together. 

    Each post will offer information on how to teach the highlighted letter, and include a free download for that letter of the alphabet. Collect all 26 and you have a letter writing workbook!

    Today we are talking about the Letter B, both in its upper and lowercase form. There are many terrific ways to teach letter recognition and formation. A multisensory approach to learning is a great way to improve skills while meeting the learning styles of all your students.

    Click the link below and add your email address to get the FREE downloadable PDF letter B worksheet.

    The Letter B Worksheet is divided into six sections: 

    1. Playdough Letter B Cards
    2. Letter B Tracing
    3. Do-A-Dot Letter B
    4. Color the Letter B
    5. Write Letter B on lines
    6. Write Letter B in boxes

    Build Playdough letter B

    Hands-on learners will love the building section of the letter B worksheet. Students can mold the letter B out of play dough, clay, sticks, or other manipulatives.  Keep reading for more great ideas to build letters out of common items.

    Tracing letter B

    The tracing letter b section of the worksheet is great for targeting visual motor skills. We know that tracing can support these skills, so use this section with multisensory supports for more motor planning. Kinesthetic learners learn by doing, and will benefit from all the sections in these handouts, especially this section on tracing letter B and b.

    Kinesthetic learners like to touch and engage in order to learn and retain information. Students can use their fingers, a wand, popsicle stick, or add a writing tool to trace the letters. You can also laminate the letter pages, place them on a tray covered with sand, salt, or shaving cream, and have students trace the letters this way.

    Do a Dot letter B

    Kids (and OT providers) love do a dot activities for their many skill-building abilities. Cut out this section of of Do a Dot Letter B to make an uppercase and lowercase letter. Use cotton swabs broken into pieces, the end of an eraser like a bingo type markers, or stampers to fill in the letters.

    Kids love the banging movement and sound of these dot markers. Students can also dip Q-tips or fingers into paint to make dots on the paper.  There are all kinds of stampers available on the web. What else can kids use to make dots on paper?

    Color the letter B

    Coloring is such a great strategy to build hand strength, so the color a letter B section of the page is great for all ages. Encourage developmentally appropriate grasp patterns (broken crayons work wonders for developing a tripod grasp), work on coloring inside the lines, color selection, and attention to detail. 

    Explore different mediums for coloring including markers, gel pens, pencils, crayons (of all types), paint, glitter, or glue and small items to fill the space.

    Write the letter B

    These two sections are for students to put their practice into letter formation. They will practice writing the letters on the lines with correct sizing, formation, line placement, and details.

    Students also practice fitting the letters inside the small boxes to improve letter sizing and accuracy. As with the other sections, this section can also be laminated for reusability.

    Be mindful that some students do not write well with dry erase markers.

    how to teach letter b

    This letter B worksheet is a great start to teaching letter formation. Whether you are using the Handwriting without Tears curriculum, or teaching the letters in alphabetical order, these great worksheets provide a consistent method for teaching and tracking letter formation and understanding.

    There are several sites online with different letter rhymes available for teaching letters.

    This YouTube video uses the HWT narrative for letter b:

    • The HWT curriculum lowercase b narrative says: dive down, swim up and over, around and bump.   
    • The uppercase letter B HWT says: big line, little curve, little curve

    Letter b rhymes include:

    • Songs for Teaching’s rhyme for lowercase b says: now make a long line with a circle on the ground, and you’ve made a b with the /b/ /b/ /b/ sound.
    • Songs of Sounds UK, teaches lowercase b by: starting at the top, go down, back up half way and around the big belly. Uppercase B: From the top, down, back to the top. Round to the middle, round to the bottom
    • Twinkl has a great set of rhymes. Lowercase b says, go straight down and up again neatly, Then all the way round and join at the bottom to make a b. Uppercase B rhyme is: From top to bottom make a line that is straight. Go back to the top and wait. Make a round bump that bends back to the middle, and a second bump underneath, that is a bit of a fiddle.

    prewriting skills needed for Letter B

    As you are working on the Letter B Worksheet, be sure your students have the prewriting skills needed for writing letters.

