These life skills activities are the perfect way to target skills like strengthening, coordination, balance and more!
If you work with a child with significant cognitive impairments who is ambulatory, you know it can be challenging to tackle specific therapeutic goal areas virtually with more traditional therapeutic interventions. Being forced to provide distance therapy has taught me many things but, probably the most important is creativity!
I have a few high school students on my caseload who have goals and objectives that focus on overall strengthening for functional life skills activities and functional mobility. As a PT, those can be really tough to work on in a 30 minute virtual session.
I have decided that the most efficient and effective way to address these areas is by providing the family with a list of functional life skills activities that the kids can do around the house. The student or child then checks off each task as it is completed throughout the week and then they get to choose their favorite and show me how they rock it during our virtual session.
It gives the child a huge sense of accomplishment and provides a sure-fire way for kids to get repeated practice in their goal areas multiple throughout the week without me even being there!
The best part about these life skills activities is that they start to introduce kids to functional life skills while also providing huge strengthening and coordination benefits.
20 Functional Life Skills Activities for Home
Create your own checklist, or use our FREE Interactive Digital Functional Skills Checklist!
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FUNCTIONAL SKILLS CHECKLIST!
1 || Take a Walk
Go for a 10 minute walk outside. Try our free printable activity challenge tracker to track those steps!
2 || Stairs
Walk up and down the stairs and retrieve an object each time until you have 5 objects. This is perfect for taking items that have been left downstairs back upstairs to the rooms where they belong.
3 || Load or empty the dishwasher.
4 || Help fold or sort the laundry.
5 || Move laundry from the washer to the dryer.
6 || Try the Special Olympics School of Strengthening and do 1 video per day.
7 || Sweep the floor.
8 || Clean the windows.
9 || Make your bed.
10 || Rake leaves.
11 || Stock the pantry after a grocery trip.
12 || Make your own lunch or snack.
Check out these tips for teaching kids to open packages and wrappers.
13 || Take out the trash.
14 || Match all of those random socks.
15 || Set the table for dinner.
Get some practice with our free table setting game!
16 || Pull weeds.
17 || Hand wash a section of the floor.
18 || Do a simple yoga routine.
19 || Wipe down a table.
20 || Change the bed sheets.
Which activities would be a fit for your clients? Leave us a comment below and let us know!
Learn more about chores for kids that can help promote developmental skills.
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Nice list, Lauren! Also wanted to add that “STEM” — Science Tech Engineering Math — is a critical life skill these days. Here’s a cool infographic showing some STEM activities for children that will also help them develop critical thinking and reasoning skills while having fun: https://kidpillar.com/fun-stem-activities-to-keep-children-busy-infographic/
Nice job Lauren.
Thank you for so useful list
This is a great post to help organize yourself and create a costume
Insightful list of life skill activities at home. Doing a simple yoga routine makes many changes. It will make you live and energetic for the whole day long.
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I have to now get more and use them for the wonderful things above. I’m learning to give everything a place, too, thanks to my interior designer friend whose house is super organized. I was also interested in the Boon Grass drying rack and the Life-Changing Magic book. These are great ideas! I enjoy the weekly emails full of fun and creative ideas.
Really great and useful post, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for this great list! Small things rule the day! :)
I like to take a walk and also I try to find time to read a book every day (at least 15 minutes). The last one I read is ‘Young Goodman Brown’ story by Nathaniel Hawthorne (you can find some thoughts on it at https://eduzaurus.com/free-essay-samples/young-goodman-brown/ website). Though it is an adult book, it can be interesting for teens also. Recommend you to check! And thanks for a list! It is time to change the sheets! :)