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Clay Fine Motor Strengthening Exercises
As an Occupational Therapist, I LOVE using clay with my kids in fine motor work. Clay uses a resistance that works the small muscles of the hands and builds arch development on the hands, increasing endurance for activities like coloring and writing for longer periods of time. Kids will often times complain of their hands…
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ABC Play Dough Activity
This ABC play dough activity is a fun way to build hand strength with letters of the alphabet. This Fine Motor Play Dough Alphabet activity combined a couple of our favorite things: Creative Play Dough ideas and Fine Motor Skills. We used a handful of foam alphabet stickers that we had in the house and store bought play…
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Scissor Skills Crash Course (with Gift Wrap!)
Teaching kids how to use scissors and exploring scissor skills is one of my favorite things to work on as a school-based Occupational Therapist. There are so many creative ways to address the skills needed for accuracy in cutting with a pair of scissors. Today, I’m sharing everything you need to know about cutting with…
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Fun Way to Explain Regrouping Hundreds and Tens with chocolate!
Need to explain regrouping? Are you thinking Ok, HOW do I teach regrouping of tens or hundreds when I am totally wondering “what is regrouping”?!? This very fun and completely motivating regrouping activity is a hands on math activity that will explain regrouping for math as well as regrouping for addition! AND, the best part…
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How to Make a TeePee for Indoor Play
Winter weather means cold temps. We try to get outside to play every day, but sometimes the thermometer is just too low for us to go outside for very long. Other days, we are out there for hours! (Yesterday, my daughter and I were outside for FOUR hours strait. In the mud, melting snow, and…
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Mini Eraser Patterns Kindergarten Math
Miniature erasers are one of my Occupational Therapy toolbox power tools. These little bits of rubber are the perfect manipulative for working on so many fine motor and developmental skills. Today, I’m sharing how we use them in learning and reviewing skills learned at school, like patterns with my Kindergarten -aged son. Be sure…
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Teach Buttoning Skills with Heart Buttons
Teaching kids functional skills like how to button their coat happens naturally during a day’s progression. You help your Toddler or Preschooler into their coat before an outing and sneak in a few verbal cues while you show them how to slip the button through the button hole. Then, before you blink your eyes, they…
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How to Help your Sensory Child Get Organized
This is a small series I’m sharing this month, called Get Your Sensory Child Organized. These are tips and ideas for helping your child with sensory processing concerns and other underlying problem areas get organized and start planning and prioritizing tasks. How to Help Sensory Kids Get Organized These are the kids that look sloppy or lazy, but really…
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Handwriting and Sensory Issues
There are many handwriting and sensory considerations, from paper sensory issues, to pressing too hard when writing, to sensory issues that impact handwriting posture, handwriting is connected to sensory processing. When teaching a child to write, there are many sensory processing to consider. Today, I’m sharing sensory considerations and strategies to help children in handwriting…
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Valentines Day Sensory Bottle
Have you tried making a sensory bottle yet? These a super easy and creative ways to encourage learning through a calming visual sensory tool. We’ve shared awesome ways to make them and have a great new idea to bring you today, and just in time for Valentine’s Day: this heart waterbead sensory bottle! It’s a…
