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.

Analyzing Activities for Improving Student Hand Function

January 7, 2017Events & Conferences, Fine Motor & Hand Skill Developmentfine motor, saturday seminar recapsTherapro

Marcia Bridgeman presenting on hand development stages at Therapro seminar. Not even an anticipated nor’easter kept 30 hardy New Englanders from attending last Saturday’s seminar at Therapro, Analyzing Activities for Improving Student Hand Function! Marcia Bridgeman, MHA, OTR/L presented an interesting, well paced seminar that engaged her audience fully as she seamlessly mapped hand development from birth to elementary school age, linking the development of hands to functional skills.

Marcia is the author of the newly revised Fine Motor Olympics (2016) that includes a Manual and 64 beautiful color photo cards of children’s hands performing fine motor tasks with instructions on the reverse side of the cards. A Guide to Hand Function, Quick Screening Form, Fine Motor Observation Checklist, Record Form, and In-Service Training Program are included in the Manual. She currently has a private practice through which she provides consultation and direct service to several Massachusetts school systems.

Interspersed within a comprehensive review of motor development and hand function from newborn to age 6, Marcia discussed functional fine motor activities expected at the corresponding developmental stages. For example, around the age of 7 months, many essential new fine motor skills are emerging including finger isolation, open web space, opposition, and thumb isolation. She matched simple activities to this developmental level, such as tearing paper, turning knobs on an Etch-a-Sketch, and spinning a top, to name a few!

Seminar attendees thoroughly enjoyed breaking into groups and trying out 8 original fine motor activities that Marcia created that are not included in the 64 activity cards included in Fine Motor Olympics. The activities included activities like creating a spider web in a plastic basket and moving the spider in the web, using a variety of tongs to hunt tiny dinosaurs, balancing marbles on golf tees, and threading straws into toilet paper cardboard rolls punched with holes. The groups engaged in activity analysis and shared their comments with the rest of the group. Attendees took away new, inexpensive ideas to engage the entire classroom and facilitate development of hand musculature and arches of the hand for optimal function. In addition to the new activities Marcia introduced today, she highlighted a number of fine motor Therapro products she loved, including Froggy Feeding Fun, Wind Up Walking Robots, Boinks, Tall Stacker Pegboard Set, Get A Grip Pegboard, and Magnetic Marbles. She discussed conventional uses for the materials and also adapted the materials creatively and adeptly to help develop muscles of the hand. Some activities incorporated use of intrinsic muscles in translation activities, for example: moving a small single object fingers to the palm (1.5 – 2 years) and from palm to fingers (2.0 – 2.4).

We couldn’t think of a more fun way of spending a snowy Saturday morning than analyzing both innovative and familiar fine motor activities, and sharing thoughts on how to help develop better hand function in the classroom setting in a fun way.

Take a look at the glowing comments Marcia’s seminar generated:

“Great combination of visuals, interactive experiences & developmental stages. Great workshop for OT rookies or vets!” Karen D., Occupational Therapist

“As a teacher, I’m certainly not an expert on OT issues students may be experiencing. This seminar helped to raise my awareness and sensitivity to these issues. Great suggestions for how I can help these students in easy, quick, fun ways.” Maura M., Teacher

“This seminar revisited & reviewed a lot of what I learned in school (great refresher) however I’ve had colleagues who did not have pediatric courses regarding this!” Kelly V., Occupational Therapist

“Very informative; great to be interactive & experience/explore activities!” Caitlyn D. COTA

“Such meaty well organized info on hand development, screening, and activities to help hand function.” Alice T., Occupational Therapist

Thank you, Marcia!

Filomena Connor, MS, OTR/L

Marble Painting: Therapro’s Free Activity of the Month

June 5, 2015Fine Motor & Hand Skill Development, Therapist Resourcesfine motor, free activities, occupational therapy (OT) tools, parent resourcesTherapro

Marble painting combines abstract art and bilateral coordination—a winning combination! Bilateral coordination refers to the action of using the right and left sides of your body together in a smooth and efficient manner. Babies develop bilateral coordination first by stabilizing an object such as a pail while filling it with sand (From Rattles to Writing: A Parent’s Guide to Hand Skills by Barbara A. Smith, MS, OTR/L). When someone has difficulty with bilateral coordination, they can have difficulty with daily tasks. Think of everything you do using both sides of your body together; Dressing, tying shoes, buttoning, drawing, writing, catching and throwing, even crawling and walking. Therapro’s free marble painting activity challenges participants to guide marbles across the page, building bilateral coordination, fine motor control, and sensory integration through vibrant, hands-on play. See below for all the steps.

