In this older blog post, we shared how to make your own bottle cap letters for multisensory learning and fine motor play. Creating DIY instructional materials can be both educational and fun. One creative idea is to make bottle cap alphabet letters.
Bottle Cap Letters
By collecting various bottle caps and adding individual letters to them, you can create a unique set of bottle cap letters. This homemade alphabet set can be used for matching big and small letters, helping children learn the alphabet in an engaging way. Kids can enjoy the tactile experience of sorting and matching the big and small bottle cap letters, making it a hands-on learning activity that enhances their letter recognition skills!
This Letter Learning game was something I made for Big Sister a couple of years ago. We have played with the letter bottle caps so many times and in a ton of ways.
How to make bottle cap letters
You’ll need just a few materials:
26 bottle caps (one for each letter of the alphabet)
Label paper
Marker
Cardboard for a play mat
The cardboard has upper case letters and the bottle caps are used to match the letters.
It doesn’t matter what size bottle caps you use because you cut the label paper to fit the caps. If you use a lot of milk in your home, or have access to a bunch of bottle caps in the same size, use those.
In our case, we had a case or two of Gatorade bottles and used those bottle caps to make our letters.
I used a sheet of label paper to make the lower case letters.
Trace a bunch of circles in the correct size.
Cut out the circles.
Write the letters.
Stick them to the bottle caps. Easy!
How to use alphabet bottle caps
Our homemade bottle cap letters are a great DIY instructional material to use in learning and play.
We’ve also played with the bottle caps in play dough,
Use them to spell names and words.
Move the bottle cap alphabet to label objects with it’s starting letter.
Work on learning which direction the “p”, “b”, and “d” should go. This is a great hands-on activity to target letter reversals!
They are so great to manipulate and play with in a sensory bin filled with corn, too.
Or, pair the letter bottle caps with our alphabet exercises to target fine motor and gross motor skills.
How else can we play with these bottle caps??
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:
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 DIY light box for tracing is an easy light box we put together in minutes. All you need is an under the bed storage container and a string of lights to make a tracing tool that kids will love. There are benefits to tracing and this tool is a fun way to build fine motor skills and visual motor skills as a visual motor skill leading to better handwriting.
Amazon affiliate links are included in this blog post. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases.
DIY light box for tracing
A light box is a fun activity, and one you see in preschool classrooms, as it’s intended for hands-on play and exploring the senses. But did you know there are many benefits to using a light box for tracing (and other exploring play)?
This DIY Light Box was something I’ve seen around Pinterest and have wanted to try for a while…Once we had our Christmas lights outside, I thought we would definitely be doing this project after we pulled all of the lights back in. So, after we brought the Christmas lights in from the outside bushes, this was easy to put together for a cold evening’s play!
You need just two items to make a DIY light table:
Important: The under the bed storage bin needs to be made of clear plastic or have just a slight opaque color to the plastic. Also, the top should be smooth. Many storage bins have textured surface or a white surface. The flat, smooth lid is important for sensory play as well as tracing with paper on the DIY light table. This brand (affiliate link) is a good one to use.
Instructions to make a DIY light box:
Plug in the lights.
Place them into the bin.
Either cut a hole in the base of the bin for the lights to go through or cut a small notch into the lid so the strand of lights can go under the lid.
To make this homemade light box safer and not use plug in lights, you can use battery operated button lights (affiliate link) inside the storage bin. Or, there are many battery operated LED lights available now too. These are a great idea because many of them have a color-changing capability and can be operated from an app on your phone.
IMPORTANT: This homemade light box project should always be done under the supervision of an adult. The lights can get warm inside the bin and they should be unplugged periodically.
This is not a project that should be set up and forgotten about. The OT Toolbox is not responsible for any harm, injury, or situation caused by this activity. It is for educational purposes only. Always use caution and consider the environment and individualized situation, including with this activity. Your use of this idea is your acceptance of this disclaimer.
I put all of the (already bundled-up) strands of Christmas lights …seriously, this does not get much easier…into an under-the-bed storage bin, connected the strands, and plugged in!
Once you put the top on, it is perfect for tracing pictures!
Tracing pictures on a light table
This is so great for new (or seasoned) hand-writers. They are working on pencil control, line awareness, hand-eye coordination…and end up with a super cool horse picture they can be proud of!
Use printable coloring pages and encourage bilateral coordination to hold the paper down. You can modify the activity by taping the coloring page onto the plastic bin lid.
Big Sister LOOOOVED doing this! And, I have to say, that she was doing the tracing thing for so long, that we had to turn the lights off because the bin was getting warm.
Other ways to use a DIY Light Table
We went around the house looking for cool things to place on top of the bin. Magnetic letters looked really neat with the light glowing through…Baby Girl had a lot of fun playing with this.
You can add many different items onto the DIY light table:
Magnetic letters (the light shines through them slightly)
Sand for a tracing table- We cover how to use a sand writing tray in another blog post and all the benefits of tracing in a sensory medium. With the lights under the tracing area, this adds another multisensory component to the learning.
…All in a new and fun manner! We had a lot of fun with this, but have since put our Christmas lights back up into the attic. We will be sure to do this one again next year, once the lights come back out again 🙂
Please: if you do make one of these light boxes, keep an adult eye on it, as the box did warm up…not to burning warmth, but I would worry about the lights becoming over heated. This is NOT something that kids should play with unsupervised!
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.
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:
Working memory is a skill we need for everything we do! From answering the phone to shopping at the grocery store; working memory is happening at every given moment. Kids who struggle with executive functioning skills often times have working memory challenges.
working Memory
Let’s talk about what working memory is and how to improve working memory in kids so they can be successful in those everyday tasks.
What is Working Memory?
Working Memory is the ability to act on past memories and manipulating the information in a new situation.
Processing short term memories and using it allows us to respond in new situations.
Working memory allows us to learn. Using working memory skills we can use past information in reading in order to read sight words.
We can remember math facts, state capitals, mnemonics, phone numbers, addresses, and friends’ names. We can then use that information to answer questions based on what we know and apply that information in new situations.
Executive functions are heavily dependent on attention. Read about the attention and executive functioning skill connection and the impact of attention on each of the executive functioning skills that children require and use every day.
In order for working memory to be used in daily tasks, we need a few key items. Our brain might be considered a memory soup and the key ingredients to working memory are attention, focus, auditory memory and visual-spatial memory.
Read more about visual memory and how to incorporate strategies into play.
Mix all of those ingredients together and you will end up with working memory that can be used to problem solve any given situation.
You can see how children who struggle with the underlying “ingredients” of attention, concentration, auditory processing, and visual processing will be challenged to pull that information into an unrelated event. The child with sensory processing disorder who is also struggling with social emotional issues might end up in meltdown mode. The child who can not generalize facts to a new environment might withdrawal.
Read more about attention and how to help kids improve attention with easy strategies for home and school.
All of these situations can potentially lead to difficulty with problem solving. Children are developmentally growing every day in relating past information. Yes, we say thank you EVERY time someone holds the door for us, not just that one time last week. By going through our day, kids learn these things!
The child who is struggling with any of the key ingredients related to working memory, it can be really hard to generalize.
