Victoria Wood OTR/L, Author at The OT Toolbox

FREE Letter A Worksheet

November 20, 2023August 30, 2023 by Victoria Wood OTR/L

Today’s post will highlight letter A, and include a “Letter A Worksheet.” Each post will have tips to the teach the letter, prewriting skills needed, and verbal prompts helpful to teaching these letters. Plus, you can use these letter a worksheets in various ways to teach multisensory motor planning to target letter formation.

As we get started with a new school year, the OT Toolbox is excited to showcase all 26 letters of the alphabet in upcoming blog posts on letter formation worksheets. 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!

These worksheets are designed for students to cut the page into sections and staple all the pieces together to create little alphabet tracing books for the dotted, tracing, playdough, and color sections.

Below, we can explore more great ideas to use these letter worksheet mats. They are great for visual discrimination and letter recognition, too.

letter a worksheet

Click the link below and add your email address to get the FREE downloadable PDF letter A worksheet. There are different ways to teach letter recognition and formation. A multisensory approach to learning is a great way to improve skills and meet the learning styles of all of your students.

Our Letter A worksheet includes sections to target sensory motor skills in forming the lines of uppercase letter A and lowercase letter a.

dotted letter a
tracing letter a
playdough letter a
color the letter a

Other students are kinesthetic learners that have to motor plan a motion for it to “stick”. These sections of the worksheet support those needs.

letter a dot worksheet

This page has a letter A dot activity. You can cut off this section of the worksheet and work on the motor plan needed to form the diagonal lines of uppercase letter A and the curved line/straight line of lowercase letter a.

Using the dot method to make these letters supports motor planning, crossing midline, diagonal lines, and forming letter a with multisensory methods.

If you collect all 26 pages with a sheet for each letter, you can create a mini flip book with a dot letter page for each letter of the alphabet.

tracing letter a Worksheet

We have covered the benefits of tracing letters as a strategy to target visual motor skills and letter forms. This section of the letter A printable includes a tracing lines activity. Tracing letters can be great for these students, provided they understand what they are tracing. Students can use their fingers for tracing, or add a writing tool to complete the task.

Users can trace upper case letter A as well as the lowercase letter a.

Use the activity in several ways:

Trace with a pencil
Trace with different colors of crayons for rainbow writing
Form the letters with sections of wiki stix
Trace with markers for color changing letters
Writing uppercase A and lowercase a on lines
Size awareness of Uppercase A/lowercase a

Then, the section can be used along with the other multisensory letter formation activities on the page, or cut out and stapled into a mini-booklet.

Playdough Letter A Worksheet

We love to use play dough mats for so many reasons. One strategy to work on letter forming is using a play dough letter activity.

Once you print off the letter worksheet, you can use the play dough A area to form the uppercase/lowercase a.

Roll a playdough snake
Break off pieces to create the diagonal and curved lines of the uppercase A and lowercase a

Some students are hands on, needing to make and feel things in order to learn. The playdough formation section of the letter A worksheet allows students the opportunity to form the letter A out of play dough or clay.

Color Letter A Worksheet

This section of the worksheet for letter A/a encourage hand strengthening and visual motor skills to color the shape of an A/a. There are many benefits of coloring with crayons and with this section, we are targeting those areas.

Color the A/a with colored pencils, crayons, finger paints, or more.

The coloring, writing, and dot sections are additional methods to teach the designated letter.

how to teach letter a

This letter A 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.

Uppercase Letter A includes lines which can be verbally prompted as:

Start at the top middle
Big slant line down to the left
Big slant line down to the right
Hop back to the middle
Little line across

Making an uppercase letter A involves skills like diagonal lines and crossing the midline. This means that even though it’s the first letter of the alphabet, and an upper case letter, that this letter isn’t a great one to start with, especially with young learners.

Diagonal lines in uppercase letter A are a pre-writing skill that is more advanced. Before the young writer can form diagonals, they need the other pre-writing lines. Because of this, you can see why letter order is so important.

Letter A verbal Prompts

Use one of the various options for different letter rhymes available for teaching letters.

The HWT curriculum lowercase “a” narrative says: Make a magic “c”. Start at the top and come around to the bottom. Go up like a helicopter and bump the top line. Come all the way down and bump the bottom line.
For the uppercase letter “A” HWT says: big line, big line, little line. In this program, the letters are not taught in sequential order, but rather in groups based on the shape of the letters.
Or, use visual cues like an apple or airplane that moves along the lines. You can say that the apple curves around to make the small curve of lowercase a and then it flies down to make the short line.
Use verbal prompts for the shapes of the letters: Upper case A has long slanted lines and a short line across the middle. Lowercase letter makes a curve or circle and then a short line down.
Rhymes for writing uppercase letters: A: First the attic, then go across.
Capital A: start at the top and move to the left and down. Take your pen off of the page, don’t mess around. Back to the start, then slide down the other way. Finish with a short line across the middle and you have made a capital A!
Lowercase a: starts with a “c” and go upwards all the way. Go straight back down again and hooray – you made an a!
Go around the apple, down and flick for lowercase “a” formation. Uppercase A: From the top, down to the left, up to the top, down to the right. Lift up and across.

prewriting skills needed to learn letters

As you are working on the Letter A Worksheet, be sure your students have the prewriting skills needed for writing letters. This includes fine motor skills and visual motor skills.

Here is a comprehensive post on all of the Prewriting Skills needed before letter formation.

Among them include:

being able to write lines and circles
holding the writing tool
grasping skills
finger isolation
hand strength
crossing midline
beginning to demonstrate a dominance
imitation of movements
following directions
copying from a model or directive

There are dozens of additional skills children need to learn before they are truly ready for handwriting. So often, older, school-aged students struggling with handwriting, are missing the underlying areas that make up the skills for handwriting. This leads to poor letter formation, fatigue, compensation strategies, and inefficient writing.

tips to teach letter a

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
follow the same curriculum throughout the teaching for consistency. Whether you use Learning without Tears, Songs for Sounds, or another curriculum, being consistent helps students learn the language and follow the prompts
surround your students in letters. Games, lesson plans, activities, books, gross motor games, etc will immerse them in learning the letters
The OT Toolbox has some great resources to add to this packet for working on letter recognition and formation.

how to use the letter a worksheet

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

Laminate the pages to make them reusable. Punch holes in them, creating a binder
Separate all of the coloring letter sections and group them together to make an abc book. Then 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, this letter a worksheet would be turned into a small booklet with a traced a, written a, colored a, playdough a, etc.
Some of the sections such as the playdough parts might be better laminated so they are reusable, or 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 A worksheet to part of your bigger lesson plan including gross motor, sensory, social, reading, math, or other daily fun activities

Teaching Correct Letter Formation for Letter A

When it comes to teaching letter A, there are tips and tricks a school based OT will want you to be aware of. Check out our video on YouTube that walks you through how to teach uppercase A, step-by-step, how to make letter A with Wikki Stix, the diagonals in uppercase A, tips to fix mistakes in upper case A letter formation, and more:

a final word on letter a

Take the time to find the curriculum that works for you. 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 letters, it will catch on with your students.

Free Letter A Worksheet

Want a free printable letter A worksheet that you can use to work on learning the motor plan for letter A? 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 A and lowercase letter a. 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!

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!

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!

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.

I Spy Beach Printable

December 12, 2023July 17, 2023 by Victoria Wood OTR/L

Have you already run out of summer activities? Did your children fly through their summer workbooks? The OT Toolbox is here to rescue you from summer cries of boredom with this FREE downloadable I Spy Beach worksheet! Click the link below to add your email address and get this wonderful PDF send right to your inbox. This printable beach themed I Spy page is a great addition to a beach theme in therapy. Use this beach printable along with our Summer I Spy or our other summer occupational therapy activities.

boredom buster: i spy beach worksheet

Today’s I Spy Beach worksheet is a great activity to address more than just visual perception. Each item can be found five times on the sheet. Learners color code the images, find five of each one, then make a check mark in each box when they have finished finding all five items. I like that this worksheet lets learners know how many items they are looking for, and has motivating check boxes along the way. Students are always asking, “am I done yet”? With this type of worksheet, they will know when they are finished.

Speaking of boredom, if your kids are bored, we have plenty of dusting and scrubbing baseboards at our house to keep them busy! If that is not enough to entice them, here is a checklist of 100 Summer Activities to keep the family entertained.

The OT Toolbox also has an OT Summer Bundle to work on fine and visual motor skills, visual perception, sensory tolerance, handwriting, scissor skills, and much more. This bundle is perfect for the pediatric occupational therapist who needs resources and tools to use in summer therapy sessions.

