Hola del equipo OT!
¡Vaya, sobreviviste otra semana! ¡Lo estás haciendo genial! ¡Espero que continúes manteniéndote saludable, tanto física como mentalmente! ¡Aquí hay otra actividad para hacer con su hijo que ayudará con su desarrollo y progreso hacia su meta motora fina!
Caza del tesoro de la naturaleza
¡Para esta semana, aprovechemos este hermoso clima con una búsqueda del tesoro en la naturaleza! Anime a sus hijos a salir y cazar objetos en la naturaleza utilizando todos sus sentidos, incluidos, tocar, moverse, escuchar, darse cuenta y más. ¡Esté seguro en esta actividad manteniéndose alejado del tráfico y distanciamiento seguro!
1. ¡Haga que el niño se ponga su equipo salvaje al aire libre y su mochila lista! Aliente al alumno a manipular independientemente sus botones, cierres y / o cremalleras, ya que esta es una gran habilidad para la vida y aborda la coordinación motora fina. Proporcione orientación mano a mano según sea necesario, pero permítales intentarlo por su cuenta o brinde asistencia de configuración, como enganchar la pestaña de la cremallera.
2. El primer artículo que buscarás son rocas. Hable acerca de la textura de la roca, ¿es lisa, irregular, arenosa o húmeda? Compara los tamaños de rocas que descubres. También tenga en cuenta las características de la roca haciendo que su hijo busque rocas que compartan rasgos similares, como colores y formas. Pídales que guarden una piedra para llevar a casa para dibujarla o colorearla y / o compartirla con la familia.
3. El siguiente elemento que se encontrará en esta búsqueda es un palo en forma de letra. Tal vez la primera letra del nombre de su estudiante. Haga que el estudiante también rompa palos para construir la letra. Esto es excelente para la coordinación y el fortalecimiento bilateral, así como para el aporte sensorial.
4. Lo que buscas a continuación no es ser tocado, pero es tan hermoso cuando se ve. Un pájaro en medio del verde. Hable acerca de la direccionalidad haciendo que su hijo "mire hacia arriba, mire hacia el suelo, mire a la izquierda, mire a la derecha" y déjelos escuchar el sonido del chirrido. Haga que noten el tamaño del cuerpo, el color de sus plumas y el pico. Permítales buscar una pluma y hablar sobre la textura y el color.
5. ¡Una planta no puede pasarse por alto! ¡No cualquier planta verde! Haga que su hijo explore su sentido del olfato identificando todos esos olores en plantas como flores, un árbol frutal o conos de pino. Toca la planta e identifica formas, texturas y colores.
6. Por fin, una excelente manera de que su hijo ayude a contribuir con el cuidado de este planeta es haciéndolo recoger basura en su patio o incluso en la escuela con pinzas de cocina. Esto también aborda la coordinación bilateral, la coordinación ojo-mano y el fortalecimiento de la motricidad fina.
¡Que te diviertas!
Cindy Rogers, OTR/L 385-646-4533 crogers@graniteschools.org
Mira Bettendorf COTA/L mabettendorf@graniteschools.org
Hello from the OT team!
Whew, you survived another week! You’re doing awesome! Hope you are continuing to stay healthy, both physically and mentally! Here is another activity to do with your child that will help with their development and progress towards their fine motor goal!
Nature Scavenger Hunt
For this week, let’s take advantage of this beautiful weather with a nature scavenger hunt! Encourage your kids to get outside and hunt for items in nature by using all their senses including, touching, moving, listening, noticing and more. Please be safe in this activity by staying away from traffic and safe distancing!
1. Have the child get their outdoor wilderness gear on and their backpack ready! Encourage the student to independently manipulate their buttons, fasteners, and/or zippers as this is a great life skill and addresses fine motor coordination. Provide hand over hand guidance as necessary but let them try it on their own or provide set up assistance such as latching the zipper tab.
2. The first item you will seek for are rocks. Talk about the rock’s texture, is it smooth, bumpy, gritty or wet? Compare the sizes of rocks you discover. Also notate the characteristics of the rock by having your child search for rocks that share similar traits such as colors and shapes. Have them keep a rock to take home to draw or color on it and/or share it with the family.
3. The next item to be found in this hunt is a stick in the shape of a letter. Maybe the first letter of your student’s name. Have the student also break sticks to construct the letter. This is great for bilateral coordination and strengthening as well as sensory input.
4. What you seek next is not to be touched but is so beautiful when it is seen. A Bird amidst of the green. Talk about directionality by having your child “look up, look down on the ground, look left, look right” and let them listen for the chirping sound. Have them notice the size of the body, color of its feathers and beak. Let them search for a feather and talk about the texture and color.
5. A plant cannot be overlooked! Not just any green plant! Have your child explore their sense of smell by identifying all those whiffs in plants such as flowers, a fruit tree, or pine cones. Touch the plant and identify shapes, textures and colors.
6. At last, a great way for your child to help to contribute care for this planet is having them pick up trash in your yard or even school grounds with kitchen tongs. This also addresses bilateral coordination, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor strengthening.
Have Fun!
Cindy Rogers, OTR/L 385-646-4533 crogers@graniteschools.org
Mira Bettendorf COTA/L mabettendorf@graniteschools.org
Hello from the OT team!
Hope you are all staying healthy both physically and mentally during this unsettling time. Here is an activity to do with your child that will help with their development and progress toward their fine motor goal.
Cooking activity
Make a cake, brownies, cookies or some other treat.
1. Have the student try to open the box and packaging. Always let them try and then you can help. They don’t learn if you do it for them.
2. Have them pour the ingredients in a bowl and mix. This is a great bilateral coordination activity if the child holds/stabilizes the bowl with one hand and mixes with the other hand.
