crafts

Fire Truck Craft Easy Shapes

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Fire truck crafts are a favorite for young children, especially preschoolers who love vehicles, helpers, and hands-on art projects. This easy fire truck craft for preschoolers uses simple shapes to create a bold, recognizable fire engine while quietly building foundational fine motor skills. With cutting, grasping, and bilateral coordination built right into the activity, this fire truck shapes craft is more than just a fun art project – it’s a purposeful way to support early scissor skills through play.

fire truck craft

Whether you’re a parent looking for a preschool fire truck craft, a teacher planning a themed activity, or a therapist targeting cutting accuracy, this fire truck craft can be easily adapted to meet different skill levels.

This fire truck craft was a given after we made our easy shapes school bus craft.  We love looking for trucks when we are out and about (what Toddler or Preschooler doesn’t??) This fire truck craft was easy to do and perfect for little fingers to build, like a lot of our kids crafts. We love the puzzle-like craftiness of this truck idea.  Fire safety week would be a great time to make this craft…but if you’ve got kids like mine, it’s fun any time of year!
 
This fire truck craft would be fun to make with students when navigating sensory needs and fire drills.
 

Fire Truck Craft

I love this fire truck craft because so many kids love fire trucks! But they don’t realize that they are developing skills by cutting the simple shapes when making this craft.

 
Easy shapes fire truck craft. This is fun for toddlers and preschoolers during fire safety week.
 
 
 
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Why Fire Truck Crafts Are Great for Preschoolers

A fire truck craft for preschool works especially well because it combines motivation with structure. Young children are often more willing to practice challenging skills like cutting when the end result is something exciting and familiar, such as a fire engine. This is a great preschool occupational therapy activity.

This fire truck art and craft activity supports:

Using basic shapes also helps children begin to recognize how shapes come together to form a larger image, an important pre-writing and early math concept.

This fun craft invites children to explore the role of a firefighter (or fireman) through hands-on creativity while learning about community helpers and rescue work in an age-appropriate way. Designed for preschool and kindergarten, this fire truck craftivity uses simple templates that make cutting and assembling approachable and much fun for young learners. Children can add details like flames, a siren, or even use straws for added texture and engagement, encouraging imagination and fine motor development. This activity works well as part of a larger set of classroom or therapy resources, and many families and educators enjoy sharing finished projects on Instagram and Facebook to celebrate progress and inspire others.

Fire Truck Shapes Craft Using Simple Paper Materials

We like paper plate crafts for many reasons, one being that you can increase the resistance of the cutting surface to add proprioceptive input as a heavy work task. This slows down the scissors when cutting.

We like to make this firetruck craft on a paper plate for that reason.

This paper craft fire truck is created using basic shapes such as rectangles, circles, and squares. Each shape provides a different cutting challenge, allowing you to observe and support a child’s scissor skill development.

You can use:

  • Construction paper

  • Cardstock

  • Or even recycled paper for a lower-prep option

As children cut each piece, they practice opening and closing scissors with purpose while learning to rotate paper with their helper hand.

 


Items needed to make a fire truck craft:

 
We started with basic shapes to make our fire truck: large rectangle, square, 3 black circles (trace a bottle cap), three smaller white circles, white square, 8-10 black squares, long white rectangle for the ladder.  
 
Older children can work on cutting these shapes.  Cutting from card stock is a great way to work on scissor skills, as it’s a bit more sturdy than printer paper or construction paper.  The increased resistance provides more input when making snips with scissors. 
 
For the Toddlers and preschoolers, be sure to work on shape identification.  Point out the different shapes, the way that we know what they are (circles are one line and curve all around; rectangles have two long lines and two short lines with four corners).
 

These little fingers couldn’t wait to get started!


We started building our fire truck.

Fire truck craft for Preschool and Toddlers
 
Count the squares as you build the fire truck ladder. 
 

I cut a swirly curved shape for a fire hose.  Our fire truck turned out looking pretty cute and a great way to start talking about fire safety during Fire Safety Month in October.  Happy crafting!


Love this craft?  Check out our easy shapes bus craft.

 

Paper Plate Fire Truck Craft for Added Resistance

For children who are just learning to cut or who need more control, a paper plate fire truck craft is an excellent option. Paper plates offer a more resistive texture than standard paper, which can naturally slow down cutting snips and improve accuracy.

This added resistance can:

  • Encourage better hand positioning
  • Reduce fast, choppy cutting
  • Support smoother scissor movements

Simply trace the fire truck shapes onto a paper plate and allow the child to cut along the lines at their own pace.

Easy Fire Truck Craft for Preschoolers at Different Skill Levels

One of the benefits of this easy fire truck craft is how easily it can be graded up or down.

To make it easier:

  • Use thicker lines
  • Cut shapes into smaller sections
  • Pre-cut some pieces for assembly practice

To make it more challenging:

  • Use thinner cutting lines
  • Add smaller details
  • Encourage cutting curves and corners independently

This flexibility makes it a great craft fire engine activity for mixed-ability groups.

Supporting Scissor Skill Development Beyond One Craft

If a child struggles with cutting accuracy, endurance, or hand positioning, it often helps to practice with consistent, structured scissor skill activities rather than one-off crafts.

This fire truck activity can be a great starting point, especially when paired with a broader set of cutting activities that progress from simple to more complex skills.

MORE fine motor and scissor skills tasks in our many Fine Motor Kits (also available inside The OT Toolbox Membership):

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

Check out the seasonal Fine Motor Kits that kids love:

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

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

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

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

Olympic Rings Craft for Kids

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Olympic rings craft

Celebrate the Olympics with a Fine Motor Craft Get into the Olympic spirit with this engaging, low-prep activity that’s perfect for therapy sessions, classrooms, and at-home fun. This Olympic Rings Craft for Kids encourages fine motor skill development, creativity, and cultural learning, all while using simple recycled materials. Whether you’re preparing for an Olympic-themed unit or just looking for a meaningful craft to build motor skills, this activity is a winner!

If you’re looking for ways to get the kids excited about the Olympics or are incorporating Olympics activities into learning and play this year, try these Olympic Games Activities for a bunch of creative ideas.

Why Make an Olympic Rings Craft? Creating Olympic rings is a great way to connect kids to global themes of teamwork, perseverance, and cultural unity. Incorporating movement and creativity through crafting helps reinforce learning and builds a sense of accomplishment. Best of all, this activity can be adapted for many ages and skill levels, making it a versatile addition to any therapy toolkit.

Skills Developed Through cardboard tube Crafts

This craft supports a wide range of developmental goals:

  • Fine motor skills: cutting, gluing, painting, and squeezing tools
  • Hand strength and bilateral coordination: using both hands to hold and paint tubes or paper
  • Visual motor integration: aligning and arranging rings to mimic the Olympic logo
  • Sensory input: tactile exploration with recycled materials, paint, glue
  • Color recognition and sequencing: matching the colors of the Olympic rings in the correct order

How to make an Olympics Craft

Materials Needed Gather these common supplies:

  • 5 empty toilet paper rolls or 2 paper towel rolls cut in half
  • Paint (blue, yellow, black, green, red)
  • Paintbrushes or sponges
  • Glue or stapler
  • Optional: colored construction paper for an alternative craft version

Craft Option 1: Recycled Cardboard Tube Olympic Rings

  1. Cut the cardboard tubes into rings of equal width.
  2. Paint each ring one of the Olympic colors: blue, yellow, black, green, and red.
  3. Allow the rings to dry completely.
  4. Arrange and glue the rings into the Olympic pattern: 3 on top (blue, black, red), 2 underneath (yellow, green).
  5. Display the finished craft or hang as a banner.