    Here is a comprehensive post about the Prewriting Skills needed before letter formation.

    Some of the prewriting skills for letter formation include:

    • grasping skills for holding the writing tool – it is preferable to work on forming a correct tripod grasp, but not essential for starting letter formation. Children begin to form a tripod grasp around age four. You can improve pencil grasp by working on hand strengthening activities
    • finger isolation is what is needed to be able to tuck fingers into the palm when writing
    • in hand manipulation – start working on training the intrinsic muscles of the hands
    • following directions – this is a key to learning any new skill and quite often the biggest barrier
    • hand strength needed hold pencil and manipulate objects. Students with weak hand strength often have shaky, lightly written letters, and hold the writing tool lightly
    • crossing midline is an essential skill for letter formation, otherwise letters like “t” are written in four pieces rather than two intersecting lines
    • beginning hand dominance – do not worry if it is not solidified by age four, just encourage fine motor tasks, and watch for signs that one hand is stronger than the other
    • imitating movements is important as many children do not respond to verbal directions only
    • visual perception is making sense of what is written or seen.  These might include same/different, scanning, or visual discrimination
    • prewriting strokes – being able to write lines and circles is important, as these are the foundation for forming upper and lowercase letters. Here is a great post on letter formation
    • copying from a model
    • social function skills such as attending, work tolerance, controlling impulses and body, taking turns, waiting, sharing, and more are needed skills for effective learning.
    • copying from a model or directive

    specific skills for letter b

    In addition to the skills above, students will need to know how to form straight lines and curves to make upper and lowercase B. These segments of the letter combine to create a motor plan for writing letter B with automaticity.

    Teach them about retracing so that the letters are formed correctly rather than b looking like the number six. This is a good time to start demonstrating the difference between b and d, as they are often confused.

    Steps to Write Uppercase Letter B–

    1. Upper case letter B has a big line down which starts at the top line. This single line is a great starting point because it is one of the most basic pre-writing lines.
    2. Next, jump back up to the top line. This requires pencil control to place the pencil on the top of the line at the starting point.
    3. Next make two bumps consisting of little curves. These connect at the straight line, which again requires pencil control skills.

    Steps to Write Lowercase Letter b-

    1. Lowercase letter b starts at the top line much like uppercase letter B. This point reinforces why teaching uppercase letters first is important, because of the consistency between pencil strokes.
    2. Next, move to the middle line. This is a more refined pencil control skill than the top line.
    3. Make a small curve, ending at the bottom of the straight line.

    There are dozens of additional skills children need to learn before they are truly ready for handwriting. Children who are missing these important skills will struggle with handwriting.  This lack of foundational skills can lead to poor letter formation, fatigue, compensation strategies, and inefficient writing.

    tips to teach letter b formation

    In addition to the rhymes above, there are other great strategies to teaching letter formation:

    • write letters in the air with big arm movements
    • make letters in sand, shaving cream, chalk, sandpaper
    • teach the letter names and sounds before forming the letters so students understand what they are writing
    • it is wise to follow the same curriculum throughout the teaching for consistency. Whether you use Learning without Tears, Teaching Mama, Songs for Sounds, or another curriculum, being consistent helps students learn the language and follow the prompts
    • surround your students with letters. Use games, activities, books, gross motor games, and whole lesson plans to immerse students in learning the letters
    • Use some of our multisensory Letter Formation activities to specifically target big lines down and the bump, bump of upper case be as well as the big line down and small bump of lowercase b.
    • The OT Toolbox has some great handwriting resources to add to this packet for working on letter recognition and formation.