Build skills with the i spy beach worksheet

I love activities that address several different skills in one shot. This is an efficient way to hit many different goals at one time. This I Spy Beach printable is no exception. Children have a very short attention span, so the key is to capture as many skills in a limited amount of time as possible.

Visual perception – this refers to the brain’s ability to make sense of what the eyes see. This is not the same as visual acuity which refers to how clearly a person sees (for example “20/20 vision”). A person can have 20/20 vision and still have problems with visual perceptual processing. There are seven different categories of visual perceptual skills. Good visual perceptual skills are important for many every day skills such as reading, writing, completing puzzles, cutting, drawing, completing math problems, dressing, finding your sock on the bedroom floor as well as many other skills. Without the ability to complete these every day tasks, a child’s self esteem can suffer and their academic and play performance is compromised.

Visual Attention: The ability to focus on important visual information and filter out unimportant background information.
Visual Discrimination: The ability to determine differences or similarities in objects based on size, color, shape, etc.
Visual Figure Ground: The ability to locate something in a busy background.
Visual Form Constancy: The ability to know that a form or shape is the same, even if it has been made smaller/larger or has been turned around.

Other Important Skills Addressed with the i spy beach printable

In addition to visual perception, there are several other great skills that can be addressed using the I Spy Beach download:

Hand strength and finger dexterity – during coloring, staying in the lines builds hand muscles and develops muscle control
Visual motor skills are combining what is seen visually and what is written motorically. It requires coordination to be able to translate information from visual input to motor output. Coloring, drawing, counting, cutting, and tracing are some visual motor skills.
Sequencing – will your learner do the pictures in order or go in a haphazard pattern all over the page? Will they look for the easy and/or obvious answers first?
Visual Scanning
Proprioception – in writing tasks, this refers to the pressure on paper, grip on pencil
Counting/Learning Numbers – count the items to understand number concepts
Bilateral integration – remembering to use their “helper hand” to hold the paper while writing, is important for development. Using one hand as a dominant hand instead of switching back and forth is encouraged once a child is in grade school, or demonstrates a significant strength in one or the other.
Strength – core strength, shoulder and wrist stability, head control, balance, and hand strength are all needed for upright sitting posture and writing tasks.
Executive function, following directions, attention, attention to detail, focus, sequencing, planning, task completion, neatness, impulse control, compliance, behavior, and work tolerance are all important executive function skills to learn
Social function – whether working alone, or together in a group you can address problem solving, sharing materials and space, turn taking and talking about the activity

Remember, you can address all of these skills at once, or focus on one or two. Some skills above will be addressed without your conscious knowledge, while other skills will be directly managed.

ways to modify the i spy beach page

While I think the best way to use the I Spy Beach page is the traditional method of colored pencils and crayons on a printable worksheet, there are other ways to use this PDF.

Laminate the page for reusability. This saves on resources, and many learners love to write with markers! Using dry erase markers may diminish some of the fine motor skills needed to complete the task, making it more of a soley visual perceptual activity. Note: while some learners love to use wipe off sheets, others become upset they can not take their work with them. For those who want to save their work, consider taking a screenshot of it.
Make this part of a larger lesson plan including gross motor, sensory, social, executive function, or other fine motor skills
Make extra copies of the worksheets first to have five of each of the drawings. Cut the shapes and make a matching game instead of using a writing tool to color the images
Talk about the summer items, describe their characteristics, and give context clues to help your learner understand why certain pictures match
Enlarging the font may be necessary to beginning writing students who need bigger space to color
Project this page onto a smart board for students to come to the board and color or circle the items
More or less prompting may be needed to grade the activity to make it easier or harder
Learners can explore other games they could make using this activity
Create a writing prompt about the summer beach items in the picture, summer vacations, celebrations, or a fun story about the beach
Velcro the back of the summer beach items, after laminating and cutting them to create a matching game
Gross motor – there are endless gross motor opportunities during the summer!
Sensory – check out this Summer Sensory Camp at Home
Don’t forget these Summer Occupational Therapy Activities for more great ideas

more ideas for summer play

Summer Occupational Therapy Packet – Add this packet to your summer programming, ESY services, or home programs. The activities can be adapted to meet the needs of students at all levels, and in several different ways, so that they can be used multiple times
Sun Visual Perceptual Activity
Executive Function activities at the beach– Use these ideas t build cognitive skills while on vacation.
Use some of the sensory diet activities at the beach, too.
Or, go pretend and set up summer themed therapy sessions with these pool noodle activities.

Letter Formation Worksheets

October 9, 2023July 6, 2023 by Victoria Wood OTR/L

Whether you are a teacher, therapist, or parent, you are most likely working on letter formation at some point, and maybe you’ve used letter formation worksheets to address that goal. To be most effective, it is important to have several different letter formation options in your toolbox. Not all students learn the same, therefore handwriting programs are not one size fits all. Learning happens through repetition and practice. Students do not need to repeat the same exercises over and over again to be effective. They need to learn to generalize using many different methods. Letter formation worksheets are a great tool to build a great handwriting lesson plan.

Letter formation worksheets

There are so many resources out there for letter formation worksheets. The results can be overwhelming and dizzying. The question is, where to start? One method can be to grab resources from several different websites, in order to feel well rounded.

Another idea is to find a website that has the type of materials you find work best, and build your toolbox around that. Today we are going to highlight letter formation worksheets found here on the OT Toolbox.

why are letter formation worksheets important?

We covered previously the considerations to keep in mind when using tracing sheets, and there may be a time and a place for those types of letter formation writing sheets. However, when it comes to practicing letter form with letter practice worksheets, there are many benefits.

Consistency – you can easily work on handwriting by scribbling some letters on a dry erase board or piece of paper, however this might not be consistent when it comes to data collection. Using prescribed letter formation worksheets will provide consistency in your teaching
Motivating – again you can scribble letters on paper, but letter formation worksheets have fun pictures and graphics to grab your learners’ attention
Easy to use – creating a treatment plan using letter formation worksheets is as easy as print and go. Another great idea is to create themed folders or binders containing the letter formation worksheets you like best
Free – you can spend a bundle on workbooks and costly downloads, but here at the OT Toolbox there are a plethora of free letter formation worksheets to use.

letter formation worksheets pdf

Before jumping right into letter formation worksheet PDFs, it is worth taking a look at the basics of forming letters.

We know that handwriting is more than just rote practice. There are many underlying skills needed for good letter formation. Understanding the prerequisite skills for writing determine what specific skills are deficient, rather than spinning your wheels drilling letter formation into your students.

Students need to understand what letters are, what they look like, and why we write letters and words. They need to have the motor coordination and strength for handwriting. Students need to be able to make pre-writing strokes including lines and circular forms in order to make letters. The Handwriting Book is the ultimate resource for tips, strategies, suggestions, and information to support handwriting development in kids.

FREE letter formation worksheets

One way to support letter writing is to use a variety of printable letter formation worksheet PDFs. We love to switch things up in therapy sessions to keep handwriting practice anything but boring. This can mean things like using sensory bins, writing trays, gross motor activities, obstacle courses, and multisensory learning opportunities.

First, let’s pull together a list of our free letter formation worksheets in one place:

Letter Tracing Pages with Arrows– At the end of our blog post on letter formation, you’ll find a free printable set of letters with arrows to use in sensory trays or for handwriting practice.
Number Formation Roads– These printable pages are great for working on number formation.
Missing Letter Worksheet– This snowball themed worksheet supports letter formation in a given space for refined pencil control when writing…like when writing on a snowball!
Letter Formation Tips Handout– This printable is a great resource to add to your therapy toolbox when working on letter formation.
Flower Letter Tracing– This digital slide deck is designed to be used on a screen for virtual therapy sessions, but many OT providers print off the individual slide decks for an in-person tool too.
Color Movement Activities– This is another digital slide deck, but it can be used as a motivating activity that encourages users to point and trace or air write letters to practice formation skills.
Alphabet Writing Cards– This is another digital slide deck for finger tracing letter forms, but you can print off the slide decks as a PDF and finger trace to air write the letters.
Tips for Letter Reversals- Print off multisensory resources for improving b and d reversals.
Start from the beginning- If letter formation is challenging because of diagonal lines or pencil control needed to form legible letters, start with our free Prewriting Strokes and Handwriting. It’s a great article including a free printable to learn and remember the developmental milestones of writing.

Free Cursive writing worksheets pdfs

Forming cursive letters is another area where practice supports the motor plan to accurately and functionally form letters. Using cursive writing worksheet PDFs to support this practice can promote legible formation of cursive letters.

