Tag Archives: fine motor

Developing fine motor skills with fun activities is essential for young learners to gain control of the small muscles in their hands and fingers. These activities support everyday tasks like handwriting, buttoning, cutting, and using tools effectively. Implementing fine motor skills activities can enhance classroom participation, build independence, and strengthen the foundation for academic and life skills.

Smart Tips for Year-End Success

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As the school year winds down, therapists play a vital role in helping students transition smoothly while supporting carryover of skills during the summer. The end of the academic year isn’t just about closing cases—it’s a strategic time to restock, refocus, and empower families with tools to maintain progress. Below are smart tips for year-end success to focus on as you wrap up your school-based therapy services.

Smart Tip #1: Reflect, Reorganize, and Reset

Use the final weeks of school to reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and what needs restocking. This is the ideal time to refresh your therapy materials and take inventory of frequently used supplies.

Top Items to Restock Before Summer:

Ergonomic pencil grip tool for improving handwriting comfort and control

Pencil Grips – Essential tools for grasp development and writing support. Stock up here: Pencil Grips at Therapro

Ink Refills for LegiLiners – Don’t start next year with dry rollers: Ink for LegiLiners

LegiLiner Double Solid Line 3/8' tall, Pen Style Rolling Ink Stamp
With line paper assortment by therapro

Raised Line & Highlighter Paper – Great for visual and tactile feedback: Explore Paper Options

This is also a great time to tidy your space, digitize records, and prep templates so you can start strong in the fall.

Smart Tip #2: Prepare Students for Smooth Transitions

Transitions can be especially challenging for students with developmental, sensory, or executive functioning differences. Help families support consistency and reduce stress at home by sending home visuals and tools to keep routines familiar.

Recommended Tools for Families:

Schkidules visual schedule display

SchKIDules Deluxe Collection Box Set – A visual scheduling system that helps parents establish and maintain daily routines over the summer.

Sensational Fun – A helpful resource packed with sensory-based activities to keep kids regulated and engaged at home.

Sensational Fun

You can also send home personalized routine charts, task analyses, or social stories to reinforce carryover.

Smart Tip #3: Send Home a Summer Skill Maintenance Checklist

Instead of assembling and sending home summer kits (which may not be practical for every therapist), consider offering families a simple, printable guide packed with low-cost, everyday ideas. The Ready, Set, Summer! Home Activity Guide helps caregivers turn ordinary household items into meaningful skill-building moments.

Encourage families to weave therapy into daily routines and play—because supporting development doesn’t have to mean structured lessons or expensive materials!

What’s Inside the Guide:

  • 🧺 Easy-to-find tools like clothespins, Tupperware, and sidewalk chalk
  • 🛋️ DIY obstacle course ideas using furniture and masking tape
  • ✂️ Fun ways to practice cutting, strengthening, and fine motor skills
  • 🧠 Everyday activities turned into therapy moments (like sorting laundry!)
  • 🛍️ Product recommendations including Therapy Putty and Adapted Scissors

📥 Download the Ready, Set, Summer! Home Activity Guide to share with families and caregivers today!

Smart Tip #4: Set Yourself Up for Fall

You know how hectic back-to-school season can be—so set up “future you” for success now. Clean and label bins, prep materials you’ll need in the first few weeks, and store go-to activities where they’re easy to find.

Need to upgrade your setup? Check out our Tools for Therapists, including Office Plus Everyday Wobble Chair, Office Adjustable Pivot Stool, and fidgets to promote better posture and productivity.

Smart Tip #5: Don’t Forget You

The end of the school year is a time to celebrate your hard work and impact. Make space for rest and recharge this summer. Whether you’re attending professional development, diving into a new book, or simply taking a break, your well-being is vital.

Looking to grow your skills? Therapro offers free on-demand webinars, blogs, and professional resources to support your learning all year long.

Final Thought:
 The end of the school year is a moment to celebrate progress—and set students up for success. With a bit of planning and the right tools, therapists can empower families to keep the momentum going all summer long.

Wrap-Up with Confidence

As you wrap up this school year, know that the small steps you take now can ease transitions, prevent skill loss, and give both students and therapists a strong start for the fall. From summer activity ideas to transition tools and therapy essentials, Therapro is here to support you every step of the way.

👉 Explore all of these tools and more at Therapro.com!

Therapro Games Bundle: Letter Treasure Hunt, Novenops, and Trunks

Boosting Skills with Games!

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In the world of education and therapy, finding engaging and effective tools to boost skills can be a game-changer. Fortunately, Therapro has developed a trio of unique games designed to not only boost skills but to also make learning an exciting adventure. In this blog we are exploring how the games Trunks, Letter Treasure Hunt, and Novenops are helpful tools for boosting skill development.

Trunks: The Game of Motor Memory

“Remember, perform, and succeed!”

Trunks®: A Game: boosting Motor-Memory skills

Trunks is the brainchild of an occupational therapist, carefully crafted to promote memory, motor sequencing, and cognitive skills. The concept is simple yet brilliant: players draw a card, study the given action, and then perform it from memory. But here’s the twist – on their next turn, they draw an additional card and must execute both actions in the correct order without peeking.

