Tweezer fun

These are awesome! They come in a pack of 12 for $12! Perfect to throw anywhere…in a bag, classroom, or gym. They have great resistance and visual cues for where to place index and middle fingers. Great price, and great quality!

Toy Tuesday: Pig Popper

How cute is this little guy?!?! And he was name one of the best toys for 2012! I’ve seen variations of him, including a bear with an orange ball, bass fish with red/white ball, and dog with yellow ball. I found this one at Hobby Lobby, but have also seen them at Cracker Barrel. In all places I’ve seen him, he’s always been under $10! Great for hand strengthening, eye hand coordination, and more. And so many fun things to use him for! You can put a target on the wall and have the kids try to hit it, use a straw to have the child suck the ball onto the straw and then blow a ball as far as he can (good for breath control, oral skills, and convergence/divergence of eyes, etc), have the child wheelbarrow walk, crab walk, somersault, etc to pick up all of the balls, the ideas go on and on!!

And of course, he needs a name…Peter the pig? Pops the pig? Perky the pig??

Enjoy!

Mardel Monday: Cutie Caterpillar

What a cute little caterpillar! And oh so helpful with learning buttons, zippers, snaps, ties, and buckles!! Great way to make this task just a little bit more fun! You can find him at Mardel!

Fine Motor Friday: Button food

Saw this idea on Therapy Fun Zone and just had to try it! I made my own, but hers are super reasonable to buy. And most likely would stay together better than mine 😉

The kids have absolutely loved these! And they are learning how to do buttons!!! AND enjoying it in the process!

Thank you for continuing to have amazing ideas Therapy Fun Zone!!

<a

A Fun Way to Tie Shoes

Love this for tying shoes!!

Stacking and Balancing

Hi there everyone! I did this little game with a few of my kids I see in the school and they loved it, so I thought I’d share! I placed the blocks on the beam, and coordinating color cup on the left side of the beam on the floor, facilitating crossing midline. I had the kids walk across, first placing the block on top of the cup, then walk back, moving the block back to the beam. Lots of fun ways to grade and modify this activity! You can use a pedestal beam, or strip of tape; you can choose not to use the grabbers; use more blocks to build a higher tower; mix up the colors to have the child walk forwards/backwards/sideways, the list goes on and on! You can even use the numbers on the top of each block for part of the task. Dice blocks, grabber, and cups (bear counter cups) came from Mardel! Enjoy!

Mardel Monday: Sturdy Birdy

Hello everyone! So my boss gave me the challenge to put together “fine motor kits.” Primarily gathering items from Mardel and Walmart if needed. This all started because over time I have gathered up quite a collection of therapy toys from Mardel. I’m telling you, they should use me for marketing to therapists!!! Not just teachers!!! Anyways, I suckered a co-worker of mine into attacking this with me. (Don’t worry, I made sure our boss knew she helped out. ;)) We spent 4…yes 4 hours in Mardel…gathering items, spreading them out of the floor, and making tough decisions to put some things back. 😦 Now that I know ever item Mardel has to offer, I’ve decided to start a Mardel Monday to show an item that can be purchased from Mardel for therapy uses, and to gather more ideas from my wonderful readers!

First item: Sturdy Birdy

This is a game for my wonderful PT friends out there as well! The object of the game is to be the first to make it through all 12 poses. You must roll the dice to see how long you must hold the pose. In addition to holding the pose, you must balance the seed bag on your body! What a cute little game! Made by Fat Brain Toy Co. And under $20, this game is sure to create some fun!

Have you ever played this game before?

If you’re wondering how much stuff we ended up purchasing.. Check it out…

Fine motor kits in the making! Be sure to stop back by in a few days for a list of the items featured in the kits!

Have a great Monday!

Block construction with a grabber

Hey hey! If you’re looking for another way to use a grabber, strengthen hands, facilitate bilateral coordination, promote control and stability, you may have found an activity that’s just what you need! I use this with my kids who are just old enough to use a good challenge. You can line the blocks up on a balance beam, steps, etc. and create a more challenging component for balance and core. You can also create various patterns and have the child imitate them or design one himself to encourage initiation and creativity.

What other ways have you used a grabber or blocks?

Have fun!

Fine Motor Friday: Playing with Sponges

For this Fine Motor Friday, I’d like to share a fun way to play with sponges and shaving cream. Why not use them together?! If the child is still a little resistant to touching the shaving cream then have them use a small sponge to trace, write and draw. Also great for working on tip-tip pinch! Use the sponges to trace various shapes, build structures, stamp, etc. So fun, and easy clean up! Allow the child to squeeze the sponges when washing them out for some extra strengthening. 😃 Have fun!

<a

Toy Tuesday: Frog Tongs

Aren’t these awesome?! Mardel always has wonderful therapy tools, but these win the award for this week! Even under $5!