Be sure to grab the following three cursive letter formation printables:

Cursive lines worksheet- Not all cursive writing worksheets are rote practice. We love the multisensory options in our free cursive writing lines worksheet to support the movement of smooth pencil strokes.

Multisensory Letter Formation Pages- Or, print off our cursive writing journal for multisensory cursive letter formation practice.

Printable Cursive Letter Flashcards- Another free printable cursive handwriting worksheets PDF that you’ll want to add to your letter formation toolbox is our cursive letter flashcards. The printable PDF is designed to promote letter formation of each lowercase cursive letter and can be paired with the other printable cursive writing worksheets listed above.

Other letter formation PDF resources:

We have MANY printable letter formation PDFs inside The Member’s Club. In fact, there is a whole section dedicated to forming letters. You’ll find PDFs such as:

Themed letter writing worksheets (seasonal and specific themes like transportation, pirates, outer space, bees, etc.)
Letter formation sensory bin cards
Letter tracing sheets
Letter matching activities to target visual discrimination
Directional resources
Tracing pages
SO MUCH more

We have other other printable letter writing sheets and activities that can be used as well:

Here is a post including a letter formation handout to find all of the information you need to educate others
How about 10 Ways to Teach Letter Formation? In this post they covered ten creative ways to teach letter formation
Check out the Letter Formation Archives for lists of great blog posts including multisensory methods of practicing letters
A-Z Letter Formation Worksheets – This product is not free (unless you a Member’s Club member…grab it inside your membership), but it helps with letter writing by breaking down letter formation into segments. We love the segmented writing prompts, while using less visual cues, so kids learn to write uppercase letters the correct way. This packet includes 26 uppercase letter pages and strategies to incorporate sensory-motor letter writing activities
If you need a great way to document handwriting, here is a Handwriting Assessment post
Lowercase Letter Formation – some tips and tricks to teach students how to write lowercase letters and a tool that they will love
Name Practice for Kindergarten – This blog discusses the developmental criteria needed prior to introducing name writing to kindergarteners
Handwriting Resources – check out this post for more great letter formation worksheets and handwriting ideas
The OT Toolbox Shop has some great paid resources available if you have tried some of the free resources and want more great ideas
Handwriting Bundle – this one is from our friends over at Your Therapy Source. It is a great bunch of handwriting resources if you are looking to branch out from the resources on the OT Toolbox

Letter Formation Worksheets for each Letter of the Alphabet

We are beginning a letter worksheet for each letter of the alphabet. Grab your copy of each one in the blog posts below:

Final Thoughts Letter Formation Worksheets…

Teaching handwriting and letter formation is challenging. Students are not motivated to do things that are hard, and involve lots of mistakes. Find ways to make the tasks meaningful and motivating for your students, in order to be an efficient and effective therapy provider.

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!

Summer I Spy

October 19, 2023June 28, 2023 by Victoria Wood OTR/L

If you are already searching for more activities to do with your children, check out this free downloadable PDF! The Summer I Spy worksheet is a great multipurpose page to enhance your summer occupational therapy activities or learning program.

As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases.

summer I SPY

During the Summer months, having accessible and fun activities like a Summer themed I Spy activity is key. Why? Because an activity like our Summer I Spy sheet targets so many areas that are covered in typical occupational therapy sessions (depending on the needs of the individual).

One activity that occupational therapy providers love is an I Spy sheet. This I Spy Summer worksheet is a fantastic resource for parents seeking a creative solution on thos rainy Summer days. It can also be used by an occupational therapist or OTA eager to provide an exciting summer assignment.

These free printables offer therapeutic value, inviting children to uncover hidden treasures amid the sunny season’s charms.

From spotting colorful beach balls to identifying cheerful seashells and Summer treats, these worksheets encourage visual observation skills, attention/concentration, and cognitive development, all while having fun.

Whether utilized at home or sent home by an occupational therapist, the I Spy Summer printables are sure to engage young minds!

When you pull out one of these sheets, you can work on the same skills that were addressed in weekly school-based OT sessions:

According to a new study, children lose up to an average of 40% of the gains they have made over the school year while on summer break. While some students retain and gain as much as 32% during the summer months, others lose up to 90% of what they learned during the school year!

The ‘summer slide’, or ‘summer learning loss’, reversing some of the progress students have made over the year, is a well-known effect of the summer break.

“Because summer losses accumulate over time, consecutive losses add up to a sizeable impact on where students end up on the achievement distribution.”

Skills like written work are not typically addressed during the summer months for most children. This is why having fun activities like summer handwriting practice or an all-in-one Summer-themed I Spy activity is key to preventing these loss of skills.

Adding meaningful activities during the summer months can help reverse some of the summer slide. One great activity to add, is the free Summer I Spy resource. Throughout the summer (as well as all year round), the OT Toolbox will be providing you with great new resources to add to your toolbox.

Avoid the summer slide with a fun activity like our I spy printable!

The great thing about a lot of the resources available on the OT Toolbox for learners of all ages, is that many of them are multipurpose, meaning they help students work on many skills at once. This is especially helpful during the summer months when students are even more reluctant to complete anything that looks like school work.

The Summer I Spy activity page primarily addresses visual perception. In addition, it addresses visual motor, number concepts, and executive function skills. To use the Summer I Spy page:

Ask learners to search for the different icons within the page. It is best if they color code the pictures so they can easily count the items. The Summer I Spy page is different than the I Spy Beach printable also featured on the OT Toolbox, in that learners have to count how many of each item they find. This adds to the complexity of the activity, along with math and counting skills.
After finding the items, learners will write down what the items are called on the next page. They will have to recall spelling, letter formation, phonics, and the rules of good handwriting. On the side of the page is a rubric to help students remember the rules of written expression. Pair this with our handwriting rubric information for more complete data collection.

benefits of using the summer I spy printable

Hand strength and finger dexterity – staying in the lines while coloring, and writing accuracy, builds hand muscles and develops muscle control
Visual motor skills – combining what is seen visually and what is written motorically. It requires coordination to be able to translate information from visual input to motor output. Coloring, drawing, counting, cutting, and tracing are some visual motor skills
Visual Perception – Visual Attention: The ability to focus on important visual information and filter out unimportant background information.
Visual Discrimination: The ability to determine differences or similarities in objects based on size, color, shape, etc.
Visual Spatial Relationships: Understanding the relationships of objects within the environment.
Visual Figure Ground: The ability to locate something in a busy background.
Visual Form Constancy: The ability to know that a form or shape is the same, even if it has been made smaller/larger or has been turned around. Visual perceptual skills are important to academic development.
Sequencing – will your learner do the pictures in order? Will they look for the easy and/or obvious answers first?
Scanning – does your learner look in methodical order, or search in a haphazard pattern all over the page?
Proprioception – pressure on paper, grip on pencil
Counting/Learning Numbers – Count the items to understand number concepts. Practice writing numbers
Handwriting: Letter formation – correctly forming the letters top to bottom.
Letter sizing – correctly fitting the letters into the size boxes. Spacing, line placement, directionality, and spelling are also important
Bilateral coordination – remembering to use their “helper hand” to hold the paper while writing is important for development. Using one hand as a dominant hand instead of switching back and forth is encouraged once a child is in grade school, or demonstrates a significant strength in one or the other
Strength – core strength, shoulder and wrist stability, head control, balance, and hand strength are all needed for upright sitting posture and writing tasks
Executive function, following directions, attention, attention to detail, focus, sequencing, planning, task completion, neatness, impulse control, compliance, behavior, and work tolerance are all important skills to learn
Social function – whether working alone, or together in a group, you can address problem solving, sharing materials and space, turn taking and talking about the activity

How to Use the Summer I Spy in Therapy

Therapy providers love using a resource that can be slightly adjusted to meet the needs of their entire caseload. Most therapy providers can print off 15 copies and use the same sheet in many different ways for each individual.

Check out the various ways to modify and grade the Summer I Spy worksheet using the tactics below:

Lowest level learners can dictate what they would like written
Middle level learners can copy words from a model, while higher level learners write the words from memory
Higher level learners can write ideas about summer, then create a story or memory out of each idea. This turns into a multilevel activity to use during many sessions. They can also draw about their ideas, or copy the designs.
Laminate the page for reusability. This saves on resources, and many learners love to write with markers! Note: while some learners love to use wipe off sheets, others become upset they can not take their work with them. For those who want to save their work, consider taking a screenshot of it.
Make this part of a larger lesson plan including gross motor, sensory, social, executive function, or other fine motor skills
Make several copies, cut the shapes and make a matching game instead of using a writing tool to draw lines
Use small manipulatives to mark the items such as bingo chips, pompoms, pennies, playdough, or buttons. This helps build a pincer grasp
Talk about the pictures, describe their characteristics, and give context clues to help your learner understand why they match
Enlarging the font may be necessary to beginning handwriting students who need bigger space to write.
Hand the papers out with very limited instruction. Record how well your learners can follow instructions
Social skills – sharing resources promotes social function. Talking about a themed lesson plan builds social skills.
Have students write on a slant board, lying prone on the floor with the page in front to build shoulder stability, or supine with the page taped under the table

Other great resources

In order to build great skills and generalize them across different environments, a skill needs to be addressed several different times. Creating resource packets will help keep materials organized.