We started with our collection of paper tube rings (You may have just seen these used in a totally different way on our last post where we used the paper rings for Learning Sight Words.  We pulled them out again for our Olympic rings.

Olympic ring craft- paint cardboard tube rings

Next came the fun part.  We used our paint set (and pulled out a container of black paint because our set doesn’t have it).  The rings were very messy to paint, but a great sensory and fine motor activity.

Once our rings dried, we glued them onto a piece of paper.  This part got a little messy with the glue, but only because Big Sister wanted to pour the glue onto the rings.  If you put the glue on the paper and then stick the rings into the glue, it will be a lot less sloppy than ours was.  But, the glue dries clear, so no harm done!

Craft Option 2: Construction Paper Ring Chain

  1. Cut strips of colored construction paper (about 1″ x 6″).
  2. Create a ring by looping one strip into a circle and stapling or gluing the ends together.
  3. Loop the next strip through the previous ring and attach.
  4. Continue until all five Olympic-colored rings are connected.
  5. This version supports cutting practice, sequencing, and bilateral hand use.

Therapy Ideas Using the Olympic Rings Craft

As a pediatric OT, I love crafts I can use with my whole caseload, no matter what level or grade the students are at. That means I can have my whole caseload do the same craft or activity and we just switch up the goals we are targeting. we can modify the activity to meet the level of the individual in a just right manner.

I can also adapt the activity and use the parts of the craft in different ways. This makes therapy activities fun and motivating, not just a rinse and repeat strategy.

Use this craft as part of a themed therapy session:

  • Add a gross motor obstacle course and let kids earn a ring for completing each section.
  • Practice handwriting by labeling each ring with Olympic values (e.g., Respect, Excellence).
  • Use tongs to pick up and sort the rings by color to boost hand strength and coordination.

Classroom Extensions and Olympic Learning

Occupational therapists that work in the school setting know all about pushing into the classroom or pulling the child out for 1:1 work. When we need to push into the classroom, this craft can be a great tool to build skills.

Teachers can incorporate this craft into social studies or physical education lessons by:

  • Exploring the meaning behind the Olympic rings and what each color represents.
  • Hosting a mini “Olympics” event and using the rings as decorations or awards.
  • Practicing math by counting rings, measuring lengths, or sequencing colors.

Related Posts You Might Like:

Kids Craft for the Olympics

My kids are very excited to watch the Olympics this year.  They can’t wait to watch their favorite sports next month.  I’m excited for the opening ceremony and watching that with the kids. 
 
We made this Olympics ring craft to get in the mood and to talk about the rings and create a little Olympic art. 
 
Anytime we pull out the paint, Baby Girl gets excited to make a craft and paint away.  This girl loooooves to paint.  These Olympic Rings were fun (and messy) to paint…just the way she likes her crafts! 

 

 
Kids will love to make these Olympic Rings craft while watching the Olympic Summer Games this year! Perfect for the winter games, too! Uses recycled toilet paper tubes for a 3D craft.

 


Olympic Rings Craft for Kids

 
This post contains affiliate links.
 
 
 
 
Kids will love to make these Olympic Rings craft while watching the Olympic Summer Games this year! Perfect for the winter games, too! Uses recycled toilet paper tubes for a 3D craft.

 

Olympic Ring Paint Craft


These colorful Olympic rings dried on a piece of wax paper (and looked so pretty!) 

Kids will love to make these Olympic Rings craft while watching the Olympic Summer Games this year! Perfect for the winter games, too! Uses recycled toilet paper tubes for a 3D craft.
 
We’ve got all of the colors in there!
 
Kids will love to make these Olympic Rings craft while watching the Olympic Summer Games this year! Perfect for the winter games, too! Uses recycled toilet paper tubes for a 3D craft.
 
 
 
 
Kids will love to make these Olympic Rings craft while watching the Olympic Summer Games this year! Perfect for the winter games, too! Uses recycled toilet paper tubes for a 3D craft.
 
Kids will love to make these Olympic Rings craft while watching the Olympic Summer Games this year! Perfect for the winter games, too! Uses recycled toilet paper tubes for a 3D craft.
 
The three dimensional Olympic Rings looked pretty neat when hanging from our dining room wall.  They remind us how excited we are for the games to begin!
 
 
Kids will love to make these Olympic Rings craft while watching the Olympic Summer Games this year! Perfect for the winter games, too! Uses recycled toilet paper tubes for a 3D craft.
 

Looking for more fun kid’s crafts?  Follow along on our “kid’s crafts” Pinterest board for loads of fun ideas:

 

 
Olympic Rings Craft for Kids
 
You can also follow us on Facebook, Google+ Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram!

Kids will love to make these Olympic Rings craft while watching the Olympic Summer Games this year! Perfect for the winter games, too! Uses recycled toilet paper tubes for a 3D craft.
 

 


What are your favorite ways to get your kids excited about the Olympics and learn through play with an Olympics games theme? You’ll also love our Olympic playdough: gold, silver, and bronze play dough you can make for fine motor work!

Download the Printable Instruction Sheet!

This is a Level 2 Membership tool. Members can log into their account and find a printable activity handout for this craft with more information on how to use this activity in OT sessions for building hand strength and other goal areas. Click on Olympic theme under the Themes section.

Our Olympic Rings Craft printable is perfect for therapists, teachers, or parents. It includes:

  • Step-by-step illustrated instructions
  • Materials checklist
  • Therapy goals supported
  • Tips for adapting for different age groups
  • A visual model of the Olympic ring layout

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!

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

Snowman Craft for Occupational Therapy

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snowman collage using junk mail

Helping kids develop fine motor skills doesn’t require a bunch of fancy therapy equipment or carefully selected developmental toys. Here, I’ll show you how to use junk mail to help kids improve motor skills. This snowman collage is a winter craft that kids can use to work on areas like scissor skills, eye-hand coordination, visual motor skills, and hand strength!

You’ll also want to check out our other snowman crafts too. It’s a fun indoor activity for winter when the kids need something different to do. Grab that junk mail, we’re going to build a snowman!

A Fun and Easy Snowman Craft for Preschoolers and Toddlers

This snowman craft is as simple as it gets! It’s packed with developmental benefits. Using junk mail, old magazines, or recycled paper to rip and glue inside a snowman outline makes it the perfect easy snowman craft for young children.

I love using this snowman craft in occupational therapy. It’s a great Winter activity for kids because you can target several skill areas.

Whether you’re in a classroom, therapy session, or at home with toddlers, this no-prep activity can be adapted for various ages and skill levels. Just draw or print a snowman outline and let the tearing and gluing begin!

