Summer Fun Activities
Read, Read, Read.
Read with a flashlight, or on a picnic blanket, or at the library.
Play Ispy -
I spy with my little eye something (give a color)
I spy something that rhymes with
I spy something that starts with - (and give the sound)
Play board games -
Candyland, memory, etc.
Journal
-Keep a summer journal. Children can draw a picture and tell you about their picture
Ideas shared from our Therapist Blog
SUMMER FUN OT ACTIVITIES
It’s time to enjoy the beautiful weather and get outside! There are many activities you can do outside that will be not only fun but also helpful to your child’s development. Below is a list of some outdoor activity suggestions and their many benefits!
- Break out the Sidewalk chalk
- Practice drawing pictures, lines, shapes or letters. Use a spray bottle filled with water to spritz-away and start over
Developmental benefits: fine motor, prewriting skills, synsori motor development, midline crossing
Go on a Nature Walk!
– collect leaves, branches, small rocks to make a collage
Developmental benefits: fine motor, sensory processing, bilateral coordination and visual perceptual motor skill development
Wash the Car!
– break out the soap, sponges and hoses
Developmental benefits: upper body/wrist/hand strengthening, midline crossing, bilateral coordination, sensory processing skill development
Go to the Beach & Play in the Sand!
– draw lines & shapes in the sand with fingers; build sand castles
Developmental benefits: visual motor integration, visual perception, hand strengthening, bilateral coordination, midline crossing and sensory processing
Paint with Water!
-use large brushes, or small sponge pieces to paint with and use the side of the house, a fence or sidewalk as your “canvas”
Developmental benefits: hand and wrist strengthening, grasp development, proximal stability, visual motor integration and midline crossing
Dig For Treasures!
– using small kitchen tongs or strawberry hullers, pick up small toys or “treasures” hiding in the sandbox
Developmental benefits: grasp development, hand strengthening, bilateral coordination, eye hand coordination, visual motor control
Start discussing new vocabulary such as flowers, bugs, rain/raindrops, grass, bunnies, birds and concepts such as growing and weather
Go Outside and.....
- Play tug-a –war ( use a rope or use a popsicle stick for finger-tug-a-war)
- Draw on driveway using sidewalk chalk then spray clean using squirt bottle
- Have a squirt gun battle
- Roll down a hill
- Have wheelbarrow or crab walk races
- Blow bubbles and try to pop or pinch them with your finger tips!
- Go to the park and try out all the fun swings and climbing equipment
- Make paper air planes
- Fly a kite
- Go to the beach and dig for shells in the sand
- Build a sand castle
- String a necklace using dried pasta or Cheerios
- Go swimming!!
- ‘Draw’ shapes and lines in wet sand
- Wash the car using soapy water and sponges
- Play hopscotch
- Play a game of catch with water balloons!
- Water the plants (try using squirt bottle or garden hose)
- Pull a heavy wagon and take a walk to the park
On Rainy Days.......
- Bake!! Stirring cookie batter or rolling dough is a great way to work on hand strengthening
- Paint a picture on an easel and then hang your picture to dry using clothespins
- Make a mosaic – snip paper strips into small squares and glue on a picture outline
- Make fruit loop or Cheerio towers!
* Start with a ball of playdough on the table. Position a wooden skewer in the playdough, then start threading the cereal onto the skewer to build your tower
- Build fine motor skills with some great Indoor board games:
* Scaterpillar Scramble
* Sneaky, Squeeky Squirril Game
* Thin Ice
* Bed Bugs
* Topple
* Finger Twister
* Connect Four (Key chain or mini version)
* Perfection or Scramble
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STUFFED ANIMAL GROSS MOTOR ACTIVITIES (Kim Russell - pt)