Summer Handwriting Practice from the OT Toolbox
Summer Fine Motor Kit from the OT Toolbox
In addition to the great free resources found on the web, there are great workbooks out there. My go to is the (Amazon affiliate link) Summer Bridge series. This series has been around for many years (I used them when my girls were young). We liked this series because it addressed many different educational areas in just a couple of pages a day.

Free Summer I spy download

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

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

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

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

Join the Member’s Club today!

Work on fine motor skills, visual perception, visual motor skills, sensory tolerance, handwriting, scissor skills, and much more so that kids can accomplish self-care tasks, learn, and grow through play all summer long.

This bundle is perfect for the pediatric occupational therapist who needs resources and tools to use in summer therapy sessions.

The Summer Activity Bundle includes:

Summer Fine Motor Kit
Summer Writing Sheets
Summer Memory Game- perfect for playing Memory or using in sensory bins
Summer OT Packet ($20 value)
180 Outdoor Sensory Diet Cards- for when your kiddo is “sooooo bored” or using in sensory diets
BONUS: Summer Sensory Activity Guide

This is a digital product that will last all Summer long!

Summer fine motor kit — Summer Fine Motor Kit

Summer handwriting lists — Summer Fine Motor Kit

The Summer OT Bundle is your ticket to sending the kids back to school in the Fall without worrying about the “Summer Slide”. Each Fall, kids need to catch up on areas that they’ve lost over the summer months. With the Summer OT Bundle, there is no worry about falling backwards. Use the materials to maintain and even grow motor skill development this summer so kids can thrive and jump into learning next Fall.

Finger Games for Fine Motor Fun

November 7, 2023June 8, 2023 by Victoria Wood OTR/L

Fine motor “finger games” like finger twister, Where is Thumbkin, and a thumb battle are a powerhouse of motor skills. Did you ever think about using a finger game as a warm-up to handwriting or a fun way to target fine motor skills like finger isolation? Finger games are fun fine motor activities using the fingers or hands. They have the added benefit of being great for developing motor coordination, finger musculature, finger dexterity, and eye hand coordination.

We need fine motor skills for school, play, work, and daily functioning! Adding fun fingerplay to the mix is a great way to build these essential skills.

why choose finger games?

Hand therapists work with fingers all day long. They use some great exercises to strengthen and rehabilitate the hand. Imagine trying to use these same exercises on a four year old.

Finger games and songs are actually great for engaging circle time activities, just like action rhymes we see in young childhood. These movement-based activities are driven in play but offer opportunities for motor skill work, language development, comradery, and fun!

Plus, finger games offer ways to build grip strength and pinch strength through play.

The idea behind teaching young children is to use play in order to reach their goals. Play is the occupation of the child, and is much more motivating than rote exercises. Using finger games incorporates play into therapy, while working on important objectives.

what is the benefit of finger games?

Finger games work on multiple different skills. Some in isolation, others grouped together. Besides the obvious answer; coordination, there are many other skills being addressed using finger games:

Hand strength and dexterity
Finger isolation
Open thumb web space– targeting this fine motor skill can be helpful to support dexterity in tasks requiring object manipulation and opposition of the thumb and finger.
Motor planning – the body and brain receives feedback, or a motor concept that tells the brain and body that we have moved in a certain way in order to accomplish a specific action. This is the motor plan for that particular task at work
Rhymes with action movements inspire rhythm and rhyming skills
Sequencing – can your learner do the steps in order?
Proprioception – getting a sense of where the hands and fingers are. Adding the correct amount of pressure when playing
Precision of grasp and release– Movement of the fingers with precise range of motion needed to complete finger game activities can support the ability to pick up and release small objects using minute finger motions.
Bilateral coordination – while many finger games involve two hands at the same time, there are just as many that rely on one hand (usually the dominant one).Using one hand as a dominant hand instead of switching back and forth is encouraged once a child is in grade school, or demonstrates a significant strength in one or the other. Participating in finger games can even support development of bilateral coordination work.
Separation of the sides of the hand– Playing with finger games allows for range of motion and strength with separation of the sides of the hand. This separation provides grip strength and dexterity sides in functional grip.
Arch development– In the palms of the hands are arches. These allow us to hold objects in the palm of our hands and are essential to grip strength. Moving the fingers through finger games can target this area, which in turn supports pinch and grip strength.
Language – many of these finger games involve songs or rhymes to remember
Strength – core strength, shoulder and wrist stability, finger strength
Building the intrinsic muscles – the intrinsic muscles are in the middle area of the hand.
Executive function, following directions, attention, attention to detail, focus, sequencing, planning, task completion, impulse control, compliance, behavior, and work tolerance are all important skills to learn
Handwriting warm ups

Read more about fine motor skill components in our post on “what are fine motor skills“.

classic finger games

There are many finger games that you probably grew up playing…think about the hand games you’ve played as a child. The following is a list of the classic finger or hand games children play (or used to):

Rock, Paper, Scissors – bilateral coordination, focusing on a dominant hand, quickly forming hand movement
Cat’s Cradle- All you need is a long length of string tied into a loop for this classic finger game. This activity develops wrist stability, wrist range of motion, finger isolation, hand strength, bilateral coordination, and crossing midline skills.
The Itsy Bitsy Spider – this song involves using both hands to create different motions
Patty Cake – who hasn’t done this classic finger game with babies?
Thumb War – 1,2,3,4 I declare a thumb war! This is a great finger activity for building upper extremity strength, and hand strength!
Hand Jive – this hand clapping game was made popular by the movie Grease. Here’s how it goes: Pat your thighs twice. Clap twice. Wave your hands, one over the other, in front of your chest. Then do it with the other hand on top. Bump your fists twice, one on top of the other. Then do it with the other fist on top. Point your right thumb over your right shoulder twice, then your left thumb over your left shoulder twice. Play this song and put it all together to the beat! Pat-pat-clap-clap-hand-hand-bump-bump-thumb-thumb!
Miss Mary Mack – this classic finger game dates back all the way to the civil war. Miss Mary Mack, all dressed in black, with silver buttons, all down her back… Check out this tutorial.
Steeple People – here is the church, here is the steeple, open the doors, and see all the people!
Shadow Puppets – make animals using your hands, a darkened room, and a light
Here is Thumbkin – work on isolation of the thumb
5 Little Ducks, 5 Speckled Frogs, 5 Little Monkeys – learners sing the song as they do hand movements and count down on their fingers
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes – this uses more arm movements than fingers, but is great for coordination
1,2 Buckle My Shoe
Nursery Rhymes – there are finger plays for several classic nursery rhymes such as: Hickory Dickory Dock, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, London Bridge
Hand Clapping Games – we all remember Miss Mary Mack and Patty Cake, but what about Say Say oh Playmate, Stella Ella Ola, Rockin Robin, Miss Susie, Down Down Baby.

Another great idea is to use paper and pencil handwriting games to create letters, numbers, or shapes and offer fine motor and visual motor work.

a new generation of finger games

These differ from the classic games but are wildly popular. I love seeing kids waiting in long lines playing Finger Twister, Hot Hands, or Sticks, instead of being glued to their phones.

Finger Twister- This is a fun version of the classic Twister game, on a smaller scale. Use a small Twister board: Draw a row of colored dots on the board. Then, spin a spinner, or roll a dice to determine the sequence to touch the colored dots. This is a great activity for finger isolation and executive functioning skills.
Simon- You can also play a finger version of the Simon game. Rather than use an electronic toy, create your own Simon game and ouch the colorful areas using sequences.
Finger Aerobics– This is such a fun way to warm up the hands and foster finger and hand ROM and dexterity.
Paperclip Spinners- Make a game board spinner using a paperclip, tip of a pencil, and a circle drawn on paper.
Hot Hands – learner one puts their hands out palm up in front of learner two. Learner two places their hands palm down on top of learner one but not touching. Learner one has to try and touch learner two’s hands before they pull them away.
Sticks – this is a finger tapping game that is very popular among kids now. It involves tapping the fingers on your opponent and adding their number to your own hands. Look here for a more thorough explanation.
DIY Fidget Toys are a fun way to spark fine motor play. Use them in games or copying activities.
Odd or Even – this is a great finger game for working on finger isolation. Two people face each other. Each player can put out only one or two fingers. 1,2,3 shoot. Decide if odd or even wins.
Board games- You can learn with board games you already own by using the game pieces: spinners, dice, timers, game pieces all offer opportunities to move those hands. Use the game pieces for hand strengthening, precision, and dexterity.
Baby Shark – this is not a classic (yet) but it is well known
Create a special handshake – how many moves can you remember?
Sign Language – learning sign language or finger spelling is great exercise for the hand muscles. How about a finger spelling bee?
Pair these concentration clapping games with hula hoop activities and backyard tag games for old school fun!

old school or new?