Supports Fine Motor Skills Through Paper Tearing and Gluing

Tearing paper works on small hand muscles, particularly the intrinsic muscles of the hands and fingers, which are essential for pencil grasp, cutting, and functional hand use. This snowman fine motor craft also promotes bilateral coordination. Kids use one hand to hold the paper and the other to rip it. The gluing portion supports hand-eye coordination and precision. These are foundational skills for writing, buttoning, and scissor use.

Why This is a Great Snowman Craft for Preschoolers and Toddlers

Preschoolers benefit from activities that are both simple and meaningful. This snowman craft for preschoolers offers a tactile, sensory-rich experience using familiar materials.

The tearing action is developmentally appropriate for toddlers, too, who may not yet have the skills for cutting but can participate in a creative process. For toddlers, you can provide pre-ripped paper chunks, while preschoolers can tear independently. It’s also a great way to reinforce body part vocabulary (“Let’s glue paper onto the snowman’s belly!”), introduce sequencing (first tear, then glue), and encourage attention span.

Snowman Crafts That Build School Readiness

Crafts like this are more than just cute, they support kindergarten readiness. The fine motor development, attention to task, visual-motor integration, and sequencing involved in completing this snowman all build the skills kids need for success in early childhood education.

For therapists, it’s an ideal winter-themed craft that supports multiple goal areas while still being fun and seasonal.

Extend the Snowman Craft idea

For added engagement, you can turn this into a math or handwriting activity by adding a number to each snowman and having kids glue that many pieces of paper.

Or, use a black marker to have kids write their names, a winter word, or a letter of the week on the snowman’s hat. Encourage creativity by offering different paper textures, colors, or even letting kids add googly eyes, cotton ball “snow,” or stickers to decorate their snowman.

Fine motor snowman collage using junk mail to help kids with motor skills and visual motor skills.

Snowman Collage Craft

We got a bunch of junk mail today with random neighborhood coupons inside… When my kids were younger, they loved to use scissors to practice cutting. And, actually, using the coupons found in junk mail to practice scissor skills, is actually a very functional and easy way to practice cutting along lines.

Junk mail is easily accessible and a material found in most homes. So, why not use it to help kids develop fine motor skills?

Junk Mail Craft

While we used junk mail to create a snowman collage, this craft technique can be used for any shape or theme.

Kids can use junk mail to work on snipping paper with scissors, eye-hand coordination, and visual motor skills. Try these strategies using junk mail:

  • Work on snipping along the edges of paper to create a fringe- This is a great bilateral coordination activity for preschool aged children and new scissor users.
  • Work on cutting along lines or coupons for early scissor skills- Cutting coupons or basic shapes is an early scissor skill activity. Junk mail often times includes flyers that are made from cardstock or heavy materials, as well as thinner materials, so it’s easy to progress through a graded activity to meet the needs of all levels of kids.
  • Cut out pictures- Use junk mail to cut out pictures or shapes. This is a nice way to work on simple to complex cutting skills. Progress from easy or basic shapes to more complex shapes.

For more scissor skills activities and how to progress along various grades, check out these Scissor Skills Crash Course.

To further along from basic scissor skills, use the junk mail materials to create a collage craft. You could use the steps below to make any shape or theme, making it a great addition to weekly therapy themes or preschool themes.

Snowman Collage

For our snowman craft, I first drew a snowman shape onto blue paper. This part could be graded as well. Use a larger shape for younger children or make a smaller shape for addressing more refined skills and precision.

Next, ask your child to cut out blue and white pieces of junk mail. This is where the craft gets open-ended. You can let kids snip random shapes, or you could request that they cut all squares. I love that this scissor skills craft fits with all levels and needs.

When kids are sorting through a stack of junk mail for specific colors, they are developing a variety of skill areas:

  • Eye-hand coordination
  • Visual scanning
  • Finger isolation (page turning)
  • Precision and refined grasp (manipulating one page at a time)
  • Visual attention and visual memory

Next, you will need squeeze glue from a bottle. As a pediatric occupational therapist, I love the use of a squeeze glue bottle over a glue stick for so many reasons. By using a squeeze glue bottle, kids are building refined use of skill areas:

  • Refined grasp
  • Hand strength
  • Eye-hand coordination
  • Arch strength
  • Open thumb web-space
  • Visual motor skills

You can focus on certain areas with use of a squeeze glue bottle by asking kids to place glue onto specific spots. Just use a marker to dot throughout the shape. Kids can then place glue dots on those specific spots.

If working with glue bottles is a helpful activity for the children you serve, you will love the Glue Spots Exercises in the Winter Fine Motor Kit.

Next, kids can place their junk mail pieces onto the glue and within the collage area to create the snowman.

Snowman collage craft using junk mail is a nice way to help kids work on fine motor skills using materials found in the home.
Use junk mail and squeeze glue bottle to help kids with fine motor skills using junk mail.

Ask kids to line up strait and curved edges along the curved lines of the snowman. This is a great way to work on visual motor skills.

To grade this activity to make it easier, make the lines of the snowman thicker with a black marker.

Cute junk mail collage snowman for preschoolers

You can see that we completed this craft on the floor, making it a shoulder strengthening activity as well.

Make a junk mail snowman craft to help kids with scissor skills and fine motor skills.

  That’s a pretty cute snowman…and great for practicing those snipping skills!

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

winter fine motor kit

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

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

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

Click here to grab the Winter Fine Motor Kit!

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

 
 
 

Place Value Scarecrow Craft

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Scarecrow craft to help with math skills

Fall is the perfect season to incorporate scissor skills and fine motor activities into fun, themed crafts, and this scarecrow project checks every box. Whether you’re working on cutting practice, pencil grasp development, or visual motor integration, this craft combines it all with a seasonal twist. Plus, it’s a great way to tie in academic skills like math facts or handwriting practice. Be sure to explore our collection of scissor skills activities, fine motor tasks, fall fine motor activities.

Also be sure to check out our resource on how math and fine motor skills are connected.

Scarecrow Craft for OT

We have a lot of kids crafts for occupational therapy here on the website, and this scarecrow craft is one of my favorites.

If you need a math craft idea that is perfect for this time of year, this is a good one because you can target the skills or areas that you need to based on the child’s needs.

This scarecrow craft can be used for any grade or age. Kids can be resistant to practicing extra math facts and practicing skills that they’ve learned in school or homeschool.  But often times, math skills like adding and composing numbers up to 1000 in this second grade math activity NEED additional practicing at home.  So how do you get that extra practice in without pulling teeth (or pulling out your own hair!)??  Playful Math activities make learning and practicing skills fun. We made this Math Scarecrow Craft to practice second grade math, including place value and composing numbers…but you can make it age-appropriate for preschool on up through elementary-aged kids.

 

Make this Scarecrow craft this Fall and practice math facts and addition or subtraction. This is perfect for second grade math or any preschool or elementary age student, and a fantastic scissor skill exercise for kids.
 
 


Scarecrow Craft

 
This post contains affiliate links.  
 