    Tips and Tricks to Teach Uppercase B

    We have created a video with specific tips and tricks to teach uppercase letter B. You can watch that video here:

    This uppercase letter B video will have a corresponding lowercase letter b exercise coming soon.

    how to use the letter b worksheet

    As described above, this free Letter B Worksheet, can be cut into sections and made into mini workbooks. There are many other great options for using these work pages:

    • Laminate the pages to make them reusable. Punch holes in them, and create a binder. This is especially helpful with the play dough cards
    • Separate each kind of activity, and group them together to make an alphabet book. For example, make a book of all the “do a dot” letters. Keep going until your students have six mini alphabet books
    • Cut the pages into six sections, then staple together. Each book with have six pages, all relating to the same letter. For example, the Letter B Worksheet would be turned into a small booklet with a traced b, written b, colored b, dotted b, playdough b, etc.
    • Take a photo of the letter made of playdough, rather than having students trying to keep their dough formations stuck in their books
    • Enlarge each section to make them full page sized. This might be helpful for younger learners who may need more room to write and color
    • Make your own modifications to some of the sections. Instead of tracing, students can fill the section with glue and glitter! In the coloring section, students can fill them with small manipulatives. Wikki sticks can be used instead of Playdough. Water color, paint, or any other creative medium you can find to fill in the spaces
    • Add this letter b worksheet to part of your bigger lesson plan including gross motor, sensory, social, reading, math, or other daily fun activities

    letter B recognition and Identification

    In addition to the letter b strategies described above, there are other great tactics designed specifically to support letter b recognition. This is particularly important dur to the tendency for “b” to be confused with “d”. We discuss the letter b confusion in our blog post on to teaching letter formation:

    Here are ways to support letter recognition for letter b/B:

    • Letter immersion: surround your students with letters. Use games, activities, books, gross motor games, and whole lesson plans to immerse students in learning the letters. Hang up letters, sing songs and rhymes, point out letters, and talk about them.  The Dollar Store is a great place to buy all kinds of supplies.

    • Matching uppercase B to lowercase b: Matching upper case and lowercase letters is an important skill in letter recognition. Practice matching the upper case letter B to lowercase letter b, and vice versa, with letter flash cards. You can use these in a sensory bin or writing tray.

    • Letter I Spy: ask your child to identify and find letters as you go about your day together. Use the letter of the week as well as previously learned letters.

    • Making letters using nature: Take a nature walk and gather materials found on the ground. Use these supplies to form letters. Note: Rocks and leaves are easiest for forming rounded letters (B, C, D), and sticks are best for letters with straight lines (A, J, T). Here is how to use sticks to create twig letters.
    • Guess the magnetic letter: Have your child close their eyes before handing them a single magnetic letter of your choice. See if your student can identify the letter in their hands by touch. For children who are still learning, provide choices for them to guess between (“Do you have a ‘T’ or a ‘B’ in your hands?”).

    • Letter matching cards: Start by cutting out rectangles of paper or cardboard for your cards (or use index cards), one for each uppercase and lowercase letter. Write a letter on each of the cards, or have your student practice writing it themselves. Your child can decorate the cards, or glue an object that corresponds to each letter as a visual aide (like an apple on each of the “A” cards, a balloon for the “B” cards, and so forth). 
      • You can even use the sections of the letter B worksheet to create mini cards that are great for matching.
      • When you are finished making the cards, mix them all up on the table and have your student select one. Their task is to find the matching upper or lowercase version of that letter from the pile. Here is a set of cursive letter flash cards.

    • Make a letter B craft: Have your student form the letter using your chosen material. You can supply every student with the same material to work on copying from a model, or let them try their creativity. These will be great to try on the “build or trace” template included in the letter b worksheet.

    • Post it notes letters: Write an uppercase letter on 26 Post it notes. Then, use the remaining ones for lowercase letters. Next, alternate placing uppercase and lowercase letters onto your wall or whiteboard. You might have a capital “A” followed by a lowercase “b.” Once you get to “Z,” set the remaining letters in a row so your child can see them. Point to the uppercase “A” and ask, “Can you find the lowercase letter that matches?” If your child correctly identifies the letter “a,” have them pick it up and stick it below the capital “A.”
    • Use an App: If your curriculum includes a bit of educational screen time, the HOMER Learn & Grow app is a great way to let them practice letter identification.
      • If you set up a free trial, send us an email at contact@theottoolbox to let us know! We’ll email you a few accompanying resources to support letter formation activities!

