First Grade and Up

Review Week!

Over the past 8 weeks we have worked on a variety of skill areas. Maybe there was an activity you really enjoyed, was not able to do or felt was a challenge and would like to try again! Now is your chance to go back and do them!

Please scan down to previous weeks, pick one activity and have fun!

• Visual Motor Worksheets have been updated with summer themes!

• Visual Perceptual Worksheets have been updated with summer themes!

• Please click on our Fine Motor, Bilateral Coordination, Visual Motor, Visual Perceptual, Visual Integration, Self Help, Sensory Integration, Postural Control pages for further explanation if needed!

Postural Control

This week we will focus on Postural Control! We have listed 3 options for you to choose from...

• Click the link to our PT Page for a variety of strengthening activities and videos!

• Click on the link to see some Postural Positions to use when completing fine motor activities that help improve strength!

• For a challenge click on the link for a variety of simple 5-8 mins Whole Body Exercise Videos for kids!

Core muscle strength and stability: Choose one activity appropriate for your child!

• Click on the link for a Core Strengthening Workout Video for kids!

• Click on the links to see demonstrations of Core Strengthening Positions!

• Watch tv or play video games while kneeling on a pillow or sitting on a yoga ball

  1. • Walk like a bear or crab, place a beanbag on your stomach or back and try not to drop it

     • Do plank or bridge exercises, slide items under with one hand for an extra challenge

     • Roll from back to belly (in both directions) to reach for and transfer an object to the opposite side

     • Walk a straight line or along a rope while balancing a beanbag on your head

Upper body strength and stability: Choose one activity appropriate for your child!

• Click on the link for an Upper Body Workout Video for kids!

• Do Animal and Bug Walks!

• Do wheelbarrow walks or chair/wall push ups!

• Read, write, color, work on puzzles or play with toys while lying on your stomach

• While crab walking kick a balloon and keep it up in the air or do donkey kicks to kick a ball

  1. • Do chores: sweep the floor, vacuum, carry out the trash or carry a laundry basket

     • Play basketball or baseball

     • Play tug of war

Wrist strength and stability: Choose one activity appropriate for your child!

• Walk or race while balancing a small ball or balloon on a large spoon without letting it fall

• Use a slant board (3-ring binder), easel or vertical surface when writing, drawing or coloring

• Pour water from a pitcher into several cups

• Water plants using a small watering can

Sensory Integration Skills

This week we will focus on Sensory Integration Skills! We have listed 4 options for you to choose from...

• Sensory activities provide a unique way to explore our senses and have fun! Providing appropriate sensory experiences allow a child to regulate their bodies and may help them them to remain calm and focused when completing activities.

• Some children may have difficulty with certain sensory experiences. Please click on our Sensory Integration page for further explanation if needed.

Auditory activities: Choose one activity appropriate for your child!

• Play relaxation music with nature sounds, "white" noise or soothing music

• Cook or bake using pots and pans, beaters, blenders, etc.

• Read or listen to books on tape and ask questions about the story afterwards

Olfactory activities: Choose one activity appropriate for your child!

• Use scented markers, playdoh or soap

• Put a few drops of a scent (vanilla, lemon, peppermint, vinegar, etc.) onto 2 cotton balls for each scent; mix up the cotton balls and have child match the scents

• Place familiar scented items under the nose of the child while blindfolded and have them guess what they are

Tactile activities: Choose one activity appropriate for your child!

• Create sensory bins, buckets or boxes: fill with bird seed, sand, beans, pasta, rice, packing peanuts etc. to scoop, pour or hide small toys or objects in then use both hands to find them

• Play with Oobleck, slime, Goo, etc.

• Finger paint with paint, shaving cream, pudding, whipped cream etc. on a cookie sheet or smooth surface

Proprioceptive activities: Choose one activity appropriate for your child!

• Do Animal and bug walks

• Go for a hike or run especially up hill

• Do chores: sweep the floor, vacuum, carry out the trash or carry a laundry basket

• Play tug of war, wheel barrow walks, or chair pushups

Self Help Skills

This week we will focus on Self Help Skills! We have listed 4 options for you to choose from...

• Click on the Self Help Skills link for a complete overview of self help skills.

Dressing: Choose one activity appropriate for your child!

• Watch this Video on how to tie your shoes!

• Play this fun Stereognosis Game that teaches children how to use their sense of touch to find objects! Similar and smaller shapes will make it more challenging!

• Practice tying your shoes

• Tie a bow on presents, on packages or someone else's hair

Hygiene: Choose one activity appropriate for your child!

• Watch this Video on how to wash your hands!

• Wash hands before snacks and meals

• Wash the car, toys or your pet

Feeding supports: Choose one activity appropriate for your child!

• Practice opening and closing a variety of containers i.e. Ziplocs, screw caps, potato chip bags, lunch packs

• Use straws to blow cotton balls or pom poms or make these crafty caterpillars to race!

Executive functioning: Choose one activity appropriate for your child!

• Make a recipe at home to eat for a meal. From pbs.org/parents - Simple recipes for kids

• Do the laundry from sorting, washing and folding

• Make a chore chart and see what you can do to help around the house

• Plan a garden, list the supplies and build it

• Play board or card games, learn the rules and teach your family

Visual Integration Skills

This week we will focus on Visual Integration Skills! We have listed options for you to choose from...