The real magic lies in the creation of a “trunk,” a series of four cards that, when combined, forms an elephant’s trunk. Through this engaging game, players not only sharpen their memory and sequencing abilities but also enhance their attention to detail and focus. Trunks is an excellent therapeutic tool for those seeking to strengthen cognitive and motor skills in a fun and interactive way.

Watch the short video below for a review of Trunks by physical therapist, Laurie Gombash!

Letter Treasure Hunt: A Multisensory Learning Adventure

“Learning to write, one treasure at a time.”

Letter Treasure Hunt game: boosting handwriting skills

Letter Treasure Hunt is a game that seamlessly blends handwriting skills, gross motor challenges, and language development. It’s an exciting adventure where children explore the world of letters while engaging in activities that improve their handwriting and motor coordination.

In this game, kids embark on a quest to discover hidden treasures, all while completing ‘captain’s orders’, fun gross motor tasks that challenge balance, coordination and strength. This dynamic blend of gross motor challenges not only keeps children active but also enhances their physical development. Moreover, the game fosters language skills by encouraging communication among players.

Letter Treasure Hunt is the perfect example of how education can be both fun and effective, making it an excellent choice for parents, teachers, and therapists looking to boost various skills in an engaging manner.

Watch the short video below for a review of Letter Treasure Hunt by physical therapist, Laurie Gombash!

Novenops: Mastering Grammar through Play

“Grammar made fun, one card at a time.”

NOVENOP is an acronym created from the words NOun, VErb, NOun, and Phrase and is a board game for children of ages 6 and up

Novenops is a game that focuses on enhancing the player’s understanding of the basic elements of grammar. With 60 carefully designed cards, this game creates a captivating learning experience that continuously reinforces sentence structure concepts. As players progress, their word familiarity improves, subsequently boosting their reading and writing skills.

The beauty of Novenops lies in its ability to turn grammar lessons into an enjoyable activity. By gamifying language learning, it removes the traditional barriers associated with grammar education and replaces them with excitement and engagement. It’s an ideal tool for educators and parents who want to transform grammar from a chore into a rewarding adventure.

Watch the short video below for a review of Novenops by physical therapist, Laurie Gombash!

Therapro’s games— Trunks, Letter Treasure Hunt, and Novenops —are shining examples of how education and therapy can be both effective and enjoyable. These games are not only designed to boost skills but also make the learning process a memorable and fun experience. Whether you’re a therapist, educator, or parent, consider incorporating these games into your toolkit to unlock the full potential of skill development. With Therapro, learning is an adventure waiting to be discovered!

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Using Schoodles School Fine Motor Assessment (SFMA) as Part of a Strengths-Based Assessment

Assessments, Fine Motor & Hand Skill Development, ,


What does a ‘strengths-based’ assessment mean to you? In the past, it may have simply
involved listing a student’s strengths and then moving on to their needs. However, a
strengths-based assessment can be a powerful tool for promoting self-confidence,
motivation, and independence. This type of assessment highlights areas for growth and
improvement, while simultaneously showcasing a student’s positive attributes. By utilizing
a strengths-based approach, parents, staff, and students can all view the student in a
different, more positive light.

Using a criterion-reference tool like Schoodles, you can more effectively locate areas where
a student excels, as well as areas that require further support. Unlike standardized tools,
Schoodles offers the flexibility to provide verbal prompts, visual demonstrations, task
grading, or other aids to help students complete challenging tasks.
Here are some strengths/needs we can observe during testing:

  • Good attention to task/ may need support to move from activity to activity
  • Demonstrates interest and curiosity about all of the materials/may need a limited amount of materials in front of him to work to his potential
  • Highly sociable/may need some social time before beginning hands-on tasks
  • Quick learner/excellent candidate for 6-10  week burst of service to improve skills
  • Easily understands and follows visual versus verbal directions/may benefit from visual supports to move through the day
  • Loves to use his hands/ may benefit from fidgets or may need to be presented with one task at a time and given extra time to explore hands-on activities.

To effectively support students, we must shift our attention from their limitations to their capabilities. It is a common misconception that a strengths-based focus disregards a student’s challenges. We can describe a student’s skills in neutral or positive terms, highlighting attributes that help them succeed. While we do not ignore struggles or weaknesses, we strive to reframe them in a constructive manner.

You could start by reviewing your previous documentation to initiate a shift toward strengths. Highlight all the positive statements in green, all neutral statements in yellow, and all negative statements in red. By doing this, you can aim to minimize negative statements and ultimately eliminate them altogether.

When writing reports, it’s important to provide a positive summary of your data while still including any challenges. Here are some helpful tips:

  • Place all test scores at the bottom of your report.
  • Use positive or neutral descriptive language only.
  • Focus on what the student CAN do.
  • Reframe subjective language into objective language.
  • Highlight areas of potential growth.

By using Schoodles‘ SFMA alone or in combination with other tools, you can gain valuable
information about student strengths in a relatively short amount of time. Focusing on
student strengths during information gathering, report writing, and sharing will help
facilitate a sense of student efficacy in the students, their parents, and staff.

Guest Blogger Marie Frank OTR/L, Schoodles Co-Owner