visual

Forest Animals Shadow Matching Worksheet

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shadow matching worksheet with forest animals theme

Today we have a fun shadow matching worksheet for you. This forest animals activity is great for adding to a woodland animal theme, but more importantly, use the shadow worksheet to build visual perceptual skills in areas such as form constancy, visual memory, and more.

Shadow math
Free printable shadow matching worksheet with a forest animals theme.

Shadow matching worksheet

How are your visual perceptual skills?  

My learner can see, but can’t really SEE.  Wait, what?  Isn’t all “seeing” the same?  Not really.  There is seeing in the sense of visual acuity, how well the eyes can see items up close and at a distance.  Then there is seeing in the sense or perceiving an object. A person can have great visual acuity, 20/20 in fact, but have terrible visual perception.  In visual acuity the eye basically has to see the object.  In perception it not only has to see the object, but make sense of it. These vision issues are covered in our blog post on visual efficiency.

For example; I can see the puzzle pieces, but I can’t perceive that each piece becomes something whole, or which piece is the right shape.

This article does an excellent job of explaining visual perception, its effects, and how to improve this skill.

Armed with this information, it is critical to work on developing visual perceptual skills at an early age.  Visual perceptual skills begin in infancy with facial recognition, and by school age are necessary for reading, writing, and mathematics.

When it comes to visual perception, the OT Toolbox has you covered!  Check out the latest PDF free printable, Forest Animals Shadow Matching Worksheet.

You can get the shadow matching worksheet below by entering your email address into the form, or head to The OT Toolbox Member’s Club and going to the visual perception area. Use this item in a forest animals theme! And if you’re doing a forest animals theme, definitely be sure to add this Forest Animals Scissor Skills Activity. It’s a free set of printable puzzles kids can color, cut out, and put back together.

This is a great activity to build visual perceptual skills as early as preschool age. It addresses form constancy, figure ground, visual discrimination and visual attention. You can find other matching activities that support visual perceptual skill development in our free visual perception packet. It includes resources like this flower match-up, and outer space matching worksheets.

Ways to modify the shadow matching worksheet:

  • Laminate the page for reusability. This saves on resources, and many learners love to write with markers!
  • Print in black and white or color for different levels of difficulty
  • Cut the shapes and make a matching game instead of using a writing tool to draw lines
  • Talk about the animals, describe their characteristics, and give context clues to help your learner understand why certain pictures match

Other skills addressed using this forest animal activity sheet:

  • Attention
  • Behavior
  • Frustration tolerance
  • Task avoidance
  • Self regulation
  • Organization
  • Scanning
  • Fine motor skills – pencil grasp, drawing lines

In order to create a full lesson or treatment plan, therapists will need to be armed with more than just this one shadow matching worksheet.  The OT Toolbox offers several free printable items to work on visual perception, including:

If you are looking for all of your resources in one place, the OT Toolbox also offers a Visual Processing Bundle, featured here:

Visual Processing Bundle

What other tasks or games work on visual perception?

  • Puzzles or dot to dots
  • Working on spatial concepts such as “in, out, on, under, next to, up, down, in front of.”
  • Hidden pictures games 
  • The game Memory – matching hidden pictures
  • Word search puzzles and mazes
  • Construction tasks using legos or popsicle sticks
  • Copying 3D block designs
  • Cleaning and organizing – washing dishes, sorting silverware, sorting laundry, organizing spaces
  • There are several Ipad apps available if necessary, but I recommend using electronics with caution, and following up with a real life task.

Now you know  more about “seeing” better.  Before working on visual perceptual skills, make sure your learner has correct visual acuity.  Sometimes their struggle is due to acuity rather than perception.  In this case, a pair of eyeglasses is an easy fix!

Whether your learner is working on this shadow worksheet, or any other resources by the OT Toolbox, make learning fun and motivating.  There is nothing better than a learner who is excited to see what their therapist has to offer.

shadow worksheet, shadow matching worksheet, forest animals

Free Shadow Matching Worksheet

Want to work on shadow matching with a forest animals theme? This shadow worksheet supports development of visual perceptual skills through play! Perfect for adding to a forest animals weekly therapy theme. Enter your email address into the form below.

Or, if you are a Member’s Club member, be sure to log in and then head to the visual perception area of free downloads that are on The OT Toolbox website. Not a member? Join now.

Free Forest Animals Worksheets

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    *The term, “learner” is used throughout this post for readability, however this information is relevant for students, patients, clients, children of all ages, etc. The term “they” is used instead of he/she to be inclusive.

    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.

    Writing with Both Hands-What you Need to Know

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    Left and right hand holding a pencil and writing on both sides of a notebook. Text reads "writing with both hands"

    Writing with both hands is a common concern for parents, teachers, and therapists working with students on handwriting skills. Using both hands to write might look like switching hands while writing or even coloring as a result of hand weakness. But there could also be other considerations at play including mixed hand dominance or confusion on which hand to pick up the pencil and which hand holds the paper.

    You’ll definitely want to check out a related resource on more information on hand dominance and establishment of a preferred hand in functional activities.

    writing with both hands

    Writing with both hands- what’s going on

    Have you seen a child on your therapy caseload that writes with both hands? Writing with both hands can be a problem when it comes to handwriting legibility and efficiency.

    Have you ever wondered is my child a lefty or a righty? Or perhaps writing with both hands piqued your curiosity about whether or not your child is ambidextrous.

    Or been asked if they are a lefty or righty and unable to answer?

    Have you noticed that your child seems to use both hands equally when writing? If so, your child may be experiencing mixed hand dominance patterns or cross-dominance, and this is why you are not sure if they are a lefty or a righty. Writing with both hands can have implications that affect handwriting.

    Read on for information on using both hands to write writing and what you need to know about mixed-handedness.

     

    Where to begin when kids write with Both Hands 

    First, it’s important to understand what is happening when a student uses both hands to write.

    Hand dominance

    Let’s discuss mixed dominance to begin. Here is more information about hand dominance and activities to promote laterality.

    What is it called when you write with both hands

    We get the question about a name for writing with both hands. One way to describe this is the term mixed dominance.

    What is Mixed Dominance?

    Mixed dominance refers to when a child does not demonstrate a strong preference for either the left side or the right side of the body for completion of activities, or clearly utilizes both hands for specific sets of activities. For example, a kiddo might throw with his left hand, but write with his right hand.

    It should also be noted that children with mixed dominance often utilize both sides of the body equally, but poorly. When they fatigue, this leads to confusion with if they are left-side dominant or right-side dominant.

    When Does hand Dominance Develop?

    Dominance of one side of the body or the other is not expected until 5 years of age. Before the age of 5 years old, use of both hands is expected to a moderate degree. However, most children are showing a strong preference for one hand or the other by 3.5-4 years of age.

    Determining Mixed Dominance

    Dominance is typically determined through observation of the eyes, hands and feet and which one the child uses for task completion. For example, a child who is demonstrating mixed dominance may be right eye dominant, and left hand/foot dominant or left eye dominant, right hand dominant and left foot dominant, or any combination of these characteristics.

    Therapists may utilize the Jordan Left/Right Reversal Questionnaire or clinical observations to help them determine mixed dominance. In a vision screen, the therapist can have the child pretend to be a pirate, and see what eye they close when looking through a tube/rolled paper.

    The eye that the child closes is the non-dominant or “weak” eye and the dominant or “strong” eye is the open one. If the “strong” eye does not match the hand preference the child has been showing, this is mixed dominance in action.

    Be sure to watch this space, because tomorrow we’ll cover more about writing with both hands, ambidexterity, and mixed dominance.

    For more information on visual screening, check out our vision screening packet:

     

     

     

    Writing with both hands Impacts Writing and Reading

    Children who experience mixed dominance patterns, evidenced by writing with both hands, often have challenges with left/right awareness.  This left/right confusion can impact reading and writing, as a result of delayed reading and writing skills. 

    Left Right Confusion and Handwriting

    The child that doesn’t know their left from their right side at the kindergarten to first grade stage may show challenges as they are learning letter formation.

    Poor left/right awareness can affect a student’s ability to accurately form letters and result in ‘dyslexia’ looking reversal patterns. Read about more information on occupational therapy dyslexia supports.

