Tag Archives: hand skills

Analyzing Activities for Improving Student Hand Function

January 7, 2017Events, Fine Motor, Handwritingfine motor, hand skills, Occupational Therapy, OTTherapro

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 Wacky Web, Hide ‘n Slide, 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, 2015Activities, Fine Motorbilateral coordination, Free Activities, hand skills, Occupational TherapyTherapro

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 Flower Craft: Therapro’s Free Activity of the Month

May 12, 2015Activities, Sensoryfine motor, Free Activities, hand skills, Occupational TherapyTherapro

Looking for a creative and engaging way to support sensory and fine motor development? Therapro’s sensory flower craft activity is the perfect solution. This free Activity of the Month encourages children to explore textures, practice scissor skills, and express creativity—all while building foundational sensory integration and coordination. Whether used in the classroom, therapy session, or at home, this fun and functional project helps children blossom in more ways than one.

Working on arts and crafts provides opportunities to incorporate different skills. Normally, we look for the practice of physical skills such as:

Bilateral Integration- The ability to use both sides of the body together in a smooth and coordinated manner.
Eye-Hand Coordination- The efficient teamwork of the eyes and hands.
Motor Planning- The ability to conceive, organize, sequence, and carry out an unfamiliar body movement in a coordinated manner.
Fine Motor- Refers to the movement of the small muscles of the fingers.

But what about the “invisible” skills? Skills like sensory feedback and perception. Prior to working on a craft, break it down and analyze all the ways your child will incorporate skills- visible and “invisible”.

The smells, sounds and feels of a craft are a huge part of the process. Use the opportunity to encourage exploration and introduce new sensations.

Prepare for the activity

You will need:

Glue dots
Glue
Scissors
Dessert-sized paper plates
Scented Markers
Foam Stickers (or your decoration of choice)
A shoe box or Canvas frame
Scarf Hanger (in shape of flower)

Assorted Textures (your choice, below is what we used):

Fuzzy Fabric
Sponge
Pom Pom Balls
Shredded Paper
Ribbon
Sand Paper

Steps

Cut a hole a slit the top of the frame in the center.
Place scarf hanger in the back of the canvas frame, and pull hanger through slit.
Use glue dots to secure the scarf hanger in canvas.
Use the scented markers to color the areas that won’t have texture.
Cut dessert plate in half and roll, use glue dots to affix. Wrap fuzzy fabric on the small roll, use glue dot to affix. Repeat this step for any texture that needs to be rolled such as the ribbon.
Glue the sponges in the next empty space.
Cut a piece of the paper plate to fit a large space and blue it in the next space available. Glue pom pom balls into this. Repeat this step for small shapes and textures that need to be glued in place such as the shredded paper.
Roll sand paper to fit a large space and glue it in the next space available.
Use half of dessert plate and roll, use glue dots to affix. Wrap ribbon on small roll, use glud dot to affix. Place rolled ribbon in the last large space.
Cut a piece of the paper plate to fit the center space and glue it in. Glue small pom pom balls into this.
Decorate around the flower as desired.

Don’t forget to make it a multi-sensory experience.

Go outside for a spring nature walk.
Sing songs or nursery rhymes about flowers. (Mary Mary Quite Contrary, Ring Around the Rosie, The Mulberry Bush)
Have your child smell different flowers.
Make a small indoor garden.

Send us a picture of your Sensory Flower craft activity, or post it on Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #Therapro

Guest Blogger: Diana V. Mendez-Hohmann