April is Autism Acceptance Month! For school based therapists, the end of the school year is in sight. But the start of Spring brings forth a chance for new beginnings and new growth, even as we start to wind down the school year. Every April, we celebrate Occupational Therapy Month. It is a chance for us to celebrate our profession, inspire each other to remember the reasons why we chose a career in occupational therapy, and to show the world the gifts we have to offer in supporting individuals with the things that matter the most!
Autism Acceptance Month
April is also Autism Acceptance Month. So, this is a perfect time to reflect on Occupational Therapy’s role in working with autistic individuals and how we can support neurodiversity acceptance in the places we work, with the clients and students we support, and in our world!
Not only in April, but all year long is a great time to support, advocate for, and help others understand, embrace, and connect with the unique qualities of autistic individuals.
Not sure where to start? It can be overwhelming to take in all the information that comes at us each day through the news and social media, but occupational therapy practitioners can continue to do what we have always done…
listen to our clients and listen to the autistic voices that are in the media
use a strengths based approach
focus on environmental modifications
identify meaningful goals and work towards improving participation
use evidenced based practice
and advocate for our autistic clients
We can also take a look at what we have done in the past and what we should look to do in the future. Like the old saying goes, “When you know better, DO BETTER!” So let’s take a look at what we know and what steps we can take to support neurodiversity.
Autism Neurodiversity
The prevalence of autism has significantly increased over the last 20 years, with the most drastic changes happening in the last 10 years. Currently, The CDC reports the prevalence of autism as 1 in 44 children in the United States. It is the most rapidly growing developmental disorder and is more common in boys than girls.
Identity First Language
Historically, occupational therapy practitioners were trained to use “person first” language, so you may have heard us say things like “my students with autism”. Kenny, L. et al (2015) found that medical professionals, family members, and friends preferred using person first language. However, autistics report that person first language doesn’t recognize that autism is part of their identity.
Although identity first language is preferred by many autistics, it is not the preference of all. So, what can you do?
To know better and do better, you can ask the individual. You can ask and honor the preferences of your students. You can educate yourself on the neurodiversity movement which suggests that brain differences can be challenges, but they can also be strengths.
Going for gold in April instead of “lighting it up blue”
Autism Speaks is the largest organization that claims to support autistic individuals and their families. They are also probably the most widely known and started the campaign to “light it up blue”. However, the work they have done to bring awareness to autism, has come with criticism from autistic adults for their focus on finding a cure.
Autistics are frustrated by the lack of representation within the Autism Speaks organization. Much of the funding at Autism Speaks does not actually support autistic people. Most concerning is the lack of support for self-advocacy with a focus on the negative implications of living with autism.
Light it up Gold instead of Light it up Blue.
The autistic community is trying to change the way we think about Autism awareness and acceptance. While the color blue (seen as sad) or the puzzle piece symbol (seen as something is missing) has historically represented autism awareness, autistic adults have embraced using gold (whose chemical abbreviation is “Au”) to spread autism acceptance.
Gold is regarded as having high value and represents authenticity.
Here are some links to read more about promoting autism acceptance:
How can we use this information to improve our practices?
If you’re not sure what to do next, consider attending professional development opportunities or check out audiobooks for occupational therapists to learn how to support autistic clients and neurodivergent students.
As you grow in your knowledge, don’t forget that the domain and process of occupational therapy will continue to frame your work.
Evaluate your students using a top-down, strengths based approach. Use what we know about sensory preferences and visual supports to highlight the strengths of our autistic students. Check out this resource: Sensory Strategies for the School Based OT.
Listen to your autistic students as individuals in order to develop meaningful outcomes. What are their goals? What aspects of school are important for them?
Promote and educate on neurodiversity- Expand our inclusive practices to educate and promote acceptance in the school community about autism and neurodiversity. Perspective taking goes both ways.
Embrace interests of the individual. Find out what interesting, meaningful for a shared connection. Integrating interests into therapy is exactly what occupational therapy is!
OT as an Autism Advocate
Lastly, we must use our occupational therapy voices to advocate for autistic students and neurodivergent learners.
Talk to the administrators at your school about inclusion, acceptance, and perspective taking amongst all students.
Educate families with autistic children about resources and supports that are available to them.
Start conversations with coworkers who may not be as familiar with current trends related to autism and neurodiversity.
Most importantly, teach and support your autistic students to share their perspectives and self advocate for their needs.
Let’s honor autism and occupational therapy month by reflecting on the important work that we do and celebrate the amazing students we get to work with everyday!
References: Kenny, L., Hattersley, C., Molins, B., Buckley, C., Povey, C. & Pellicano, E. (2015). Which terms should be used to describe autism? Perspectives from the UK Autism community. Autism: 1-21.
Katherine Cook is an occupational therapist with 20 years experience primarily working in schools with students from preschool through Grade 12. Katherine graduated from Boston University in 2001 and completed her Master’s degree and Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study at Tufts University in 2010. Katherine’s school based experience includes working in integrated preschool programs, supporting students in the inclusion setting, as well as program development and providing consultation to students in substantially separate programs. Katherine has a passion for fostering the play skills of children and supporting their occupations in school.
April is OT month, and we are celebrating what it means to be an occupational therapist with the best occupational therapy quotes. Although every therapist is unique, and every setting poses its own challenges and opportunities, we are all united in this wonderful profession. To help us celebrate OT month and share the love of OT, let us present 10 of the most inspirational quotes for occupational therapy professionals!
Occupational Therapy Quotes
Seasoned OTs will be reminded of why we do our work, new graduates can share what their work actually means, and maybe we will even get a few new recruits along the way.
You’ll also love these to use these occupational therapy memes in sharing to social media. And best of all, lets celebrate the field of OT! One of my favorites has to be Mr. Roger’s quote about play because it has such a connection to occupational therapy!
OT Quote #1: “Medicine adds days to lives, occupational therapy adds life to days.”
Unknown
In our number 1 spot is one of my absolute favorite sayings. It presents such a simple way to show how OT differs from traditional medicine and highlights what occupation means to us: the meaningful bits of one’s life.
OT Quote #2: “Occupational Therapy. Hopeless into hope. Can’t into can. Impossible into possible.”
Valerie Pena, OTR
Simple yet effective; this quote symbolizes the change that OTs make in their patients’ lives. We are highly skilled in increasing functional independence and provide the tools and education needed for doing so.
OT Quote#3: Occupational therapy practitioners ask, “what matters to you?” not, “what’s the matter with you?”
AOTA President, Virginia “Ginny” Stoffel, Ph.D., OT, BCMH, FAOTA
This is one of those quotes that makes me so proud to be an OT. The best OTs will first discover with the patient what is most meaningful to them and go from there. We do not focus on the deficits but on the goals.
