-
Finger Opposition
In this blog post, we’re covering an important piece to the fine motor skills puzzle: finger opposition! Finger and thumb opposition is a dexterity and precision skill that develops from a young age, and is very important in eye-hand coordination tasks that we complete every day. Let’s cover what this term means and how to…
-
Sensory Needs and Navigating the School Fire Drill
Who remembers a childhood fire drill? Did you know that memories are driven by emotions? People remember times or events that trigger emotional responses because of the overwhelming input leads to sensory dysregulation. Luckily having a few strategies in place can help the child with sensory needs navigate a fire drill. Sensory Processing and Fire…
-
Pencil Grasp Activities with Fine Motor Play
Helping kids with pencil grasp can be a complicated matter. Kids can hold the pencil too tightly or with an immature grasp no matter how many pencil grips you try. But, there is hope. These pencil grasp activities are fun ways to improve pencil grasp with fine motor play. By using play activities to help…
-
31 Days of Learning with Free Materials
This blog post on learning at home with materials found around the home is a great resource for school based OT providers because many of the skills we work on in therapy sessions need to be carried over at home to ensure results. It’s the everyday practice that makes skills stick! Here you will find…
-
Fine Motor Activities with Beads
A while back, I started putting together lists of activities that require just one supply. These are items that you probably already have in the home. I wanted to put these activity lists together to help kids work on fine motor skills with little to no supplies. Some of the activity lists that we have…
-
How to make Sensory Bottles for Self Regulation
This blog post on how to make a sensory bottle is an old one on the website. It was originally written February 21, 2015 and we updated it April 11, 2024. All this time later, the fact is that sensory bottles continue to be a valuable self regulation and calming tool for kids to use…
-
Preschool Centers to Develop Pre-Writing Skills
This blog post on preschool center ideas for pre-writing skills was originally written September 20, 2017. We’ve since updated it to include more resources and ideas to support the development of preschool prewriting skills that occurs through play in the preschool age. We have many preschool centers ideas to help with this skill! Our favorite…
-
42 Ways to Help Students Stay Organized at School
This blog post oh how to help students become more organized at school was originally written on January 11, 2016 and was updated on April 9, 2024. We wanted to update it to include resources to help kids with a messy desk or disorganized locker that results in lost homework, misplaced assignments, and general school…
-
Cherry Blossom Tree Craft- Fine Motor Activity
This cherry blossom craft is one of my favorites this time of year because it’s a fine motor power tool that supports so many areas of development with a single craft. We made the tissue paper cherry blossom tree many years ago, and it’s still a favorite when it comes to one craft that supports…
-
Awesome Buckle Toys for Fine Motor Skills
I was wasting time on Amazon (do you do that too? It’s the ultimate window shopping experience!) one day and I came across a series of buckle toys that made my occupational therapy mouth drool. Ok, maybe I’m being a little dramatic here, but as a pediatric OT, I can tell you that there are…