    The reversal patterns in letter formation and recognition may also lead to poor phonemic awareness, and later poor spelling, further delaying their reading and writing skills.

    Reading left to right may also be a significant challenge as a result of poor eye teaming, as both sides of the brain are attempting to ‘dominate’ the skill. This struggle between the two sides of the brain results in poor organization of the information and retrieval of phonemic rules. Here is more information about visual processing and the skills that impact reading and learning.

    Difficulties in these areas can be red flags of mixed dominance patterns that need to be addressed.

    Switching hands when writing means that the student holds the pencil with a different hand each time and doesn’t have the experience to create motor plans for each letter. They are looking at different angles and directions to the paper, writing  sample to copy formations, and establishing loose “muscle memory” when it comes to creating an established plan of action for letter forms. 

    Writing with different hands can impact overall organization on the paper, too. This includes use of margins, and writing in lists. Typically, when writing, we need to hold the paper with the non-dominant hand to stabilize the paper. Placing letters  

    More implications of using both hands to write

    Mixed dominance does not always seem like a big deal, but when left unaddressed your child may be left frustrated with their struggles in gross motor play, reading and writing. 

    Struggles in these areas significantly impact a child’s self-esteem and desire to participate in age appropriate activities. Fortunately, mixed dominance can be easily addressed through therapy.

    Try this pouring and scooping activity to refine hand dominance in functional tasks.

    Occupational Therapists screen for visual problems in order to determine how they may impact functional tasks. Visual screening can occur in the classroom setting, in inpatient settings, in outpatient therapy, and in early intervention or home care.  

    This visual screening tool was created by an occupational therapist and provides information on visual terms, frequently asked questions regarding visual problems, a variety of visual screening techniques, and other tools that therapists will find valuable in visual screenings.

     
    Free visual processing email lab to learn about visual skills needed in learning and reading.
     

    Occupational Therapy Vision Screening Tool

    Click here to read more about the Visual Screening Packet.   This is a digital file. Upon purchase, you will be able to access the 10 page file and print off to use over and over again in vision screenings and in educating therapists, teachers, parents, and other child advocates or caregivers.  

     

    For even MORE information on eye-hand coordination and activities to use in your occupational therapy practice, you will want to join our free visual processing lab email series. It’s a 3-day series of emails that covers EVERYthing about visual processing. We take a closer look at visual skills and break things down, as well as covering the big picture of visual needs.


    In the visual processing lab, you will discover how oculomotor skills like smooth pursuits make a big difference in higher level skills like learning and executive function. The best thing about this lab (besides all of the awesome info) is that it has a fun “lab” theme. I might have had too much fun with this one 🙂


    Join us in visual processing Lab! Where you won’t need Bunsen burners or safety goggles!

    Click here to learn more about Visual Processing Lab and to sign up.

    The Handwriting Book is a comprehensive resource created by experienced pediatric OTs and PTs.

    The Handwriting Book covers everything you need to know about handwriting, guided by development and focused on function. This digital resource is is the ultimate resource for tips, strategies, suggestions, and information to support handwriting development in kids.

    The Handwriting Book breaks down the functional skill of handwriting into developmental areas. These include developmental progression of pre-writing strokes, fine motor skills, gross motor development, sensory considerations, and visual perceptual skills. Each section includes strategies and tips to improve these underlying areas.

    • Strategies to address letter and number formation and reversals
    • Ideas for combining handwriting and play
    • Activities to practice handwriting skills at home
    • Tips and strategies for the reluctant writer
    • Tips to improve pencil grip
    • Tips for sizing, spacing, and alignment with overall improved legibility

    Click here to grab your copy of The Handwriting Book today.

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

    Magnetic Marble Run- Great Therapy Tool!

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    magnetic wall marble run

    One thing occupational therapists love is using fun toys to develop skills and this magnetic marble run fits the bill. We found this Tumble Trax magnetic wall marble run and loved the ways to support fine motor skills, visual motor skills, and gross motor skills. Let’s take a better look at how to use a marble run to support development, and break down the activity analysis for this particular magnetic marble run toy.

    Magnetic marble run activities for therapy

    Amazon affiliate links are included in this post.

    How to Use a Magnetic Marble Run

    Use this magnetic marble run in so many ways to work on a variety of skills. From fine motor, to core strength, to visual tracking, to crossing midline…this marble run can be so helpful.

    We covered how to support skills such as visual tracking using marble runs in a different blog post but here, we hope to cover more ways to support development with a simple toy.

    Because this marble run attaches to the wall using magnets, and because the magnetic marble run pieces are movable, there are so many ways to support development.

    Some of these skills include gross motor development, visual motor skill development, fine motor development, and more.

    Use a Magnetic Marble Run for Gross Motor Skills

    Use the magnetic marble run on a vertical surface to address skill development:

    • Work on core strength by working on a vertical surface.
    • Address visual shift and upright posture by working at a plane equal or slightly above the head and line of sight.
    • Work on postural control
    • Address changes in positioning to bend, squat, and challenge different muscle groups by bending to retrieve marble run pieces and place them on the magnetic surface.
    • Work overhead to visually track and shift vision in different planes.
    • Address balance and coordination skills
    • Incorporate breathing

    Use a Magnetic Marble Run for Visual Processing Skills

    Move magnetic marble run pieces to target specific visual motor skills:

    • Work on visual tracking to watch the marble run through the track.
    • Address visual scanning skills to shift vision to the next area the marble will move
    • Incorporate eye-hand coordination skills
    • Address visual perceptual skills such as figure-ground, visual closure, visual discrimination, etc.
    • Address visual motor skills by copying designs using the movable track pieces, included with the Tumble Trax Magnetic Marble Run set. (affiliate link)

    Use a Marble Run for Fine Motor Skills

    • Address crossing midline to move a marble to a starting point across the midline.
    • Trace the track with fingers.
    • Pick up and manipulate the marble onto the Tumble Trax (affiliate link) ledge.
    • Strengthen hands, including grip and pinch to manipulate and move the track pieces against the magnetic surface.

    Attach it to a magnetic wall or board, garage door, and even the refrigerator. It’s a fun way to play and work on the skills kids need.

    Magnetic marble run

    Learning Resources Tumble Trax Magnetic Marble Run

    This marble run attaches to the refrigerator or any magnetic surface for endless visual motor integration exercises. Visually tracking the marble is a skill builder for reading and writing tasks.  Kids can address the form copying skills needed for handwriting with this interactive toy.

    Click here to get this magnetic marble run. (affiliate link)

    More Marble Run Activities

    Check out these other marble run activities we’ve shared before:

    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.

    Looking for more ways to support fine motor skills, visual motor skills, sensory challenges, and gross motor skill development? Grab one of our therapy kits to work on so many areas!

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

    Check out the seasonal Fine Motor Kits that kids love:

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

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

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

    Scanning Activities for Reading (Free Download)

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    visual scanning for reading

    Today, we have a fun scanning activities for reading using a printable visual scanning worksheet resource that supports the underlying visual skills to target scanning exercises. Plus, the scanning worksheet users will love the fun theme. Vision truly impacts learning so if we can support the areas of development that help a child thrive, we are moving in the right direction.

    One of the ways that occupational therapy professionals support development is through meaningful occupations, and anything fun and playful is a winner when it comes to pediatric OT! This visual scanning worksheet is just that: a fun skill-builder!

    There are many visual scanning activities that support functional participation. Here, we’re talking specifically about reading skills.

    Visual Scanning and reading

    The end of the school year might feel like coasting into the finish line, however it needs to be focused on meeting goals and preparing learners for summer reading. 

    Learners seem to have a love/hate relationship with reading. I believe the people who hate reading struggle with this task. 

    Becoming a proficient reader takes a combination of skills. Beyond vision, phonics, spelling, and letter recognition, are the visual perceptual skills needed to read fluently. One way to foster the needed skills is with an activity like the visual scanning worksheets shown below. It’s a printable resource that focuses on scanning activities for reading. 

    Visual scanning impacts reading in many ways.