How to Improve Working Memory
Try these working memory strategies to help improve this executive functioning skill:
Take notes
Daily Journal- The Impulse Control Journal is a great tool for keeping track of day to day events
Notebook with times for daily tasks
Practicing the ability to stop and think in practice and in real-life situations. This skill allows one to complete tasks or respond using past experiences.
Writing down information (opposed to typing or tracking on an app)
Setting an alarm for tasks
Second set of school books for home
Dry erase board notes to be used in tasks like cleaning a room
Mnemonics
Guided imagery
Mental rehearsing
Imagine a task in pictures (like a cartoon strip of a day’s event)
Analyzing problem areas
Practice through rehearsal
Routines
Rewards
Reminder messages including verbal, picture, or app-based
To-do lists with physical action (pull off a post-it note when completed)
Task sequencing lists
Play memory games, such as matching games or memory card games.
Use mnemonic devices to help remember information, such as acronyms or visual cues.
Repeat information to yourself multiple times to help solidify it in your memory.
Use visualization techniques to create mental images of information you need to remember.
Break down complex information into smaller chunks to make it more manageable to remember.
Use repetition and rehearsal to help remember important information.
Practice active listening by summarizing and repeating back what someone has said to you.
Write down important information or ideas to help reinforce them in your memory.
Use technology, such as digital reminders or voice memos, to help you remember important information.
Practice mindfulness exercises to improve focus and concentration, which can help with working memory.
Engage in regular aerobic exercise, which has been shown to improve working memory.
Play strategy-based games, such as chess or Sudoku, to help improve working memory skills.
Use self-testing or quizzing techniques to help reinforce information in your memory.
Break tasks down into smaller steps to make them more manageable to remember.
Use different sensory modalities, such as sight and sound, to help reinforce information in your memory.
Practice relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing or meditation, to help reduce stress and improve working memory.
Engage in activities that challenge your working memory, such as learning a new language or musical instrument.
Use context cues or associations to help remember information, such as associating a person’s name with a visual cue or location.
Prioritize and focus on the most important information to remember.
Get enough sleep, as lack of sleep can negatively impact working memory skills.
Repeat complex instructions
Break down complex instructions into step-by-step directions with pictures, such as a more detailed version of a visual schedule
Working Memory Activities
In addition to the working memory strategies listed above, there are specific activities you can do to build working memory. Try these ideas:
Digit Recall Activities- Work on repeating numbers in a series. The individual can repeat back numbers in 2 to 3 digit series in both forward and reverse. Then, you can add on additional digits. Continue to grade the digit activities in greater difficulty by adding digits to the thread of numbers or adding letters. To increase the difficulty of this activity even further, ask the individual to write down the series of numbers and letters, and add time in between the given number and when they are asked to recall the series.
Word Sequences- Similar to the number sequences described above, you can use visual pictures of words, or auditory word sequences. Ask the individual to repeat back the series of words.
Ordering Activities- Another great working memory activity is sequential ordering of images or objects by size. You can target this activity to meet the interests of the individual. Think about ordering animals, sports balls, toys, or other items by size. Offer a specific number of items and challenge the individual to remember all of the objects in the series. Increase the difficulty by asking the individual to order objects by largest to smallest and then by smallest to largest.
Instructional Sequencing Activities- This working memory activity focuses on functional tasks and can target goals of the individual. For example, a child working on brushing their teeth can order the steps of the activity from memory. Then, you can ask the child to list the steps in reverse.
More tools for addressing attention needs in kids
There are so many strategies to address attention in kids and activities that can help address attention needs. One tactic that can be a big help is analyzing precursors to behaviors related to attention and addressing underlying needs. The Attention and Sensory Workbook can be a way to do just that. The Attention and Sensory Workbook is a free printable resource for parents, teachers, and therapists. It is a printable workbook and includes so much information on the connection between attention and sensory needs. Here’s what you can find in the Attention and Sensory Workbook:
Includes information on boosting attention through the senses
Discusses how sensory and learning are connected
Provides movement and sensory motor activity ideas
Includes workbook pages for creating movement and sensory strategies to improve attention
A little more about the Attention and Sensory Workbook:
Sensory processing is the ability to register, screen, organize, and interpret information from our senses and the environment. This process allows us to filter out some unnecessary information so that we can attend to what is important. Kids with sensory challenges often time have difficulty with attention as a result. It’s been found that there is a co-morbidity of 40-60% of ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder. This workbook is an actionable guide to help teachers, therapists, and parents to help kids boost attention and focus in the classroom by mastering sensory processing needs. You will find information on the sensory system and how it impacts attention and learning. There are step-by-step strategies for improving focus, and sensory-based tips and tricks that will benefit the whole classroom. The workbook provides tactics to address attention and sensory processing as a combined strategy and overall function. There are charts for activities, forms for assessment of impact, workbook pages for accommodations, and sensory strategy forms.
Grab the Attention and Sensory Workbook below.
References: Gentry, T. (2015, September). Mobile technologies as vocational supports for workers with cognitive-behavioral challenges. Technology Special Interest Section Quarterly, 25(3), 1–4.
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.
Children love Spot It games and OT professionals love to use Spot It in occupational therapy to develop skills! Today’s free resource for OT month is a fun OT Spot It type of game. This occupational therapy supplies match it activity develops visual perceptual skills and uses common OT materials and supplies. If you are working with kids, you’ll want to grab this freebie as a tool to use during OT month, but also all year long!
Amazon affiliate links are included in this blog post. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases.
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY Spot It Game
This therapy game is part of a larger set that you can find in our OT Materials Bundle. And, incase you missed the OT month freebie that we shared already, be sure to grab this set of OT coloring pages, too. Both are great resources to add to your toolbox.
If you have ever played the (Amazon affiliate link) Spot It card game, you will love these Occupational Therapy Supplies Match it Cards! Spot it games come in dozens of different styles to motivate even the most resistant learner. With these occupational therapy tools matching cards, learners can practice visual perceptual skills using a familiar platform.
Why are visual perceptual skills important?
We’ve previously shared a great post explaining the importance of visual perception on learning. Visual perception is important for reading fluency, decoding words, scanning a page, remembering what has been seen, finding things in a drawer or closet, playing games like puzzles, recalling/recognizing correct spelling, completing math equations, and so much more.
If you’ve seen the Spot It game being used in therapy sessions as a tool for development, you may have wondered how this popular game supports visual perceptual skills.
What visual perceptual skills are used in the occupational therapy supplies match it game?
Visual Attention: The ability to focus on important visual information and filter out unimportant background information.
Visual Memory: The ability to recall visual traits of a form or object.
Visual Spatial Relationships: Understanding the relationships of objects within the environment.
Visual Figure Ground: The ability to locate something in a busy background.
Visual Form Constancy: The ability to know that a form or shape is the same, even if it has been made smaller/larger or has been turned around.
All of these skills are addressed through the use of the Spot It games, and that’s why we wanted to create an OT version to develop skills!
Use the OT Match IT Game
Because April is OT month, it is a great time to talk about the role of occupational therapy with other students, or to work with learners on understanding why they get OT.
They may not understand why they get to see this awesome person every week. By educating learners about the role OT plays in their lives, they can begin to explain it to other people. When we educate other adults about occupational therapy, we are advocating for the profession, as well as teaching them how we can help.