    • Letter similarities and differences: Make or buy flash cards.  Work with your student to help you sort them into two groups: those that look the same in upper and lowercase and those that look different. 
      • You may need to model this for your child a few times. For example, hold up the capital “S” card and ask, “Do you see a lowercase letter that looks like this?”
      • Let your child examine both letters and highlight similarities and differences between the uppercase and lowercase versions. Continue sorting, letter by letter.
      • Once your child sorts all the letters, have them count the cards in each bowl and see if there are more that look alike or more that are different. This is a great visual perception activity for attending to details.

    a final thought on letter B

    Find a lesson plan that not only works for your students, but is one that you enjoy. If it is not pleasing to you, it will get annoying and repetitive very quickly. If the rhymes you are using make no sense to you, they will be harder to teach your students. When you get excited about teaching, it will become contagious. Your students will feed off your positive energy.  Teaching is not one size fits all, so it will take some trial and error to find something that works.

    Want printable handwriting and sensory motor activities to target the visual motor skills needed for letter writing? Grab a copy of our Letters! Fine Motor Kit. The printable PDF contains 100 pages of hands-on letter writing practice for multisensory handwriting!

    Letters Fine Motor Kit

    Inside the Letters Fine Motor Kit, you’ll find:

    • A-Z Multisensory Writing Pages: Roll a ball of dough letters, ASL sign language letters, gross motor movement, small-scale letter box writing task, finger isolation letter trace, and writing practice area
    • Alphabet Fine Motor Clip Cards– Clip clothespins or paper clips to match letters with various fonts to strengthen the hands and focusing on eye-hand coordination, bilateral coordination, visual processing skills, and more.
    • Cut and place Fine Motor Mazes– Cut out the letter pieces and trace the maze with a finger to work on eye-hand coordination and finger isolation. Place a small letter on the letter spots to address in-hand manipulation and dexterity skills.
    • A-Z Cotton Swab Cards– Includes upper case and lower case letters. Dot the cards using a cotton swab or laminate the cards and use them over and over again.
    • A-Z Pattern Block Cards– These cards include a section for tracing with a finger tip for separation of the sides of the hand, eye-hand coordination, and finger isolation during letter formation. There is also a space to “finger write” the letter using the fingertip. This multisensory letter formation activity can be a great brain break during handwriting or literacy tasks. Learners can then form the letter using parquetry blocks.
    • Fine Motor Letter Geo-Cards– These geo board cards include A-Z in upper case forms. Users can copy the letter forms in a variety of multi-sensory strategies.
    • A-Z Color and Cut Letter Memory Cards– These upper case and lower case letter cards can be used to color for letter formation. Then use them in fine motor matching tasks or in sensory bins.
    • Color By Size Sheets– Help learners discriminate between tall letters, small letters, and tail letters. This visual perception activity invites learners to color small areas, using hand muscles for strengthening and handwriting endurance.
    • A-Z Building Block Cards– These LEGO block cards invite users to copy the cards to form letters using small building blocks. Users can place the blocks on the cards or copy the letter to address visual shift and visual memory. This activity set comes in upper case and lowercase letter forms.
    • A-Z Play Dough Letter Formation Cards– Print off these cards and laminate them to create play dough mats. Learners can form the letters using the arrows to correctly form letters with play dough while strengthening their hands and visual motor skills. Each card includes a space for practicing the letter formation, using a dry erase marker if the cards are laminated.
    • Graded Lines Box Writing Sheets– Users can trace and form letters in boxes to work on formation of letters, line awareness, starting points, and letter size.
    • Alphabet Roll and Write Sheets– Roll a dice and form the letter associated with the number of dots on the dice. This is a great way to work on letter formation skills using motivation. Which letter will reach the top first? This activity is easily integrated with a rainbow writing task to increase number or repetitions for letter practice.
    • Pencil Control Letter Scan– Use the letter bubble tracks to scan for letters. Users can fill in the letters of the alphabet to work on pencil control skills.
    • Color and Cut Puzzles– Color the pictures to work on hand strength and letter formation skills. Then cut out the puzzles and build visual perceptual skills.

    Get your copy of the Letters Fine Motor Kit today!