OT Quote #4: “As pediatric occupational therapists, you are supporting mental health.”
Tiffany Northrop, OTR/L
Here is a reminder for us all: occupational therapists support mental health! Some work exclusively in mental health settings, but we all greatly consider mental health as a service provider.
OT Quote #5: “I long to accomplish a great a noble task; but it is my chief responsibility to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.”
Helen Keller
She was not an OT, but her words ring true for our profession. The “little things” like brushing your teeth, writing your name, and buttoning your shirt become very important when you cannot easily do them.
OT Quote #6: “Man, through the use of his hands, as they are energized by mind and will, can influence the state of his own health.”
Mary Reilly, OTR, Ed.D.
Shout out to all the certified hand therapists out there! The hands are used in just about every occupation, and their healthy function is integral to our experiences with daily activities.
OT Quote #6: “Occupational Therapy is where science, creativity, and compassion collide.”
Jessica Kensky
As a Boston Marathon survivor, and an oconology RN, Jessica has seen both sides of rehabilitation. During a keynote speech for the AOTA, Jessica offered this quote to describe her experience of receiving occupational therapy after her below knee amputation.
OT Quote #7: “Play is really the work of childhood.”
Fred Rogers
Mr. Rogers was an amazing advocate for many important causes, but he especially cared for the children of the world. Occupational therapists often may look like they are “just playing”, but play is crucial! Play is not only the work of a child, but it is the way that they learn and the pathway to growth.
OT Quote #8: “When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.”
Eleanor Brownn
Self-care is integral (crucial, necessary, essential, fill-in-the-blank) to the ability to provide for others. Burn out occurs when we do not take the time to care for ourselves, or allow ourselves to be cared for. Although it is not in our nature, occupational therapy practitionners, like many others, need to prioritize themselves in order to give to others.
OT Quote #9: “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
Winston S. Churchill
This is just another way to say that we see abilities and not disabilities. OTs use activity analysis to break down all the little details that make it possible to complete a task. Through this, we can see the strengths and provide supports based on them.
Quote #10: “Occupational therapy is more than a job. For many it is a calling. We felt drawn to it.”
Amy Lamb, OTD, OT/L, FAOTA
To close out our list, we have a quote from Amy Lamb that describes how much our profession means to us. This is not just a job, but a vocation. It may not always be perfect, but we love being occupational therapists! Happy OT month!
For more occupational therapy month resources, check out the free downloads that we’ve shared to promote the profession and celebrate all that we do:
Sydney Thorson, OTR/L, is a new occupational therapist working in school-based therapy. Her background is in Human Development and Family Studies, and she is passionate about providing individualized and meaningful treatment for each child and their family. Sydney is also a children’s author and illustrator and is always working on new and exciting projects.
If you’ve worked with kids teaching handwriting or fixing handwriting issues, they you probably have come across a common handwriting problem area…Pencil pressure when writing. Handwriting pressure can play a huge role in legibility, whether pressing too hard when writing or writing too lightly.
Pencil Pressure in Handwriting
Some kids press too hard on the pencil. They may press so hard on the pencil that the pencil tears the paper when they write. When they try to erase, there are smudges that never really go away.
Other students use too little force when writing. Or, you might see pencil pressure that is so light that you can’t discern letters from one another.
Either way, pencil pressure plays a big part in handwriting legibility.
Here are tips for pressing too hard when writing…and tips for helping kids write darker. Scroll down for everything you need to know about writing with that “just write” pencil pressure…Typo intended 🙂
Pencil Pressure with Writing
Learning to write is a complex task. Choosing a hand to hold the pencil with, pencil grasp, managing the paper with the assisting hand, sitting up straight.
And then there is the physical task of marking letters: letter formation, line awareness, letter size… this is multi-level functioning for a child!
Yet another aspect to consider is the pressure one exerts on the paper when writing. Press too lightly and the words are barely able to be seen. Press too hard, and the letters are very dark, the pencil point breaks, lines are smudged, and when mistakes are erased, they don’t really erase all the way, the paper tears, and frustration ensues!
Sometimes, when it comes to pencil pressure, simply helping kids become aware that they are writing too lightly or writing with too much pressure can make a big difference. Here is one simple activity to work on pencil pressure. All you need is a sheet of foam crafting paper.
Pencil pressure is dependent on proprioception, one of the sensory systems. With October being Sensory Processing Awareness month, this is the perfect time to talk sensory and handwriting!
As an occupational therapist in the school setting, I’ve come across many school-aged children showing difficulty with pencil pressure. There are reasons for these dark pencil marks and some tips and tools for helping with this handwriting difficulty.
This post contains affiliate links.
Proprioception and Handwriting
The proprioceptive system receives input from the muscles and joints about body position, weight, pressure, stretch, movement and changes in position in space. Our bodies are able to grade and coordinate movements based on the way muscles move, stretch, and contract.
Proprioception allows us to apply more or less pressure and force in a task. Instinctively, we know that lifting a feather requires very little pressure and effort, while moving a large backpack requires more work.
We are able to coordinate our movements effectively to manage our day’s activities with the proprioceptive system. The brain also must coordinate input about gravity, movement, and balance involving the vestibular system.
When we write, the pencil is held with the index finger, middle finger, and thumb, and supported by the ring and pinkie finger as the hand moves across a page.
A functioning proprioceptive system allows us to move the small muscles of the hand to move the pencil in fluid movements and with “just right” pressure.
We are able to mark lines on the paper, erase mistakes, move the paper with our supporting arm, turn pages in a notebook fluidly, and keep the paper in one piece.
Heavy Pencil Pressure
When students press too hard on the pencil, handwriting suffers. Sometimes, children hold their pencil very tightly. Other times, they are seeking sensory feedback. You’ll see some common signs of heavy pencil pressure:
They press so hard on the paper, that lines are very dark when writing.
The pencil point breaks.
When erasing, the pencil marks don’t completely erase, and the paper is torn.
The non-dominant, assisting hand moves the paper so roughly that the paper crumbles.
When turning pages in a notebook, the pages tear or crumble.
Movements are not fluid or efficient.
Handwriting takes so much effort, that the child becomes fatigued, frustrated, and sore.
It may take so much effort to write a single word, that handwriting is slow and difficult.
All of these signs of heavy pencil pressure are red flags for pencil pressure issues. They are not functional handwriting.
Below, we’ll cover ways to reduce pencil pressure?
Writing Pressure: Too Light
The other side of the coin is pencil pressure that is too light.
Writing with too little pencil pressure is another form of non-functional handwriting. Some signs of too little pencil pressure include:
Kids may write so lightly that you can’t read the overall writing sample.
You can’t discern between certain letters.
The writing pressure is just so light that the child’s hand or sleeve smudges the pencil lines and the writing sample is totally not functional or legible.