Whether you come from the old school classic finger games, or the newest ones, these are great skill building tools that cost nothing, but are priceless. Old school people can try their “hand” at the new games, while the younger generation learn the classics. Nostalgic games have a way of bringing us full circle back to our past as we teach the future generation.

Need more ways to develop fine motor skills through play? Check out our seasonal Fine Motor Kits!

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:

Kit de motricidad fina de verano — Summer 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!

Wheelbarrow Walking

October 16, 2023June 6, 2023 by Victoria Wood OTR/L

Raise your hand if you have a permanent back ache from wheelbarrow walking with your children or clients? In this post you can discover how to do wheelbarrow walking, the benefits of this gross motor coordination activity, and some more ergonomic methods to save your back. Let’s get started with wheelbarrow walking for occupational therapy!

Amazon affiliate links are included in this blog post. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases.

What is Wheelbarrow Walking?

Wheelbarrow walking is (or used to be) a classic game parents play with their children, or peers engage in. For parents, this was a means to wear your kids out.

We didn’t really think of the benefits of wheelbarrow walking, just that it would hopefully produce a nap later on.

Therapists, of course, focus on the benefits of wheelbarrow walking, otherwise they would not ruin their back just for fun.

the benefits of wheelbarrow walking

I already mentioned the aching back as a drawback to this great activity, but what are the benefits?

Proprioception: this is the information translated from the muscles and joints to the brain. Wheelbarrow walking improves regulation and awareness of this system with the pressure on the hands
Vestibular: movement in the inner ear is definitely happening while wheelbarrow walking! The head is down or up at an angle, while the body is moving forward. This can improve vestibular awareness and regulate this important system
Bilateral coordination: each arm is doing the same motion, but at different times. It takes a fair amount of coordination to make these movements happen smoothly
Motor planning – the body and brain receives feedback, or a motor concept that tells the brain and body that we have moved in a certain way in order to accomplish a specific action. This is the motor plan for wheelbarrow walking at work!
Strength and endurance – core strength, shoulder and wrist stability, head control, balance, and hand strength are all needed for wheelbarrow walking. If you see your client supporting themselves on their closed fists instead of open palms they are trying to use their shoulders instead of wrist strength. This can be considered cheating, or compensation for lack of strength.
Executive function, following directions, attention, focus, sequencing, planning, task completion, impulse control, compliance, behavior, and work tolerance are all important skills to learn
Teamwork and trust: you need both in order to complete wheelbarrow walking effectively. Imagine the amount of trust involved in being placed almost upside down while someone holds onto your legs. Many people find this restraining and fight the process. Both members of the wheelbarrow team have to work together to make this activity a success.
Visual Convergence– Moving across the room toward a target requires the eyes to simultaneously move and focus both eyes together in an adducted position toward an object. With visual convergence, the eyes work together to shift inward toward a target object, with single vision occurring with fixation on the object.
Interoception– Moving the body in an activity like wheelbarrow walking offers opportunities to determine how the movement makes the body feel. Ask the child: Do you feel tired? How do your muscles feel after doing this task? Do you feel pressure on different areas of your body when you do a wheelbarrow walk?

how to do wheelbarrow walking

The essence of wheelbarrow walking is: the body is positioned to look like a wheelbarrow. You need two people for wheelbarrow walking, and there are benefits to both individuals, making this a great group OT activity!

Person number one puts their outstretched arms on the floor in front of them.

Person number two lifts person number one’s legs high off of the ground.

Ideally the body of the person being “pushed like a wheelbarrow” is straight, at about a 45 degree angle, with the arms/hands supporting the upper body. The arms/hands represent the wheel of the barrow, while the feet represent the handles. Poor person number two is schlepping the heavy wheelbarrow to the destination and back.

While the person being pushed like a wheelbarrow is gaining upper body strength and sensory benefits, there are benefits to the person pushing and driving the wheelbarrow, too! You’ll see core strength, upper body strength, shoulder, forearm, wrist stability, and hand strength. Added benefits include motor planning and visual skills needed to maneuver the wheelbarrow walker around.

Here is a YouTube video to demonstrate wheelbarrow walking, if you are more of a visual learner.

games to play while wheelbarrow walking

Because of the general nature of children, adding a play element to wheelbarrow walking is going to garner more success than rote practice back and forth across the carpet.

The back and forth activity involved in many of these games, improves skills while definitely giving an endpoint. Some kids need to know how many times they are going to do something before they are finished.

The occupation of a child is play, so go for it!

Puzzle game – have students wheelbarrow walk across a designated area to pick up a puzzle piece. They place it in their pocket and wheelbarrow walk back to the puzzle. The act of placing the puzzle pieces in the pocket and the puzzle gives students a much needed break between trials.
Bean bag game – put small bean bags around the room. The student has to wheelbarrow walk toward one of the beanbags. They place the beanbag on the back of their neck and wheelbarrow walk to a basket in the middle of the room
Farmer game – students use play food, or beanbags as the crops. Put the crop on the student’s back and have them deliver it to the market
Obstacle course – set up an obstacle course with pillows, cones, ramps, hula hoops, tables. Create a path to navigate. Going around, up, and over obstacles makes this challenge more difficult
Spot the dot – use circle dots, tape, or other items to mark a trail on the floor. Students wheelbarrow walk along the trail, placing one hand on each spot
Cars to the garage, food to the stuffed bear, shapes to the sorter – use these different ideas to gather an item and bring it to a destination.

how to modify wheelbarrow walking

There are different ways to modify wheelbarrow walking to make it easier or more challenging. Some of them might even save your back!

Wheelbarrow “walk” over a ball – use a therapy ball to support the legs. Students either support themselves like this while working on a fine motor task in front of them, or they can walk the ball forward and back with their legs. You can also use a therapy log or roll.
Vary the grip on student’s legs – holding the student’s by the feet is the hardest variation of wheelbarrow walking. As you move your hands toward their hips you reduce the weight load on the student’s arms. While it is true you might be holding more weight in the legs, it seems less weight as you are supporting a good bit of the torso by moving toward the hips
Wheelbarrow over the edge of the bed – use a mat table, bed, or other stable surface to hold the torso while your learner supports themselves on their arms
Sitting on a rolling stool/chair – in order to save your back, position yourself on a rolling tool or chair on wheels. Essentially the chair or stool supports the learner’s heavy weight instead of your aching back.

other activities to build strength and coordination

Crab or other animal walks
This Animal Exercises Games set is a fun way to play.
Monkey bars or hanging from a trapeze swing.
Use these Jungle Animal Heavy Work activities.
Traditional push ups, triceps dips, burpees, plank. Kids of Steel has body workouts for kids.
Our sensory paths and sensory stations have fun themed activities using wall push-ups to grade the strengthening. These are all free downloads.
The OT Toolbox has you covered with information about Upper Body Strength
The folks at (Amazon affiliate link) Super Duper (affiliate link) have a nifty fun deck with 52 double-sided 3″ x 5″ cards teach controlled use and stability of trunk, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands, and fingers. Content/Game idea cards. Tin box.

a final thought

Whether you are looking for an indoor activity to do during the cold or rainy weather, or some great outdoor fun, wheelbarrow walk games are a classic for building a multitude of skills. I still remember my aching muscles after wheelbarrow walking for what felt like hours.

Looking for more ways to support strength through sensory motor play? Our year of heavy work activity cards do just that! Print off the cards and use them as brain breaks, exercise routines, as part of therapy sessions, and at home or in the classroom.

Grab a copy of the Summer brain breaks and heavy work activities:

Each set includes brain breaks, pretend play prompts, exercises, and sensory motor tasks with a Summer theme.