To make this scarecrow craft, you’ll need a few materials:
 
 
Make this Scarecrow craft this Fall and practice math facts and addition or subtraction. This is perfect for second grade math or any preschool or elementary age student, and a fantastic scissor skill exercise for kids.
 
To make the scarecrow craft (and totally sneak math into this Fall craft):


Scarecrow Craft for Kids

First, snip the Goldenrod cardstock into long strips about 1/2 inch wide.  Cutting the cardstock in long cutting lines is an excellent exercise in scissor skills.  The cardstock provides a thicker resistance than construction or printer paper.  This added resistance provides feedback to kids who are working on line awareness and smooth cutting lines.  
 
You can draw lines on the cardstock with a pencil/pen, or if the child needs more assistance with scissor skills, make the lines with a thick marker.  Cutting the long strips of cardstock require the child to open/shut the scissors with smooth cutting strokes as they cut along the lines.  Cutting all of the hair straw strands for the scarecrow craft is quite an exercise in scissor skills!
 
Next, you’ll have the child cut a large circle from the Ivory Cardstock.  We used a bowl and traced a circle, but you could also have the child draw their own circle.  This will become the face of the scarecrow.  Cutting a circle with smooth cutting strokes is a more difficult task for children than cutting strait lines.  Kids may need verbal and physical prompts to cut along the curved line with accuracy.
 
You can draw a hat-ish shape from the brown paper bag.  I say hat-ISH because a scarecrow often has a floppy and battered hat on his head, so a hat shape that looks mostly like a hat is just about perfect for this scarecrow craft!  
 
Kids can cut the hat shape and may require more assistance with this part.  Cutting a material like a brown paper bag is more difficult than cutting regular printer paper, so the flimsy-ness of the paper requires more skill and accuracy with scissor control and line awareness.  
 
Jagged lines make this scarecrow look authentic, though, so feel free to add more snips and cuts into the hat, too!
 
Make this Scarecrow craft this Fall and practice math facts and addition or subtraction. This is perfect for second grade math or any preschool or elementary age student, and a fantastic scissor skill exercise for kids.
 
Next, you will crumble up the paper hat shape.  My daughter really got into this part. “Crumble up this paper?? Awwww Yeah!”
 
Crumbling paper is a great fine motor strengthening exercise for children.  They really strengthen the intrinsic muscles of their hands with paper crumpling.  What a workout this scarecrow craft is!
 
Glue the hat in place on the scarecrow’s head.
Make this Scarecrow craft this Fall and practice math facts and addition or subtraction. This is perfect for second grade math or any preschool or elementary age student, and a fantastic scissor skill exercise for kids.
 

Scarecrow Math Craft

 
To make the hair of the scarecrow, glue the goldenrod strips on the head and along the hat.  Cut a triangle from the orange cardstock for the scarecrow’s nose.  Use buttons, paper scraps, and ribbons to dress up your scarecrow, adding eyes, mouth, and any other decorations.  We received the buttons we used to make the eyes from our pals at www.craftprojectideas.com.  Add a smile and your scarecrow is ready to decorate walls and doorways this Fall!
 
But wait!  Make this cute scarecrow into a Math activity that the kids will Fall in love with.  Yep, I went there.
 


Place Value Craft

To incorporate math into this scarecrow craft, use those paper strips.  We made this activity perfect for practicing second grade addition skills.  
 
My second grader has been working on building numbers up to 1000.  On the strips, I wrote a three digit number on the end of many of the paper strips.  She then chose different ways to describe that number.  She wrote out the number in words on some strips.  
 
On other strips, she built the three digit number using Common Core strategies.  For example, I wrote the number 421 on one strip.  She demonstrated how to “build” that number by writing “400 + 20 + 1”.  This technique helped her practice skills she’s learned at school while understanding what makes up a three digit number.  She was able to identify the hundreds, tens, and ones in a three digit number.  Work on and discuss place value and number order with this activity.
 

The nice thing about this scarecrow craft is that you can adjust the math to fit any age…or just make the craft without the math facts for a super cute Fall Scarecrow!

 
Make this Scarecrow craft this Fall and practice math facts and addition or subtraction. This is perfect for second grade math or any preschool or elementary age student, and a fantastic scissor skill exercise for kids.
 

Scarecrow Math Tips

How can you make this Math Scarecrow Craft work for your child’s needs?  Try these ideas:
 
  • Adjust the activity slightly by working on math facts.  Write a number on the end of the strip and ask your child to write the addition or subtraction problem on the length of the hair.
  • Write the SAME number on the end of each strip.  Ask your child to write each strip with different math addition problems that make up different ways to reach the number.  For example, write the number 16 on each strip.  Your child can write 8+8 on one strip, and other strips with 10+6, 12+4, 20-4, etc.

More Scarecrow Activities

Looking for more scarecrow activities? Below are scarecrow activities for kids that cover a variety of areas: math, language arts, art, and more. 
 
Stop by and see what our friends have come up with using this week’s Scarecrow theme:
 
Scarecrow Syllables for Second Grade – Use a scarecrow activity to help with early literacy skills in this creative scarecrow activity from Look! We’re Learning! 
  
Scarecrow Measures – Another scarecrow math activity, this one from Crafty Kids at Home is a fun addition to a Fall themed learning plan. 
 
Scarecrow Silhouette Art Project – A Scarecrow craft that the kids will love is fun to add to your therapy plan. Use this idea from School Time Snippets. 
 
Scarecrow Compound Word Match Game – Work on more literacy using this idea from Creative Family Fun.
 
 

More of our Creative Math ideas:

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

Jack Be Nimble Nursery Rhyme Craft

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Fine motor skills nursery rhyme craft. child squeezing a glue bottle and picture of cut shapes and torn tissue paper.

Looking for a fun way to bring movement into your circle time? This Jack Be Nimble craft pairs perfectly with nursery rhyme activities that get kids up and moving! Traditional rhymes like this one offer the perfect opportunity to build coordination, balance, and listening skills through gross motor rhymes. Add in a simple hands-on kids crafts, and you’ve got a meaningful activity that supports early learning in a playful way. Whether you’re working with a preschool class or doing OT sessions, this circle time movement idea brings the classic rhyme to life with jumping, crafting, and lots of giggles.

Fine motor skills nursery rhyme craft. child squeezing a glue bottle and picture of cut shapes and torn tissue paper.

Today’s craft is a Jack Be Nimble craft based on the nursery rhyme, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick. If you are looking for an easy nursery rhyme crafts based on development, this craft supports fine motor skills and scissor skills.

Jack Be Nimble Craft

I love this Jack be Nimble craft because it has so many components that are the building blocks for developing motor skills in kids. You’ll find:

  • Cutting simple shapes
  • Cutting straight lines and curved lines
  • Tearing paper
  • Crumbling paper
  • Gluing the craft pieces in order (direction following)

This craft is one of those kids crafts that is project based, but there are components that can be created by the child with a process-based format. You can have the child add their own spin on things and offer art and craft materials and just let the process go.

 
The Nursery Rhyme craft and activities series is in full swing and we’ve had some great ideas shared for some classic nursery rhyme favorites.  
 