WHERE WILL YOU TAKE THIS ACTIVITY?
A great place to start would be by ordering the rest of this occupational therapy supplies match it cards HERE. This bundle of occupational therapy activities includes 13 printable products that can be printed off and used with students in therapy sessions to celebrate all of the therapy tools kids use. This packet is great for OT month, and all year long.
An all inclusive lesson plan can easily be made by using all of the occupational therapy month themed activity freebies:
Create a visual perception theme addressing several of the important visual perceptual skills. The OT Toolbox has some brand new resources for visual perception.
Color and laminate these cards to build a reusable game set. Make a special game set for your learners to take home and share with family
Have learners research and learn more about occupational therapy and the supplies or tools we use
HOW TO DOCUMENT Spot IT Games in Therapy
If you are using these occupational therapy supplies match it cards as part of your treatment plan, you will need to accurately document your learner’s skill level.
The percentage of correct cards matched
How long it takes to do each card
Attention to detail, following directions, prompts and reminders needed, level of assistance given
Can your learner scan the page to identify the correct items? Are they recognizing what they are matching or merely matching shapes?
How many times do you need to repeat the directions so your learner can follow them?
How many reminders does your learner need while doing this activity?
First determine what goals and skills you are addressing. Are you looking strictly at visual perception and picture matching? Or something else entirely such as executive function and behavior?
Focus your observations on the skills you are addressing. It is alright to address one (or ten) skills at once, just be sure to watch for those skills during the activity. This can take practice to watch everything all at once. Newer clinicians often videotape sessions and go back and review clinical observations they may have missed.
Use data to back up your documentation. Avoid or limit phrases such as min assist, fair, good, some, many, etc. They are vague and do not contain the numbers and data critical to proficient documentation. Instead use percentages, number of trials, number of errors, time to do a task, number of prompts, minutes of attention. You get the idea.
This type of documentation may feel foreign at first if this is not what you are used to, however insurance and governing agencies are becoming more strict on accurate documentation.
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AS WELL AS OTHERS
Take time this month not only to advocate for occupational therapy, but to celebrate each other for the fabulous work we do! Share stories of success, funny moments, learning opportunities, and resounding failures. Every time I think I have heard or seen it all in my thirty years practicing, a new surprise or hilarious moment comes my way! Someone should publish a book or page about all of the funny things people say during a therapy session.
This profession is rewarding but also very tough. Burnout is common among health professionals. In fact, caregiver stress and burnout applies to many therapy professionals! If you can’t find a moment of levity, it will break you.
While this post is highlighting the occupational therapy match it cards, take time to reflect about what great work you are doing, spread the word about OT, and practice your own self care.
Free Match IT Game for OTs
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.
Victoria Wood, OTR/L is a contributor to The OT Toolbox and has been providing Occupational Therapy treatment in pediatrics for more than 25 years. She has practiced in hospital settings (inpatient, outpatient, NICU, PICU), school systems, and outpatient clinics in several states. She has treated hundreds of children with various sensory processing dysfunction in the areas of behavior, gross/fine motor skills, social skills and self-care. Ms. Wood has also been a featured speaker at seminars, webinars, and school staff development training. She is the author of Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes.
Today we have a free printable occupational therapy word search to add to your therapy toolbox, just in time for occupational therapy month! Looking for a fun way to advocate for occupational therapy, celebrate the profession, and share the fun of OT? This OT word search does the job! Plus, you can print it off once and use the therapy word search in so many ways to support various needs of a whole OT caseload. We’ll explain how to use a word search in therapy AND how to document for collecting data! Read on!
Amazon affiliate links are included in this blog post. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Occupational Therapy Word Search
We wanted to create an occupational therapy word search because word searches are a versatile and supportive tool for targeting a variety of skill areas. Just some of the areas that are practiced or refined while using this word search includes:
Visual perception
Visual motor skills
Pencil control
Hand-eye coordination
Memory
Attention
Fine motor skills
Posture/positioning
More!
Being that this is a free word search for therapy, it supports the therapy professional AND the client.
This free OT word search uses words and phrases that come up in the school-based setting or outpatient pediatric setting. While this therapy word search can be used in so many other therapeutic spaces, these seem to be the settings most of our readers are in.
We know that occupational therapy works on everything else needed to be independent, and as occupational therapy practitioners, we LOVE to support clients, students, and the family or caregivers of those we work with in developing or refining the skills and activities that matter the most to the individual. OT practitioners are so lucky because we get to support the areas that make our clients who they are as human individuals. What an amazing profession OT is!
That is a big job!
Your “occupation” is everything you do. Your occupation is more than just a job. It could be a student, mother, father, firefighter, accountant, child, caregiver, or a combination of several roles.
Occupational therapy addresses everything it takes to fill your roles. Because we have such a big job, Occupational Therapists have the entire month of April to celebrate and share what we do!
One quick way to advocate for the profession and to celebrate all that we do is to use several tools like the occupational therapy word search free PDF to advocate for our profession.
Students and young learners see the OT coming in and out of classrooms all day. They probably have no idea what the OT does.
They know students like to see the occupational therapist, and sometimes they get to use cool tools and fidgets. The occupational therapy word search highlights some of the basic ideas about occupational therapy to get the discussion started.
An entire conversation can be started about different types of pencils, pencil grips, handwriting, and the importance of good letter formation. Another conversation may revolve around goals for occupational therapy. Use the occupational therapy word search to build a treatment plan.
Occupational Therapy Word Search Treatment Plan:
Bring all of the items found in the word search to demonstrate what each item is and how it is used
Build a hallway obstacle course to work on sensory processing skills for all students
Make sensory bins, play dough, putty, or slime to demonstrate the sensory effect these have on the body
Create a lesson plan using visual perceptual activities to further build on this OT word search
Create a slideshow or video about occupational therapy
Make students disabled for a day so they can feel what it is like to need help
Laminate all of the occupational therapy month activities to create centers in the classroom
Incorporate Disability Awareness month into your OT month planning
Hand out fidgets to take home, so students can feel part of this special group that gets to see the occupational therapist. Amazon has several (affiliate link) low cost fidgets for handing out in bulk.
A word about fidgets and other accommodations, and an interesting experiment.
There is a lot of misconception about fidgets and other accommodations used by OTs in the classroom. I can’t tell you how many fidgets have been taken away from deserving students, because the teacher did not understand what they were for. They just saw them as toys.
Educate the students you are working with, along with all other staff members about the importance of these “tools”. Fidgets that are used as toys are not serving their purpose.
Fidgets in the wrong hands become toys. This is the reason fidget spinners got a bad name. In the wrong hands they became ninja stars, conversation pieces, or distractions.
In the right hands they are amazing tools to be used discreetly under a desk to provide input while the student is trying to focus on the lesson being taught, or sit still during an endless circle time.
On to the interesting experiment…
I was working in a private preschool, seeing two young boys in the same class. The other students were very interested in what I was doing with their friends each week. I brought in deflated beach balls for each of the students to use as wiggle seats.
