At the start of 2016, our Melissa Petcu MS OTR/L, occupational therapist at the Midtown office, had the notion of connecting things happening around the house to a child‚Äôs occupational therapy goals. After all, occupational therapy is “the job of living”.
She plans to share ideas each month. Here are some activities to try out at home around the February holidays.
- Groundhog Day is a fun time to promote body awareness. When the weather is nice, head outside and have your child lie down on the ground. Using chalk, outline his or her body position and when they stand up, they can draw on the clothes and accessories. Trying different body positions will make a fun picture!
- Valentines Day is always special and a homemade valentine add s extra warmth, right? A child at any age can create DIY valentines to work on fine motor and visual motor skills. Have a child ages 1-2 use glue, glitter, paint, markers, or crayons to color a heart you cut or drew for them. They could glue on old buttons, pom poms, or sparkles. A child 3-5 could practice cutting hearts, writing, or tracing. Helping to make a sweet treat for older children would be great for following multi-step directions and learning some kitchen skills.
- President’s Day can be overlooked. How about having a child write the names of presidents or draw/color related pictures. Pencil grasp and pre-writing and handwriting practice pays off as kids get older.