Today’s kids craft is one of our favorite Nursery Rhymes.  We’ve loved this short little rhyme since we started book babies at the library years back.
 
It is a fun rhyme to recite and always brings a smile to my kids’ faces. 
 
Jack be nimble
Jack be quick
Jack jump over the candlestick.

 

 
Jack Be Nimble Jack Be Quick, Jack jumped over the candle stick craft for nursery rhyme loving toddlers and preschoolers.
 
 

Jack Be Nimble Jack Be Quick Craft for Toddlers and Preschoolers

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.
 

 

To make a Jack Be Nimble craft, you’ll need:

  • cardstock in white, another color (we used blue) and a background sheet (we used green)
  • glue
  • tissue paper (in red, yellow, and orange)

This craft is a nice one because you can work on cutting simple shapes. Here is a scissor skills crash course that talks about how to modify cutting tasks to make it easier or harder for kids at different skill levels.

Use Squeeze Glue Bottles Instead of Glue Sticks 

Here’s an occupational therapy fine motor tip: Use squeeze glue bottles for crafts. This is a strengthening tool that also works on graded precision, wrist stability, bilateral coordination, crossing midline, and visual motor skills! 

tip for using glue bottles to work on hand strength

These are skills that kids need for a wider variety of functional tasks and the squeeze glue bottle builds these skills with instant feedback. 

Squeeze too hard and too much glue comes out of the glue bottle. Squeeze too softly and you won’t get any glue. The nice thing is you can modify the amount of pressure needed by opening or closing the cap slightly. 

Wrist stability with fine motor tasks like using scissors and writing is huge. That’s why I love using the glue bottle task as a way to work on this. If the wrists are bent, or flexed when squeezing the glue bottle, the child won’t have stability and strength. It’s easy to point out this concept to them while they are using the glue bottle because it’s right there in front of them with both hands together on the glue bottle. 

This is a great way to make the nursery rhyme craft even more functional and effective! 


To make the Jack be Nimble Jack be Quick craft:

  1. Start by cutting the simple shapes you’ll need to make the candlestick craft.  Older kids can work on scissor skills to cut these simple shapes.  
  2. Cutting from card stock is a great way to work on scissor accuracy because the resistance is greater than regular printer paper.  This allows children to slow their snipping speed and better accuracy when cutting along lines.
  3. Cut a semi-circle from colored paper and a rectangle from white paper.  
  4. Tear a square of each color of tissue paper.

5. Glue the semi-circle onto the paper.  This is a great opportunity to talk about shapes with your toddler or preschooler.



6. Glue the rectangle on top of the semicircle.


7. Draw a flame shape with the glue.

8. Have your child tear small pieces of the tissue paper.  

Tearing paper and crumbling tissue paper is a great way to work on fine motor hand strength, opening of the web space (area between the thumb and index finger), and defining of the arches of the hand.  

All of these areas are important for pencil grasp and endurance in handwriting and coloring.  

Tearing tissue paper is such a great fine motor strengthening activity and one of my favorites!

 
Glue the tissue paper onto the top of the candle stick.  You’re done!  So much fun for little ones who love Jack be nimble!
 
 
Be sure to stop by and see all of the Nursery Rhyme crafts and activities from this week and next week!
 
 
 

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

For more craft ideas, including templates and printable crafts that allow for data collection, be sure to get our resources inside The OT Toolbox Membership.

Easy Shapes School Bus Craft

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School Bus craft for screening skills during back to school time

School buses and the back-to-school season is the perfect time for a fun, low-prep bus craft that supports creativity and fine motor skills. We love using back to school themed activities in occupational therapy sessions for a reason…This paper bus activity is ideal for young kids, toddlers, kindergartners, and even older kids. Using simple materials like cardstock, glue, markers, and printables, this craft is a great option for the first day of school, a classroom display, or a back-to-school school activity.

An easy school bus craft is just what kids need before back to school, along with a little crafting fun!


I don’t want to even think about the end of summer and the start of school.  The summer fun is quickly passing by with long days of outdoor play and water activities.   We’ve got a few of the cousins heading back to school this fall.  A couple on the school bus and a few that will be starting up preschool for the first time. 

New classes, new book bags, and new school shoes happen before the summer fun has even ended.  With all of the newness happening, this mama wanted to touch on an old familiar theme with the start of school quickly approaching.  


This school bus craft was a fun way to create while we explored easy shapes.  This was a great craft for my two year old as we talked about the start of school and some easy shapes.

Kids will love to make this school bus craft as a back to school craft that helps kids learn shapes.

Back to School Craft

 
 
This post contains affiliate links. 
 
Easy shapes school bus craft
 
 

School Bus Craft

For this craft, all you need is a few items.
 
I cut a few simple shapes from the paper.  An older child who is working on scissor skills could cut these shapes.
 
Building our school bus was fun!  We moved our shapes around until we liked the bus.  This was fun for Big Sister (age 6) as she helped us build the bus and made sure the windows were where she liked them. 
 
Baby Girl (age 2 and half) worked on her shape identification with this craft.  Big Sister and I would hold up a shape and ask her what it was.  She was loving the shape test!
 

We glued the shapes in place on our bus when we got it looking like we wanted.  Big Sister used some scrap paper to draw bus stops for our bus.  I love the “baby stop”!

school bus craft for learning shapes and preparing for back to school

 

 

 

Easy Bus Craft for Kids of All Ages

As an OT in schools, I love this craft to start off the school year because you can get a quick look at scissor skills, fine motor skills, planning and executive function, and much more. It’s a wonderful way to welcome the new school year with hands-on learning.

Simple Steps and Creative Add-Ons

This paper plate school bus craft (or use cardstock to make a more structured paper bus) is great for easy crafting in small groups or as part of a station activity. Add a black line for the road, draw headlights on the front, or invite kids to sketch their own child’s face in the windows for a personalized touch.

Need a quick solution for class? Provide step-by-step instructions with a visual example, or print out bus shapes with cut-and-paste parts to make this a preschool craft that’s both fun and functional.

Make It a Wheels on the Bus Craft!

Turn your bus project into a Wheels on the Bus craft by adding interactive features to go along with the classic bus song. Use paper brads to make spinning wheels, or glue on circles cut from black construction paper. Attach craft sticks to act out the song as a puppet or prop during circle time. You can also label parts of the bus (“doors go open and shut,” “wipers go swish swish swish”) to reinforce early learning concepts while you craft.

This is a fun idea that pairs perfectly with music, group time, and creative movement!

Turn It Into a Pigeon Rides the Bus Craft

We have many preschool book activities here on The OT Toolbox. This paper bus craft is a perfect way to extend the craft into the book, Pigeon Rides the Bus!

Turn this craft into a Pigeon Rides the Bus craft inspired by Mo Willems’ beloved character. Simply add a drawing or cut-out of Pigeon riding in or driving the bus. Kids can glue Pigeon onto the driver’s seat or draw him peeking out the window using a marker or crayon. Pair the craft with a read-aloud and follow-up discussion to build on literacy and comprehension skills.

This is a great way to tie in book-based learning with preschool crafts or kindergarten art projects.

