Occupational Therapy In the School Setting
Donna Polecaro, MOT, OTR/L
Fine motor skills refer to one's ability to grasp and utilize an object with their hands. Young children learn this through bathing, dressing, writing and cutting. Academic occupational therapy is therapy designed to assist the child with fine motor activities to be successful within the school setting. This starts with pre-school aged children. One of the most important things you can do to assist your child in the development of fine motor skills is to make a game of it. Children love games and if they think it's a game and not work they're more inclined play along. The following are some ideas you may wish to use.
- When teaching your child how to cut make wide straight lines on paper, tell your child the scissors are hungry monkeys and they have to open their mouth wide before they can take a bite of a banana.
- Use very small bits of crayon about an inch long. I prefer to use thin crayons opposed to thick. Children have small hands and therefore the use of thin crayons is not cumbersome in the child's hand. Have them play follow the leader with the crayon, you make a line they make a line and so on, or use for coloring.
- Q-Tips for painting pictures. Cut the Q-tip in half before they paint.
- Squirt bottles in the bathtub. Fill the bottle with colored water and have them squirt the bathtub walls or if it's warm outside draw a target and have them try to hit the target.
- Play clothes line with your child. Have them go around the house and collect clothing items you ask for, them have them attach the clothing to you with cloths pins. This is a two part activity. They have to follow directions finding the clothing and then they have to pinch the clothes pin to open it and attach the clothing to yours.
- Make circles on a piece of paper. Have your child peel stickers and place them inside the circles.
- Play with Play-doh. Make pretend food with the play-doh like spaghetti. Give your child a piece of dough about the size of their palm have them roll it into a ball using two hands; try not to roll it on the table. Then have them pinch pieces off and roll into smaller balls with their fingers for the meatballs. Pinch more dough off and roll it on the table with only the index and middle fingers to make the noodles.
- Draw pictures with your fingers in pudding, jello or sand.
- Make macaroni necklaces or bracelets. You can also use buttons or beads.
- Draw a picture of a person without facial features. Have them press their index finger onto a stamp pad then use that finger to make the eyes, nose and mouth. You can also make insects this way.
