If you work with young kids or have one in your home, the book Learn to Move, Move to Learn by Jenny Clark (AAPC Publishing) is a must have! Jenny is a fellow occupational therapist and the owner of Jenny’s Kids, a pediatric occupational therapy clinic in Kansas. Her awesome book is full of creative sensory, movement, social, and cognitive activities organized into themed units to make them easy to put into action in your classroom or in your home! You can check out her blog, Jenny’s Corner, for informative and reader-friendly posts about sensory processing. I think this evergreen tree from Learn to Move, Move to Learn might be my favorite fine motor Christmas craft for kids. It gives kids a chance to create a one-of-a-kind Christmas tree while working on fine motor and scissors skills!
WHAT YOU’LL NEED: Green construction paper, any craft materials you want to use to decorate (stickers, glitter, sequins, etc.), scissors, marker/pen, circular object to trace (about 5″), stapler
WHAT TO DO: Trace your circular object onto the green paper and cut out the circle. Draw a line from the outside of the circle to the center. Have your kiddo cut on this line and then make smaller snips/fringe all around the outside of the circle. Help your child curl the paper into a cone shape and staple it in place. then, curl up the fringe edges and decorate! Be sure to check out Learn to Move, Move to Learn for vestibular, proprioceptive, balance, and eye-hand coordination activities that go along with the Evergreen Tree theme along with 49 other themed units!
HOW TO CHANGE IT UP:
-Doing this craft with older kids? Have them cut out their own circles to practice cutting on curved lines.
-Draw small dots all over the tree as targets for kids to stick their ornaments to.
-Make your cones smaller and string a loop of yarn or twine through the top to make them into ornaments!
SKILL AREAS ADDRESSED: Fine motor skills, bilateral coordination, visual motor integration, coordination, motor control
Thanks to Jenny for her support and for her amazing ideas! We’re big fans! :)
Want to take a closer look at the skills kids are using in this activity? Check out our Clinical Closeup page, where we break down the skills listed below in terms everyone can understand.
[…] Christmas Craft From Jenny Clark! […]