Bats, Spiders, & Skeletons ... Oh My!

Helping children develop their fine motor coordination skills is one of the many occupational therapy interventions we offer at OT OuTdoors.  Good fine motor skills are required to help kids accomplish the tasks they do on a daily basis: handwriting in class and on homework assignments, getting dressed, tying shoes, buttoning pants, brushing their hair & teeth, eating meals, cleaning up their rooms, and playing with blocks, Legos or doll clothes. The better their fine motor coordination becomes, the more independent and efficient they’ll be in daily living.
Pictured above are a couple of our friends helping our therapy dog Noodles become “spook free.” By using tongs or chopsticks to remove the toy figurines, they are developing their tripod grip (proper grasp required to hold a pencil or utensils) and strengthening their hands and fingers with each pinch. One of the great things about this activity is that it can be done at home and can be modified a number of ways to keep it fun and engaging! Some ideas include:

• Theme the activity around upcoming holidays (spiders at Halloween, love bugs for Valentine’s Day, four-leaf clovers for St. Patrick’s Day) 
• Place toy bugs in your child’s bed and have them collect the “bed bugs” prior to bedtime
• Use a favorite stuffed animal or a patient family 
• Switch out the bugs for items like Legos, puff balls, or other items your child may gravitate towards
• Have the whole family eat with chopsticks during one meal each day

Ask us about these options during therapy and we’ll show you how to integrate them into your home routine. Sign up (link)
OT OuTdoors-because life doesn’t happen in a clinic

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