    FREE LETTER B WORKSHEET

    Want a free printable letter B worksheet that you can use to work on learning the motor plan for letter B? We have a free worksheet that offers several multisensory letter formation strategies. Print off the page and use all of the sections to create uppercase letter B and lowercase letter b. Or, cut the worksheet into sections to create mini booklets to form the letter in a single sensory style.

    Enter your email address into the form below to access your copy.

    This printable is also available inside our membership club!

    FREE Letter B Worksheet

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      Victoria Wood, OTR/L is a contributor to The OT Toolbox and has been providing Occupational Therapy treatment in pediatrics for more than 25 years. She has practiced in hospital settings (inpatient, outpatient, NICU, PICU), school systems, and outpatient clinics in several states. She has treated hundreds of children with various sensory processing dysfunction in the areas of behavior, gross/fine motor skills, social skills and self-care. Ms. Wood has also been a featured speaker at seminars, webinars, and school staff development training. She is the author of Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes.

      Want the rest of the sheets in this series? Also grab:

      Self Awareness Games

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      self-awareness games

      In this blog post, we’re covering all things self awareness games. We have previously covered aspects of self-reflection, and these self-awareness games are the perfect fit if you are looking for activities to support this social and emotional development skill. Self-awareness plays a major role in self-regulation skills and knowing when and how to implement self regulation strategies that support the individual’s needs.

      self-awareness games

      “Do you want to be happier, have more influence, be a better decision-maker, and be a more effective leader? Self-awareness, then, is the most important muscle you need to develop. It’s what will keep you on target to be the best version of yourself and the best leader you can be.” I love this excerpt from the Better Up website. It seems like a great sales pitch for self awareness, and makes me want to get in on it! Can you imagine if this was a product to buy, a pill to take, or something that did not require effort and constant adjustment?

      Self-Awareness Games

      While there is no magic potion for building self awareness, there are some great Self Awareness Games out there to make building this skill more fun. Children and their adult counterparts are more likely to start and stick with something if it is motivating and fun.

      Occupational therapy practitioners use tools such as games and play to facilitate the skills needed for functional tasks and independence. Self-awareness games can specifically target the social emotional skills needed for self-reflection, growth mindset, and other aspects of development.

      Before we get into the games, let’s cover what self-awareness means.

      what is self awareness and what are the benefits?

      Self-awareness is more than just and awareness of your your own person. It’s also more than body awareness, or being physically aware of where your body is located in space. However, we might think about self-awareness as an internal mirror.

      Psychologists Shelley Duval and Robert Wicklund proposed this definition: “Self-awareness is the ability to focus on yourself and how your actions, thoughts, or emotions do or don’t align with your internal standards.”

      Only 10-15% of the population have self awareness. This Self Awareness Test can give you insight into what it means to be self aware.

      Self-awareness is an emotional intelligence skill. It’s a skill that facilitates self-regulation.

      There are several benefits to having self awareness:

      • It gives us the power to influence outcomes
      • Self awareness helps us to become better decision-makers
      • Awareness of ourselves gives us more self-confidence — so, as a result, we communicate with clarity and intention
      • It allows us to understand things from multiple perspective, and frees us from our assumptions and biases
      • It helps us build better relationships
      • It gives us a greater ability to regulate our emotions
      • It empowers us to participate in co-regulation
      • It decreases stress, and can make us happier

      what to look for when developing self awareness

      Self awareness or enlightenment goes beyond just knowing if you are a nice person or not. There are several categories that take part in being aware. These include:

      • Being aware of your inner self (feelings, thoughts, voices) A fun feelings check in activity is great for this.
      • Awareness of your world view or how life exists and why we are here
      • Awareness of your personal beliefs
      • Awareness of your inner conflicts
      • Awareness of your life values
      • Being aware of stress and negativity triggers
      • Understanding your own personal limitations
      • Identifying self sabotage
      • Understanding your “inner parents” (what part of your parents do you carry with you)
      • Being clear on thoughts about your goals and future

      This sounds like a lot of work and self reflection. It is. Let’s explore some Self Awareness Games that might make this process a little less painful.