I simultaneously presented a fine motor task. Within ten minutes, all of the students except the two boys I had been seeing for OT, were playing with the beach balls. They were throwing them around the room and waving them in the air. The two boys? They were sitting very quietly on the beach balls doing the fine motor task.
What started out as a teachable moment about the role of OT in the classroom, turned into a real life demonstration about the use of accommodations.
This added weight to my theory that the children who needed the accommodations would use them properly (perhaps with a little teaching in the beginning), while the other students would see them as toys, because they did not need anything extra to do their work.
Whether you celebrate OT month using activities like this occupational therapy word search, or doing your own social experiment on the nature of young children, spreading the word about what OTs do, and dispelling misconceptions is the goal.
Talking about OT might spark some questions about how teachers, caregivers, and other team members can help their students.
The OT Toolbox has great tools like this OT Materials Bundle to use in therapy sessions to promote the profession and to celebrate the materials that we use every day in therapy. It’s an advocate tool that builds skills…very much the way we as therapy professionals build skills in the very occupations that we are working to develop!
Free OT Word Search for OT Advocacy
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.
Victoria Wood, OTR/L is a contributor to The OT Toolbox and has been providing Occupational Therapy treatment in pediatrics for more than 25 years. She has practiced in hospital settings (inpatient, outpatient, NICU, PICU), school systems, and outpatient clinics in several states. She has treated hundreds of children with various sensory processing dysfunction in the areas of behavior, gross/fine motor skills, social skills and self-care. Ms. Wood has also been a featured speaker at seminars, webinars, and school staff development training. She is the author of Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes.
OT Materials Bundle– celebrate the profession with what we use in therapy sessions WHILE developing skills!
Working with kids in occupational therapy sessions? This set of Occupational Therapy Materials Bundle includes 13 activities and resources to promote the profession using therapy supplies and themes.
Incorporate OT supplies like sensory tools, adapted materials, and therapy supplies to work on functional skills in school-based OT or outpatient clinical therapy settings.
As a bonus, you’ll also get 8 articles to help occupational therapy practitioners develop as a professional.
Visual attention is a hot topic when it comes to learning! There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to being visually attentive, however. Attention to visual information is an area of visual processing that is more than just focusing on a task or leaning activity. Attention and awareness of visual information is a skill necessary for noticing details, adjusting to patterns, reading, and so much more of the giant visual processing umbrella.
Be sure to read our resource on near point copying as visual attention plays a role in copying written work.
Visual Attention
Read on to discover what is visual attention and how this visual skill impacts so much of what we do.
What is visual attention?
First, it’s important to recognize where visual attention lies in the visual processing umbrella. Visual processing is an aspect that includes the cognitive components, once visual information is received through oculomotor skills and visual acuity.
Attention of visual information is an area of obtaining visual information and communicating that information with the brain. This collection of information requires several eye mobility skills including: voluntary eye movements, visual fixation, smooth pursuits (or visual tracking) and visual scanning.
Additionally, visual perceptual skills are included in the visual processing skill. These skills allow us to discriminate details and fill in “missing pieces” such as partially obscured portions of the form and to use the “mind’s eye” to visualize those aspects.
About Visual Processing…
For more information on visual processing and the aspects that are a part of visual skills (oculomotor skills, visual perception, visual motor integration, etc.) join us in a free 3-day email series, the Visual Processing Lab, as we discuss each aspect of visual processing with a fun, chemo or bio lab theme!
As a related component, the visual input from a picture story sequence can support needs of individuals to work on visual attention.
Visual Attention includes:
1.) Alertness- Defined as “the quality of being alert”, alertness is that watchful and attentive manner of being ready and responsive to visual information. Visual alertness requires focused vision and keenness to a specific object or area in the visual field.
2.) Selective Attention- The ability of noticing and processing specific information while disregarding other, less relevant information describes selective attention. This ability to discern visual information is needed for attending visually to information.
3.) Surrounding Attention- This aspect of attention refers to the surroundings and position in space. An awareness of our body position and the environment happening around us, including distance impacts attention at large.
4.) Mindful Alertness- The ability to be mindful and aware of visual input with a concentrated effort allows attention needed for participating in a visual task. The continuous alertness in a focused state allows us to attend with intention.
5.) Shared Attention- This aspect of visual attention allows us to shift focus between visual input. This can involve filtering of unnecessary information.
Visual Attention and Preattentive Features
If visual memory and attention is depiction of and focusing on specific qualities of a form, then pre-attentive features are basic features of visual information that are automatically noticed by the eyes. These features are easily pulled out of a background or group in a visual display.
Pre-attentive features include:
Color
Orientation
Curvature
Size
Motion
Depth Cues
Vernier
Lustre
Aspects of Shape
Visual Attention and Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapy providers address functional skills in their clients. They help to support every day tasks. Visual attention is one of the underlying components that are required in the visual system and plays a key role in supporting visual processing for performance of everyday activities.
There are several types of visual problems:
1. Visual efficiency- This includes eye movements, eye alignment, and eye focusing. These three abilities relate to functional performance.
Consider these questions related to the attentional mechanisms surrounding visual efficiency:
Can you be a good reader if you lose your place constantly while reading, because of poor eye movements?
Can you be a good reader if you are seeing double? Wouldn’t you express visual inattention as a result of double vision?
Can you be a good reader and learner if the words are moving in and out of focus and as a result you have headaches and eye strain? Wouldn’t these hardships signal the eyes to close one to shutdown, thus losing visual attention to the stimulus of the reading task?
Wouldn’t visual efficiency problems impact your ability to think with reasoning and impact comprehension as a result?
Looking at these questions, it’s easy to see the attentional effects that visual efficiency has on maintaining attention to visual stimuli.
2. Visual Perception- Visual perceptual skills impact academic performance, and visual attention is one of these. These skills work together to allow for functional vision! Visual perception and attention skills enable the cognitive processes.
Visual attention
Visual memory (which requires attention)
Visual discrimination (which visual attention is a key component in order to discriminate between details)
Visual closure (in which visual attention is a skill that impacts the mind’s eye in closing a visual image)
Spatial attention in written work
3. Visual motor integration- The components of visual motor integration includes the integrates the perceptual awareness with the motor output, and attentional skills are a main role. Consider:
Automaticity of movement
Rhythm and timing
Body knowledge and control
Laterality and directionality
Reaction time, which is related to the visual attention on a stimulus
Filtering out irrelevant information
All of these areas listed above impact everyday life!
Visual Attention Tests
There are screening tools that can look at visual attention. These allow the examiner to determine both a focus of attention as well as efficiency and accuracy components. Attention tests won’t give the full picture when used in isolation, but they should be considered as contributing evidence of visual attention challenges.
Some visual attention tests include:
Basic vision screening- Follow a tongue depressor with a sticker at one end with the eyes, or follow the end of a pen with the eyes. The visual attention screening tool can be used to examine how the eye moves to follow a stimulus across various fields of vision. Another screening task is to ask the participant to scan between tow stimuli held at different sides of their field of vision. Both are also a way to see the attentional capacity to follow a moving target. Included in this screening is a look at pursuits (eye tracking) and saccades (eye scanning). You’ll find more information in our blog posts on visual tracking and visual scanning.
Automaticity refers to the ability to perform routine activities effortlessly and automatically, or without conscious thought. Every motor task that we do throughout the day required conscious through and effort when it was first learned.