Why This Craft Works for Young Children

This school bus art project uses simple crafts and easy paper crafts to build important early skills:

  • Promotes fine motor skills through cutting, gluing, and coloring
  • Encourages creativity and storytelling
  • Supports classroom community with a shared fun activity
  • Perfect for first week of school routines

It’s one of those easy craft ideas that is great for building connection and confidence in your preschool class or at home.

School Bus craft for screening skills during back to school time

With one cutting craft, you can assess many areas:

Fine Motor Skills

  • Cutting: Children cut squares, rectangles, and circles, which targets hand strength, bilateral coordination, and scissor skills.
  • Pasting/Glue Control: Squeezing glue bottles or using glue sticks promotes hand strength and precision.
  • Grasp Patterns: Encourages tripod grasp and refined finger movements when handling small shapes.

Visual Motor & Perceptual Skills

  • Visual Discrimination: Identifying and matching shapes (square windows, rectangular bus body).
  • Figure-Ground: Picking out shapes from a group of cut pieces or worksheet.
  • Visual Closure: Recognizing the bus even if parts are missing or partially hidden.
  • Visual-Spatial Awareness: Placing parts of the bus (windows, wheels, stripes) in correct orientation and location.

Bilateral Coordination

  • Cutting with Stabilization: Requires use of one hand to stabilize the paper while cutting with the other.
  • Assembly Tasks: Holding the bus body with one hand while placing and pressing shapes with the other.

Executive Functioning Skills

  • Planning and Sequencing: Following steps in order (e.g., bus body → windows → wheels).
  • Working Memory: Remembering shape placement and order from visual or verbal instruction.
  • Inhibition: Waiting to glue or cut at the appropriate time within the task.

Language and Cognitive Skills

  • Shape & Color Identification: Naming shapes and colors while assembling.
  • Following Directions: Completing a multi-step task with adult guidance or peer modeling.
  • Concept Development: Understanding positional concepts like “on top,” “next to,” “under.”

Postural Control & Endurance

  • Seated Tolerance: Sitting upright to complete a tabletop activity from start to finish.
  • Core Engagement: Maintaining posture while using both hands in front of the body.

Sensory Processing

  • Tactile Input: Handling paper, glue, and possibly stickers or markers.
  • Proprioceptive Input: Using controlled hand pressure for cutting and gluing.
  • Visual Input: Tracking lines while cutting and scanning for shape placement.

Social and Emotional Skills

  • Turn-Taking and Sharing: During group crafts, materials may be shared.
  • Task Completion: Builds confidence by following through on a start-to-finish task.
  • Self-Expression: Decorating the bus with additional details or personalization (child’s name, colors).

For more ways to focus on scissor skills, and the WHY behind development of cutting with scissors, check out our resource, The Scissor Skills Book.

Check out The Scissor Skills Book for tips and strategies based on development from school based occupational therapists and physical therapists.

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

Space Activities for Kids

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Space camp ideas for home programs or DIY summer camp with space fine motor, galaxy crafts, and space sensory play

If your kids are outer space enthusiasts, then this space theme activities are just the thing to add learning and skill building with space activities. This collection of space activities for kids are actually part of a DIY summer camp that we designed. When the kids need a backyard summer camp or something fun to look forward to, easy and creative activities based on a space theme can do just that. This summer, create a home summer camp with an Outer Space theme…all while building skills in therapy or at home. Our space theme slide deck is just one way to help kids build skills, and a great way to lead into space theme learning and play with the kids!

For another space themed virtual therapy activity, try this free outer space Connect 4 game. It’s great for kids of all ages.

Space camp ideas for home programs or DIY summer camp with space fine motor, galaxy crafts, and space sensory play

Here, you’ll find everything you need to plan a space camp fun that builds skills like fine motor skills, gross motor skill development, sensory input, regulation, emotional support, bilateral coordination, eye-hand coordination, executive functioning skills, and more. Read on for all of the outer space fun!

Space Camp for Kids

Whether you are planning a space camp in your therapy programming or trying to think of ways to build skills for kids this summer in a fun and creative way, this space camp idea is for you. For parents that need something out-of-the-box this summer (that doesn’t break the bank!), a backyard space camp can be just the thing to get excited about.

Outer space activities for a space camp or space theme home program

Space theme ideas

You’ll want to check out some other space activities we have here on the Toolbox website. Add these ideas to your space camp planning. These ideas can get you started with planning. Scroll below to find more specific space activities based on skill area.

For more creative ideas with a space theme, be sure to check out my Outer Space Awesome Pinterest board.  

We even grabbed up a handful of our all-time favorite Outer Space books from the library to share with you.  If you’re looking for activities to do with the kids this summer, a space theme will be a sure hit. Your Summer Camp at home will be complete with Space crafts, Space snacks, Space sensory, fine motor, and gross motor learning and play.

Outer space theme activities for kids

Space theme

These activities are set up by theme (books, snacks, crafts, solar system models, sensory play, and movement learning activities) so that you can pick and choose activities for each day of your themed camp.  Make the week work for you!  Choose just one or two activities for each day, or go all out and do one from each category.  It’s totally up to you and your little campers! 

space fine motor activities for using to improve fine motor skills with a space theme

Space Fine Motor Activities

Use this outer space play dough mat printable to work on hand strength, fine motor skills, and eye-hand coordination. Simply print it off and slide into a page protector to use each day during your space camp.

 We made this Outer Space model using pipe cleaners.  We didn’t get into planet size, but rather checked out the size of each planet compared to the others from The Planets book and crafted them based on the pictures in the book. we strung the pipe cleaner planets along fishing line and taped it between two walls. This was a fun way to explore how the planets are spaced from the sun.

Outer Space Pipe cleaner solar system model

Space Visual Motor Activities

Visual motor skills and visual perception can be worked on with a space theme. Grab this free space visual discrimination worksheet to incorporate visual processing into a space camp.

Here is another free space visual perception worksheet to print off and work on visual processing skills.

This space maze is a visual motor activity that my own kids loved. Use Wikki Stix to build a maze and work on eye-hand coordination and other visual processing skills to work through the outer space maze.


Outer Space Books

Start off your daily activities during a week of Space activities with a Space book.  Some of our favorites are ones we read weekly and others are ones we love to check out from the library.
Here are outer space books for kids.



Outer Space Snacks

Cooking with kids is a huge way to build motor skills and executive functioning skills through cooking. Below are outer space snacks that the kids can help to make while building skills.

Outer space themed snack Stars and Planets snack for kids

Affiliate links included below.

We quickly made this space snack while doing a little space reading.  Kids will gobble up the stars and planets. We even made it a fine motor sorting activity by sorting the stars and planets from the snack mix.  This outer space themed snack will be a hit during your Summer Camp at home or space themed week.  We used a cup of Cheerios Cereal and a cup of Puffs snacks to make our stars and planets snack mix.  Have the kids sort the planets and stars into separate bowls for fine motor practice that Toddlers and young Preschoolers will love.