Auditory Sensitivity: Tips and Tools

July 15, 2024February 2, 2023 by Victoria Wood OTR/L

In this blog post, we are covering an important aspect of the classroom environment: auditory sensitivity. Students with auditory sensory overload are challenged to learn and participate in classroom activities, and not only that, auditory sensitivities, or sound sensitivity can lead to anxiety, overwhelm, avoidance, self-regulation issues, and social emotional considerations. Let’s discuss auditory processing with the focus on classroom sounds with sensory tips and strategies, as well as supports to set up a classroom for success. This blog post is a great resource aligned with our post on visual noise in the classroom.

What is Auditory Sensitivity?

First, it’s important to consider what auditory sensitivity means. Basically, we are referring to sensitivities to sounds, or an over-awareness of the noises around us. A noise sensitivity can lead to discomfort in the ears as well as repercussions throughout the whole body as a result of anxiety, worry, overwhelm, and hyperawareness of auditory input.

There’s more to it, though. Auditory sensitivity can refer to a hyper-awareness of sounds, a buzzing sound or tinnitus in the ears, or other considerations. Here are some red flags indicating auditory sensitivities are present:

Red flags for auditory sensitivity:

Overly upset over loud sounds
Anxious that loud noises will happen
Complains of buzzing in the ears, or tinnitus
Hyper-aware of noises happening in other rooms
Overwhelmed by conversations happening around us
Complains of discomfort as a result of sounds
Normal hearing but also overly aware of certain pitches of sounds or certain decibels of sounds
Scared of the fire alarm or door alarms, or fire drills
Hearing loss
Overly concerned about everyday sounds
Prefers social isolation due to potential for certain sounds
Increased sensitivity to sounds that most do not consider to be a distraction: the heater buzzing, a refrigerator humming, lawnmower running outside, etc.
Challenges with daily life due to sounds
Overstimulation anxiety regarding noises that might occur
Sensory needs in the cafeteria due to peers, movement, yelling, etc.

There can be more red flags related to noise sensitivity, and these are all very individualized. No two individuals will present with the same auditory sensitivities due to personal preferences, environment, and personal experiences.

Diagnoses with auditory sensitivities

Sensitivity to auditory input can be common with certain diagnoses. However, the list below is not exhaustive, meaning there can be other diagnoses that also have a sound sensitivity. Also, being overly aware of sounds to the point that the sensory preference impacts daily life functioning does not indicate that a diagnosis is present. It simply means that the individual has that particular sensory preference.

Diagnoses that may have sound preferences:

Autism
Sensory Processing Disorder
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Lyme Disease
Depression
Head Injury
Phonophobia

Auditory hypersensitivity can be present in other diagnoses as well.

How to test for auditory sensitivity

Because auditory preferences are so individualized, it’s important to seek out testing, particularly when the sensory preference impacts daily functioning or learning.

One such tool in an individual’s toolbox is the occupational therapy practitioner. An OT can complete a sensory preferences profile using specific tests, interviews, and checklists as well as assessments to discover sensory preferences. They can then provide tools and strategies to support those auditory preferences.

It’s also important to seek out evaluation from an audiologist. This professional can determine the frequency range the individual can hear using equipment and a sound stimulus.

Auditory Sensitivity in the Classroom

Students are VERY busy! Whether they are at home, school, or out in the community, children are affected by their surroundings. Setting up a preschool classroom for success is essential.

The environment can make children “hyper”, or calm them down. Sometimes preschool (and older kids) have ears sensitive to noise that impact learning and participation in their education.

Noise impacts a child’s ability to calm, that can be modified by adults in any environment. We are going to dive into how to support children who are sensitive to noise throughout this blog!

Setting up a Preschool Classroom for Success

Have you ever noticed when there is a lot going on, children tend to lose focus? A child sensitive to loud noises will be challenged to be successful in the classroom environment because the sensory need takes priority. Adults, when they have multiple senses engaged, can be overwhelmed by chaos as well.

This is especially true when there is overwhelming auditory input.

One way to look at this concept is by experience. This is overstimulation in adults that we have all experienced at one point or another.

Think about an amusement park and all of the sounds happening around you in a noisy crowd. While one of my favorite places to go is an amusement park, it can be very overwhelming! I love the rides and the shows.

But, when I go to the food court, I start to get overwhelmed. Children are usually crying because they are hungry, parents are annoyed, people are talking on their phone as they wait in 30 minute lines for a $10 hot dog, and there are attendants screaming “next”, or “move along!”

There is so much going on auditorily, that many adults get frustrated, and want to find a quiet corner to eat with their family.

Just like a noisy dining hall, a classroom sensitivity can be overwhelming for some students.

That’s where tools for auditory sensitivity for the classroom come into play.

But before we explore the various tools for auditory sensitivities, we should consider what the auditory impact of the classroom is and how that input can impact learning, social emotional skills, communication, and daily functioning.

What is the noise like in your Classroom?

In a typical preschool classroom there might be 24 or more children running around, laughing and screaming, while a CD player is playing rambunctious music, and parents are talking about what their child had for breakfast. The preschool setup can become very noisy.

In an elementary classroom, you may have more towards 28 or more students. Kids having conversations, dropping books, running the electric pencil sharpener, screeching tennis shoes, or scraping chairs. Then there is the announcements over the loud speaker, teacher instructions, hallway noises, and the lawn mower outside the classroom window. It can get noisy, quick!

With different types of sounds echoing throughout the classroom, auditory overstimulation can affect behavior and engagement. For ears sensitive to noise, this can be huge.

According to an exploration of sensory processing and the limbic system, the sensory system receives sensory messages, like sound, and directs them to the part of the brain that needs to process them. This process is also responsible for keeping your body safe. Sometimes it will trigger an automatic safety response called a ‘fight, flight or freeze’ response.

This response is a protective mechanism based on our ancient ancestors who had to be on constant alert for saber tooth tigers rustling bushes. While we no longer need to worry about the threat of danger lingering in our periphery, we have this awareness of auditory input that keeps us safe in other ways. Our brain and body regulate the sensory input that comes in so it’s not too overwhelming for us.

An example; when you jump if you hear an unexpected sound. The “sensory traffic controller” in the brain tunes in to help locate and identify the sound. You may be instantly more alert if you hear your head teacher, or manager’s voice. Researchers think this part of the brain processes sounds differently in children or adults who are overwhelmed by sounds, noise, or auditory sensory input.

Auditory overload often occurs when there are too many sounds happening at the same time, or if the noise is at a certain frequency. In addition, the brain can also become overwhelmed by a constant noise which has occurred over a period of time. This information is important when setting up a preschool classroom.

Tips for setting Up a Preschool Classroom

Once you have an understanding of what sound input is like in your classroom setting, you can then explore tools for auditory sensitivity.

In order to create a calm preschool classroom environment, the sound needs to be purposeful! Being cognizant of all of the different environmental sounds, is key to creating a soothing classroom.

Consider the classroom set up

The classroom arrangement can impact auditory sensitivities, as well as how and where various tools for auditory sensitivity are available in the school setting.

Here are aspects of your preschool classroom setup to keep in mind when addressing noise:

Music – Depending on the time of day, music is a wonderful addition to any classroom. This can be through singing or the electronic media. Use calming/soft music to calm down a classroom during free play and nap time. This can include nature sounds, white noise, soft melodies and children’s music.
Echoing noise – Every classroom is created differently, keep track of where there may some extra echoes. Hearing noise from multiple places at once can be very overwhelming, especially when echoes are coming from multiple children. This can be important when it comes to hallway noises, outside noises (lawnmowers), or echo within the classroom. Some ideas to support echo sensitivity include adding padding to the bottoms of shoes or desks. Felt sheets or foam sheets are inexpensive options for this. Other things to consider is going into the cafeteria, gymnasium, or area with higher ceilings and larger groups of children such as special events.
Sensory Headphones- One tool to support students with sensitive ears is a pair of sensory headphones. There are many on the market that can reduce the auditory stress of a child in the day to day noise of a classroom. Other options include sensory noise-reducing earplugs and noise cancelling headphones. To increase sounds try a DIY whisper phone.
Consider Other Students – Children are noisy, especially during free play! When indoors, encourage children to use an inside voice, while they are playing and talking. When children are focused and engaged, they tend do this naturally. Creating learning centers that support engagement is the best way to keep noise down, and children learning. Some children who have difficulty regulating their verbal output may need extra help in this area. Check out all of the learning stations (block, art, science, manipulative, sensory, dramatic play) ideas on how to set up your classroom by the age of the children you teach in this Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale.
Consider Other Adults – Keeping tabs the adults in the room is key when thinking about the noise in a classroom. Caregivers tend to talk loudly when around a lot of children, either to get their attention, or intervene when they see a problem about to occur. If caregivers practice talking to children, while getting down to their level, and making eye contact, the level of our voices naturally decrease. You can also try a “do not disturb” sign in the door during important lessons or instructional periods. Consider these auditory attention activities.
Consider Classroom Pets – Classroom pets are wonderful additions when setting up a preschool classroom. Although they are fun, they can also be noisy! The most popular classroom additions are fish tanks and guinea pigs. The sounds of the bubbles can be soothing for some, but loud to others. Guinea pigs are quiet until they start shuffling around and squeaking. When thinking about where to place a fish tank or cage, keep in mind where the children will nap, and where the quiet spaces are.
Small group activities – When children are actively engaged in activities as a group, their voices tend to become loud. This is a great time to teach children how to turn taking skills, by waiting for others to ask questions. Allowing children to communicate with each other, have discussions, and engage in play, is more productive when they are using their inside voices.
Consider the classroom sound system- There are many options when it comes to auditory needs in the classroom. We talked about the low tech strategies above, but along those same lines is a “high tech” classroom auditory system. This can include things like wireless voice amplifier for teachers, a classroom sound system with wireless microphone, a classroom speaker system, a voice amplifier for classroom, and other technical pieces of equipment.

