Home Activities

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