More Space themed snacks to fill the rest of your week:

Outer space snack ideas for kids

Eat the solar system from Creative Kid Snacks
Rocket Ship Wrap from Creative Kid Snacks
Eat the Moon snack from Things to Share and Remember

More Solar System Models for Kids for the rest of the week: 

Make a solar system mobile like Artsy Craftsy Mom
Use recycled plastic lids to create a solar system like Still Playing School
Make a solar system with Legos like Kitchen Counter Chronicles.

Outer Space Crafts

If there is one thing that occupational therapists love, it’s the use of kids crafts as a therapy tool. Be sure to check out our Constellation crafts.  There are a bunch of space and star craft ideas based on constellations and outer space…that double as a fine motor and visual motor skill building tool.

Use this space martian craft that the kids can make to build fine motor skills, and then use in handwriting activities to space between letters and words.

Use these outer space crafts to make one each day of the week of your DIY summer camp…or just use them with your space-loving kiddo!

Make a Rainbow Rocket ship like Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails
Create a Textured Moon craft from Fantastic Fun and Learning
Make Q-tip Star Art like Mess for Less
Kids will love this Launching Rocket Ship toy from Lalymom.
This Moon mobile will be a hit. (from Fantastic Fun and Learning)

Outer Space Sensory Play

 Our Outer Space sensory activities were a huge hit in adding proprioception, vestibular, and tactile sensory play into the day. Use them as part of a sensory diet with learning components. Mix these space sensory ideas into the schedule as a reward that also meets the sensory needs to benefit regulation and social-emotional skills.

These space themed sensory play ideas are ways to teach about planets, with an astronaut theme in mind. Know a little future astronaut? They will love these sensory play and learning ideas.

Lots of ideas are to be found on our Outer Space sensory  round up!

Space Themed Move and Learn Activities

I love the rocket ship in this space themed party!  Climb in and out of a cardboard rocket ship for lots of movement and play. 
Then, use another cardboard box to make this glow in the dark space fort like Lalymom.
Nurturestore made a great Space math game.

Space Fine Motor Kit

Know a kiddo that loves all things space, astronauts, and planets? The Outer Space Fine Motor Kit is your chance to develop fine motor strength, dexterity, and coordination skills.

Addressing hand strength, endurance, and precision is out of this world fun! The Outer Space Fine Motor Kit includes:

  • Fine Motor Mazes
  • Fine Motor Ten Frames for motor activities
  • 1-20 Star Counting Cards
  • Bead Copying Strips
  • Space Alien Directed Drawing Sheets

This fine motor kit includes 24 pages of printable resources. Included in this printable pack are:

  1. Two pages of color coded bead copying strips
  2. Two pages of blank bead copying strips
  3. Four pages of “draw and write” directed drawing activities with a space theme (Includes 3 styles of handwriting lines: highlighted lines, single rule, and double rule)
  4. Nine pages of fine motor mazes
  5. 1-20 Outer Space Counting Cards
  6. Four pages of fine motor ten frames activities

These printable activities extend to work on a variety of other functional areas, too: handwriting skills, numbers, math, adding, subtracting, one-to-one correspondence, scissor skills, coloring, and more.

Click HERE to grab the Outer Space Fine Motor Mini-Kit.

Outer Space Fine Motor Kit



Have fun with your Outer Space themed week of fun! 

Outer Space and Star Wars

For even more space themed activities for kids, add some of these Star Wars occupational therapy ideas to your therapy planning. We’ve broken down a bunch of space ideas using the Star Wars theme and include handwriting activities, sensory play, executive functioning ideas, crafts, gross motor ideas, and more. Kids will love it!

Set up Your Own Summer Camp

What’s next? Actually taking the steps to create your own Summer side-gig! If you’re ready to take the leap and turn your camp idea into something real, the Summer Camp & Tutoring Side Business Workbook is your perfect next step. Created specifically for OT, PT, and SLP professionals, this printable guide walks you through everything you need to set up and run your own skill-based summer program. It walks you through everything you need to know about this process, from planning and pricing to registration forms, waivers, and activity templates.

Whether you’re thinking about a handwriting bootcamp, sensory playgroup, or life skills club, this workbook helps you put your ideas into action, on your schedule, with your expertise, and without the overwhelm.

This workbook was inspired by my own experience starting a sensory playgroup while juggling work and mom life. I built it on my own terms, brought my kids along, and created fun, meaningful experiences that supported real skill development, and made extra income while doing it.

Now it’s your turn! Check out the Summer Camp Guide Workbook here.

Inside the workbook, you’ll find:

  • Program planning worksheets
  • Budget and pricing calculator
  • Activity planners
  • Registration and intake forms
  • Legal/safety templates (like waivers)
  • Ideas for promotion, themes, and scheduling
  • …and everything you need to confidently launch a camp, playgroup, or tutoring program this summer.

Whether you want to run handwriting bootcamps, sensory skill groups, or one-on-one sessions, you don’t need a full course or new certification. You just need a starting point. This is it.

Grab the workbook here.

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

Coffee Filter Butterfly Craft

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coffee filter butterfly craft for kids

I love using coffee filter butterfly crafts in occupational therapy to work on several skill areas. The fine motor benefits are huge with this one. This coffee filter butterfly craft is a great fine motor and bilateral coordination activity for kids. If you are looking for butterfly life cycle crafts, this one is a great addition. Or, if you are seeking Spring OT activities, be sure to add this colorful fine motor butterfly craft to your list.

Coffee filter butterfly craft to build fine motor skills in kids.

Why make a Coffee Filter Butterfly Craft?

One craft that hits on several skill areas is a benefit in pediatric occupational therapy sessions. This coffee filter craft is a nice one to develop skills because it works on so many areas that are covered in therapy sessions:

  • Pinch and grip strength
  • Eye hand coordination
  • Bilateral coordination
  • Motor planning
  • Crossing midline
  • Precision and dexterity
  • Open-thumb web-space
  • Arch development
  • Separation of the sides of the hand
  • Finger isolation
  • Thumb IP joint flexion (great for pencil grasp!)

How to make a coffee filter butterfly craft

This was an easy set-up and fun craft we did one afternoon recently.  You’ll need the following materials:

  • Coffee filters
  • Water color paints/water
  • A straw
  • Clothes pin
  • Pipe cleaner
  • String (to make a banner)

Directions to make a tie dye coffee filter butterfly

  1. Use a paint brush to add a bit of water to the wells of a water color paint pallet. To really work on fine motor skills, use your thumb to drop water droplets into the paint tubs.
  2. Use the straw to drip colored water from the water color paints. Then drop them onto the coffee filter. Allow the colors to blend into one another. If you add more water to the paint wells, you can transfer that water with the straw.

This version of painting a coffee filter can be a challenging fine motor task but one that really develops separation of the sides of the hands, thumb IP joint flexion, and motor planning skills.

To make this painting process easier, try using a eye dropper where the child can squeeze the end of a small dropper to draw up water from the water color wells. Another option is using a small plastic syringe to draw up watercolor paint and dropping it onto the coffee filter.

Read more about the thumb IP joint and thumb wrap grasp in pencil grip. This craft is a powerful way to work on this functional grasp skill!

Make a coffee filter craft and build fine motor skills with kids using a straw to paint.

