Weaving is one of my favorite fine motor activities for kids. It's a great way to target visual motor integration, coordination, and grasping skills and the repetitive movement can be so calming and engaging for kids (and adults!). I was playing with my boys in our backyard one day earlier this summer and came up with this easy outdoor weaving loom for them. They used it to create a woven screen that blocked off their “secret hideout” under a large bush! WHAT YOU’LL NEED: Yarn, two fence posts or tree trunks to act as the frame for your loom, long scraps of fabric or ribbon WHAT TO ... Read More about FINE MOTOR ACTIVITIES: SIMPLE OUTDOOR WEAVING LOOM
Search Results for: weaving
The Best Valentine Paper Crafts
These fun Valentine paper crafts are a great way to get in the spirit of the season - and they're perfect for crafty kids! Today, we're rounding up a few of our favorite Valentine's Day paper crafts and activities for kids - staying true to our mission to provide you with ways to work with your child on developmental skills through creative play!I am a super crafty person...one who stalks Pinterest for the latest and greatest decoration to make for my house or craft to whip up with my kids. Sometimes I wish I had chosen occupational therapy for my career path. OTs incorporate all kinds ... Read More about The Best Valentine Paper Crafts
Fun Valentines Day Activities for Kids
Today, we're sharing some of our favorite fun Valentines Day activities for kids, including movement activities, fine motor games, free printables, crafts, and more! Are you a teacher looking for fun Valentine's Day activities for the kids in your classroom? Or, are you a parent or other volunteer who helps to plan class holiday parties? If so, this post is for you!Thinking up fun Valentines activities, games and crafts can be tough. But we put on our therapist thinking caps and came up with the most creative, hands-on, movement-based ideas we could think of to keep kids active and ... Read More about Fun Valentines Day Activities for Kids
Halloween Activities for Kids: 3 Fun Ways to Spin a Web
Just in time for Halloween, we’ve teamed up to create 3 fun Halloween activities for kids that will challenge fine and gross motor skills while keeping little ones occupied for hours! Fine Motor Challenge What you'll need -chairs -yarn -fake spiders or other Halloween trinkets What to do Position two chairs a few feet apart with backs facing each other. Tie the end of a ball of yarn to one of the rungs of the chair and start weaving and wrapping the rest of the yarn back and forth between the chairs at all different levels to create your web. Put out a container of plastic ... Read More about Halloween Activities for Kids: 3 Fun Ways to Spin a Web
100 Classroom Centers Ideas for Building Motor Skills
Fine motor and gross motor classroom center activities are a great way for teachers and therapists to pack some extra punch when it comes to developmental skills! *This post contains affiliate links. Read more. What Are Classroom Centers? In most preschool, primary, and elementary classrooms, at some point during the day, you’ll find some version of “center time”. Centers are stations that are set up in different areas around the classroom, each with an activity to target a different academic or other skill (e.g. literacy, handwriting, math). Students are divided into small groups to ... Read More about 100 Classroom Centers Ideas for Building Motor Skills
Fine Motor Activities for Preschoolers
Fine motor activities for preschoolers are so much fun because kids have slightly longer attention spans and can be more independent than our younger toddler friends. This post contains affiliate links. Read more. The preschool years are jam-packed with fine motor skill development as kids refine their grasping skills, develop more precise coordination, and get ready for “big kid” activities like handwriting. I love to bring fun fine motor activities like the ones below into the preschool classrooms where I work, introducing them during my OT ... Read More about Fine Motor Activities for Preschoolers
Valentine Crafts for Kids: Shot Through the Heart!
Lauren and I are feeling the love this Valentine’s Day! We are full of fun Valentine crafts for kids and ideas that target fine motor and other skills. Did you see Lauren’s Squeezable Sensory Valentines? So cute, right? This post contains affiliate links. Read more. Today, we have another cute - and super simple - Valentine’s Day idea to share! You’ll be able to grab the materials for this fine motor craft in no time flat and it’s a perfect classroom or therapy activity when you’re short on planning time. Or, try this activity at home and let your kiddos deliver them to the ones ... Read More about Valentine Crafts for Kids: Shot Through the Heart!
Target Dollar Spot Fine Motor Finds for Halloween!
There are some amazing finds in the Target Dollar Spot aisle -- you can get lost in those little bins in the front of the store - it's like a time warp! There is also a ton of potential kids activities just waiting to be discovered in those bins. Since we are all searching for great ideas to entertain kids during the upcoming Halloween season, we thought it would be fun to show you what pediatric therapists can create from those tchotchkes in the Target Dollar section! During a recent trip to Target, I walked out with a huge bag and a head full of fabulous treatment ideas for the ... Read More about Target Dollar Spot Fine Motor Finds for Halloween!