You will need:

Finger-paints
Paper
Marbles
Cardboard Box top, Large Shoe Box, or back of frame.

Process

Tape the paper to the inside of the box, or frame.
Place a dollop of paint on either side of the paper. I used 4 colors.
Place a marble on each dollop of paint.
Using both hand hold the box and move the marbles over the paper.
Continue to move the marbles until the paper is covered with paint or you are satisfied with the design.
Remove paper and set aside to dry.
Start all over again- See how many marbles you can use.

Other Ideas

This is a great activity for anyone who does not like to get messy, as they really don’t have to finger paint. They are just moving marbles around in a box.
Have 2 children do the activity, each child holds one side of the box.
Use different-sized marbles.
Use more or fewer colors.
Change the placement of the paint.

Example of the Free Marble Painting Activity

Example 2 Free Marble Painting Activity
Send us a picture of your Marble Painting, or post it on Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter with the hashtag #Therapro

Ready to elevate hand skills and bilateral coordination even further? Explore Therapro’s Fine Motor & Hand Skill Development page for a comprehensive collection of tools, activities, and resources designed to support therapy goals and empower learners of all ages. Discover more at Therapro Fine Motor & Hand Skill Development.

Guest Blogger: Diana V. Mendez-Hohmann

Sensory Exploration with Pumpkin Carving

October 27, 2014Fine Motor & Hand Skill Development, Sensoryfine motor, free activities, parent resourcesTherapro

It is October, and it’s time to harvest not only pumpkins and apples, but also the sensory exploration this time brings. Have you ever broken down all the sensory input that the simple task of carving a pumpkin can provide? If you have the opportunity to go to a farm to pick your own pumpkin, take advantage of it. The experiences that you and your child will share stay with you forever.

Read on for all the ways a trip to pick your own pumpkin is sensational fun.

pumpkins on a fence ready for carving and sensory exploration

Pumpkin Carving Sensory Experiences

Senses	At the Farm	At Home
Visual	The leaves changing colors The bright orange pumpkins The roots and vines through the pumpkin patch The blue sky The animals at the farm	Browsing through different designs for the pumpkin Tracing the design unto the pumpkin
Tactile	Feeling the breeze Touching the Leaves	Feeling the grooves on the pumpkin Scooping the pulp Sifting through the pulp to separate the seeds
Auditory (hearing)	Shoes crunching the dead leaves and dry ground Tractor on the farm Hearing other people talking The animals making noises	Singing Songs as you prepare to carve the pumpkin Listening as the carving tool cuts through the pumpkin
Olfactory (smell)	The smell of the hay The smell of the grass Baked goods at the farm	The smell of the pumpkin pulp The smell as you bake the pumpkin seeds or other desserts
Proprioceptive	Carrying the pumpkin from the patch to the car Climbing up the ladder to go on the hay ride	Carry the pumpkin to the table The feeling of carving the pumpkin (this must be done with adult supervision and using the appropriate tools)
Vestibular	Going on a hay ride	Sitting on a rocking chair while enjoying some of the baked goods
Gustatory (Taste)	If the farm has a bakery, get some of their delicious baked goods	Bake pumpkin seeds (see recipe below)

Pumpkin Seeds Recipe

Separate the seeds from the pulp.
Rinse and dry the seeds (sometimes they have to dry overnight).
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
Spread pumpkin seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle to taste with the seasonings of your choice. For sweet seeds use Cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar, for salty seeds use garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Toast for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until dry and toasted. Larger seeds may take longer.

For more seasonal activities get Therapro’s Hats Off and On to Scissors Skills– you get to practice scissor skills and make hats for every season. Below are pictures of a Pumpkin Time Hat.

Also see our seasonal writing readiness workbooks and our Pre-writing curriculum enrichment series!

Please share other ideas and ways you can have sensational fun this fall.
pumpkin2
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