Once we’ve done a task for long enough, it becomes routine and automatic. We can then do other tasks at the same time. You see this when driving a car, for example. When the task of driving become so routine and ingrained that it is automatic, we can do other things at the same time: think about our day, remember a thought, carry on a conversation, change the radio station, etc.
Driving is an extremely complex task that moves to a conscious routine over time!
However, the issue is that we have a sort of blindness when we do other things even during an automatic task. Have you ever driven home from work, only to not recall the drive because you were thinking about other things?
We as humans also challenge ourselves, often unsafely, by thinking we can do other things while performing an automatic task. Think: texting while driving. The results from this is unfortunate.
What is at play with automaticity is the visual attention skill that moves from a conscious effort to an unconscious effort.
Similarly, this ability is present when we read or write.
A proficient reader is able to automatically recognize, recall, and reproduce, or write, letters and numbers without conscious effort to identify each letter and number form.
This attention to detail has become ingrained and automatic.
When we see challenges with reading proficiency, comprehension, speed, and overall the student who is struggling academically, the automaticity may be missing. The visual scene is incomplete without the automatic integration of visual attention.
Visual Attention Activities
Visual challenges with spatial skills, omitting materials in reading or writing, and other functional considerations can mean working on visual attention can help. Attention tasks like the ones below can support this skill.
The goal for using these visual attention activities is to have comfortable, efficient, and accurate vision at various distances through the function of play and learning. We want to see eye alignment, eye focusing, and eye movements, all operating at an automatic and reflexive level, or without conscious effort.
Tangram activities
Laterality or directionality activities
Letter tracking in word searches
Brock string
Bead stringing sequences
Directional jumps
Mazes
Code deciphering activities
Dots game
Sorting items (beads, buttons, etc.)
Hidden pictures activities
I Spy
What’s missing activities
Spot it game
Sequencing activities
For the individual with cognitive impairments such as following a stroke or other impairment in which visual inattention is present, some strategies can include:
Eye patching
Dynamic stimuli (flashing lights)
Activities to activate orientation and overall attention
Tactile cuing to engage the participant to look at the unattended side
Mirror therapy
Using an adaptive approach to visual inattention is important to foster functional participation, independence, and safety. These strategies can include:
Compensation strategies
Incorporate the patient’s awareness
Place necessary items within the patient’s field of vision
How to work on Visual Attention
For more information and specific activities that can address visual attententiveness in fun and meaningful ways, grab the Visual Processing Bundle. In it, you will find 17 digital products, e-books, workbooks, and guides to addressing various aspects of visual processing. The bundle is valued at over $97 dollars for these products, and includes over 235 pages of tools, activities, resources, information, and strategies to address visual processing needs.
References: Wolfe J. Visual attention. In: De Valois KK, editor. Seeing. 2nd ed. San Diego, CA: Academic Press; 2000. p. 335-386.
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.
It’s possible that you’ve heard the term visual closure before as this is a common visual skill that impacts learning, reading, and math skills. But did you know that visual processing skills also impact fine motor skills. Occupational
therapists assess and treat visual skills as one of the underlying contributors to functional deficits. Visual closure is just one of those visual perceptual skills that impact everyday tasks.
In this post will we discuss how visual closure is utilized in daily life, red flags for dysfunction, and some great activities to develop this skill.
What is Visual Closure
Visual closure refers to the brain’s ability to complete a picture or visual representation using incomplete information. This is a visual perceptual skill and a component of visual processing that enables us to visually fill in the blank with missing information.
This visual perceptual skill allows us to see part of an object and visualize in our “mind’s eye” to determine the whole object. When we see part of an item, we use visual closure to know what the whole item is. This skill requires the cognitive process of problem solving to identify items.
This visual perceptual skill is the one used to locate and recognize items in a hidden picture puzzle. In written work, we use visual closure to recognize parts of words and letters when reading and copying work.
Visual Closure is defined as the ability of the eyes to visualize a complete image or object when only a portion is seen. An individual can see just part of a letter or number when reading and recognize how to write that figure. We can read a word or sentence without focusing on each letter and how it is made.
Visual Closure is an essential skill for many tasks. It is a skill that enables us to recognize a friend when it their face is partially covered by a scarf. It allows us to identify a road sign that is hidden by tree branches. It allows us to read, write, spell, complete math, and manage many other daily tasks.
Visual Closure enables us to look at an incomplete form and abstractly fill in the missing details in order to identify the form or shape. The skill allows us to comprehend portions of visual information without actively assessing each detail in isolation. This skill is one that utilizes abstract problem-solving skills.
Visual closure is a skill we use all day long.
From learning, to driving, to getting dressed, we use this aspect of visual perception in discerning between both familiar items and unfamiliar objects in every environment.
Visual closure takes into consideration spatial relationships, orientation in space, and knowledge about similar objects. In this way, both visual memory and working memory plays a role in recognizing a familiar item previously filed away in the brain’s knowledge.
Perceptual skills like vision closure allow us to function in day to day tasks, use safety awareness, and complete everyday activities through visual motor integration.
Visual perception is just one of many functions of the body that OT practitioners can address in therapy to improve quality of life.
Examples of Visual Closure
We are able to visually close an incomplete image when we see part of an item partially obscured by other items in the environment.
Some examples of visual closure include:
Recognizing that a complete object is in front of us even when part of it is covered up
Identifying a stop sign even when it’s partially obscured by a tree branch
Knowing that a complete fork is in the tray of utensils when we see only a portion of the fork
Realizing the approximate size of objects when part of it is blocked from our vision
Using the ability to make inferences about an object’s size even when portions are blocked from our line of sight
Realizing the complete whole of an object is still there even when obscured, for example: knowing a window continues behind a curtain.
Reading a word with fluency and effiencey, as well as reading comprehension (more on all of these areas below)
Needed skill for spelling and sight word recognition
Required to help figure out a shape or form that is partially hidden
Needed to recognize an object when only a portion is visible
Necessary skill for identifying spelling mistakes or incorrect information in written work
Required to visually locate partially hidden objects in a busy background
Required skill for reading words or recognizing words that are partially visible
Visual perception involves a complex set of skills, including one that we will highlight here: visual closure. This important cognitive ability involves being able to understand and interpret incomplete or abstract visual information. In other words, it’s the ability to see an object or figure in your mind’s eye when only a part of it is actually visible. Pretty cool, right?
WHY IS Vision CLOSURE USEFUL?
Visual closure is a type of visual perception skill that allows you to understand the whole shape of an object, even if part of it is hidden.
For example, we use this skill to recognize a letter of the alphabet when part of it is erased. Many students would recognize a visual closure worksheet without knowing it – they often look like one half of a familiar shape, and the student must draw the remaining half to create the whole the shape.
They may also use this skill during a color-by-number worksheet, where they can recognize an image appear before it is even complete!
This is an important skill as it increases our ability to understand the world and adapt to changes. Having strong vision skills also increases your overall visual cognitive performance, leading higher reading and writing abilities. It also sets you up for success for finding lost keys or quickly locating a spice in the cabinet.
Visual Closure and Reading
When it comes to vision, there is a lot that goes into reading and writing. Understanding the visual differences between letters, visually connecting the form of a letter to a sound, and stringing single letters into words (and then sentences) involves coordination of visual processing and multiple skill areas. When a child picks up a pencil to write the daily homework assignments into a tracker or completes a math page, the visual processing system is going into overdrive with scanning, visual tracking, visual motor integration, and visual perceptual skill work.
In the classroom, we often times run into many students who struggle with reading. Parents may notice a difficulty with reading during homework or other reading tasks. When a child struggles with keeping their place when reading a line of text, has difficulty recognizing words they should know, struggles with reading fluency or reading comprehension, a visual processing issue may be at the center of the struggle.
One necessary foundation skill needed for reading fluency is visual closure. While it may not seem like the most predictable culprit of the visual perceptual skills that impact reading, vision closure certainly is at play.
Visual closure is a skill used when reading. These visual skills are used to visually complete the word in the mind’s eye without reading each letter. This is similar to word prediction technology. The mind is able to predict the word based on letters, and context. This enable reading fluency as well as reading comprehension.
Visual closure is one skill that allows us to recognize words without focusing on each individual letter within a word. It allows us to glance at a sight word and read the word quickly. It enables us to comprehend a reading passage with fluency and efficiency as we visualize and discern words. It allows us to read and discern words that have similar beginnings or endings.
When a child looks at words and sentences, they typically are able to fill in missing parts of information. They can predict what is coming when reading sentences, copy words if they don’t see the whole word, solve puzzles, and fill in worksheets. When visual closure and predicting information or self-correcting missing information is difficult, kids don’t recognize errors in reading, writing, and math.
Similarly, visual closure enables us to identify a word without perceiving each specific part of the letters which make up a word. It is easy to see how a child who struggles with this visual perceptual skill can labor at reading!
VISUAL CLOSURE RED FLAGS
How do I know if there is an issue with my visual closure abilities? There are signs that can indicate visual closure problems in children.
These are common red flags associated with poor visual closure in kids:
Children with difficulties in visual closure may have trouble completing mazes, puzzles, or worksheets. They might have difficulty identifying items that are partially obscured by other items, such as finding a serving spoon or a matching sock hidden in a draw full of items. They might have difficulty with spelling or math tasks or concepts.
Difficulty recognizing letters or reading in certain fonts
Often poorly forms letters while writing
Not being able to recognize a word that is partially hidden
Difficulty completing words with missing letters
Requires extra time to read because they must sound out each letter in a word rather than seeing the whole word
Unable to find an object when it is partially covered (ex: milk in the fridge or a shirt in a drawer)
May find puzzles too challenging
Figuring out how to put together toys with multiple parts
Difficulty interpreting visual information, such as maps or diagrams
Please note that this is list not exhaustive, nor does it by any means diagnose someone with visual or cognitive deficits. It is here it give you an idea of what it may look like or feel like to have impaired visual closure understanding.
Since we know that various visual perception skills match these red flags, we have the perfect resource for you: this Visual Closure Workbook! This workbook gives an in-depth look at a very specific aspect of visual perception, it gives ample ways to identify it, and provides various levels of interventions with fun themes to go along.
Visual Closure ACTIVITIES & GAMES
The good news is that there are tons of fun ways to develop visual closure skills! Below you can find activities, games, books, and activities you can do with objects at home to build visual skills.
Here are a few easy activities that you can do at home to help:
Puzzles: Jigsaw Puzzles are a great way to work on this skill, as they require children to use their visual and spatial awareness skills to figure out how the pieces fit together. Start with simple puzzles and gradually increase the difficulty as your child improves.
Picture Matching: Cut out a set of pictures and have your child match the incomplete pictures to the complete ones. For example, you can cut out a picture of a house, leaving only the roof and part of the walls visible. Your child’s job is to find the matching picture of the whole house.
Printable Worksheets: Visual Closure worksheets can be a tool to support development of this visual processing skill. We love creating resources that build this area of development in various themes. We have fun downloads here on the website that targets visual closure.
Hidden Objects: Provide your child with a few objects and something like a blanket to cover parts of them. Have them use their visual closure skills to figure out what’s missing or covered up.
Drawing: Encourage your child to draw from memory. For example, you can show them a picture for a few seconds, then have them close their eyes and draw what they remember. This activity helps to develop their visual closure skills, as well as their memory and creativity.
Children with strong visual closure skills are better able to complete puzzles, read and write, and interpret their surroundings. On the other hand, children who struggle with vision closure may have difficulty with these tasks and may require extra support and intervention.
Dot to Dot Activities- Completing a connect the dot activity is a great way to develop visual closure skills by working on seeing the bigger picture. Best of all, these visual perception activities support development of other underlying areas, too: visual figure ground, visual scanning, form constancy, and the ability to complete a partial picture.
If you notice your child struggling with this skill, consider seeking out the help of an occupational therapist. With the right support and activities, your child can develop their visual closure skills and improve their overall functioning.
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.
The Visual Closure Workbook is a 65 page digital file designed to impact visual perceptual skills for reading comprehension and efficiency, and the ability to visualize a complete image or feature when given incomplete or partial information. With functional visual closure skills, we are able to determine
This visual perceptual skill resource includes:
Information on visual processing and visual closure
Tips and tools to address visual closure needs
A thorough explanation of visual closure and what problems in this area look like in everyday tasks
Reproducible worksheets and activity lists
Activities to grade visual perceptual skills in hands-on activities
3 levels of worksheet pages in a variety of themes
This Valentines Day I Spy is a fun activity for developing skills in visual perception, eye-hand coordination, and more. Add it to your collection of Valentine’s Day occupational therapy activities for a fun way to build skills!
Can you believe it is Valentine’s day already? Although this is considered a “greeting card” holiday made up for the benefit of selling products, children LOVE sending and receiving Valentines.
Just in time for the big day, the OT Toolbox is coming to your inbox with this free Valentine I Spy worksheet!
Valentine I Spy Free Download
What is better than Valentine’s day? Something free! Input your email address below and your Valentine I Spy PDF will be zoomed to your inbox. Better yet, become a member of the OT Toolbox and save the hassle of entering your email address each time. Membership has its perks. Extra resources not in the “free” section, member only downloadables, and themed sections with similar resources all in one place.
Fun Facts about Valentine’s day
Americans spent over 27 billion dollars on Valentines gifts in 2020
Americans send 145 million Valentines cards each year
One idea states in the middle ages Valentine’s day was created because it was the start of mating season
Legend says Valentine was killed for attempting to free prisoners, sending letters to the recipient signed, “from your Valentine”
Over 27 million Americans sent Valentines to their dogs in 2020
Nearly six million couples get engaged on Valentine’s day
How to use the Valentine I Spy worksheet
As always, the Valentines Day I Spy activity is designed to e used in a variety of ways to meet the needs of different levels of learners.
Laminate the page for reusability, or use a simple page protector. This saves on resources, and many learners love to write with markers! Note: while some learners love to use wipe off sheets, others become upset they can not take their work with them. For those who want to save their work, consider taking a screenshot of it.
Create a notebook of resources stored in page protectors for use each year
Slide the printable into a page protector sleeve and use dry erase markers to color in or circle the hidden objects
Make this part of a larger lesson plan including gross motor, sensory, social, executive function, or other fine motor skills
Talk about Valentine’s day, talk about the pictures in the worksheet, discuss traditions and expectations for the holiday
Enlarge the font for beginning learners who need bigger space to write, or have below average visual perceptual skills
Project this page onto a smart board for students to come to the board
More or less prompting may be needed to grade the activity to make it easier or harder
Block of certain areas of the Valentine’s I Spy page to help learners focus on one part at a time
Use different tools to mark the page. Bingo markers, Bingo chips, markers, crayons, pompoms, play dough, or a finger if you want to remove the fine motor element of the task
Learners can explore other games they could make using this activity
Write a report about Valentine’s day, types of Valentines, the history of the holiday, different celebrations, or activities
Executive function – hand the papers out with very limited instruction. Record how well your learners can follow instructions without repeat guidance
Have students write on a slant board, lying prone on the floor with the page in front to build shoulder stability, or supine with the page taped under the table
Visual Perception and the Valentine’s Day I Spy Printable
I Spy printables are great for building visual perceptual skills.
Visual perception refers to the brain’s ability to make sense of what the eyes see. This is different from visual acuity which is how clearly a person sees. A person can have 20/20 visual acuity and poor visual perceptual skills.
Visual perception is important for everyday activities like puzzles, math, finding the right cereal on the shelf, dressing, reading, cutting, and about a million other necessary skills. Visual perception is made up of seven different areas. The ones targeted in the Valentine’s Day I spy activity are:
Visual Attention: The ability to focus on important visual information and filter out unimportant background information.
Visual Discrimination Skills: The ability to determine differences or similarities in objects based on size, color, shape, etc.
Visual Memory: The ability to recall visual traits of a form or object.
Use this Valentine’s Day activity in a classroom party, as a fun activity for the classroom , or in therapy sessions leading up to Valentine’s Day.
Use this activity for different ages: Preschoolers can color the items they find. Middle school kids and high school kids can write about the objects hidden in the puzzle.
Work on early math skills with younger children. Add up the items hidden in the free printable game. Can they add up certain items to create Valentine math problems using picture symbols? Create Find the of correct number of items for each object.
Build coloring skills. Assign a color for each hidden object. Then use the activity as a color worksheet with hidden pictures. Children can place a colored bead or other marker on the graphics that match.
Use the activity as printable games to build skills. Working with a small group, users can race to find the hidden objects.
Challenge fine motor skills by asking the child to place heart candy on certain objects hidden in the I spy activity.
Add the activity to our other Valentine’s Day printables here on the site.
Encourage creativity: Ask users to color in all of the similar items with a certain color, or focus on finger isolation to place a fingerprint on all of the matching objects.
Build scissor skills, precision dexterity, and eye-hand coordination. Print off one copy and cut out the images at the bottom of the page. Then, present the user with a copy of their own. They can place the matching objects on the items they find in the valentine’s day printable.
This is a great activity for so many skill areas!
My personal favorite is the fun and interesting facts and legends surrounding this holiday. Who knew it started hundreds of years ago? Whether you are in it for the flowers and chocolate, hoping to get engaged, or spending some time with loved ones, use this holiday as a reason to create fun and engaging games and activities to help your learners.
Free Valentine’s Day I Spy
Want to add this printable worksheet to your themed items for Valentine’s Day fun? Enter your email address into the form below. Or, if you are a Member’s Club member, you can find this PDF file inside the membership under Valentine’s Day Therapy Theme (Level 2 members) or on the freebie dashboard under Vision Tools (Level 1 and Level 2 members).
Victoria Wood, OTR/L is a contributor to The OT Toolbox and has been providing Occupational Therapy treatment in pediatrics for more than 25 years. She has practiced in hospital settings (inpatient, outpatient, NICU, PICU), school systems, and outpatient clinics in several states. She has treated hundreds of children with various sensory processing dysfunction in the areas of behavior, gross/fine motor skills, social skills and self-care. Ms. Wood has also been a featured speaker at seminars, webinars, and school staff development training. She is the author of Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes.
Sorting colors is a big deal. Young learners in the toddler and preschool stage start out by sorting items such as blocks, plastic animals, coins, or colored items. Later in child development, sorting colors morphs into sorting silverware, matching socks, organizing drawers, or filing papers to name a few life skills.
Sorting by color is an important skill for organizing items into categories to make sense of them, or for ease of locating them later. It is far easier to find a pair of socks in a drawer when they are matched together rather than in a large multi-colored pile. But what developmental skills are required for sorting colors? How can you support this essential skill?
Sorting Colors
First, let’s break down what we mean by sorting colors…
Sorting by color can refer to anything from colored blocks to silverware does not involve being able to name the item.
Developmentally, a young learner does not need to know their colors in order to sort. They are arranging the items according to their properties. You could sort foreign coins into their respective piles without any idea what they are. By participating in sorting color activities, the young child obtains hands-on practice in several areas of development:
Hopefully as your learner continues to sort items, they may start recognizing the qualities of each item. This can include shade, or color, shape, form, number, etc.
Sorting Colors Development
As with many skills, there is a hierarchy of learning to sorting tasks. Young children develop these skills through hands-on play and by playing with toys.
Development of color sorting progresses through these stages:
Grouping items that are exactly the same. Examples; colored plastic bears, blocks that are all the same size, coins, pompoms
Sorting items that are similar: different brands of socks in similar colors, silverware in varying sizes, towels, a bag of buttons
Sorting items that are similar AND different: sorting items by the color red, that are all different items. Sorting socks that are all different sizes, shapes, weights, and colors. Sorting items by colors that vary (five different shades of red).
Sorting items that have more than one category This stage of development progresses to categorizing objects that can be sorted such as a pile of paper to file. In this case there needs to be one similar quality selected first in order to sort, such as putting all the medical bills together, sorting by date, alphabetizing the papers. The last stage is where we may see challenges impacted by working memory. Those struggling with development of executive functioning skills can be limited in sorting objects in various categories, particularly when a background is busy such as a messy desk, cluttered locker, or home.
Sorting by color is not the easiest way to sort. When there are multiple items that are similar such as 100 colored plastic balls, your learner may not recognize these as different items. They see balls first, not colors. Try sorting very different items first. Example: 5 identical buttons, 3 towels, 4 pencils, and 6 spoons.
Color Sorting and Visual Perception
Sorting involves recognizing an item’s properties, but also visual perception. Through development of these skills, children move from thinking through the sorting of colors to visual efficiency which allows for automaticity in tasks.
Below are some thought processes that integrate color sorting with visual perceptual skills:
Figure ground lets the “perceiver” see the items as part to a whole,
Form constancy recognizes that two balls of different colors are still balls. or two shades of red are still red.
Visual discrimination allows the learner to tell difference between items.
Visual memory is the ability to remember what is seen as the eyes are scanning the items
Color Sorting Teaches Mental Flexibility
When teaching sorting, teach mental flexibility. Sort many different items in many different ways. Sort by, color, size, similarity, quality (4 legged animals), texture, weight, or two qualities.
Sort the same items two different ways. First sort the plastic fruit and veggies (affiliate link) into color, then sort by type. Later your learner can sort by larger categories such as fruits versus vegetables.
Color Sorting and Functional Tasks
Why do some people have difficulty organizing and cleaning up?
Sometimes a large task seems very overwhelming, therefore shut down and refusal tends to occur. The most effective way to combat this is to teach sorting and categorizing. Go into your child’s messy room and look for the categories.
Books all over the floor
Dirty clothes everywhere
Papers and trash scattered around
9 dishes and plates
29 stuffed animals
84 hair clips
64 crayons
Now this task seems much more manageable. I often had to solve this dilemma with my younger daughter.
What other, more complicated ways could she organize this messy room?
Sorting the books into genre, size, type, or alphabetizing
Organizing the dirty clothes into whites and colors
Determining trash versus recyclables
Crayons may be part of the “school supplies” category
Hair accessories or toys might be a larger category
How would you tackle this chore?
Sort into the larger category first such as books, then sort into their subcategories?
Sort into subcategories such as stuffed animals, games, action figures, puzzles, then group into toys?
There is no wrong answer depending on how your brain works. Actually the only wrong answer is not getting started or having a meltdown.
When working on basic sorting colors, and feeling it is futile or pointless, think about the bigger picture. A person who can put their laundry, silverware, and toys away will be more independent than one who can not.
Color Sorting Activities
So, are you wondering about a fun way to build development in this area? We’ve got plenty of ideas.
The OT Toolbox has a great resource for teaching sorting using everyday items.
Amazon has tons of toys and games for sorting! (affiliate link) Don’t limit yourself to store bought items though. Your kitchen, bathroom, junk drawers, and desk are filled with items that can be grouped and sorted.
Color sorting activities can include ideas such as:
Sorting colored circles (cut out circles from construction paper)
Sort different objects by color and drop them into baskets or bowls
Use color sorting activities along with a scavenger hunt. This color scavenger hunt is one fun idea.
Cut out cardboard shapes and sort by color or shape. This cardboard tangram activity is an easy way to make shapes in different colors.
Sort colored markers or crayons
Laminate a piece of construction paper and use it as a play mat. Sort different colored craft pom poms or other objects onto the correct mat.
Print out color words and sort them along with small objects. The Colors Handwriting Kit has these color words and other printable activities for playing with color.
This color sorting activity is a powerful fine motor activity and a super easy way to learn and play for toddlers and preschoolers. We’ve done plenty of activities to work on fine motor skills in kids. This straw activity is the type that is a huge hit in our house…it’s cheap, easy, and fun! (a bonus for kids and mom!)
A handful of straws and a few recycled grated cheese container are all that are needed for tripod grasp, scissor skills, color naming, and sorting.
SO much learning is happening with color sorting!
Fine Motor Color Sorting Activity with Straws
This color sorting activity is a powerful fine motor activity and a super easy way to learn and play for toddlers and preschoolers. We’ve done plenty of activities to work on fine motor skills in kids. This straw activity is the type that is a huge hit in our house…it’s cheap, easy, and fun! (a bonus for kids and mom!) A handful of straws and a few recycled grated cheese container are all that are needed for tripod grasp, scissor skills, color naming, and sorting.
This color sorting activity is great for toddlers and preschools because it helps to develop many of the fine motor skills that they need for function.
I had Baby Girl (age 2 and a half) do this activity and she LOVED it. Now, many toddlers are exploring textures of small objects with their mouths. If you have a little one who puts things in their mouth during play, this may not be the activity for you. That’s ok. If it doesn’t work right now, put it away and pull it out in a few months.
Always keep a close eye on your little ones during fine motor play and use your judgment with activities that work best for your child. Many school teachers read our blog and definitely, if there are rules about choking hazards in your classroom, don’t do this one with the 2 or 3 year olds.
You can adjust this color sorting activity to use other materials besides straws, too. Try using whole straws, pipe cleaners, colored craft sticks, or other objects that are safe for larger groups of Toddlers.
We started out with a handful of colored straws. These are a dollar store purchase and we only used a few of the hundred or so in the pack…starting out cheap…this activity is going well so far!
Cutting the straws is a neat way to explore the “open-shut” motion of the scissors to cut the straw pieces. Baby Girl liked the effect of cutting straws. Flying straw bits= hilarious!
If you’re not up for chasing bits and pieces of straws around the room or would rather not dodge flying straw pieces as they are cut, do this in a bin or bag. Much easier on the eyes 😉
Once our straws were cut into little pieces and ready for playing, I pulled out a few recycled grated cheese containers. (Recycled container= free…activity going well still!) We started with just one container out on the table and Baby Girl dropped the straw pieces into the holes.
By repeating the task with multiple repetitions, kids develop skills in visual attention and visual memory. These visual processing skills are necessary for reading and math tasks.
The ability to recall differences in objects builds working memory too, ask kids remember where specific colors go or the place where they should sort them.
These sorting skills come into play in more advanced learning tasks as they classify objects, numbers, letters, etc.
And, when children sort items by color, they are building What a great fine motor task this was for little hands! Sorting straws into a container with small holes, like our activity, requires a tripod grasp to insert the straws into the small holes of the grated cheese container.
Sorting items like cut up straws helps preschoolers and toddlers develop skills such as:
Fine motor skills (needed for pencil grasp, scissor use, turning pages, etc.)
Hand strength (needed for endurance in coloring, cutting, etc.)
Visual discrimination (needed to determine differences in letters, shapes, and numbers)
Visual attention
Visual discrimination
Visual perceptual skills
Left Right discrimination (needed for handwriting, fine motor tasks)
Counting
Patterning
Classification skills
Preschoolers can get a lot of learning (colors, patterns, sorting, counting) from this activity too. Have them count as they put the pieces in, do a pattern with the colored straws, sort from smallest to biggest pieces and put them in the container in order…the possibilities are endless!
Color Sorting Activity with Straws
Once she got a little tired of the activity, I let it sit out on the table for a while with two more containers added. I started dropping in colored straw pieces into the containers and sorted them by color.
Baby Girl picked right up on that and got into the activity again. This lasted for a long time. We kept this out all day and she even wanted to invite her cousin over to play with us. So we did! This was a hit with the toddlers and Little Guy when he came home from preschool. Easy, cheap, and fun. I’ll take it!
Looking for more fun ways to work on color sorting?
You’ll find more activities to build hand strength, coordination, and dexterity in this resource on Fine Motor 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.
Rainbow Handwriting Kit– This resource pack includes handwriting sheets, write the room cards, color worksheets, visual motor activities, and so much more. The handwriting kit includes:
Write the Room, Color Names: Lowercase Letters
Write the Room, Color Names: Uppercase Letters
Write the Room, Color Names: Cursive Writing
Copy/Draw/Color/Cut Color Worksheets
Colors Roll & Write Page
Color Names Letter Size Puzzle Pages
Flip and Fill A-Z Letter Pages
Colors Pre-Writing Lines Pencil Control Mazes
This handwriting kit now includes a bonus pack of pencil control worksheets, 1-10 fine motor clip cards, visual discrimination maze for directionality, handwriting sheets, and working memory/direction following sheet! Valued at $5, this bonus kit triples the goal areas you can work on in each therapy session or home program.
