SUMMER
FUN
Here are
some ideas for activities to do with your child this summer.
These games encourage building of fine motor coordination skills such as
grasping, eye-hand coordination, bilateral coordination, and sensory processing.
We have tried to keep the activities fun so that you and your child may
find this an enjoyable play time together.
When using any sensory/tactile games, please always remember that a child
should never be forced to work with sensory items that they find offensive.
Allow your child to experiment with these items at his/her own level of
comfort. We hope you enjoy these
activities with your child. Thanks
to all the parents and professionals who openly shared ideas!
·
Use wax-coated string to make “jewelry,” using pasta as the beads.
·
Have fun with sidewalk chalk. Draw
pictures or designs on the sidewalk or driveway.
Then use squirt bottles to “erase “them (triggers build grasp
strength). Use paintbrushes or
rollers to “paint” the sidewalk with water.
Chalk drawings can also be cleaned up this way.
·
Eyedropper or turkey baster races. See
who can empty and fill small containers the fastest (a drop or a squeeze at a
time). Colored water makes this
more fun.
·
Colored water and an eyedropper also make cool designs on paper towels or
coffee filters.
·
Wash a car or bicycle using sponges.
Empty the buckets of water by soaking and squeezing out a sponge, which
helps improve grasp strength. The
sponges can later be thrown at targets, or at each other!
Experiment with wet and dry sponges to see which goes further when
thrown.
·
Water the flowers or grass. Fill small sprinkling cans with water. If you don’t have one, poke holes in an old plastic
margarine container-this makes a great beach toy, too.
This is a ‘heavy work’ activity, which provides a lot of
proprioceptive input to the muscles and joints.
·
Make up games with spring-type clothespins, strawberry hullers or kitchen
tongs. Using these types of tools
develops pre-scissors skills. Use
these tools to pick up beans, Cheerios or small beads.
You can pretend they’re bugs and drop them into a jar.
Use your imagination-or your child’s.
·
Play bowling games using 2-liter bottles for pins and a large ball.
·
Toss beanbags into a bucket and keep score.
·
At the pool, have fun imitating each others’ crazy jumps, splashes, or
kicks. Splash using hands, arms,
feet; push the water away, pull the water toward yourself, etc.
Play Follow the Leader or Simon Says in a shallow pool.
Use a beach ball or balloon to play “pooleyball.”
Play catch, kick it, roll on it, or try to hit it with a big plastic
baseball bat.
·
In the sandbox, smooth the sand flat, then use a finger or stick to draw
designs or write names in the sand.
·
At the beach, your child can walk/crawl/kneel in the sand, scoop sand
with feet, make sand angels (like snow angels), play in the sand using shovels
and pails, etc. Also at the beach,
apply suntan lotion on your child the following way:
have child close his/her eyes, put a dab on child’s body, and
have him/her find the lotion and rub it in, still with eyes closed.
·
Let your child help in the garden. He/she
can dig holes, pick up and plant seeds, carry water, and help pull up weeds.
·
On the playground, your child could use the jungle gym, sandbox, swing,
or slide. Be there to spot,
demonstrate, or step him/her through using playground equipment if motor
planning is difficult.
·
At an amusement park, be careful that your child does not become
overstimulated by certain rides. Your
child should only go on the rides that he/she enjoys.
·
Outdoor activities can include riding big wheels/tricycles/bicycles,
roller skating/blading, and kicking/catching balls of various sizes.
Sports activities could include fishing, which involves lots of range of
motion and visual motor skills. Summer
is typically a time for many balance and coordination challenges.
·
During outings and appropriate activities, have your child carry a
backpack or tote containing toys, snacks, picnic lunches, groceries, clothing,
books, etc. Don’t overload it,
but slowly increase the weight as your child can tolerate it.
This will improve your child’s strength and stability, and the
proprioception may actually help him/her feel focused and organized mentally.
·
On rainy days, your child can do coloring or painting activities.
Coloring or painting can be done on a vertical surface or while laying on
the floor (both positions help with wrist/ forearm position and grasp).
You can provide a vertical surface by taping a piece of paper to the wall
or use an easel. Don’t forget
about finger painting, which provides a lot of tactile input.
You can add sand or salt (or just about anything) to tempera paints to
create texture.
·
Rainy days are also great for baking activities.
Your child could help to measure, pour, and stir.
Cookies that need to be rolled into balls and then flattened are great
for developing the small muscles of the hand.
Nothing is more tactile than mushing together meatloaf ingredients.
Scrubbing their hands before handling the ingredients provides extra
tactile input.
Bathtub Paint
1 cup liquid baby bath
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 drops food coloring
Mix
ingredients well.
Sun
Catchers
Pour water
into several small bowls. Tint the
water in each bowl a different color with food coloring.
Use ruffled paper coffee filters. Have
your child fold, scrunch, and dip the filter at different angles into as many
bowls of the tinted water as he/she wishes.
Then have your child open the filter to reveal a multicolored design.
Hang the filter to dry. When
dry, hang your child's colorful creation in a sunny window where the light can
shine through it.
Packing
Bubble Prints
Cut plastic
packing bubbles into 8”x10” sheets. Cover
a table with newspaper and tape the packing bubbles to the newspaper.
Spoon a dab of finger paint onto each packing bubble sheet.
Have your child use his/her hands to spread the paint all over the
packing bubbles. As he/she works,
talk about the feel of the paint and bubbles.
When finished, lay a piece of paper on the packing bubbles.
Carefully remove the paper to reveal a print.
Goop
1 box of
cornstarch
Water
Add
cornstarch to a container. Add
enough water to the cornstarch to reach the desired consistency.
It changes its form, going from a solid to a liquid, then back again.
Chocolate Playdough
1-1/4 cup flour
½ cup cocoa powder
½ cup salt
½ tablespoon cream of tartar
1-1/2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup boiling water
Mix the dry ingredients, then add the
oil and boiling water. Stir
quickly, mixing well. When cooled,
knead with your hands until mixed. Store
in airtight container.
Peanut Butter Playdough I
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup dry milk
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
Combine all ingredients in a medium
bowl and mix together until smooth.
Modeling
Dough
2 cups
boiling water
3
tablespoons vegetable oil
Food
coloring (optional)
2-1/2 cups
flour
1 cup salt
1 tablespoon
cream of tartar
Combine
boiling water and vegetable oil in a small pitcher.
Add a few drops of food coloring as desired.
Set aside. In a large bowl,
combine flour, salt, and cream of tartar. Add
water mixture to flour mixture and stir until stiff.
Knead dough until smooth and pliable.
Refrigerate in an airtight container when not in use.
Cornstarch
Dough
¼ cup
cornstarch
¼ cup water
Food
coloring
Pour cornstarch into a large bowl.
Tint the water with food coloring before combining it with the
cornstarch. Mix by hand to form a
soft, velvety dough. This dough
does not store well-one-time use only.
(Compiled by Deanna Iris Sava,
MS, OTR/L)