    • The child who struggles with letter reversals
    • The child who labors with reading and commonly skips words or lines of words when reading.
    • Saccadic eye movement, or visual scanning, is necessary for reading a sentence or paragraph as the eyes follow the line of words.
    • Visual scanning allows us to rapidly shift vision between two objects without overshooting as when shifting vision during reading tasks.
    • In copying written work, this skill is very necessary.
    • Skips words or a line of words when reading or re-reads lines of text
    • Must use finger to keep place when reading
    • Poor reading comprehension

    All of these aspects of reading can be an issue because of scanning challenges.

    So what’s going on here, visually?

    Visual scanning is one of several visual perceptual skills. These have been highlighted in posts before, but as a reminder, they are:

    • Visual Attention: The ability to focus on important visual information and filter out unimportant background information.
    • Visual Discrimination: 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.
    • Visual Spatial Relationships: Understanding the relationships of objects within the environment.
    • Visual Sequential-Memory: The ability to recall a sequence of objects in the correct order.
    • 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.
    • Visual Closure: The ability to recognize a form or object when part of the picture is missing

    All of these areas combined make up visual perception, and is part of the bigger picture of how our eyes work functionally.

    Visual perception is the ability to organize and interpret the information that is seen and give it meaning.  This is a common thread in therapy treatment, as it is the foundation for many activities addressed daily.

    Visual perception is essential for reading, writing, math, self care tasks, instrumental activities of daily living, and play.

    How to develop SCANNING Skills FOR READING

    There are ways to support the development and accuracy of visual scanning skills when using visual scanning worksheets.

    1. Reading Readiness Skills- When my girls were young, the summer reading list meant a chance to earn a ticket to Six Flags from the school!  It also meant a dollar per chapter book from mom and dad.  I was out $61.00 just from one kid that summer.  It was worth it. 

    In preparation  we did a lot of scanning activities for reading readiness.  These included worksheets like the ones offered on the OT Toolbox, as well as games.  Amazon has their (affiliate link) visual perceptual games chunked into one search category. 

    This might include using reading prompts, desired books, and short reading passages or use of a short series of images, letters, or icons on visual scanning worksheets.

    Other strategies include working on scanning the environment for details. Ask kids to look for items that are all one color, for example.

    Another reading readiness activity that supports reading is I Spy activities like these I Spy colors game, I spy with real toys, and printable pages (Many are found in our Membership).

    2. Visual Scanning Games- Some activities to develop scanning skills for reading include:

    • Tricky Fingers
    • QBitz
    • Where’s Waldo
    • Highlights Magazine
    • Spot it Games.

    3. Vision Activities– Also be sure to check out these vision activities for kids to support all of the underlying skills that impact reading and learning.

    Specifically, be sure to check out these visual scanning activities that cover the full gamut!

    4. Take a Deeper Look at What’s Going On- When assessing for reading difficulties, once you have ruled out visual acuity issues, use a screening tool or assessment to test for visual perceptual deficits. 

    The Motor Free Visual Perceptual Test, as well as the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills, assesses the different visual perceptual skills, broken down into different areas. 

    5. Visual Scanning Exercises- The free spring weather visual scanning exercise (grab it below!) is just a sample of the larger packet offered HERE on the OT Toolbox. Targeting scanning exercises doesn’t need to be complicated. Using simple three item series of images builds visual scanning skills.

    Below you’ll find a free downloadable spring visual scanning exercise you can use to support visual scanning needed for reading skills. These activities include a weather and Spring theme, but you can use them all times of year. The sun and clouds themes work for everyone with fun scanning exercises kids love.

    This visual scanning exercise is a great scanning activity for reading. It relies on visual attention, discrimination, memory, visual-sequential memory, and figure ground.

    For more scanning work, grab the Spring Fine Motor Packet. This 97 page no-prep packet includes everything you need to guide fine motor skills in face-to-face AND virtual learning. Includes Spring themed activities for hand strength, pinch and grip, dexterity, eye-hand coordination, bilateral coordination, endurance, finger isolation, and more. 

    6. Visual Perception Activities- There are several posts this month highlighting Visual Perceptual Activities for Spring. 

    For some therapists, parents, and educators this scanning activity will be great worksheets for spring break, on those long rides to Grandma’s house.

    Others will find these PDF sheets great for a spring lesson plan. Make a great packet of pages to send home, or do during class.  You can laminate these pages to make them eco-friendly and reusable. Some people project these onto smart boards, however I personally prefer the added skills involved in writing on paper.  However you choose to motivate your learners is the key to success.

    DATA COLLECTION during scanning activities

    Scanning activities for reading readiness are great for data collection. It is easy to measure the number of correct/incorrect guesses.

    Of course, a scanning activity gets tricky when other factors such as impulsivity, attention, and compliance skew the data. Be sure to document these aspects of scanning that impacts reading skills as a functional task:

    • Document the number of errors, while adding narrative about the learner’s behavior. 
    • Provide several different types of visual perceptual tasks to try and determine which specific skills (or combination) are deficient.  This way your treatment can be more efficient, if you can hone in on one or two skill areas, such as visual memory, or scanning. 

    DOCUMENTATION of Scanning tasks to support reading

    • Does your learner scan in sequential order, or all over the page?
    • Are items completely missed when scanning?
    • Is your learner taking their time, or making random guesses?
    • Does your learner thoroughly look at all the choices before giving an answer?

    Some of these questions are not easy to answer. Continue to provide different types of exercises in order to measure progress. 

    Progress is often the answer we seek, rather than “why do they do that?”  Often doctors do not know the why, but have to try different things until they find something that works. 

    Use spring break (if you are lucky enough to have one) to rest and recharge for all of the fun spring activities that can be added to your treatment plans and OT Toolbox!

    As a related resource, check out our blog post on types of eye specialists. Another great resource is our blog post on behavioral optometrists.

    Free scanning activity Download to support reading skills

    Want to add this printable scanning activity tool to your therapy toolbox?

    Want to add this resource to your therapy toolbox so you can help kids thrive? Enter your email into the form below to access this printable tool.

    This resource is just one of the many tools available in The OT Toolbox Member’s Club. Each month, members get instant access to downloadable activities, handouts, worksheets, and printable tools to support development. Members can log into their dashboard and access all of our free downloads in one place. Plus, you’ll find exclusive materials and premium level materials.

    Level 1 members gain instant access to all of the downloads available on the site, without enter your email each time PLUS exclusive new resources each month.

    Level 2 members get access to all of our downloads, exclusive new resources each month, PLUS additional, premium content each month: therapy kits, screening tools, games, therapy packets, and much more. AND, level 2 members get ad-free content across the entire OT Toolbox website.

    Join the Member’s Club today!

    FREE Visual Scanning for Reading Exercise

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      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.

      NOTE*The term, “learner” is used throughout this post for readability and inclusion. This information is relevant for students, patients, clients, preschoolers, kids/children of all ages and stages or whomever could benefit from these resources. The term “they” is used instead of he/she to be inclusive.

      Visual Tracking Games

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      toys for visual tracking

      Visual Tracking is an important part of everything we do and visual tracking games can be a valuable resource to improving visual tracking skills! For tasks such as reading and writing, however, the ability to track visually across a line of written text is essential for reading and fluency in reading.

      When kids read across a line of text in a book, they are using visual tracking skills to follow the line from word to work. When they follow a finger along lines in a book they are using visual tracking skills. When they shift their vision from one point to another, they use a combination of visual scanning and visual tracking skills. Visual tracking is a multi-faceted topic and you can read more about visual tracking and all that it entails in functional tasks here on the website.

      These visual tracking games will be a useful tool in helping kids with visual tracking needs to read, write, visually scan and complete other visual motor tasks, using fun tracking games and visual tools that kids will love to use in occupational therapy activities or as part of a therapy home program for visual tracking!
       

      Visual Tracking Games and Visual Tracking Activities for Kids

      So when visual tracking is such an important part of function and skills, how do you address this skill area? There are adaptations that can be put into place to help, such as prompting, cues, physical assists, and other tools. One way to work on visual tracking needed for functional tasks is to use visual tracking games in play and activities.

      Visual tracking games and activities can be a valuable asset for increasing this skill area in kids with visual tracking skill deficits or needs.

      Read on to find out more about visual tracking games and activities that may help  kids improve their visual tracking skills.

      But first,

      What does a Visual Tracking Problem Look Like?

      The games and activities listed below are important for kids who struggle with tracking of words and letters when reading, writing, or completing math. Visual Tracking problems may also present as difficulty with sports or coordination. Visual tracking may be evident in learning. There are many ways that a visual tracking concern can become evident. If one of these areas or functional abilities is a problem for your child, student, or client, then a visual screening can be very useful in identifying specific needs.

      Need help addressing visual problems in the classroom? Here are classroom accommodations for visual impairments. 

      Occupational Therapy Vision Screening Tool

      Occupational Therapists screen for visual problems in order to determine how they may impact functional tasks. Visual screening can occur in the classroom setting, in inpatient settings, in outpatient therapy, and in early intervention or home care.
       
      This visual screening tool was created by an occupational therapist and provides information on visual terms, frequently asked questions regarding visual problems, a variety of visual screening techniques, and other tools that therapists will find valuable in visual screenings.
       
      This is a digital file. Upon purchase, you will be able to access the 10 page file and print off to use over and over again in vision screenings and in educating therapists, teachers, parents, and other child advocates or caregivers.
       
       
       

      Visual Tracking Games for Kids

      Kids can play visual tracking games that are free or are fun games out on the market to address this skill area and improve visual tracking skills so that reading and writing are easier.

      Try some of these fun visual tracking games to help kids improve their visual tracking skills and they won’t even know they are “working”!

      Amazon affiliate links are included below.

      Badminton Game – Physical games and gross motor games like this one can help promote visual tracking across all visual fields including peripheral and in all directions (horizontal, vertical, circular, and diagonal).

      Pop and Catch Game – Combining fine motor skills like this Pop and Catch game can bring the target close to the body to challenge convergence in kids with visual tracking needs in a visual tracking activity that the whole family can enjoy.  

      Velcro Ball and Mitt – This visual tracking game combines gross motor and sensory components with resistive work that kids can use to challenge upper body strength while playing. Follow the target ball as it sails toward and away to challenge convergence of the eyes. This activity can easily be modified to meet various needs by using a brightly colored ball or moving closer or farther away. is a game kids can play indoors or outdoors while working on their visual tracking skills.

      Scoop ball -Try to scoop the ball while moving, while seated or while in a variety of positions and planes to add a graded component to this visual tracking game.

      Wham-O Track Ball -This classic visual tracking game is traditionally an outdoor lawn game for kids or adults, but it makes an awesome visual tracking game! When kids struggle with visual tracking skills, they can benefit from watching a moving target and challenges in visual tracking across various fields of vision. Play this visual tracking game indoors or outdoors. Why not add a prone component by playing while crawling or laying on the floor or while on a scooter board?

      Light Up Bouncy Ball – While any ball could potentially be used as a visual tracking tool, this light up ball can be used in a dark room or at night for a visual tracking game that kids can’t resist! Play a slow rolling game of catch or try to invoke spontaneous visual tracking skills by bouncing the ball against a wall in a darkened room. What fun!

      Glow in the Dark Ring Toss – This is another glow in the dark game that kids can play in a darkened space. The room doesn’t need to be completely dark to encourage visual tracking with this glowing game. Just close the blinds or play at night with a low light on and the glowing visual tracking can still happen! Ask the child to watch as the ring is tossed away from them. They child can also position themselves on the sidelines when they are waiting for their turn while others play, allowing for visual tracking across planes.

      Zoom Ball – This is a great therapy tool because the child can control and feel when the moving target is moving toward them and away from them. Zoom ball games can target visual tracking because the toy requires convergence as the child watches the target move between them and another player.

      Rocket Launch – There are many rocket launch toys on the market and any would work as a visual tracking tool. But this one is nice because it has the ability to change the angle so the rocket can be sent higher or at different angles. Kids can watch the brightly colored rocket as it sails through the air into unpredictable tracks and various fields of vision, including the peripheral.

      Slingshot Creatures – These fun creatures can be sent at targets or at any plane as a visual tracking tool. Kids will love shooting these creatures or watching them sail across the room!

      Parachute Toy – Parachute toys, flying discs, and other flying target toys are great for addressing visual tracking skills. Kids can toss them up or watch as they drop while following the target. This set includes lots of fun extras!

      Glowing Finger Slingshots – Flinger slingshots are a fun tool for targeting visual tracking skills. This visual tracking activity is one kids will love to engage with! Try them in a darkened room to encourage visual tracking as the glowing toy flies across the room!

      Flying slingshot copter – This is another slingshot activity that kids can shoot themselves while visual tracking as the target soars. Play indoors or outdoors. Visual tracking tools like this are motivating and a fun addition to goody bags or as a small gift idea.

      Need a resource to address visual tracking or need to know where to start with identifying visual tracking concerns?

      The Visual Tracking Screening Tool can help therapists screen for and identify visual problems that interfere with visual tracking, convergence, and other visual 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.

      How to Use Visual Reward Charts

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      Visual reward chart ideas for visual schedules

      Visual reward charts are a powerful tool in helping kids accomplish tasks like potty training, tying shoes, chores, or other tasks, and can be used in conjunction with visual schedules. The use of this hands-on visual schedule can be effective in building intrinsic motivation and even executive functioning skills. Here, we’ll take a better look at visual reward charts, how to create one, and other tips for visual schedules with an identified reward.

      Use visual reward charts in visual schedules.

      In OT, we talk about personal motivators as a therapeutic intervention. We ask our clients what they want to work on as their therapy. We take what is important to them and strive to accomplish personal goals. Visual reward charts that use personal goals as an end result is very much aligned with occupational therapy. A visual reward chart can be a great motivator when integrating a personal goal with therapeutic interventions (or working on specific tasks at home, like chores, making the bed, potty training, or other tasks).

      Visual Reward Charts

      I discovered early on in my occupational therapy journey that positive reinforcement and visual reinforcement were powerful ways to shape behaviors and to achieve goals. When I become a mom I found that rewarding targeted behaviors also worked incredibly well with my own children.

      This tool really appealed to me because I am a visual, goal-orientated person. I love to make lists and tick off the tasks that I have completed and I have the habit of putting a star or smiley face on my calendar when I make it to gym and manage to squeeze a workout into my day.

      I gain a sense of achievement when I look back over the month and see the stars dotted throughout the weeks. I am also motivated to try harder when I look back at the month and there are not that many smiley faces staring back at me!

      Reward charts can be highly motivating and very helpful in establishing specific behaviours and reinforcing necessary habits. But reward charts have also received a fair amount of criticism from those who are concerned that children will expect to receive a reward at every turn. The worry that children will become completely reward-focused has been followed up with research on extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation in the early years of development.

      While it is clear that both extrinsic and intrinsic motivators are necessary in shaping children’s willingness to learn the role of reward charts remains under review.

      Why Visual Reward Charts?

      Visual reward charts build intrinsic motivation. In my experience each child I work with is completely unique. Some children are self-driven and easy to motivate and reward charts aren’t necessary. Some children are inspired by working towards a goal and visually tracking their progress. In these cases reward charts have been an absolute hit.

      Develop executive functioning skills– Visual schedules that offer a personal goal or reward at the completion can be an effective way to shape a child’s actions in a given situation. Visual reward charts can provide a clear outline of the steps toward a goal that the child wants to accomplish. This can be a powerful tool in addressing initiation, task completion, and other executive functioning skills.

      Visual schedules improve functioning- You’ve probably seen potty schedule reward charts, chore charts, reading reward charts, or savings charts (kids save up their money in order to purchase a wanted item). All of these visual charts use the concept of a visual schedule; Complete tasks for a certain period of time and at the end a benefit is gained. The benefit is personal autonomy.

      There are many forms of reward charts that work to a functional goal:

      • Potty training chart
      • Chore charts
      • Reading reward chart
      • Math facts reward chart
      • Money savings chart
      • Tying shoes chart
      • Brushing teeth chart

      Visual prompts are helpful in teaching the steps of toothbrushing.

      Visual schedules can help with toilet training.

      Schedules can get kids organized an on time for morning routines.

      Visual charts offer a picture so children can “see” their progress– Working on a task can be abstract, especially for those with communication challenges. Visual chart that show time spent completing each therapy item, first-then charts, and visual schedules for autism or other neurodiverse individuals that need a visual breakdown of where they are in accomplishing a specific task.

      Visual reward charts offer multisensory feedback- When children accomplish a portion of a task or complete a job in an activity (such as completing each activity of the therapy session, practicing handwriting for a certain number of trials, or performing steps of a task like potty training, they can move velcro image pieces to a visual chart, place stickers on a reward chart, or mark off that they completed those trials. That physical movement, plus the visual component, plus possible auditory feedback (Good Job!) offers positive reinforcement with multisensory feedback to the child. They will be motivated to continue and feel a sense of pride for moving the needle toward their goal.

      How to Set up a Visual Reward Chart

      There are strategies that impact how successful a reward chart is when it comes to achieving personal goals.

      • The reward chart must be simple and specific. To really gain the benefit of a reward chart you need to engage the child in the process of drawing up the chart.
      • The targeted task needs to be specified and not unrealistic for the child to achieve. The performance tasks should be discussed with the child and the child needs to understand why they are important for them to complete the activity. Explaining why the behavior is important makes the chart more meaningful for the child.
      • Only target one action or behavior at a time and focus on tasks that will have a positive impact on the child and family’s well-being.
      • Once the child has a clear understanding of what is expected of them, create a visual reminder of what that task is. Take a photograph of them performing the activity or draw a picture of it.
      • For older children’s description can be written on the chart.
      • Next decide on the number of times the action needs to be performed in order for them to receive a reward. Keep the number low for younger children and children who are new to reward charts. Expecting them to complete an activity 40 or 50 times before receiving a reward is unrealistic. Chances are they will give up long before they reach their goal.
      • Then decide on the reward. Most children have an idea of something they would like to work towards and this should be mutually agreed upon at the beginning of the exercise. A few of my children have said ‘surprise me’ and the added anticipation of not knowing their reward has been motivating for them.
      • When deciding on a reward make sure that it’s realistic and in keeping with the task. No trips to Disneyland for brushing your teeth. I try and avoid rewarding with sweets so that I don’t encourage a dependence on unhealthy food. Every child is unique but if you connect with the child you will find the right thing to get them working towards completing their chart.
      • Place the chart somewhere that is visible to the child and you are ready to go.
      • Make sure that you mark the chart as soon as the targeted behaviour is performed. Children become despondent if they have done their part and they have to wait three days to their action to be acknowledged.
      • Next be involved as the child completes the chart and focus on providing positive comments about the targeted behaviour they are performing.

      When the chart is complete tell them how proud you are of their efforts and make a fuss of the fact they have worked towards achieving their goal. It is important that don’t become reliant on rewards and but focusing on the process they went through. Then, you can shift some of that extrinsic motivation to an awareness of how capable they are.

      For other ideas on how to use positive reinforcement in conjunction with reward charts have a look at this resource.

      A reward chart in action

      The reward charts that I use are usually tailor made for the child and specific behaviour we are working towards. As I have already mentioned it’s important to keep the reward chart simple and specific.

      A recent example of a chart I developed was to encourage a young four year old to get dressed in the morning. We established that he was capable of putting on his underwear, shorts and shirt but was really not interested in dressing himself each morning.

      I took a photograph of him in his clothes and we stuck it on a page. This provided a clear simple visual of the outcome we were working towards.

      We drew ten circles on the page and agreed that when he woke up and dressed himself in the morning he could color in a circle. This number of circles seemed attainable to the child. Remember that a visual chart with hundreds of blocks on it can be daunting.

      We spoke about the fact that once all the circles were colored in he would have dressed himself independently ten times. Here we were focusing more on the process that the reward chart would be encouraging.

      He loves dinosaurs and when we discussed a reward he asked if he could receive a dinosaur T-shirt when all of the circles were colored in. This seemed like a relevant reward given the task he was completing! We stuck a small picture of a dinosaur at the bottom of the page so he could remember the goal he was working towards. And that was his reward chart.

      He was very excited about his chart and managed to complete the chart in eleven days. He woke up in the mornings and apart from one morning that he was feeling quite grumpy he dressed himself independently! His mom made a big deal of how proud she was and how grown up he was that he had dressed himself so well. She made a show of sending a message to his grandparents to tell them about his accomplishment as well. And she bought him a dinosaur shirt which is a firm favorite of his. What a cool reminder of what he is capable of!

      In this case the reward chart worked well. It was presented in a positive way and the child was fully immersed in the process. Adjusting the reward chart according to the child’s age, interest and goal will go a long way towards helping them establish good habits.

      Main points to remember about visual reward charts

      • Engage the child in the process
      • Target a specific behaviour
      • Have a visual representation of the behaviour
      • Decide on an appropriate number of repetitions of the behaviour
      • Decide what the reward is
      • Place the chart in a visible spot
      • Mark the chart as soon as the behaviour is performed
      • Praise the child’s efforts
      • Provide them with the reward when the chart is completed

      Contributor to The OT Toolbox: Janet Potterton is an occupational therapist working predominantly in school-based settings and I love, love, love my job. I have two children (if you don’t count my husband!), two dogs, one cat, two guinea pigs and one fish. When I am not with my family or at work I try to spend time in nature. The beach is my happy place.

      Kindergarten Learning and Play Activities

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      kindergarten activities

      Below are kindergarten activities that promote development of skills needed during the kindergarten year. These are great activities to use for kindergarten readiness and to help preschool and Pre-K children build the motor skills in order to succeed in their kindergarten year. You’ll find kindergarten letter activities, Kinder math, fine motor skills to build stronger pencil grasps when kindergarteners start to write with a pencil and cut with scissors. You’ll also find kindergarten sight word activities for when that time of the Kinder year comes around. Let’s have some fun with 5-6 year old activities!

      Be sure to check out our tools to support name practice for kindergarten to work on name writing skills!

      Kindergarten activities and kindergarten readiness activities

      Kindergarten Activities

       What you’ll notice is missing from this massive list of Kindergarten activities, is handwriting, writing letters, and even writing names. (And writing letters in a sensory bin falls into this category too! Before kindergarten, children should not be copying letters into a sensory bin. You’ll see letters formed incorrectly, letters formed from bottom to top, and letters formed in “chunks”. The same rule applies to tracing letters and words and even “multisensory strategies” for writing. It’s just too early. Unfortunately, we see a lot of preschools and standards doing the exact opposite. You’ll even find online sites sharing preschool and Pre-K writing that is just in poor advice.
       
      Here’s why: prior to kindergarten age, kids are not developmentally ready for holding a pencil, writing with a pencil, and writing words. Their muscles are not developed, and asking them to write letters, copy words, and trace with a pencil is setting them up for improper letter formation, poor pencil grasp, and weak hands. 
       
      What children aged 5 and under DO need is play! They need exposure to sensory experiences, sensory play, coloring, cutting with scissors (even if it’s just snipping), puzzles, games, beads, blocks, stamps…there are SO many ways to help pre-K kids and preschool children develop the skills they need for kindergarten and beyond.
       
      Kindergarten is such a fun age.  Kids in kindergarten strive when they are given the chance to learn through play and hands-on activities.  These are our favorite Kindergarten activities that we’ve shared on the site, with Kindergarten math, reading and letter awareness, Kindergarten Crafts, and Kindergarten Play.   
       
       

      Kindergarten Functional Tasks

      Kindergarten is the stage when children go off to school for perhaps the first time. That’s why prior to kindergarten, it’s great to “practice” a lot of the functional tasks that children will need to do once they go to kindergarten. Some of these may include:

      Now…not all of these functional skills will be established for every kindergarten child…and that’s OK! Kindergarten can be the year to practice these tasks in the school environment. 

      Kindergarten Letter Activities

      Kindergarten is all about letters, upper case and lower case letters, and sounds.  They learn how letters go with sounds and work on decodable reading.  These letter learning activities will help your kindergarten student with identification, sounds, and beginning reading skills.

      Kindergarten Letter activities for letter learning
       
       
       
       
      Name Soup Writing Your Name | Building Letters Cotton Swabs | Fizzy Dough Letters | Handwriting Cookie Cutters
       
       
      Learning Letters Push Pins | Letter & Writing Travel Kit | Letter Formation with Styrofoam | Upper & Lower Case Letter Seek
       
       
      LEGO Letter Stamps | Color & Letter Sticker Match | Name Building Sensory Soup | Sensory Letter Play
       
       
      Letter Identification Bin | Upper & Lower Case Letter Match | Decodable Reading With Nature | Pressing Too Hard When Writing
       
       
      Visual Motor Letter Learning with Bubble Wrap | Rainbow Writing Handwriting Practice | Winter Letters Outside


      Kindergarten Math Activities

      Kindergarten students work with manipulating items to discover and explore numbers and patterns.  They solve simple addition and subtraction problems, more or less, comparing amounts, and shapes.
       
      These Kindergarten math ideas will be a fun way to discover math ideas with playful learning.
      Kindergarten Math ideas

       
       
      Caterpillar Math Craft | Math with Checkers | Cardboard Tangrams | Play Dough Math
       
       
      Lego Shapes | Styrofoam Cup Math | Cardboard Building Shapes | Art Worksheets
       
           
       




         
       
       
         
       
      Easy Shapes Big Rig Craft | Rainbow Color Sort | Apple Math
       
        
       
      Sugar Aunts Counting Nature | Snowball Math | Penguin Themed Math Counting
       
          
       

      Kindergarten Sight Words and Reading:

      Kindergarten students learn sight words throughout the school year. These sight word activities are fun ways to learn with play while reinforcing sight word skills.
        
      Sight Word Scavenger Hunt | Sight Word Scooping
       
         
       
       
         
      Sight Words with String | Sight Words Ping Pong Bounce | Sight Words Sensory Bin | Bottle Cap Sight Words Stamps
       
       

      Sight Words Manipulatives | Outdoor Pre-Reading Letter Hunt

      Kindergarten Books and Activities

      Extending book ideas with crafts and activities are a fun way for Kindergarten students to become engaged with reading.  Listening to an adult read is a powerful tool for pre-readers.  They learn language, speech, articulation, volume, and tone of voice.  These book related activities will extend popular stories and engage your Kindergartner.

      Book ideas activities for Kindergarten
       
       
       
        
       
       
       

       
      Ten Apples Up on Top Baked Cotton Balls | Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons Snack | Activities Based on Books | Bears on Wheels Letter Match
       
       

      Snowball Fight math activity
      Press Here Sensory Bin
      Harold and the Purple Crayon Play Dough
      Little Blue and Little Yellow Puffy Paint
       

      Kindergarten Fine Motor Play

      Fine motor skills in Kindergarten students are essential for effective pencil control and handwriting, scissor use, and clothing and tool manipulation.  Kindergartners may have little experience with tools like scissors, pencils, hole punches, staplers, and pencil sharpeners. In fact, there are MANY fine motor skills needed at school. All of these items require dexterity and strength.  
       
      In-Hand manipulation play for fine motor skills: We had so much fun with water beads.  This post shares two ideas for improving in-hand manipulation skills which are so important for dexterity in self-care, handwriting, coin manipulation…and so much more!
       
      Finger isolation, tripod grasp, eye-hand coordination, bilateral hand coordination…Fine Motor Play with Crafting Pom Poms has got it all!  We even worked on color identification and sorting with this easy fine motor play activity.
       

      What play ideas can you come up with using common tools? These items are GREAT ways to build hand strength and dexterity that will be needed in kindergarten for pencil grasp development and endurance in handwriting. 

      • tweezers
      • tongs
      • beads
      • toothpicks
      • hole puncher
      • peg boards
      • lacing cards
      These fine motor activities will engage your student in fine motor skills for effective hand use in functional school tasks.
       
      Kindergarten Fine Motor activities
       
       
       
         
       
      DIY Light Box | Rainbow Beads | Beads & Feathers | Fine motor Color Match
       
         
       
      Fine Motor Color Sorting | Fine Motor Pom Pom Play | Play Dough and Rocks | In-Hand Manipulation Water Beads
       
         
       
      Icicle Scissor Skills | Lacing Cards Carry Out Container | Flower Pretend Play Fine Motor | Color Sorting Scissor Skills
       
       
       
      Pipe Cleaner Box Fine Motor Play | Christmas Pencil Control Sheets
       
        
       
      Tripod Grasp Fine Motor Color Sort | Fine Motor Pom Pom Play | Fine Motor Lock and Keys
       

      Kindergarten Play:

      Play in Kindergarten is essential for so many areas.  Kindergartners are young students who need brain breaks from desk work.  Not only for that reason, but for turn-taking, language, social interaction, self-confidence, problem-solving, and interaction, play is an important part of your Kindergarten student’s daily lives.  

      Play builds skills! Check out this post on the incredible power of play. Play helps kids learn and develop cognitive experiences and the neural connections that impact their educational career, beginning right now! Occupational therapists know that play is the primary occupation of children, but what’s more is that play builds the very skills that kids need to learn and develop.

      Kindergarteners can gain valuable input through play:

      • Cognition
      • Problem Solving
      • Executive Functioning Skills
      • Attention
      • Strength
      • Balance
      • Visual Motor Integration
      • Visual Processing
      • Sensory Integration
      • Self Regulation
      • Language Development
      • Self-Confidence
      • Fine Motor Skills
      • Gross Motor Skills
      • Social Emotional Development
      • Stress Relief
      • Behavior
      • Imagination
      • Creativity

      Try these play ideas in the classroom or at home for fun learning (through play)!

         
      Teaching Spatial Concepts | Bugs and Beans Sensory Play | Back to School Story Stones | Butterfly Life Cycle Activities
       
       
       
      Outdoor Small World Play | Painting Toys in the Water Table | Sticks and Stones Simple Sensory Play
       
         
      Farm Sensory Bin | Water Bead Tea Party Pretend Play | Monochromatic Water Bin Sensory Play | Corn and Cookie Cutters Sensory Bin
       

      Kindergarten Crafts

      Crafts in Kindergarten are a great tool for so many areas.  Students can work on direction following, order, patterns, task completion, scissor skills, fine motor dexterity, tool use, and more by completing crafts in Kindergarten.  

      Kindergarten crafts can have one or more of the areas listed here to help and build skills:

      • Scissor practice (placing on hand and opening/closing the scissors)
      • Exposure to different textures and art supplies
      • Practice with using a glue stick and bottle of squeeze glue
      • Practice cutting strait lines and stopping at point
      • Practice cutting simple shapes
      • Practice cutting complex shapes
      • Coloring
      • Painting with finger paints and paint brushes
      • Experience washing hands after crafting
      • Opportunities for creative expression
      • Opportunities for rule-following and direction following
      • Multi-step directions
      • Experience copying a model for visual motor benefits

      Try a few (or all!) of these Kindergarten crafts for fun arts and play with your student. 

      Kindergarten Craft ideas
       
       
       
       

      Grand Old Duke of York Craft | Process Art Monster Cupcake Liner craft | Shoe Charm craft | Caterpillar Math Craft

       
       
       
      Easy Shapes Backhoe Craft
      We’ll be adding more to this resource soon, so stop back to find more Kindergarten learning ideas.  

      What are Visual Spatial Relations

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      spatial relations activities

      Visual Spatial Relations is an important visual perceptual skill that is important for many functional tasks.  Spatial relations allows the organization of the body in relation to objects or spatial awareness.  This is an important part of spatial awareness in handwriting and many other movement-based activities.  An important part of visual spatial relations includes laterality and directionality. In general, these spatial relationship terms refer to left-right body awareness and the ability to perceive left/right relationship of objects. 

      Spatial Relations is being aware of oneself in space. It involves positioning items in relation to oneself, such as reaching for items without overshooting or missing the object. Most of us realize as we walk through a doorway that we need to space ourselves through the middle of the door.

      Some with poor visual spatial skills may walk to closely to the sides and bump the wall. It also involves the fine motor tasks of coordinating handwriting with writing in spaces allowed on paper, placing letters within an area (lines), and forming letters in the correct direction.

      What are spatial relations?

      Spatial relations, or visual spatial awareness, refers to an organization of visual information and an awareness of position in space so the body can move and perform tasks. Spatial relations are needed for completing physical actions, moving in a crowded space, and even handwriting.

      Knowing which shoe to put on which foot.  Understanding that a “b” has a bump on the right side.  Putting homework on the left side of the take home folder before putting books into a locker beside the gym bag.  Visual spatial relations are everywhere!

      More examples of spatial relations

      Here are more everyday examples of spatial relations at work:

      • Letter formation and number formation
      • Writing letters without reversal
      • Reading letters without reversal
      • Sports
      • Completing puzzles
      • Walking in a crowded hallway without running into others
      • Standing in line without bumping into others
      • Left/right awareness
      • Understanding spatial reasoning concepts such as beside/under/next to/etc
      • Reading without losing one’s place
      • Copying written work with appropriate spatial awareness
      • Reading maps  

      Visual spatial skills in occupational therapy activities are an important skill.  

      Visual Spatial Skills and Handwriting

      Spatial relations, and the ability to organize physical movements related to visual information impacts handwriting.

      You might be thinking: “Movement and handwriting!? What?? I want my kiddo to sit still and copy his homework into his planner without wiggling all over the desk!”

      Ok, ok. Here is the thing: We are asking our kids to write way to early. Preschoolers are being given paper with lines and are asked to write their name with correct letter formation. Kids are being thrown into the classroom environment with expectations for legible written work an they are missing the necessary basics.

      When kids are not developing the skills they need to hold a pencil, establish visual perceptual skills, and organize themselves, they are going to have struggles in handwriting.

      NOTE: There are a few other baseline tools that kids need in order to establish a base for better handwriting. Fine motor experiences, positioning, attention are just a few of these areas.

      Here are a few easy hands-on strategies to help with spatial relations in written work:

      1. Read this resource on hand dominance and laterality.
      2. Then check out this post on what you need to know about writing with both hands.
      3. Finally, check out this movement activity for direction following that involves spatial relations.
      4. Spatial relations also plays a role in near point copying skills, or accuracy of copying written work.

      These resources are all connected and can impact spatial relations skills!

      Another resource is this post on Hand Aerobics and Fine Motor Skills Needed in the Classroom

      You can find all of our handwriting posts here.

      Spatial Relations Quick Tip:
      Write a letter on the student’s back using a finger or a pencil eraser. Ask the student guess what letter it is. Then, ask the child to air write the letter. (While holding a pencil, with large motion, whole arm motions AND very small with just the fingers!) Finally have him write the letter on paper.

      • These activities all require the ability to perceive an object in space.  The way they interpret position in space to their body and to other objects in the environment impacts motor skills.    
      • Spacing pieces of a puzzle amongst the others and writing in relation to the lines is one way to work on this skill.

      Fine Motor Quick Tip:
      Encourage pinching activities. So many kids are exposed to screen technology from a young age. Screen interaction uses the pointer finger in isolation or just the thumb. These digits become strong and a dynamic pencil grasp is limited. Promote strengthening of the intrinsic muscles by pinching clay or tearing and crumbling small bits of paper. Read more about intrinsic muscle strengthening here.

      What are visual spatial relations and how are visual relationships and visual concepts needed for functional tasks?

      Spatial Relations Activities

      Try these movement-based spatial relations activities to work on the visual spatial skills needed for writing and completing everyday tasks:

      • Create a paper obstacle course. Draw obstacles on paper and have your child make his /her pencil go through the obstacles.
      • Draw circles, holes, mud pits, and mountains for them to draw lines as their pencil “climbs”, “jumps”, “rolls”, and even erases!
      • Create an obstacle course using couch cushions, chairs, blankets, pillows to teach left/right/over/under.
      • Write words and letters on graph paper. The lines will work as a guide and also a good spacing activity.
      • Use stickers placed along the right margin of to cue the student that they are nearing the edge of paper when writing.
      • Highlight writing lines on worksheets.
      • Draw boxes for words on worksheets for them to write within.
      • Play Simon Says. Use these therapy Simon Says commands.
      • Practice directions. Draw arrows on a paper pointing up, down, left, and right. Ask your child to point to the direction the arrow is pointing. The child can say the direction the arrows are pointing. Then create actions for each arrow. Up may be jumping. Down may be squatting. The Left arrow might be side sliding to the left, and the Right arrow might be a right high kick. Next, draw more rows of arrows in random order. Ask your child to go through the motions and try to go faster and faster.
       
       
      This map activity is great for building and developing spatial concepts and higher level thinking right in the backyard, using a map and lights to develop spatial relations. Teaching Spatial Concepts to Preschoolers and Toddlers through play. Over, under, around, and through and their need in functional tasks like shoe tying and handwriting. Visual Perception and spatial awareness in kids. What is Spatial awareness and why do kids have trouble with spacing between letters and words, reversing letters, and all things vision. Great tips here from an Occupational Therapist, including tips and tools to help kids with spacing in handwriting. What is spatial awareness? Tips and tools for handwriting, reading, scissors, and all functional skills in kids and adults, from an Occupational Therapist.
       
       

      Other activities to incorporate spatial relations include:

      Try these other activities that challenge visual spatial relations:

      Movement and spatial relations worksheet to improve spatial awareness in kids

      Free Movement and Handwriting Worksheet

      Today’s free printable shares movement based activities to help kids improve their spatial relations. These are the skills kids need to write legibly. It includes tips and activities to improve spatial relations, that were mentioned above. This free handout is a great resource to add to your occupational therapy toolbox.

      You will receive this handout when you join the Handwriting Tips and Tricks series. Each day over the course of 5 days, you’ll receive a free handwriting worksheet to use in addressing common handwriting issues.

      Join the free handwriting series!

      handwriting handouts

      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.

      Outdoor Sensory Activities for the Backyard

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      outdoor sensory activities for kids with sensory processing challenges.

      If you are looking for outdoor sensory activities, this is the place to start. Here, you’ll find outdoor sensory ideas to address each sensory system. Also included are sensory play ideas to use in the backyard when creating an outdoor sensory diet for children.

      outdoor sensory activities for kids with sensory processing challenges.

      Outdoor Sensory Activities or a Sensory Diet?

      So often, kids are sent home from therapy with a sensory diet of specific activities and sensory tools that are prescribed for certain sensory processing needs. When a therapist creates a home exercise program, they do their best to ensure carryover through small lists of activities, parent education, and 
      motivating activities that are based on the child’s interests and personal goals.

      The important thing to recognize is that there is a difference between sensory play and sensory diets. Read here for more information on what a sensory diet is and isn’t.

      When therapists develop a specific and highly individualized sensory diet, it’s not just throwing together a day filled with sensory input. A sensory diet  is a specific set of sensory tools used to meet and address certain needs of the individual based on sensory need and strategizing.

      Each of the sensory diet activities above should meet specific needs of the child. Every child is different so applying sensory input to one child may look very different than that of another. Parents should use the tactics below along with your child’s occupational therapist.

      So, using sensory diet tools within the context of environments or activities that are deeply meaningful to a family and child such as play that is already happening, can be the meaningful and motivating strategy to actually get that sensory diet task completed. And it benefits the child along with the whole family. 

      These outdoor sensory diet activities are good sensory experiences to meet the needs of children with sensory processing needs or those who struggle with sensory related behaviors, perfect for a home exercise program or occupational therapy activities.

      Outdoor Sensory Activities

      These outdoor sensory activities are those that can be included into backyard play. That may look like independent play by the child or it might mean family time on a Sunday afternoon. Use these outdoor sensory diet activities in the backyard to as sensory tools that double as playtime for the child while he/she learns and grows… or to meet the sensory needs of the child while creating memories and enjoying time together!

      Below is a huge list of outdoor sensory activities, but to focus on each sensory system, check out these resources:

      These outdoor sensory activities are good sensory experiences to meet the needs of children with sensory processing needs or those who struggle with sensory related behaviors, perfect for a home exercise program or occupational therapy activities.

      Bakyard Sensory Activities

      • Slide down a hill on cardboard
      • Grass sensory bin
      • Use a magnifying glass to inspect the grass and dirt
      • Mud kitchen
      • Roll down hills
      • Animal walks with bare feet
      • Create nature “soup” with grass, flower petals, sticks, etc.
      • Pick flowers
      • Cartwheels and tumbling on the grass (barefoot or with shoes!)
      • Water Table with nature
      • Cartwheel or tumbling 
      • Target games
      • Outdoor lawn games
      • Bean bag games
      • Relay races
      • Hide and seek games
      • Simon Says games- Print off these Simon Says commands.
      • Tag 
      • Bell parade
      • Kazoo sound hunt
      • Listening for birds or animals
      • Record backyard sounds and playback the recording. Try to recognize and name the sound and where it was located in the yard.
      • Fill containers with items from the backyard.  Shake plastic containers or even paper bags with the items and see if your child can name the objects.
      • Play Marco Polo in the yard!
      • Auditory backyard games like: Neighborhood Listening Scavenger Hunt, Auditory Hide and Seek, Listening Tag, Noisy Toy Positioning Game
      • Create with recycled materials and make arts, crafts, and activities.
      • Pull plastic ware out of the cupboards and sort the lids onto the containers. Mix colors with food coloring in water.
      • Blow bubbles
      • Jump rope
      • Play Kickball
      • Throw a book picnic: grab snacks, a blanket, and a pile of books and head outside.
      • Dress up with old fancy dresses and clothes from mom’s closet (then throw them in a bag and donate!)
      • Bake
      • Poke holes in a cardboard box and push pipe cleaners through the holes
      • Bowl with recycled plastic water bottles
      • Act out a favorite nursery rhyme
      • Play tag games for heavy work, spatial awareness, and body awareness.
      • Put dollhouses or play sets into a bin of shredded paper.
      • Play hide and seek
      • Climb trees
      • Watch and draw clouds
      • Tell stories where one person starts a story and each person adds a sentence to continue the story.  Write it down and illustrate your story!
      • Make and deliver lemonade to neighbors
      • Go birdwatching
      • Make creative firefly catchers and then catch the fireflies that night.
      • Play charades
      • Act out a favorite book
      • Create with finger paints (make your own with flour, water, and food coloring or washable paint!)
      • Sing songs
      • Turn on music and dance
      • Pick flowers and give them to neighbors
      • Make summer crafts that build skills.
      • Have an art show and invite friends.
      • Create a spatial concepts map
      • Spin in circles.
      • Swing side to side on a swing set.
      • Hang upside down from swing set equipment.
      • Swing on a hammock.
      • Backyard dance party.  Encourage lots of whole body movements and spinning.
      • Cartwheels
      • Tumbles
      • Hopscotch
      • Play Leapfrog
      • Mini trampoline (or the big sized-trampoline) Catch a ball while standing, sitting, swinging, rolling a ball, catching between legs, etc.
      • Hit a tennis racket at a target including bubbles, falling leaves, large balls, small rubber balls, and balloons
      • Catch butterflies in a net
      • Bubble pop, including popping bubbles with a toe, knee, foot, head, finger, or elbow  
      • Play with goop
      • Draw in shaving cream on a cookie sheet outdoors. Then squirt off in the hose.
      outdoor equipment for sensory input in the backyard

      Backyard Sensory Equipment

      There are outdoor play items you may have already that can be repurposed to use in outdoor sensory play. These are common backyard toys or things that might be in your garage! It can be fun to re-think these items for a means of adding sensory input.

      Make a bin of outdoor toys that are readily available in your garage or storage area so that sensory play experiences are at your family’s fingertips. For example, all of these items could be used in an outdoor balance beam.

      • Hoola Hoops
      • Jump Ropes
      • Balls
      • Bat
      • Tennis Racket
      • Butterfly Net
      • Baby Swimming Pool
      • Tarp or Slip and Slide
      • Water Hose
      • Scoops and cups
      • Sidewalk chalk
      • Bike
      • Scooter
      • Skateboard
      • Cardboard
      • Target or net
      • Shovels
      • Buckets
      • Play wheelbarrow
      • Swing set
      • Climbing structure
      • Flashlight
      • Magnifying glass
      • Cones
      • Bubbles
      • Bean bags

      Outdoor Sensory issues

      Summer can mean sensory processing issues that impact kids with sensitivities or over responsiveness to sensory input. For autistic children or anyone with a neurodiversity that impacts sensory processing, summer can mean a real hatred for being outside in the hot summer months.

      So what are some of the reasons that sensory kids have issues with being outside during the summer?

      It can be hard to encourage outdoor play (and gain all of the benefits of outdoor play) when the summer months add a different level of sensory input. Here are some of the reasons that sensory kids are challenged in the summertime:

      For kids with sensory needs, it can be overwhelming to have an open space full of sights, sounds, scents, and textures.

      • Tolerance of the cuffs of shorts or sleeves
      • Tight bathing suits
      • Sensation of sunscreen
      • Sensation of socks or other clothing in hot weather
      • Humidity changes
      • Summer thunderstorms (can change the air temperature)
      • Short clothing that brushes on legs or arms
      • Sandals or open-toed shoes
      • Crowds or places where others are in close contact
      • Wearing a mask in warmer temperatures
      • Honking horns, barking dogs, and other sounds that frequent the backyard or lawn can be too much for the child with sensory sensitivities
      • Bright sun that is at a different angle in the sky than other months of the year
      • Overwhelming smells: cut grass, lawnmower gas, sunscreen, sweat, body odors, garbage scents
      • Interoceptive issues with body temperature, increased need for water, less hunger due to heat

      All of these sensory issues can occur unexpectedly and that unexpectedness of sensory input can be overwhelmingly alarming for those with autism or neurodiversity.

      How to help with summer sensory overload

      • Visual schedule
      • Help the child know what to expect
      • Wear shoes instead of sandals or bear feet
      • Proprioceptive input such as firm touch to the shoulders
      • Limit time outdoors
      • Know triggers for sensory overload and plan ahead when possible
      • Oral motor jewelry
      • Communicate travel or outdoor time needs
      • Calming vestibular sensory input such as side to side or forward-front slow swinging
      • Play that involves throw and play catch with a weighted ball
      • Bucket of water to rinse hands if child is sensitive to messy hands or dirt
      • Sheltered area if child is sensitive to wind blowing on skin
      • Wear a lightweight wind jacket
      • Bring a water bottle with straw for proprioceptive input
      • Calming or alerting snacks
      • Portable fan to help with overheating if needed
      • Hat with brim to reduce bright light or intense light in eyes or on face
      • Umbrella to deflect direct sun rays and prevent overheating
      • Sunscreen with firm touch before going outdoors
      • Scent free sunscreen
      • Sunscreen lotion vs. spray sunscreen (or vice versa depending on the particular needs and preferences)
      • Sensory friendly clothing, bathing suits, goggles
      • Wear sunglasses
      • Wear headphones to reduce background noise
      • Be aware of freshly cut grass which as a strong scent
      • Wear thin gloves for tactile activities
      • Use water shoes or crocks instead of sandals

      More about outdoor sensory diet activities

      Sensory diets and specific sensory input or sensory challenges are a big part of addressing sensory needs of children who struggle with sensory processing issues. Incorporating a schedule of sensory input (sensory diet) into a lifestyle of naturally occurring and meaningful activities is so very valuable for the child with sensory needs.    That’s why I’ve worked to create a book on creating an authentic and meaningful sensory lifestyle that addresses sensory needs. The book is now released as a digital e-book or softcover print book, available on Amazon.    The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook walks you through sensory diet creation, set-up, and carry through. Not only that, but the book helps you take a sensory diet and weave it into a sensory lifestyle that supports the needs of a child with sensory processing challenges and the whole family.  

      Get The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook here.

      The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook is a resource for creating sensory diets and turning them into a lifestyle of sensory success through meaningful and motivating sensory enrichment.
      These outdoor sensory diet activities are good sensory experiences to meet the needs of children with sensory processing needs or those who struggle with sensory related behaviors, perfect for a home exercise program or occupational therapy activities.

      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.