      All About Me activities supports children in understanding what makes them “tick”. For the younger kids, starting with all about me activities is a great place to start developing an awareness of what makes each person an individual. All About Me preschool activities has some ideas to get you started. You can also use this All About Me PDF for older kids.

      self awareness games – store bought

      Sometimes you just want to click on a website and order a game rather than trying to make it yourself. This is fine and there are certainly plenty of self awareness games to choose from.

      Amazon affiliate links are included below. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases.

      • The {AND} game self love edition (affiliate link) – “Discover yourself with selfcare and reflection cards, designed to help you discover your true self; With 199 questions and prompts, it encourages you to explore your feelings, beliefs, and experiences, helping you gain a deeper understanding of who you are”. This game is more appropriate for young adults than children.
      • Head Rush (affiliate link)- Head Rush requires quick self reflection, and less hesitation, encouraging more revealing answers. Perfect for building rapport and starting meaningful conversations that encourage players to reflect on their feelings, memories, desires and overall self. Appropriate for kids, teens and adults
      • The Ultimate CBT game (affiliate link)- 15 games suitable for 7-14 year-olds, based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and covering all ABCD model parts. Self-Regulation with Fun – Help them identify their feelings while providing skills to cope with their emotions in a relaxed atmosphere using mindfulness techniques, coping thoughts, breathing techniques, problem solving, etc.
      • What do you Stand For Card Game (affiliate link)- this game is based on a book series. This card game spotlights ten top character traits: Caring, Citizenship, Cooperation, Fairness, Forgiveness, Honesty, Relationships, Respect, Responsibility, and Safety. 
      • Wood Rock Stacking Game (affiliate link)- This game has wooden rocks that need to be stacked. The person who knocks it over loses. There are several versions of this card set, each with a different skills game. Adding a simple game is another way to introduce talking and reflections cards.
      • Sussed (affiliate link)- a wacky “Would you Rather” card game – A great icebreaker and educational activity for improving social skills – no matter how old you are! Practice empathy, speaking & listening skills and self-awareness in just 15 minutes of play.

      Other ideas include modifying games you already have. You can adapt ready made games with stickers, prompts, etc. You can add reflections and questions to store bought games like Jenga, Don’t Break the Ice, checkers, Memory, etc. We shared some ideas in our blog post on learning with games you already own.

      DIY self awareness games

      These self awareness games for students can be used in schools, homes, clinics, or any location. Because they are the homemade variety, the cost is low as well.

      • Journaling – while not a game, a great way to practice self awareness. This is a classic “go to” of therapists everywhere. There are some middle school journal prompt ideas that have been developed.
      • Puppet show – Get a few of your child’s favorite stuffed animals and put on a puppet show. Act out a past situation of exactly what happened. This could be your child getting angry at their sibling, feeling scared of the dark or being super excited on Christmas Eve. Acting out situations is a great way to explore emotions and think about alternative ways of expressing them.
      • Pass the Ball – write conversation starter questions on each wedge of a ball. Throw the ball and answer the question that pops up on top
      • The Mirror Game – This game is played by two people who sit facing each other. One person starts by making a facial expression (e.g., raising their eyebrows), and the other person must mimic their emotion. The goal is to match the face as closely as possible. This game helps improve self-awareness by teaching people to pay attention to their facial expressions and body language.
      • APPs and games – if you are into using technology as a learning tool, there are some great apps and games out there. We have some free apps for occupational therapy that can support these areas.

      more self reflection ideas

      While working on oneself can be challenging, everyone has growth potential. Buy or make a self awareness game to work on this important skill.

      Victoria Wood, OTR/L is a contributor to The OT Toolbox and has been providing Occupational Therapy treatment in pediatrics for more than 25 years. She has practiced in hospital settings (inpatient, outpatient, NICU, PICU), school systems, and outpatient clinics in several states. She has treated hundreds of children with various sensory processing dysfunction in the areas of behavior, gross/fine motor skills, social skills and self-care. Ms. Wood has also been a featured speaker at seminars, webinars, and school staff development training. She is the author of Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes.