Occupational Therapy Activities

You can help your child continue improving their ability to perform in school by addressing all areas of development when they play and complete school work at home.

GETTING OUTSIDE! 

The importance of large motor play cannot be stressed enough as being the basis for fine-motor and visual skills. Body coordination develops in a progression- first from the trunk; then the arms/legs/neck, and finally the hands/feet/eyes.

So...Run...Climb...Jump...Push...Pull...Roll...Balance...Carry

Change-it-up: go forward...go backwards...go up...go down...go sideways

This can be done in a variety of ways:

•  Typical child play

•  Household chores

•  Adventures

Activities to Improve Visual Perceptual and Visual Motor Skills

•          Completing dot-to-dots

•          Mazes

•          Complete the drawing

•          Look at an item and try to draw it

•          Hidden pictures

•          Word searches

•          Jigsaw puzzles

•          Copying and making patterns

•          Games – Memory, Chutes and Ladders, Uno, Connect Four, Boggle

•          Draw an incomplete shape and have the student finish the shape.

•          Search for items in a book, map, dictionary, or encyclopedia

•          Copying information from a book (i.e. recipe, definitions, etc.)

•          Etch-a-sketch

•          Where’s Waldo?

Writing Skills

•          Drawing within the lines

•          Tracing patterns

•          Solving a maze

•          Completing geometric designs

•          Completing capital letters

•          Matching pictured objects

•          Drawing/Imitating vertical, horizontal, cross, shapes 

•          Rubbing: Tape cardboard forms to table-Place paper on top-trace

•          Hand lotion/shaving cream/pudding on foil. Child copys letters 

•          Finger Painting

•          Sand or salt trays – trace letters

•          Complete drawings and writing on an inclined surface.

•          Clay, putty or play dough

Fine Motor

•          Travel size games

•          Marbles

•          Pick up sticks

•          Stringing beads

•          Placing coins and beads into containers with small openings

•          Snack such as Cheerios, raisins and other small snack foods

•          Puzzles

•          Craft projects

•          Lite Brite

•          Etch-A-Sketch

•          Coloring books

•          Multiple games with small parts to manipulate

•          Scissor activities

•          Kerplunk

•          Operation 

Hand/Arm Strength 

•              Rolling, pinching and building with clay and putty

•              Squirting items with a squirt bottle

•              Picking up items with tongs

•              Squeezing a stress ball (make using a balloon and play dough)

•              Making baked goods that need to be kneaded by hand

•              Crab walking

•              Wheelbarrow walking

•              Animal walks (student can make them up)

Shoe Tying 

•          Use two different colored shoelaces for practice

•          Select one method & make sure everyone teaching the child uses it 

•          To keep laces tied, use flat cotton laces rather than round ones.