The student starts out writing at a legible pencil pressure, but with hand fatigue, the writing gets lighter and lighter.
All of these signs of too light pencil pressure and too much force when writing can be addressed with some simple tips. Working on proprioceptive input and hand strengthening can help with too light pencil pressure. Try some of the writing tips listed below.
Pencil pressure and Messy handwriting
Messy handwriting can be contributed to many factors. Decreased hand strength, Visual motor difficulty, motor planning issues, visual memory difficulties, or impaired proprioception.
Difficulty with grading the movements required in drawing or making letters in a coordinated way may present as messy, smudged, illegible handwriting.
Writing Tips for Pencil Pressure
Bringing the writer aware of what’s occurring is one way to support pencil pressure issues. Proprioceptive activities allow the muscles to “wake up” with heavy pressure.
Moving against resistance by pushing or pulling gives the muscles and joints an opportunity to modulate pressure.
Resistive activities before and during a handwriting task can be beneficial for children who press hard on the pencil.
Pencil Pressure Activities:
Some of these pencil pressure activities are writing strategies to help kids become more aware of the amount of pressure they are using when writing.
Others are tools for helping the hands with sensory needs. Still others are tools for strengthening the hands. Try some or a mixture of the following ideas to addressing handwriting needs.
Stress balls or fidget toys can help to strengthen pinch and grip strength.
Use carbon paper or transfer paper to help kids become more aware of the amount of pressure they are exerting through the pencil when writing. Here is some easy ways to use a Dollar Store find to use carbon paper to work on handwriting. (affiliate link)
resistive bands (affiliate link)- Use these as an arm warm-up to “wake up” the muscles of the whole upper body. They are great for positioning warm ups too.
theraputty (affiliate link) with graded amount of resistance (speak to a license occupational therapist about the amount of resistance needed for your child. An individual evaluation and recommendations will be needed for your child’s specific strengths/needs). Use these theraputty exercises for ideas to get started.
hole puncher (affiliate link) exercises before a writing task
Gross grasp activities- These activities can be a big help in adjusting the grasp on the pencil, helping the hands with sensory input and strengthening the hands to help with endurance when writing.
Write with a mechanical pencil (affiliate link)- The lead will break if too much pressure is applied. Children can learn to monitor the amount of pressure used and it will provide feedback on modulation of pressure. A pencil with .7mm lead is better to start with for heavy writers. Read more about using a mechanical pencil for kids who write too dark or too light.
Some children will benefit from using a liquid gel pen for fluid handwriting marks. The gel ink will provide feedback when gobs of ink are dispensed when writing too hard.
Still others will benefit from a gel pen, marker, or using a dry erase marker on a dry erase board. This can be beneficial as a tool for teaching about pencil pressure or as an accommodation for those writing too lightly.
Pencil Weights (affiliate link) or Weighted Pencils (affiliate link)- Weighted pencils can be helpful in providing sensory feedback through the hands.
Practice writing on a dry erase board with dry erase markers to work on consistent pencil pressure- Pressing too hard will make the marker lines wider and press down on the tip of the marker. Can the learner keep a consistent line with their writing or drawing?
Use a grease pencil- These pencils are commonly used to marking wood or used in construction. The lead of the pencil is very soft and can be a great alternative for those that press too hard on pencils.
Cheap eyeliner pencil- One cheap alternative to a grease pencil is using an inexpensive eye liner pencil from the dollar store. Get the kind that you sharpen with a turn sharpener (almost like a hand held pencil sharpener). Kids can use that pencil to draw lines and match the amount of pressure they are using. This is a good activity for those that press too hard when writing, too.
Practice Ghost Writing: Encourage the child to write very lightly on paper and then erase the words without leaving any marks. The adult can try to read the words after they’ve been erased. If the words are not able to be read, the writer wins the game.
Hand exercises are a great way to “wake up” the hands before a handwriting task. Encourage the child to squeeze their hand into a fist as tight as he can. Then relax and stretch the hand and fingers. Repeat the exercise several times. Practice holding the pencil with the same type of tight and relaxed exercises Practice writing on tissue paper. A very light hand is needed to prevent tears. Discuss the amount of pressure needed for writing on the tissue paper.
This will provide the child with awareness and words for the way they are holding the pencil.
Wrap a bit of play dough or putty around the pencil as a grip. Encourage the child to hold the pencil with a grasp that does not press deeply into the dough. Encourage using a “just right” pressure.
Provide terms for they way they write. Encourage “just right” writing and not “too hard” or “too soft” marks.
Use a lead pencil to color in a small picture, using light gray, medium gray, and dark gray. Talk about how using different amounts of pressure changes the shade of gray.
Instead of writing on a notebook, pull a single sheet from the pages and place on a hard table or desk surface. The firm surface will limit the amount of pressure. You can also slip a clipboard between pages of a notebook to provide that hard surface, if sheets must remain in a notebook.
Need more tips and tools for addressing handwriting needs? Be sure to check out all of our handwriting activities here on The OT Toolbox.
More Handwriting Tips
For a comprehensive resource on handwriting, check out The Handwriting Book. This e-book was written by pediatric occupational therapists and physical therapists who focus on function and take a developmental look at handwriting.
In The Handwriting Book, you’ll find practical suggestions to meet all needs that arise with messy or sloppy handwriting. The developmental-based approach to teaching handwriting focuses on strategies to support common issues with written work.
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.
This play dough recipe without Cream of Tartar is one of our favorite playdough recipes because it omits cream of tartar, so the dough ingredients are commonly found in the home.
If you’ve been following this site over the years, you’ve seen many of our play dough recipes, one of them being this play dough recipe without cream of tartar. This easy play dough recipe is one that kids can help to make, and to use in occupational therapy interventions. Read more on how play dough benefits child development, and making the play dough is half of the fun!
Homemade Play Dough without cream of tartar
Homemade play dough is a childhood staple. When kids are part of the playdough making process, they are active in the kitchen and can incorporate many executive functioning tasks as well as other skill-building.
But most homemade play dough recipes include cream of tartar as an ingredient. However, purchasing this ingredient is just expensive, and there really aren’t many common uses for cream of tartar except in the playdough recipes.
So, we decided to do some experimentation and come up with a play dough recipe that omits cream of tartar.
Our recipe uses a common ingredent that is inexpensive, but also can be used in other kitchen recipes. So, when you purchase this ingredient, you can use it for other recipes as well, making the purchase a good buying decision.
So? What is our substitute for cream of tartar in homemade playdough?
Lemon juice!
Lemon juice makes a great substitute for cream of tartar in homemade play dough recipes because it’s an easy to find ingredient in most stores and you can use it in so many other recipes. Plus, the lemon juice adds pliability to the play dough just like cream of tartar does.
why is play dough good for child development
Over the years, we’ve used many ingredients to make play dough as a sensory tool. These are all wonderful ways to incorporate various sensory input through sensory play.
One of our most popular playdough recipes is our crayon play dough recipe. But other homemade dough recipes you’ll love include:
All of these various doughs offer sensory experiences through play, using different scents and textures. We’ve strived to create sensory tools through easily accessible and inexpensive materials, mainly using ingredients that are on hand in the kitchen.
When sensory and fine motor play is easily accessible, kids develop skills!
Making homemade play dough is a great occupational therapy activity for the clinic, school-based session, or a home recommendation to carryover skills in a family time activity.
These are great ways to use playdough can be used as a warm up activity or to incorporate palm strengthening exercises into therapy through play.
Another aspect of homemade playdough and fine motor skills includes the mixing and kneading aspects. Pouring, scooping, stirring, and kneading are all very functional tasks that
Whether you are developing fine motor skills, addressing cognitive skills like direction following, or incorporating sensory play into occupational therapy interventions, a simple homemade play dough is the way to go. Play dough has many benefits and there are many ways to use a simple dough recipe into therapy.
Playing with playdough improves fine motor skills such as:
Pinch strength
Eye-hand coordination
Intrinsic muscle strengthening
Separation of the sides of the hand
Pincer grasp
Opposition
Tripod grasp
Wrist extension
Bilateral coordination
All of this occurs through play!
Try these fine motor activities using play dough:
This homemade play dough recipe is great for easy play dough activities like our play dough snakes.
Kids can work on safety skills while working in the kitchen to prepare this recipe. There is the heat of the play dough after cooking, and stove safety to consider.
Some users would benefit from using a stove to make the playdough and others may benefit by using an electric skillet in place of the stove.
So, let’s get to the recipe making with our play dough recipe (without cream of tartar)!
Playdough without cream of tartar
To make this playdough without cream of tartar, first gather your ingredients, cooking items, and get started. This is a great play dough recipe to make with kids!
You’ll need just a few ingredients in this playdough recipe withoug Cream of Tartar:
3 cups flour
1 and 1/2 cup salt
3 and 1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp oil
3 Tbsp lemon juice
food coloring
How to make playdough without cream of tartar:
Mix the flour and salt in a bowl, using a fork to stir. Add the water, oil, and lemon juice and stir until the dough pulls together. Move the wet playdough lump to a sauce pan and cook over low heat for 3-4 minutes until the dough forms.
2. Plop the dough onto a clean surface and knead for a few minutes.
3. Separate the play dough into portions and add food coloring. Knead the dough to mix the food coloring. If you are making just one color of play dough, you can add the food coloring to the dough before cooking.
Many times, we want a variety of play dough colors, though, so mixing the food coloring in after the dough has been cooked is one way to get several colors of play dough.
4. Remember that the dough will be very hot to the touch after cooking. Use a dishtowel to mix the baggie so the color is absorbed throughout the dough.
5. Keep the homemade play dough in covered containers/sealed plastic bags. Dough does not need to be refrigerated.
Playdough with cream of tartar
If you do have a jar of cream of tartar, use this play dough recipe:
3 cups flour
1 and 1/2 cup salt
3 and 1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp cream of tartar
food coloring
The same cooking process listed above can be used to make this dough recipe, using cream of tartar instead of lemon juice.
How to get Vivid Colors in Homemade PlayDough
Want the secret to really bold and vivid colors? Use (Amazon affiliate link) Wilton’s gel food coloring. I have a bunch of these that I use for my cookies, and Big Sister had fun picking out the colors she wanted to mix up.
A lot of times, you can find these color sets on clearance (plus add coupons) for a Great discount!
Little Guy had SO MUCH FUN playing with little straw pieces in the red play dough. What a great
Fine Motor Activity for a three year old
This easy safe play dough recipe is great for toddlers and preschoolers, but also younger if closely watching young children.
We used the play dough recipe above, and some cut straw pieces to create a toddler-friendly play dough activity that builds fine motor skills.
Cut the straws into pieces. You can get preschoolers involved with this part of the activity for a scissor skills task.
Then, show your toddler how to poke the straws into the play dough.
He played with this one for a long time…hiding the straw bits in the dough, poking circles, bending the bendable part of the straw… So much fun!
Playdough Play Mats
Use this easy playdough recipe (without cream of tartar) with our playdough mats to add play dough as a handwriting warm-up and then incorporate handwriting skills!
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.
This post is highlighting Fingerplay Songs as an excellent developmental tool. An important skill in child development, is the ability to use the fingers individually and together, and finger games are one way to just that! When holding a pencil, pick up cheerios, button, zip, or cut with scissors, you are using two or three fingers, and tucking the rest away! When typing on a keyboard, all of your fingers and thumbs must move individually, but at the same time, in order to type efficiently. Pay attention to what your hands and fingers do in a day, and you may be surprised!
FINGERPLAY SONGS
Finger skills development is essential to the preschool age, however play starts with babies! Check out this article on The OT Toolbox about Baby Play.
There are many ways to encourage this fine motor development, but one of my favorites that doesn’t get enough attention (in my opinion, of course) is fingerplay songs! I do these silly finger plays all the time with my preschoolers during their OT time, or with any of my other students who wants to have fun.
They won’t even know they are developing important motor skills while doing these finger play rhymes. Let’s break down the skills used in the most popular finger play song: Pat-A-Cake.
Fingerplay Songs and Fine Motor Skills
This is a classic finger play rhyming activity for thumb and index finger isolation! The term “finger isolation” will come up a few times in this article, so why is it important?
When babies are born, their fingers all move together as one unit, and one hand tends to copy each other! The body of an infant can be seen as one moving piece, in comparison the movement as we develop, which is a complex system of moving pieces. In order to develop skills as we age, it is important to learn to isolate the movements of our hands and fingers from each other.
Activities that use the hands to complete motor tasks, sequencing of movements, and dexterous games include other fine motor skills too, including:
You can see why fingerplay songs support child development!
Pat-a-cake fingerplay song
First, motor plan a pattern of movement. Add motor planning and bilateral coordination skills by alternating movements of patting hands on lap and clapping hands while chanting the words:
Pat-a-cake pat-a-cake baker’s man,
Bake me a cake as fast as you can.
Roll it. (rolling hands one over the other)
And pat it. (patting hands to lap)
And mark it with a B. (Index finger isolation to draw a B with your finger)
Put it in the oven for Baby and me! (reaching forwards with both arms)
There are many ways to develop fine motor skills through play in addition to these fingerplay activity songs. Check out this post on Hands on Preschool Activities
WHERE IS THUMBKIN Fingerplay song for preschoolers
This video does a great job of explaining the motions to this simple, easy to learn fingerplay rhyming song. The song starts at about marker one minute and thirty (1:30) seconds.
Fingerplay songs for fine motor
Of course fine motor development comes from more than just fingerplay songs and rhymes, here is an article on developing Fine Motor Skills.
FIVE LITTLE DUCKS interactive finger play song
Here is a fingerplay song where the individual and cohesive movement of fingers really get to shine. This video demonstrates the hand, finger, and arm movements to be used while singing. I find it best to sing to your child once you know the song, instead of playing the video for them. Make sure to show your child how it’s done by doing it with them! This is true for all of the preschool songs and fingerplays we share.
While you watch the video and learn the movements, notice:
Finger isolation while counting,
Cohesive movement for the “quack, quack, quack”
Wiggling of the fingers as the ducks waddle away
There are many books written to correspond to this song. Here is one I tend to reach for: Five Little Ducks. This one is “interactive” with little doors on the page that require a pincer grasp to pull open. This is another way to encourage important fine motor skills!
More fine motor resources for preschool
If you are looking for more interactive books, to develop fine motor skill development, the OT Toolbox has you covered!
Exploring Books Through Play: 50 Activities for developing finger and hand development
ITSY-BITSY SPIDER silly fingerplay for preschoolers
This is preschool fingerplay activity is by-far my favorite way to increase finger isolation and motor patterns in reluctant kids. In the video below, check out the wrist movements, wiggling fingers, and more, while interacting with a well recognized song!
Many young children, especially those with delayed fine motor control, are not able to motor plan the spider moving up the spout as shown in the video. However, they will adapt and create their own way, using the movement of only two or three fingers, while the rest are tucked away. This pattern is the building block for mature grasps. Sometimes, I teach the spider as the index fingers and thumbs touching in a circular pattern, instead of the L shape in the video. This adaptation may be less confusing for some. See what makes your child most successful!
boosting childhood development with action rhymes:
Boosting Child Development with Action Rhymes and Fingerplay Songs
OPEN AND SHUT THEM fingerplay chanting rhyme
“Open and Shut Them” is a song I have used for years to keep babies occupied while I change their diapers. I knew a kindergarten teacher who used it to help transition her students to carpet time. This fingerplay song is useful for many different purposes, not just fine motor development and rhyming. It is a perfect addition to this list. There are many different versions of this song you can find online, but here is a video that clearly demonstrates the many different actions the hands and fingers can do!
Did you notice the pinky finger isolation? What about the movement of two fingers, with the rest tucked away? These are advanced movements that are motivating and fun!
You may have noticed all of these fingerplay preschool songs are repetitive. This is perfect for increasing opportunities to practice and learn a new skill. They integrate movement of both hands and fingers in a particular sequence, which teaches and enhances motor planning. Additionally, singing songs such as these familiar preschool finger play rhymes in a group, or one-on-one develops social skills, and can build rapport with one another. It’s a win-win method to teaching important skills.
If you are interested in teaching more fine motor skills, check out these resources from the OT Toolbox:
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:
Sydney Thorson, OTR/L, is a new occupational therapist working in school-based therapy. Her background is in Human Development and Family Studies, and she is passionate about providing individualized and meaningful treatment for each child and their family. Sydney is also a children’s author and illustrator and is always working on new and exciting projects.
Questions about the best apps for occupational therapy come up often. It is possible to address developmental skills through app play. Let’s cover various occupational therapy apps for the iPad or tablet.
Children of today have technology very much integrated into all aspects of their daily lives. Technology is an occupation in and of itself. As occupational therapists, we strive to support functioning and full lives in our clients. Using apps in occupational therapy services serves two purposes: a meaningful and motivating tool to support functional skills by addressing underlying skills, AND as an extrinsic factor impacting function: using a device, filling form fields on apps, scheduling appointments, making calls, and other performance areas. Apps are a part of function because technology is so integrated into daily life.
Let’s look at various areas of development where app use can help support kids, teens, and adults:
Apps for Occupational Therapy
Normally at this time of year in therapy, it can be hard to keep the kids attention spans on track. Having a free app that builds skills can be one way to stay on track with addressing specific skills.
Here, you will find free apps for occupational therapy that can be used as a supplemental activity or as a quick activity in between other occupational therapy activities. The OT apps for the ipad or tablet can be used in many different ways:
Use the OT apps as a supplemental activity for home recommendations or classroom down-time.
Use the occupational therapy app as a transition activity that continues to develop skills addressed in therapy sessions.
Others may want to use these apps for therapy breaks or as a reward at the end of the session.
Use the apps for occupational therapy homework so that kids are motivated to participate and incentivize OT home programs, fostering the carryover we don’t sometimes see.
Still others may find the occupational therapy apps perfect for home occupational therapy programs or ways to keep kids busy while parents are working from home.
Whatever your need, these educational games and special education supports can be a powerful tool in distance learning and learning at home.
Free Apps for Occupational Therapy
The free apps below are broken down into targeted skill area. I’m adding apps for handwriting and letter formation, visual motor skills, executive functioning skills, and other areas. Some of these apps are IOS apps and others are Android apps.
The apps that are available for Android on Google Play may be accessed through a Google account on a desktop and then accessed through the Google play app or via a Google account on an Apple device. Here is more information on how to access Google Play apps on an Apple device.
I tried to locate only free apps in this resource. There are many great apps for occupational therapy out there, but I wanted to cover all the bases when it comes to OT interventions with free apps that can meet the needs for free!
The apps listed below are some of the best apps for occupational therapists to use in therapy sessions, and to recommend to parents and teachers, when appropriate. Remember that all kids are different and all have specific needs, so these recommendations may not work for every child or individual.
All About Shapes- This free app is available on IOS and is a shape drawing app. Users can draw and identify shapes.
Vision Tap- This free IOS app is a great one for addressing visual processing and visual efficiency skills. Visual tracking, visual scanning, and oculo-motor skills are challenged with this one!
Broom, Broom- This free IOS app allows children to draw paths for the vehicles in the game to drive on, building eye-hand coordination, motor planning, visual memory, and precision of fine motor skills.
Visual Memory- is a free app available on Google Play. The game is designed to develop visual memory and improve attention. Users can find the image that appears at each level.
Piko’s Blocks- this free IOS app really challenges the visual spatial skills for older kids.
Memory Game- is another free app on Google Play. The game is just like the classic concentration game, helping users to build visual memory skills.
Learning with Wally is an Android app available on Google Play. The visual discrimination app challenges users to discriminate between differences, recognize, and attend to details in visual forms, including pictures, letters, words and sentences.
Sorting and Learning Game 4 Kids- This app is available on Google Play and challenges users to categorize and match themed objects while helping to build visual attention, visual memory, and focus with a concentration on visual perception.
Visual Attention Therapy Life is an app available on Google Play. The free app allows users to address and build visual scanning, visual memory, and visual attention. It also helps rehab professionals to assess for neglect and provide more efficient and effective therapy for attention deficits.
Sensory Baby Toddler Learning- This Google Play app is great for younger kids as they work on cause and effect and develop hand eye coordination skills.
Connecting Dots is Fun- This free IOS app allows users to work on visual perceptual skills such as visual discrimination, form constancy, figure-ground and visual processing skills of tracking and scanning. Users create dot-to-dot activities in the app.
Alphabet Puzzles For Toddlers- This Google Play app helps younger children work on letter identification and letter recognition. The letter learning app is a great app for preschoolers or toddlers. The visual perceptual app allows children to address form constancy, visual discrimination, figure ground, and other visual perceptual skills.
iMazing- In this free IOS app, users can complete maze activities while challenging visual perception and visual motor skills. Skill Game- This free app is available on Android. The game allows users to draw lines to connect numbers while building eye-hand cordination, precision, motor planning, visual memory, and more.
On the Line- This IOS app is great for working on visual motor skills using a stylus.
Squiggles- This free app is a great one to work on pre-writing skills. Users can draw lines and figures and watch as they become animated.
Handwriting Apps
These handwriting apps are occupational therapy tools that support the underlying skills needed for handwriting. Some apps allow kids to “write” letters using a resistance-free surface on the tablet or iPad. This input can be the “just right” level for some kids. Other Handwriting apps listed address other skills. Let’s take a look at how to use these apps in occupational therapy services.
ITrace is a handwriting app that does have a price for the main version, however, there is a free version available with some activities. Users can trace letters, numbers, words, and shapes while working on visual motor skills and letter formation.
Writing Wizard- This app is available on Google Play and allows users to trace letters along a visual guide. There are various fonts available and size can be adjusted for different ages.
Writing Wizard-Cursive- This handwriting app is created by the makers of the regular, print version of Writing Wizard. Users can practice letter formation in cursive.
Start Dot- This app addresses letter formation using visual, auditory, and movement cues. These prompts fade to address accuracy and independence.
Ollie’s Handwriting and Phonics- This free app allows users to trace and copy individual letters and words on the app’s chalkboard wall.
Write ABC – Learn Alphabets Games for Kids- This handwriting app is available on Google Play. The app helps younger children work on letter formation using visual cues for starting points and ending points.
Sand Draw- This free Google Play app provides a sandy beach for kids to practice writing letters, words, or phrases in. Use it to practice spelling words for a fun twist.
Snap Type- While this app has a paid version, the free version also allows users to create digital versions of worksheets. Students can take a picture of their worksheets, or import worksheets from anywhere on their device. They can then use their Android device keyboard to add text to these documents. When complete, students can print, email.
Apps for Fine Motor Skills
These apps for fine motor skill development might not be your go-to fine motor task when it comes to strengthening hands and promoting dexterity. But for the child that struggles with fine motor skills, a tablet or iPad app can be a motivating and meaningful way to address developmental skills.
With an app, it is possible to address functional, fine motor skills:
The fact is that devices are not going away. In fact, our youth are likely to see all aspects of their future lives managed by screen technology. For kids that struggle with dexterity, hand strength, motor planning, and other motor skills, we can help them to be the most functional and independent individuals.
These fine motor apps are just one more strategy in our OT toolbelt.
Dot to dot Game – Connect the dots ABC Kids Games- This free app is great for toddlers, preschoolers, or young children working on precision, dexterity, and fine motor work. the app addresses letter and number formation.
Tiny Roads- This free app allows children to connect objects while working on precision and finger isolation.
Montessori Fine Motor Skills Game School Numbers- This fine motor app helps users work on eye-hand coordination, precision, and finger isolation while working on numbers, letters, and shapes.
executive function apps
When addressing attention, distraction, planning, prioritization, time management, and other executive functioning skills, using apps in occupational therapy is a no-brainer. Kids are exposed to the technology of devices every day and the ability to complete daily tasks using devices is just part of advances in our time.
Use these executive function apps in occupational therapy as a support tool: devices to help with challenges like attention, organization, scheduling, and planning. Or, use these executive functioning apps in OT to work on cognitive skills that enable function; Apps are a great way to practice filling out forms, recalling and typing passwords, addressing online distraction, and other functional tasks that kids and adults are faced with every day. App use is an occupation, or task that occupies our daily lives, in a very real way. There are many typing programs that target these skills.
CogniFit Brain Fitness- This Google Play app uses memory games, puzzles, reasoning games, educational games, and learning games to train memory, attention, concentration, executive functions, reasoning, planning, mental agility, coordination and many other essential mental skills.
Lumosity: Brain Training- This free executive functioning skills app uses games to exercise memory, attention, speed, flexibility and problem-solving.
Memory Games: Brain Training– This executive functioning skills app uses memory and logic games to improve memory, attention and concentration.
Alarmy- This free alarm app allows users to set alarms for attention building, and scheduling.
The Google Tasks app– This free app creates checklists and sub-lists and allows users to add details about the areas that users need need to focus on in order to accomplish tasks. The app helps users to stay on track with due dates and notifications.
The 30/30 app- This free app helps with executive functioning skills such as starting tasks, staying organized, and prioritization in tasks. This app is useful to address procrastination and motivation on bigger tasks or projects.
Forest- This app helps with procrastination, productivity, and motivation.
Study Bunny- This free productivity app helps students pay attention and focus on studying and larger school projects or tasks.
Habitica- This task completion app allows users to track habits, and add gamification to tasks to build motivation and help with productivity.
HabitNow- This free habit tracker app helps users to track habits and build habits to improve productivity and time management. This is a great app for scheduled activities or daily tasks such as chores or morning/evening routines.
Brain N-Back- This working memory app helps to train working memory.
Clockwork Brain Training- This memory training app helps with working memory and concentration through games and puzzles.
Apps for Emotional regulation
There are apps that can be used as self-regulation tools. There are apps to practice social interactions. There are even apps to check-in on emotional regulation and self-regulation needs. These apps for emotional regulation are a great way to support kids and teens emotional regulation and overall wellbeing needs through the use of a hand-held self-regulation tool.
Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame- This self-regulation app uses a fun Sesame Street monster to help little ones calm down and solve everyday challenges. Available in English and Spanish, the coping tools app helps your child learn Sesame’s “Breathe, Think, Do” strategy for problem-solving.
Trigger Stop: Sensory and Emotional Check-In- This free self-regulation app is available on Google Play so they can identify and communicate sensations and emotions or feelings in the body so they can express them in a healthy way.
Social Navigator –This emotional regulation app is a great social skills app designed to assist children with social and behavioral challenges. Kids can develop essential social interaction skills by taking a look at their behavior in social situations, and this app is a nice way to build confidence in that area.
EmoPaint – Paint your emotions! is a free self-regulation app available for IOS in the Apple Store or Google Play. The paint app allows users to represent emotions or bodily sensations through art, by painting them interactively on the screen.
Moodflow: Self-care made easy!- keeps track of your emotions, moods, thoughts and general well-being with a self-rating system, emotional language, and a system that allows for identification of how coping strategies help with emotional regulation.
Deep Breathing apps- there are many mindfulness and deep breathing apps out there. I even have one right on my watch. With calming visuals, mindfulness apps allow the user to calm down and regulate their emotions so they can function in any situation. Bubble: Breathing Companion is one self-regulation app that encourages emotion regulation through breathing exercises.
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 parents of preschool children that require occupational therapy services, there can be a lot of questions. Here, we’ll try to cover preschool occupational therapy services. OT for preschoolers and early intervention occupational therapy services can be a whole new world for parents of preschoolers! Play age and stage of development makes a difference in the occupational therapy provider’s use of play as a tool and an area of development. Be sure to check out our resource on fine motor activities for preschoolers, too.
Preschool Occupational Therapy
From 3-5, children are developing in so many ways. From motor skills to cognition, to language…the preschool age is a time of massive changes. Be sure to check out these preschool activities for hands-on strategies to impact learning and development during the preschool years.
For the youngest of learners, classroom concerns tend to be centered around achieving developmental milestones, learning proper social practices, and creating an environment that all children can learn and grow in.
What does OT Look Like in the Preschool?
Occupational therapists can work with teachers to improve and sustain an environment that will support the growth during this very important time in childhood.
What they learn in preschool partially determines their future success – particularly when it comes to social, emotional, and cognitive skills. In fact, studies over the years continue to show that socio-emotional intelligence in preschool and kindergarten is a great predictor of future academic success (Rhoadesa et al., 2011).
Early Intervention Occupational therapy
Typically early intervention is a service that works with children aged 3 and under. For some states in the United States, early intervention continues through age 5. For children in those states, early intervention occupational therapy can occur in preschool settings.
Early intervention occupational therapists focus on functional participation of tasks at home, in the school, and in naturally occurring environments such as daycares.
An occupational therapist working with a preschool may:
Complete assessments of skills of ability to achieve age-appropriate levels, developmental progression, etc.
Support parents, teachers, and the family unit of the child through a family-centered model.
Set-up the overall environment for occupational success.
Offer recommendations for sensory play to boost sensory integration skills.
Offer developmentally appropriate activities.
Create a library of books that promote the development of social and emotional skills.
Work collaboratively with preschool teachers to support the preschooler’s needs and offer support and suggestions to meet student’s needs
Adapt daily activities to support development.
Create a self-calming area and visuals such as class schedule, individual schedule, or task schedules within the home or classroom, or school-wide environment.
Encourage use of transition tools to help preschoolers move from one task to another.
Build a fine motor “gym” where students can develop fine motor skills while they play.
Recommend sensory deprivation materials like a tent, headphones, or sunglasses to calm an overwhelmed student.
Or develop a program to boost core strength and trunk stability – both very important for sitting at a desk throughout the day.
Push-into the preschool setting and incorporate activities into circle time or other centers.
Incorporate All About Me preschool activities into therapy sessions to foster a relationship between the client and the therapy provider.
OT Assessments in Preschool
In preschools, occupational therapists may ask parents and teachers to complete a quick check list (with space to add comments). They will complete an evaluation and document observations made during the evaluation. They may complete a sensory profile either preschool or via a caregiver form. Evaluation may occur at the preschool, in the home, or in various locations within the school, home, or other natural settings such as daycare.
A play-based assessment will be completed to note the preschoolers abilities and levels using a variety of toys and items. Some common preschool OT assessments include the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales (PDMS–2), the Developmental Assessment of Young Children-2 (DAYC-2), the Miller Function and Participation Scales, and the Battelle Developmental Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-2).
Occupational therapy evaluations in preschool assess areas such as:
Reflexes- A child’s ability to automatically react to environmental events.
Functional Skills- A child’s ability to complete daily tasks required in the home and school as well as identify the amount of assistance the child needs.
Positioning, balance, posture- A child’s ability to sustain control of his or her body within its center of gravity and retain equilibrium.
Sensory Processing- Sensory processing abilities, baselines, and regulation during activities in the home, classroom, or other natural setting.
Social Emotional Development- A child’s ability to regulate emotions impact the preschool behaviors we see in tasks and learning at age-appropriate abilities. This can include peer interaction, adult interaction, and family interaction. This resource on friendship activities for preschoolers is another great source of information and activity ideas.
Locomotion- A child’s ability to move from one place to another. The actions measured include crawling, walking, running, hopping, and jumping forward.
Object Manipulation- A child’s ability to hold and manipulate objects, toys, and materials of various sizes. Examples of the actions measured include catching, throwing, and kicking.
Grasping- A child’s ability to use his or her hands.
Visual-Motor Integration- A child’s ability to use his or her visual perceptual skills to perform complex eye-hand coordination tasks such as reaching and grasping for an object, building with blocks, and copying designs.
It might even be as simple as working on the underlying skills that impact a preschooler’s ability to learn colors.
One thing that comes up a lot when it comes to the preschool years and development, is the question of whether preschoolers should write or even write their name.
For more resources and tools on preschool occupational therapy and early intervention, check out this resource on OT Early Intervention.
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.
Well, our themed activities are going really well and seem to be really well received so far. Coming up with themes for occupational therapy sessions is key in organization and strategizing OT activities for every child on your caseload. So far, I’ve shared OT themes for apple activities and back-to-school activities. My hope is that these farm activities keep you on track for a successful school year. So when it comes to farm activities, you are going to love these farm animal ideas, farm gross motor activities, farm crafts, and other farm theme ideas!
Farm Activities
These can be farm animal activities for preschoolers, or on up through the grade schools. I’ve tried to create a list of themed activities that cover various skills areas.
Farm Crafts
This barn craft is fun because kids can make a barn using craft sticks but also farm animal puppets. They can work on cutting, pasting, and following directions to make these farm crafts, but that’s not all. Then, use the farm animal puppets and the barn craft in an imagination play activity with this little farm puppet show! You can also use the farm animal craft sticks as a spacing tool in handwriting or a visual processing activity for working on convergence, tracking, and more. This craft comes with a free printable page that kids can color, too. Hello, small motor dexterity for pencil control!