3. Talk about the smells they may be experiencing and if they like it ask why.
4. If making cookies, make different shapes or portions to learn bigger, smaller, taller, etc.
5. Frosting cookies and/or a cake is a great coordination activity. Be okay with lack of perfection!
6. Put sprinkles in a small cup or lid to have the student use a pincer grasp to grab the sprinkles and decorate rather than shaking them out of a bottle.
***As always, teach your child safety in the kitchen with use of tools and the oven!
Good Luck and have fun!
Cindy Rogers OTR/L 385-646-4533 crogers@graniteschools.org
Mira Bettendorf COTA/L mabettendorf@graniteschools.org
Hello from the OT team!
Mama Mia! We are headed to the land of Pastaria this week! Today we are exploring the everyday household food item and loved by millions, PASTA!! Pasta opens a bag of developmental skills from addressing pincer grasp, bilateral coordination to in-hand manipulation, and sensory tactile exploration.
1. Have your child open what ever bag of pasta you are using.
2. Have your child thread dry spaghetti through the holes of a colander positioned upside down. Encourage your child to hold the spaghetti with fingers pointing toward the tip as opposed to grasping with their fist and turning their arm in so the thumb-side of their hand is facing down. Your child will also learn about concentration and fine motor dexterity in trying to prevent the spaghetti from snapping.
3. Spaghetti also happens to be a great sensory alternative medium to learn shapes and letters! All you will need for this is markers, paper, and of course cooked pasta. Write the letter, shape, or your child’s name on the paper. Have your child use their hands to bend and shape the spaghetti noodle into those letters or shapes. Through this sensory input, talk about the textures and temperature of the pasta.
4. This activity involves Spaghetti, Penne or Rigatoni pasta. For setup, have your child flatten a playdough to create a base for the straws. Poke 4-5 spaghetti “straws” into the playdough facing vertical. Next encourage your child to stabilize the straw with their non-dominant hand and with other hand, thread the penne or rigatoni noodles onto each straw. A way to work on grasp precision is have your child place spaghetti noodles into the straws. To incorporate hand strengthening, have your child imbed a variety of pasta pieces into the playdough.
5. The ultimate sensory spaghetti bin: All that you need? Cooked spaghetti into a tub! It is advised to have the pasta cooked with some firmness to prevent it from being mushy. (Optional) To add some color explosion, separate the cooked pasta into different containers. Add food coloring and work it into the pasta until it is fully saturated. If noodles get a little too sticky, just add water. Listed below are a few activities:
· A great way to sneak scissor skills is have your child practice cutting strands of pasta.
· Hide various items inside in which they must dig through the spaghetti to find.
· Have them practice scooping or pinching with kitchen tongs the pasta into various sized containers.
6. Have your child ignite their creativity through constructing with only spaghetti and marshmallows. For better grasping, break the spaghetti into halves. Have your child engage in bilateral hand use by stabilizing the marshmallow and poke the spaghetti through the marshmallows. This is also great for developing pincer strength. Construct from letters, shapes to the tallest Sears Tower or the great pyramids of Egypt.
As always, we encourage active supervision with all of activities. It is important to get involved in play and Have fun!
Cindy Rogers, OTR/L 385-646-4533 crogers@graniteschools.org
Mira Bettendorf COTA/L mabettendorf@graniteschools.org
Hello from the OT team!!
When beautiful spring days turn into gray, rainy or in Utah, more snowy days, you need ideas of things to do indoors, including sneaky exercise games for the kids. Or, why not build an obstacle course for your kids? All you need is your imagination and some space! Obstacle courses in fact provide great opportunities for your child to develop gross and fine motor skills as well as great sensory input!
1. The supplies you will need: Anything in the house! This could include pillow cushions, couch cushions, chairs, a ball, laundry basket, a blanket sheet, clothespins, puzzles, painters’ tape, books, a wagon, paper towel rolls, and/or small toys and MORE GALORE.
2. First and foremost, if possible, have your child involved in creating this obstacle. You will want to map out space for your course but there doesn’t have to be a lot. Have your child create a starting line by tearing some tape (Great for pincer grasp)
3. Decide of some fun ways to transition between obstacles such as striking a pose, do bear crawls or balance a book on their stomach while performing crab walks, walk backwards, army crawl and/or hopping or skipping. You can always mix it up!
4. Sensory Gross Motor Station Ideas:
· Utilize a blanket to drape over two chairs to create a tunnel to crawl through.
· Somersault or log roll from the couch down a couch cushion ramp
· Crash into a pile of pillow cushions
· Use painters’ tape to create straight, curvy, and diagonal lines for them to walk across on.
· Lay a ball on the floor and have your child (while lying down on their back) pick it up with their toes and place into a bucket positioned above head.
· Use pillows as stepping stones to walk across on as the ground below is Lava!
· Create cutouts of shapes or letters and hide them in stations throughout the course for your child to find and identify.
5. Fine Motor Stations
· Pile an assortment of small items such as party favor toys, marbles, erasers, cotton balls on the floor next to some tongs or a ladle. Next your child can transport each item by using the ladle or tongs, to a bucket or bowl at the next station. (Make it more challenging by having them blindfolded)
· Have your child discriminate and look for items hidden in variety of textures including shredded paper, rice, and beans.
· Use a thick string or yarn and tape a few strands to a table underneath and have your child hook/unhook clothes pins, paperclips, bag clips to the string while lying down.
Have fun with this and personalize these ideas for your child in what you would like to work on. As always, safety is important so provide supervision as necessary!
Cindy Rogers, OTR /L 385-646-4533 crogers@graniteschools.org
Mira Bettendorf COTA/L mabettendorf@graniteschools.org