|
|
 |
Suggested Activities
It isn't necessarily what you do,
it is how you do it that counts
 This
list of activities is designed to give you ideas of how to
help your child develop various skills that are important for
reading, writing, self-expression (art, drama, etc.), physical
well-being (muscle development/coordination), while at the
same time having tons of FUN! It is very important to allow
your child to develop their own preferences, styles and interests
so that the end product is a result of their own accomplishment.
At the same time it can also be appropriate to guide your child
through an activity or learning experience in order to challenge
their abilities and improve skills.
While providing them with a wide variety of materials and
techniques, it is important to notice if they avoid specific
textures, scents, or challenges. If you notice an area that
your child avoids, try to introduce it slowly, or combine it
with something that they enjoy. You can also model how much
you like doing the activity. It can be helpful for you to do
a portion of a challenging task and then allow them to complete
the rest. This affords them the feeling of accomplishment even
if the task as a whole is a bit beyond their current skill
level. An example of this is tying shoe laces. Some children
are able to complete the first part of the knot. Other children
may enjoy the final tug of the bow. The important part is that
the child is involved in a portion of the task. Little by little
they do more and more, until they can do it by themselves.
Activities to Promote Eye-Hand Coordination, Visual-Motor
and Fine-Motor Skill Development
Fine-Motor Skills - The use of small muscle groups
for controlled movements of the hands.
Visual-Motor Integration/ Eye-Hand Coordination -
The coordinated movement between the eyes and the hands.
- Cutting - Cutting playdoh, cardboard, putty (silly putty
or theraputty),angular and curvy lines, straw, paper. Fiskar
brand scissors* are highly recommended as they cut smoothly
and can be used for right or left handed children. Having
regular experiences holding the scissors and cutting different
types of materials will in and of itself improve cutting
skills.
- Writing - Use shaving cream, sand in a box top, vibrating
pens, crayons/markers that are scented, chalk on a sidewalk
or driveway, drawing dot to dot or mazes, coloring books,
cards to friends and family. You can also have your child
form letters, numbers or words in the air or on your back,
and you guess what they wrote.
- Bead stringing - String various types of beads made out
of wood, clay, Cheerios, Fruit Loops on pipe cleaners, shoe
laces, string, licorice, etc.
- Water play - Water squirters (many come in the shape of
animals), squeezing wash clothes and sponges, helping to
wash the car or table (yeah!).
- Cooking - Pouring, stirring, shaking, kneading, cutting,
pressing, measuring.
- Pinching - (Not friends and family!) clothespins, clay,
clips, snaps, velcro.
- Arts and crafts - Origami, model cars/boats, glitter,
glue, yarn, woodworking braiding.
- Puzzles - You can draw a puzzle shape in the air and have
them chose which one of three choices is the one you drew,
then ask them to draw it themselves. Sometimes outlining
the form board with a dark marker can help children focus
on shape discrimination. Taking your finger and tracing the
shape also helps to emphasis it's features, you can encourage
your child to outline it as well.
- Playing catch - Velcro balls with velcro catch mitts,
baseball glove and ball, Koosh balls with various textures,
a balloon filled with water, toss an egg (outside of course!).
Talk to your child about how hard or soft you are throwing
each item, this concept is helpful for learning about and
controlling their own strength.
- Games - Video/computer games with joy sticks or a mouse,
learning to type with two hands, board games with moving
pieces around the board (chutes and ladders).
*Fiskar junior scissors can be purchased at your local pharmacy
Activities to Promote Visual-Perceptual
Skill Development
visual perception - the ability to look at visual
information and make meaning from it.
- Sorting - Baseball cards by teams, playing cards by suits
or colors or numbers, buttons by sizes or colors, sorting
mail, matching socks or clothing when laundry is cleaned,
silverware into the drawer.
- Sequencing - Putting numbers and letters in order, arranging
objects by size, games such as Simon where you copy a pattern.
- Reading - Finding how many of a certain letter or word
is on a page, child reads to parent and visa versa, word
search puzzles, cross word puzzles, pointing to details in
pictures.
- Fingerspelling games - Fingerspelling words and have your
child copy the spelling or sign the word.
- Games - Board games ( i.e. Candyland, Bingo), puzzles,
Where's Waldo, memory games (i.e. concentration, lotto),
computer/ video/Nintendo.
Activities to Promote Sensory Processing
Sensory processing - The ability to accept, interpret
and respond accordingly to sensory information.
- Sand play - Barefoot play, hide hands and feet, pouring
on arms and legs, mix sand and water to create a different
texture.
- Water play - Swimming, baths with Crazy Foam soap, bubble
baths.
- Cooking - Experimenting with different tastes, temperatures,
textures and scents.
- Art - Finger painting with pudding, shaving cream and
paints, clay, playdoh, sand art, goop (cornstarch mixed with
water and food coloring).
- Movement - Swings, slides, rolling down hills, bouncing
on balls (Hippity hops) and trampolines, rocking, pushing,
pulling. Keep in mind that slow movement i.e. swinging calms
the system where fast movements awaken the system.
Activities to Promote Gross Motor Skill Development
Gross motor control - The use of large muscle groups
for controlled movements of the body.
- Sports - Karate, rowing a boat, swimming, ice-skating,
roller-blading, baseball, soccer, gymnastics, running/jogging,
bike riding, horseback riding.
- Dance and aerobics - Promotes coordination, strength and
endurance.
- Games - Hop scotch, jumping rope, leap frog, simon says,
red light green light, statue, tug of war.
- Weight training - Weight lifting (not appropriate for
preschool children) you can use cans of soup or children
sized barbells.
We hope that you will find this information useful and always
feel free to contact us with any questions or feedback.
Andrea
Pearlman
Occupational Therapist at KDES
Gallaudet University
800 Florida Ave. NE
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 651-5045 V/TTY
(202) 651- 5646 fax
|