Hang onto that barn craft, because you can use it again and again for other farm activities. This Farm Fingerprint art activity uses the barn craft for counting, adding, and subtracting, but it’s a fantastic visual closure, visual tracking, and visual scanning activity, too. And, when you make fingerprint art, those fine motor skills are at work, too. Fingerprint art builds finger isolation, separation of the sides of the hand, and precision. Then, take it a step further and add details to the fingerprints, making it a pencil control and dexterity activity with cute results!
Every farm has a scarecrow, right? Use this scarecrow craft to work on scissor skills, direction following, problem solving, and even fine motor strength (a crumbled paper hat makes the scarecrow look very authentic!) We used this scarecrow for math facts and pre-algebraic equations, but you could add any learning or writing concepts to this smarty pants scarecrow craft!
Sheep craft– great for tactile sensory experience and fine motor work.
Farm Sensory Activities
This duckling sensory activity is a fun way to explore the senses with a popular and classic children’s book.
This farm sensory activity used what we had on hand: shredded paper! It was a snowy farm theme, so playing in that textured bin was a fun tactile challenge, but it was also an exercise in visual discrimination, visual closure, and other visual processing skills. We used sight words and found them in the snowy farm yard as the farm animals hid and played. Extend this activity to write out the words after they are found. This farm yard activity would work for letter identification and letter discrimination as well as words or numbers. So many fun ways to play at the farm!
Farm Fine Motor Activities
This Farm Play Dough Sensory Bin is very simple to set up. All you’ll need is play dough and a small tray, or even a plate. Kids can work on those fine motor skills and hand strength to spread the play dough out on a tray. Spreading out the dough on a plate or other surface strengthens the hands but offers manipulation opportunities for finger isolation, which is needed for pencil grasp and endurance in writing. Add some farm animal figures for pretend play. Pressing the animal feet into the play dough is an opportunity to build intrinsic hand strength in the arches of the hands. Here are more hand strengthening activities that you may also enjoy.
Farm Gross Motor Activities
These Farm Brain Breaks can add movement and gross motor input to a child’s day and fit in great with a farm animal theme. Print off the cards and use them in the classroom or home.
These heavy work cards includes a set of 8 farm themed heavy work activities that can be used as a brain break or added proprioceptive input.
Farm Books for Kids
Some of the farm books that we have used in the past inspired activities listed above. These include our Little Blue Truck brain breaks activity and the Big Red Barn craft that we shared above. Additional farm books for kids that can inspire movement, crafts, and sensory play include:
Amazon affiliate links are included below:
Pete the Cat Old McDonald had a Farm– Use the animals in the book to work on fine motor and scissor skills by cutting shapes and turning them into farm animals.
Cows Can Moo, Can You?– This Dr. Seuss Book is a fun way to work on auditory processing and quiet/loud sounds with kids.
Goodnight Tractor– Part of the “goodnight” series, this is a great calm-down book to work on self-regulation with calming strategies.
The Farm Book– Therapists love this book for eliciting communication by language, vocabulary opportunities, and practicing sounds. Use the book for copying, teamwork, and problem solving.
Sheep in a Jeep– This is such a fun book! Pair the book with this sheep craft for fine motor work and sensory play.
Farm Theme Scissor Skills
Get these free farm theme scissor skills cutting strips and cutting shapes. Print off these cutting worksheets and use them to work on scissor skills, accuracy, precision, and bilateral coordination as they cut varying degrees of line thicknesses and simple geometric shapes.
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.
In occupational therapy, paper plate activities are one of those OT intervention tools that are low-cost and can be used in a multitude of ways to support many different developmental skills. From paper plate interactive activities, to scissor activities, to fine motor development, paper plate crafts and sensory activities can be used to promote many skill areas in occupational therapy interventions or at home and in the classroom.
Paper Plate Activities
I get really excited when I talk about the next subject – paper plate activities! Paper plate crafts and activities are so fun and often require very little materials with the end result being so wonderful for kids!
Paper plates can easily be used for arts and crafts, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, subject or topic learning, visual motor and perceptual skills, emotions and self-regulation as well as a myriad of games.
Paper plates can be a go-to when you need a quick activity in any setting or on those cold, rainy days when you need something to keep the kids busy. They are a great motivator for kids and can help build important skills that a child needs to continue to learn and to grow.
Paper plates are a thrifty tool for therapy to build those motor and perceptual skills while providing a fun activity that any child will want to engage in during sessions. The use of paper plates in the classroom can be for exploring emotions and self-regulation, creating after reading a book and lots of subject and topic learning fun. Their use in the home can include arts and crafts, instrument making, and games that result in some fantastic family entertainment.
Paper plates will give you the variety you need to help many kiddos on your caseload, in your classroom, or in your household. So, the next time you’re at the store, grab some plain or even festive paper plates and see what fun you can create with kids and you may find that you enjoy the fun too!
Paper Plate Crafts
In occupational therapy interventions, we often use crafts as a medium for developing skills (taking us back to our roots of our profession!) These paper plate crafts are great for developing fine motor skills, scissor skills, bilateral coordination, motor planning, executive functioning skills, and more.
Mini Beach– Work on hand strength, utensil use, and more to make a paper plate beach craft.
Paper Bowl Scarecrow Craft– Use this paper plate craft to work on fine motor skills like precision, dexterity, and mixed medium use. Add in emotional learning to make the scarecrow personalized. Kids can take this craft and add their own unique twists for a multi-sensory craft with open-ended results.
Paper Plate Snail Craft– Work on precision, in-hand manipulation, arch development, and other fine motor skills with this paper plate snail craft.
Paper Plate Cars This craft is great for addressing scissor skills.
Thanksgiving Feast Plate – Use this craft to work on functional tasks such as meal skills and utensil use, as well as hand strength.
Tin Foil Moon– This is a great craft for working on graded hand strength and bilateral coordination skills.
Paper Plate Activities for Emotions and Self- Regulation
The best thing about occupational therapy professionals is that they can use ANY material to work on a variety of skill areas. Use paper plates to address social emotional learning and self-regulation skills!
Paper Plate Frisbees– Address eye-hand coordination and gross motor arm coordination.
Paper Plate Skating– Use paper plates for indoor skating and vestibular input.
Paper Plate Learning Activities
Use these activities to work on functional tasks and executive functioning skills needed in daily occupations such as learning, math, using a phone, telling time, name writing, and more.
Now, what are you waiting for? Go grab some paper plates and pick an activity!!
Regina Parsons-Allen is a school-based certified occupational therapy assistant. She has a pediatrics practice area of emphasis from the NBCOT. She graduated from the OTA program at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute in Hudson, North Carolina with an A.A.S degree in occupational therapy assistant. She has been practicing occupational therapy in the same school district for 20 years. She loves her children, husband, OT, working with children and teaching Sunday school. She is passionate about engaging, empowering, and enabling children to reach their maximum potential in ALL of their occupations as well assuring them that God loves them!
