Tag Archives: activities of daily living

Banana Nut Bars: Therapro’s Free Activity of the Month

Activities, Sensory, , ,

Looking for a fun and functional sensory experience? Try the Banana Nut Bars activity—a delicious way to engage children in tactile exploration and olfactory stimulation right in your own kitchen. As therapists, we know that sensory-rich activities support development, and baking is a fantastic opportunity for hands-on learning. This parent-child recipe builds motor skills, encourages following directions, and fits seamlessly into any daily sensory routine.

Prepare for the activity

Make sure you have a stool for your child to use so that he can reach the counter. You can also move the activity to the kitchen table for a more accessible location, and this way the child can sit on a cushion while they help with the baking.

Have your child help gather the ingredients and the necessary tools for baking. Tell them what they are, how they are used, and encourage them to smell and taste the ingredients.

Banana Nut Bars (If you or your child is allergic to nuts, you can substitute chocolate chips)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 2 overripe bananas, mashed
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup oatmeal
  • 1 cup self-rising flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup trail mix

Banana Nut Bars activity ingredients display

Directions

    1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
    2. Grease a 13 x 9 pan and set aside.
    3. Have your child place the bananas in a resalable plastic bag and mash them using a rolling pin. A great way to provide proprioceptive feedback and bilateral integration.

Bananas in a bag for the banana Nut Bars activityRolling the bananas for the banana bread

    1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and shortening until light and fluffy.
    2. Your child can stir in the mashed bananas and egg and vanilla.
    3. Mix well.
    4. Have your child add the rolled oats, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Wet incidents in a bowl

    1. Mix until thoroughly combined.
    2. Have your child stir in the trail mix.
    3. Have your child place the mixture in the greased pan.

Banana bread in a pan ready to cook

    1. Bake just until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
    2. Let cool, cut into squares and enjoy!

Finished banana bread

For more engaging, therapist-designed sensory activities like the Banana Nut Bars activity, explore Sensational Fun—a comprehensive collection of creative ideas that support sensory diets at home, in school, or in therapy sessions. Visit Therapro’s Sensational Fun to discover over 100 fun, functional ways to build sensory skills through play.

Enhancing Shoe Tying Skills With The Shoe Tying Club

Fine Motor, Life Skills, , ,

One..Two..Tie Your Shoe! poster displaying 9-step shoe tying process with rhymesTeaching shoe tying is often not prioritized these days due to the advent of velcro and slip on shoes. Due to the frustrations experienced by their children, many parents tend to choose the easy way out buying shoes that do not require tying. Fast forward a year or two, parents find themselves frantically tying their second grader’s shoes on the sidelines of a soccer game or just before the bus. These parents are silently berating themselves for having given in earlier and are hoping for a miracle. First and second grade teachers are similarly frustrated when children arrive in their classroom lacking a skill that should have been learned in kindergarten. Deb Vozel, an intervention specialist at Cline Elementary School in Centerville, OH decided she needed to do something about it. Together with Bhanu Raghavan, OTR/L she started a shoe tying club to coach any second grader lacking shoe tying skills. The club turned out to be a resounding success!

Shoe tying club met during the second quarter of school. The club members were chosen by their classroom teachers, and included both typical and children with special needs. The steps used for shoe-tying came from the poster One-Two Tie Your Shoe. This poster was adapted from the book Self-Care with Flair! The club members were placed in groups of four to five. They met daily before the end of their morning session. Mrs. Vozel and her aide led the club daily with weekly consultation from the OT. Club members practiced a few steps each week. Once a step was mastered they were introduced to the subsequent step. If a child had a particular difficulty with mastering a step the OT helped to break the steps down even further (activity analysis). At the end of the second quarter all the club members were successfully tying their shoes. Mrs. Vozel celebrated their success by giving each member a certificate and a copy of the poster One-Two Tie Your Shoe.

The nine easy steps in One-Two Tie Your Shoe are a convenient and quick way to teach this skill to any child. The laminated poster can be displayed in the classroom, on the refrigerator at home, in day-care centers and wherever young children are learning to tie their shoes.