Auditory input can affect behavior

Young children can feel overwhelmed by many environmental components. This can affect their behavior at home, and in the classroom. The sensory system, and the way the brain processes information, varies for each person. The ability to respond to the environment, greatly depends on how sensitive you are to sensory stimuli.

The OT Toolbox has a great sensory processing checklist to better understand the sensory systems. You can learn more about this sensory processing checklist here.

What happens when a child is so overstimulated by their environment, they are nor able to calm down, without being redirected?

One strategy is having a safe space such as a calm down corner. Consider setting up a preschool classroom with a calming area.

Including a space in your classroom or home that allows children to take a break form their environment, along with using calming techniques (such as deep breaths, squeezing a ball, sipping water), are wonderful ways to help a child center themselves, so they can reintegrate into the classroom in a more calm state of mind.

Enourage the use of visual, tactile and auditory calm down cues when setting up a preschool classroom, that two year olds understand.

*If you notice a child having a hard time calming down, even with the removal of noise, they may have more sensitivities to stimuli than others. This is a sign that an Occupational Therapy evaluation might be appropriate, to determine if they need more supports with their sensory system. The occupational therapist will review the sensory systems, triggers, and behavioral outcomes.

A therapist may then suggest a sensory diet as part of the plan. For more information about a sensory diet, check out this search on the OT Toolbox. In addition, this amazing printable includes 130 different ideas on introducing a sensory diet for your child.

Auditory classroom management is just one aspect of setting up a preschool classroom

Other aspects to consider are:

visual input – is your class cluttered, messy, or busy
tactile – is there a lot of touching going on, are children in close proximity
olfactory – what are all the good/bad smells in the class
vestibular – are there times for movement breaks and outlets for energy

Preschool classrooms are a lot of fun, and children are born to be noisy, but if caregivers take the time to create a classroom that has more soothing sounds indoors, children learn to socialize in a calm way. This allows for classroom management to be easier and more productive, supporting every child’s needs. When planning your classroom, home environment, or an outing with your child, notice the auditory stimuli, and how it is affecting your child.

Free Handout: Classroom Auditory Sensitivity Strategies

One tool for auditory sensitivity is the free printable you’ll find below.

We’re coming up on the end of our Summer Handout Series here on the OT Toolbox. Want to print of a list of strategies to support auditory sensitivities in the classroom? Use this printable handout as an educational tool to support auditory needs.

This handout is also available inside our Member’s Club. Just go to the handouts section to grab it without entering your email address.

Get the handout by entering your email address into the form below:

Jeana Kinne is a veteran preschool teacher and director. She has over 20 years of experience in the Early Childhood Education field. Her Bachelors Degree is in Child Development and her Masters Degree is in Early Childhood Education. She has spent over 10 years as a coach, working with Parents and Preschool Teachers, and another 10 years working with infants and toddlers with special needs. She is also the author of the “Sammy the Golden Dog” series, teaching children important skills through play.

The Auditory Processing Kit is one tool to support auditory needs. Use this auditory processing kit to support learners with hyper-responsive or hypo-responsive auditory systems. Use the hands-on activities to support learning and active listening through play and handwriting tasks. Use the handouts and posters to teach about the auditory system and auditory sensitivities, with strategies to support individualized needs.

The Auditory Processing Kit supports listening and comprehension activities into multisensory learning styles.

Winter Crossword Puzzle

January 8, 2026January 6, 2023 by Victoria Wood OTR/L

This winter crossword puzzle is a therapy tool designed to work on visual perception, handwriting, visual attention, and so much more! Just print off the winter crossword and use it to develop so many skills all season long. Today’s post is all about winter words.

This free Winter Crossword Puzzle is a great addition to the blustery winter season. Upon first glance at the title; “Winter Crossword”, you might be thinking this is too difficult for your young learners, or too narrow a focus for a treatment session. Wait until you see THIS Winter Crossword packet!

Also be sure to grab our new tall and short worksheet which not only supports visual motor skills, but incorporates the cold thermometers of winter!

Looking for a consistent way to support fine motor skills all year?
This yearlong fine motor system includes seasonal activity kits and monthly data collection tools to support planning and progress monitoring.

If fine motor planning and data collection feel overwhelming, you’re not alone.
This done-for-you yearlong bundle organizes seasonal activities and monthly screening tools in one system.

Get the Yearlong Fine Motor and Data Collection Bundle today!

As a related resource for the wintery season is our Winter Fine Motor Kit for winter coloring, cut and paste, sensory boxes, and fine motor fun to get through this blustery season.

winter crossword puzzle

We love creating resources that expand on many areas of skill development, and this winter worksheet is no different. What starts out looking like a regular winter crossword puzzle, is full of writing, coloring, visual perception, motor planning, bilateral coordination, strength, executive function, and more.

This Winter Crossword Puzzle is not just for occupational therapists, parents, or teachers to use. Parents, educators, and speech pathologists will love teaching their learners the words that match these winter pictures, talking about what they mean, as well as practicing writing skills.

I posted the other day in one of the winter blogs, about the narrow focus of children who have been raised in warmer temperatures. My learners did not know anything about ice skating, igloos, eating icicles, maple syrup snow, sledding, or snowshoes. Thanks to the movie Frozen, they knew about snowballs and snowmen!

You can add this winter crossword to a collection of winter themed therapy tools:

These winter sensory stations address self-regulation and mindfulness
Arctic Animals Word Search
Polar Bear Theme Deep Breathing Exercise
100 Snowballs worksheet
Penguin Theme Deep Breathing Exercise
Build a Snowman craft
Things to do in the snow worksheet
Winter Mindfulness Activities

This Winter Crossword is a great jumping off point, leading to much discussion and learning about winter. It is also a multidimensional task that can be adapted and modified to meet the needs of each of your learners.

How can I modify this winter crossword puzzle?

The possibilities are endless, however, here are a few ideas:

Laminate the Winter Themed Crossword Puzzle page to make it reusable. This is efficient, environmentally friendly, and motivating for learners who love to write with markers. NOTE: Not all learners love reusable pages. Some learners feel it is important to be able to save their work and take it home.
Project it onto a smart board to make it a group task or work on large letters and shoulder stability.
Enlarge the task for beginning writers who need more writing space.
Shrink the task for older learners who need to learn to write smaller.
Try different writing utensils. This is not only motivating, but some learners work better with markers as they glide easier on paper. Did you know that golf sized pencils promote more of a tripod grasp than traditional long pencils?
Use different colored paper for more or less visual contrast.
Have learners write a sentence using each word clue.
Draw pictures of these items.
Use all or part of this task. It can be simply a winter crossword, a writing page, a coloring worksheet, or a design copy task.

Use a Crossword to develop skills

Check out the skill set developed by implementing this Winter Crossword Free printable:

Fine motor skills: manual dexterity to hold and used a writing tool, coloring and drawing, pencil grasp, writing and copying from a model. You’ll find more winter fine motor activities here.
Strength: core strength, hand and wrist stability, finger control
Bilateral coordination: using one hand for writing and coloring, while the “helper hand” supports the paper. Keep an eye one which hand is primarily used as the dominant side. The OT Toolbox has a great post highlighting several winter bilateral coordination activities.
Visual perception: Scanning to correctly fit all of the letters in their designated boxes. Visual memory is needed to remember what letters need to go in each box. Figure ground is used to determine where the letters belong in the boxes, or how to copy the shapes.
Executive function/behavior/social skills: Following directions, attention to detail, turn taking, waiting, social skills, compliance, behavior, and work tolerance
Sustained attention: Work on focus for a short period of time by setting a target to find the answer to one crossword question by setting a timer or working until the question is filled in. This is one way to work on mindful thought, or paying attention to what you’re thinking about while working on tasks. More winter mindfulness activities can be found here.
Dexterity: Coloring inside the lines within the small shapes
Handwriting: letter formation, sizing, spacing, directionality, line placement, and proportion of letters are all important factors. Check out this number tracing worksheet in case you missed it.

handwriting and crosswords

Each teacher, therapist, and school system seem to have a different method of teaching and working on handwriting. Some systems focus on getting the words on the paper no matter how the letters are formed.

