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 month of October. All of the bolded items below were purchased in the Target Dollar Spot bins.
And, no, Target is not sponsoring or endorsing us for this post (but maybe they should be, considering we have a feeling that it will prompt some serious browsing and buying!).
1 || VAMPIRE TEETH – These plastic jobbies are more that meets the eye! Sure they make for a seriously spooky smile, but pinch them between fingers to pick up tiny erasers and they become a finger strengthening activity that anyone would love.
2 || PENCILS – I know you probably roll your eyes at pencils. I mean, they put everything imaginable on a pencil and call it a holiday “treat”. But wait. What about using them as chopsticks to grab pumpkins in witches hats? Of course, you can use them as they were intended – for handwriting practice with a focus on sizing, spacing, alignment and more!
3 || STICKERS – Another item you may normally just walk right by during your dollar aisle treasure hunt, but take our word for it, stickers are awesome for promoting fine motor skills! Check out these 7 ways to use stickers to promote developmental skills of all kinds!
4 || CHIPBOARD SPIDERS – I thought these 6” chipboard spiders would be cute perched around our house for Halloween, but when I got them home and realized how sturdy they were, I decided that they would also make a great weaving loom for fuzzy, green pipe cleaners! Instant bilateral coordination task!
5 || FELT SPIDER WEBS – A six pack of colorful, felt spiderwebs became targets for clothespin spiders! We used stickers from our Halloween sticker pack to match 6 clothespin spiders with the colors on the different webs.
I placed the webs around the room and the kids sat on scooters to take each spider home to its web! Such an awesome activity for hand strengthening with focus on those super fingers as well as leg strength and core strengthening to move the scooter. BAM!
6 || BALLOON DECORATING KIT – Blow up an orange, purple, black or white balloon and use the stickers to create spooky characters! Then, play balloon volleyball to work on visual tracking, try this fun game for bilateral coordination and midline crossing, or use them to play a game of ghost tag!
7 || GEL CLINGS – These squishy, jelly-like shapes are so fun to put on windows or mirrors to create a scene as friendly or scary as you dare to do! They are also a sensory and fine motor experience that kids love! Use them on a window and get all the great benefits of working on a vertical surface!
8 || FINGER FLINGERS – I love these! Again, squishy and jelly-like, these yucky spiders can be flung like a slingshot several feet into the air! And, of course, your child has to use both hands together get this accomplished – bilateral coordination at its finest!
9 || POM POMS & PIPE CLEANERS – Grab some glue, bend and twist the pipe cleaners into creepy, crawly legs and stick a pom pom on top to make your own spider! Bonus points if you add googly eyes! :)
While you have that glue bottle out, grab those felt spider webs again. Work on hand strength by squeezing the glue to trace the web. Sprinkle on some sparkly glitter, glue on a little plastic spider and maybe even a magnet for a fab piece of homemade decor!
10 || ERASERS – Grab a pair of tweezers and use them to pick up the erasers and deliver them to the witch’s cauldron in a relay race or as a Minute to Win It style game. Which team can get the most in the cauldron in the allotted time?
I hope we’ve inspired you to promote fine motor skills this Halloween with these simple, cost effective finds. If nothing else, at least we’ve given you another good reason to go to Target! :)
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