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What Extra Activities Can I Do With My Child To Help Development?

Here are some activity ideas to do at home!

Fine Motor Activities:

Hand strengthening activities:

  • Bake cookies- Mix ingredients, knead dough, roll out and use cookie cutters

  • Use a small squirt bottle- water plants, use in the bath, use food coloring and spray the snow. 

  • Pop bubble wrap or put golf tees in/out of styrofoam

  • Play with play dough, salt dough, GAK or ooblick

Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor activities:

  • Play I Spy using a flashlight to find things in the house

  • Play Simon Says

  • Use tweezers/tongs to work on reaching, grasping placing objects in a cup

  • Use shaving cream in the bath, window or patio door to draw with fingers. Practice lines, letters, shapes.

  • Puzzles

  • Coloring sheets with crayons, markers and watercolors

  • Stickers

Language:

Language is everywhere and in every activity!

  • Talk about activities you are doing, always encouraging new vocabulary and phrase length. Review and recall activities of the day.

  • Play board games which work on language, turn taking and social skills.

  • Read and look at books

 

Oral/Motor Activities:

These activities help children move and strengthen their tongue, lips, jaw and cheek muscle for eating/ speech sound production.

Tongue movements:

  • Lick frosting, peanut butter, cream cheese, yogurt from a cookie/cracker

  • Lick a lollipop, candy cane, ice pop

  • Use tongue to clear food from corners of mouth and lips(mirrors can help too).

Lip movements:

  • Blow out candles with help from an adult

  • Blow bubbles

  • Blow cotton balls/feathers across a table- make it a race!

  • Use a straw to drink(milkshakes or thicker liquids are more difficult)

  • Use whistles, party blowers, pinwheels

 

Gross Motor Activities:

  • Take walks daily- play games while you walk to include language( look for specific item or colors) and skills like jumping, hopping and kicking 

  • Go on a scavenger hunt taking turns hiding and finding objects

  • Animal Walking- take turns walking like a chosen animal

  • Obstacle courses inside and out

  • Practice kicking, throwing and catching different balls 

If you have questions, please contact your child’s therapist