They emphasize free writing to embrace the written expression. Other systems focus on spelling, with little regard to letter formation. Some teachers do so much copying of words, their learners don’t rely on memory and kinesthetic awareness to write the letters.

Each system has its drawbacks and merits. NOTE: Once a grasping or letter formation pattern has been used for a long time, it is VERY DIFFICULT to get these patterns changed.

My theory is to start correct letter formation and good habits while the learners are first learning to write, rather than trying to remediate later.

Using a crossword activity like this winter crossword worksheet is a great tool for addressing letter formation because the letters can be formed inside a small area.

If you just need a breather, the OT Toolbox has a great post on Winter Brain Breaks.

Free Winter Crossword Puzzle

Want to add a copy of this winter crossword worksheet to your therapy toolbox? Enter your email address into the form below. Or, if you are a Member’s Club member, you can access this resource in our Winter Therapy Theme (Level 2) or our freebie dashboard under Handwriting Tools (Level 1 & 2).

NOTE*The term, “learner” is used throughout this post for inclusivity. This information is relevant for students, patients, clients, preschoolers, kids/children of all ages and stages or whomever could benefit from these resources. The term “they” is used instead of he/she to be inclusive.

Winter Color By Letter Worksheet

January 8, 2026January 2, 2023 by Victoria Wood OTR/L

There are many reasons why a color by letter worksheet is a resource to build skills. The winter themed coloring page we made covers even more skills than your typical color by letter worksheets…This Winter color by letter supports skills in handwriting, fine motor skills, visual motor skills, and direction-following with a winter theme. Winter is still in full swing, which is a great opportunity to introduce this Winter Coloring Page, just one of our coloring pages here on the site. It is a color by letter and writing task, with a cute winter bear, since we are “bearly” through winter!

Also be sure to grab our new winter crossword puzzle and this winter clothes worksheet to target visual discrimination and other visual perceptual skills.

If fine motor planning and data collection feel overwhelming, you’re not alone.
This done-for-you yearlong bundle organizes seasonal activities and monthly screening tools in one system.

Get the Yearlong Fine Motor and Data Collection Bundle today!

Winter Color By letter

This winter color by letter activity is an out-of-box letter formation worksheet that is fun and engaging. It is so cold out there, you might be finding more time inside doing activities rather than outside.

This color by letter winter scene is a great addition to your winter theme. In addition to this Winter Coloring Page, the OT Toolbox has some great winter themed kits to make your treatment sessions easier. If you do venture outside, be sure to check out these Snow and Ice Activities.

Color By Letter Worksheets

A color by letter sheet is a printable tool to work on skills such as visual discrimination, visual figure ground, and the fine motor skills necessary to color in a small space.

The nice thing about the winter color by letter activity below is that there is a handwriting component as well.

The printable color by letter page asks children to write the letter that they color in each time they find the letter and finish coloring.

This task offers several skills for children:

In-hand manipulation to pick up the crayon and then place it on the table to then pick up the pencil. There is a lot of manipulation of writing tools to complete these tasks. This supports development of transfer within the hand and using the writing tool to color or write.
Copying the letters into the sized boxes for uppercase letter formation and lowercase letter formation. This uppercase/lowercase discrimination supports handwriting and form constancy skill as well as letter sizing.
Visual motor skills to visually scan for the correct letter form in the color by letter page and then appropriately match the color to the space on the coloring sheet.

Luckily for the bear in the winter coloring worksheet, he has his own built in winter coat. No hoodie necessary! We also have a great winter activity all about hibernation activities where this would fit in nicely.

Why should I use this Winter Color by letter?

To Develop:

Fine motor skills: Manipulating and grasping a pencil, crayon, marker, or whatever combination of writing implements you use. Coordination to fit the letters inside the boxes. Coloring inside the lines. Remember smaller items such as golf pencils and broken crayons help promote that tripod grasp.
Handwriting: Copying and writing letters, letter size, and to target letter formation
Strength: core strength, hand and wrist stability.
Bilateral coordination: using one hand for coloring and writing while the “helper hand” supports the paper. Keep an eye on which hand is primarily used as the dominant side to discourage switching
Visual perception: figure ground to pick out the letters from the field of many. Scanning to correctly find all of the letters. Visual memory to remember what color each letter section needs to be. Form constancy to recognize the letters in their different forms or sizes
Executive function/behavior/social skills: following directions, attention to detail, waiting, social skills, compliance, behavior, and work tolerance
Proprioception: how much pressure is used on the crayon/pencil/marker, and how much pressure is put on to the paper

Use a color by letter Worksheet in therapy

A color by letter worksheet is a powerhouse of skill building.

What should I look for when observing or assessing this snow coloring page?

How many times do you need to repeat the directions so your learner can follow them?
How many reminders does your learner need while doing this color by letter sheet?
What is your learner’s frustration tolerance if they make a mistake or have to erase?
Is there any cheating or cutting corners going on? There always is.
How does your learner motor plan this task? Do they do all the coloring first, then write all the letters, skip around, haphazardly complete the task, write the letters first, or something else?
While your learner switches between tasks such as writing and coloring or using different utensils, how well do they switch focus?
Take time to work on executive function if your learner is doing this task the hard way, being inefficient, or missing vital steps.

Modify a Color by Letter worksheet:

You can adapt or modify a color by letter worksheet to support different skill development:

There are endless utensils to use for coloring. Markers, crayons, colored pencils, paints, watercolor, chalk, or dry erase pens all provide different input, and require different levels of fine motor skill to manipulate.
Small one inch crayons are excellent for developing those tiny hand muscles.
Chalk, with its grainy texture, provides sensory feedback and can be a positive (or negative) experience
Markers glide easily, requiring less precision and grip strength
Change writing utensils to appeal to different students and improve their level of motivation.
Some learners do not seem to notice the black borders around coloring sections. Highlight these with different colors, or trace around each section to demonstrate what “inside the lines” means.
Coloring can be assessed by noting the percentage of the item that is filled in, and the number of errors outside of the lines. This can be tricky sometimes as there are often dozens of stray marks outside of the lines. Try this: the learner was able to color a two inch shape with 75% coverage and greater than 5 errors out of the lines.
Use multiple types of work pages or activities to address each skill. An easy way to work on these skills this winter is this Snowman Activity Kit

In addition to using this Winter Coloring by Letter Page in your treatment plan, check out the Winter Fine Motor Activities with links to activities, resources, and valuable products.

Because many learners are resistant to doing writing tasks, try and make this color by letter winter scene multidimensional. Add a sensory component, a gross motor task, glitter, fun pencils, or a book to motivate your learners. Need to work on self regulation?

How about a Winter Mindfulness Exercise? As you can see, there are tons of resources out there to spice up your winter themed lesson plan, without ever having to venture out into the frozen tundra.

Stay warm and bundle up!

Free Winter Color by letter worksheet

Want a copy of this color-by letter worksheet? Enter your email address into the form below.

This resource is also inside our Member’s Club. Level 1 members can find this on the Handwriting toolbox. Level 2 members can find it on the Handwriting toolbox and in the Winter Therapy Theme.

*The term, “learner” is used throughout this post for inclusivity. This information is relevant for students, patients, clients, preschoolers, kids/children of all ages and stages, or whomever could benefit from these resources. The term “they” is used instead of he/she to be inclusive.

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Auditory Sensitivity in the Classroom

Setting up a Preschool Classroom for Success

What is the noise like in your Classroom?

Tips for setting Up a Preschool Classroom

Consider the classroom set up

Auditory input can affect behavior

Auditory classroom management is just one aspect of setting up a preschool classroom

Free Handout: Classroom Auditory Sensitivity Strategies

Free Winter Crossword Puzzle

winter crossword puzzle

How can I modify this winter crossword puzzle?

Use a Crossword to develop skills

handwriting and crosswords

Free Winter Crossword Puzzle

Free Winter Crossword Puzzle

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Winter Color By letter

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Why should I use this Winter Color by letter?

Use a color by letter Worksheet in therapy

Modify a Color by Letter worksheet:

Free Winter Color by letter worksheet

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