• Click on the Visual Integration Skills link for a complete overview of prewriting and writing skills.

• Click on the link to watch a Video of an overview of Fundation's letters if needed!

• Watch this Video to see a demonstration of the proper way to hold your pencil!

• We typically use The Pencil Grip in our school for those students who need a grip.

1) Writing activities: Make sure you are using a top to bottom, left to right direction with finger spaces between words! Click on the link for Fundation paper if needed! Choose one activity appropriate for your child!

• Write a sentence without any spaces in between the words, then have the child write the sentence correctly

• Rainbow writing: Write your name or spelling words then trace over it using different colored crayons, markers, colored pencils or chalk

• Write spelling words in shaving cream, whipped cream, pudding, salt, finger paint, sand, dirt outside, etc.

• Write your name or spelling words with water using a paintbrush or sponge on a chalkboard or cement walls

• Write in a journal

• Write a story book and draw pictures to match

• Make greeting cards

Visual Perceptual Skills

This week we will focus on Visual Perceptual Skills! We have listed 4 options for you to choose from...

1) Visual discrimination activities: Choose one activity appropriate for your child!

• Find the matching pairs of socks in the laundry or sort silverware, colored beads, coins, sea shells, leaves, pasta

• Play a Bingo Game using letters, numbers, shapes and objects!

• Have a Scavenger Hunt!

2) Visual memory activities: Choose one activity appropriate for your child!

• What's Missing Game: Use familiar objects, colors or shapes. Use less items to start with to make it easier at the beginning. *Master challenge - cover everything and have them remember all the items!*

• Play a Memory Game using letters, numbers, shapes or objects!

Visual Motor Skills

This week we will focus on Visual Motor Skills! We have listed 2 activity sets for you to choose from...

1) Fine motor activities: Choose one activity appropriate for your child!

• Use stencils to make a picture

• Trace over shapes and pictures with tracing paper

• Fold paper to make hats, fans, airplanes or fortune tellers

• Magnet Mazes: draw a path or line on a paper plate, place 2 attracting magnets (magnet and paperclip works too!), one on top and one underneath, then slide the top magnet along the path or line using the bottom magnet from one side to the other

• Flashlight tag: in a darkened room play tag or follow the leader with the beams of light

• Look for tracing, mazes and dot to dots under Visual Motor Worksheets!

2) Gross motor activities: Choose one activity appropriate for your child!

• Bowling, use 2 liter bottles as pins

• Beanbag toss games

• Hit a balloon with a tennis racket, paddle or with your hands

• Cup stacking games: you can use large or small cups to stack pyramids or towers, timed or untimed http://www.speedstacks.com

• Mini golf

• Juggle scarves or rolled up socks

• Dribble a basketball

Bilateral Coordination Skills

This week we will focus on Bilateral Coordination Skills! We have listed 2 activities for you to choose from ...

1) Stringing or lacing: Always thread the string/lace using your dominant hand into each and every hole when doing these activities. Choose one activity appropriate for your child.

• String beads, macaroni, cheerios, fruit loops, cut up straws to make jewelry using pipe cleaners, shoe laces, string, yarn, gimp, etc.

• Lacing cards or hole punch a paper plate and lace around the edge

• See our Video for a demonstration!

2) Cutting or Tearing: Choose one activity appropriate for your child.

• See our Video demonstration or click on the links below to review proper cutting techniques!

Tearing:

• Tear paper or tissue paper and paste on paper to make a picture or mosaic, crumple into balls to make it 3D

Complex cutting:

• Cut up a picture from a magazine or a card to make puzzles or collages

• Fold a piece of paper several times and cut out pieces to make snowflakes

• See our Easter Color/Cut/Paste Activities!

Fine Motor Skills

This week we will focus on Fine Motor Skills! We have listed 2 activities for you to choose from ...

1) Use clay, therapy putty, silly putty, play-doh, floam, kinetic sand and/or slime to complete the following activities

• Squeeze, pinch, pull apart, use a press to squeeze out shapes or press small objects to make "fossils"

• Roll into peas between your thumb and pointer finger

• Roll into long "worms", "snakes" or "hot dogs" to make letters or shapes

• Stand pegs or coins into dough to make a picture

• Try hiding small objects (beads, coins, beans, buttons) inside and then pull them out

• Use a rolling pin to flatten it out, then use cookie cutters to make shapes

• Cut with scissors or plastic/toy cutters

• See our Video for a demonstration!

• See our Recipes if you want to make your own homemade theraputty or playdoh!

2) Use clothespins, tweezers or tongs to complete some of the following activities

• Pick up small objects such as cotton balls, pompoms, crumbled paper, beads, pegs, etc. to match, sort, count or place on paper to make a picture

• Place clothespins around an index card to match colors, shapes or letters

• Place clothespins along the top of a container and then on top of each other to construct a tower

• Pick up Cheerios, Fruit Loop, pasta with holes to lace onto a thick spaghetti or wooden skewer (stand spaghetti/skewer in playdoh)

• See this Video for a demonstration!