Little Guy and Big Sister both loved dropping the water into the color wells.  Big Sister felt pretty good about showing her little brother how to drop the water into the color wells using her straw. 

Use straws to paint with watercolors and work on fine motor skills with kids.

This is a great activity to work on thumb isolation and control of the thumb during fine motor activities. 

Next, dip the edges of the coffee filters into the colors so the water creeps onto the edges of the coffee filter.

Other ways to add the color can use the straw end or the paint brush. This craft is nice because it can be adjusted for many different kids.

When kids drip the color on with a paintbrush, or drop color with the straw, it’s fun to try different ways to color the filters and see the colors blend together.  

Work on fine motor strength with clothes pins to make a butterfly coffee filter craft.

Next, use clothes pins to pinch the middle of the coffee filter together in the middle. This is a great hand strengthening and eye-hand coordination task.

Finally, add a pipe cleaner to the end of the clothes pin for the antenna of the coffee filter butterfly. Bend the pipe cleaner around the clothes pin and twist it up to make antenna.

Coffee filter butterfly craft for building fine motor skills.

If you like to create several butterflies in a variety of colors, you can clip them onto the string for an other bilateral coordination task.

They look pretty!  Big Sister wanted to hang them on the ceiling of her room.  We strung the butterflies on yarn and taped them to her ceiling.  This would be a great way to display a whole client caseload of coffee filter butterflies and really show off those fine motor skills!

Add this butterfly craft to a butterfly theme in therapy or home programing.

These heavy work cards include a page of butterfly life cycle activities that incorporate calming heavy work activities for motor planning and proprioceptive benefits.

Or, in the Spring Fine Motor Kit, you’ll find butterfly and caterpillar activities that are designed to build a variety of fine  motor manipulation, dexterity, and strengthening tasks.

Butterfly coffee filter craft

Spring Fine Motor Kit

Score Fine Motor Tools and resources and help kids build the skills they need to thrive!

Developing hand strength, dexterity, dexterity, precision skills, and eye-hand coordination skills that kids need for holding and writing with a pencil, coloring, and manipulating small objects in every day task doesn’t need to be difficult. The Spring Fine Motor Kit includes 100 pages of fine motor activities, worksheets, crafts, and more:

Spring fine motor kit set of printable fine motor skills worksheets for kids.
  • Lacing cards
  • Sensory bin cards
  • Hole punch activities
  • Pencil control worksheets
  • Play dough mats
  • Write the Room cards
  • Modified paper
  • Sticker activities
  • MUCH MORE

Click here to add this resource set to your therapy toolbox.

Spring Fine Motor Kit
Spring Fine Motor Kit: TONS of resources and tools to build stronger hands.

Grab your copy of the Spring Fine Motor Kit and build coordination, strength, and endurance in fun and creative activities. Click here to add this resource set to your therapy toolbox.

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

 

 

Valentine’s Day Heart Craft

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paper heart craft

Creating a simple heart craft is a fun and engaging way to support fine motor skill development while celebrating Valentine’s Day. It’s a great addition to your Valentine’s Day Occupational therapy activity ideas! As occupational therapists, we believe in using hands-on activities to help children build important skills through play and creativity.

paper heart craft

Incorporating an easy heart craft into therapy sessions, classrooms, or at home can encourage children to strengthen their hand muscles, improve coordination, and practice scissor skills, while making something festive and fun.

From construction paper heart projects to cut folded paper designs, this page is filled with simple Valentine’s Day crafts for preschoolers that support fine motor development. Whether you’re looking for a heart craft to help with cutting skills, hand strength, or coordination, this activity is a great way to promote learning while celebrating the holiday with creativity.

We have other heart crafts here on the website you’ll want to check out, too.

Cutting a paper heart

Before we get into the craft, let’s talk about how a simple paper heart craft is an easy way to work on skills in an occupational therapy session.

I love to use an easy craft like, just cutting construction paper into a heart shape because we are working on so many areas! This activity naturally promotes scissor skills, as children must carefully hold and manipulate scissors to follow a curved cutting line.

Cutting along a folded edge provides a visual and tactile guide, helping children develop control and precision while strengthening the muscles in their hands. You can make the lines bold or thin. You can use thick or thinner paper…there are so many ways to individualize this one craft, which is perfect for the busy school based OT.

Additionally, bilateral coordination is required as one hand stabilizes the paper while the other operates the scissors, reinforcing the ability to use both hands together in a coordinated manner. This carries over into daily tasks like dressing, handwriting, and using utensils.

Beyond cutting, the act of folding the paper before cutting works on pinch strength and hand dexterity. Pressing the paper together and making a crease encourages children to use their fingertips and develop the small muscles of the hand, which are important for fine motor control.

Occupational therapists can use this easy heart craft as a tool to address different areas of need by adapting the activity to the child’s skill level. For children with weaker hand strength, using thinner paper or assisting with the fold can make the task more accessible, while those needing more of a challenge can try folding multiple layers or cutting intricate designs. By incorporating this simple craft into therapy sessions, school activities, or home play, therapists, parents, and teachers can provide a fun and engaging way to build foundational motor skills in a meaningful and festive way.

 
Are you getting ready for Valentine’s day?  Maybe putting together a few ideas for next week or just enjoying the pretty pink pictures (is Valentine’s Day reeeeally a holiday??)  maybe you are looking for a few Valentine’s Day activities to use in occupational therapy.
 
Either way, you have to admit…the hearts, love, and kindness is pretty contagious!   We’ve been having fun doing a few Valentines Day activities and this Sparkle Heart Craft was no exception.  Valentine’s Day Activities are just FUN.  This one was scented and smelled as pretty as it looked.
 
 
picture of sparkle heart craft for kids to make
 
 

Paper Heart Craft

 
We started with a few supplies:
 
Construction paper hearts and bath salts

 

I cut a few hearts from the construction paper.  Baby Girl did this craft with me and she was excited to see the hearts.

I poured a little of the pomegranate bath salts into a little cup.  They smelled SO good!  This craft was turning sensory already.

Bath salts sprinkled on glue for a heart craft for kids

 

Next, I used the glue to draw a couple of hearts and showed Baby Girl how to sprinkle the salts on the glue.  She was hooked!

 

She LOVED this activity!  She squeezed the glue and drew all kinds of decorations on our red hearts.  Sprinkling the bath salts was a great way to encourage pincer grasp. 

There were also times when she transitioned to a tripod grasp to sprinkle the glitter. Using the pointer finger, middle finger, and thumb to grasp with the ring and pinkie fingers tucked into the palm is a tripod grasp.  She sprinkled the salts all over the glue.  I had to cut more hearts because she wanted to keep making more and more sparkly hearts!

 

Valentine’s Day Craft with Fine Motor Skills

 
This craft worked on tripod grasp by sprinkling the bath salts (with a great scent!) and gross grasp of the hand when squeezing the glue bottle.  This was a great activity for little hands!
 
Toddler squeezing glue onto construction paper hearts

Looking for more Valentine’s Day activities?  You may also like Valentine’s Day Goop Painting for more sensory and fine motor fun!

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