It is so fine to have warm weather again, and some sun, after the rain and cooler weather. I think we can all use a little time outside. I am sending you some activities that I hope may make you time outside more enjoyable.
Occupational
Therapy Outdoor
Activity IdeasPage1Exploring the outdoors is a sensory rich experience that also has many
natural opportunities for children to develop fine motor and visual motor skills.
Below are some play based activities that you can try with your child. Activity
Objective & Skills Targeted Safety Considerations Fine Motor & Mobility
Modifications Ball Skills-Gross motor skill sand fine motor skills such as core
stability, shoulder stability, grip strength,hand-eye coordination, and bilateral
coordination can be practiced when your child bounces a ball on the ground,
plays catch, and throws the ball at a target. -Be aware of environmental
hazards.-Use a larger ball if your child has difficulty with gripping smaller
sized balls.-Can practice ball skills seated or in kneeling position. Blowing
Bubbles-A purchased or homemade solution, such as this one,can be used. This
activity can help your child practice:-Deep breathing and oral motor control when
blowing the bubbles.-Visual motor coordination when targeting and popping
bubbles. To increase the difficulty, your child could also catch the bubbles if
a more resilient solution is used, such as using this recipe.-Large arm and
shoulder movements by using different sized wands.--Adequate supervision will
be required if there are concerns about the child drinking the bubble solution.
--Be aware of bubbles popping,dripped solution, or spilled solution on smooth and/or
slanted surfaces that could lead to a potential slipping hazard.-Placement of
the soap bottle can help your child work on reaching, crossing midline, or stepping
in certain directions. For children who have difficulty with hand separation
and using a tripod grasp, wands with larger handles may help your child better
grip the wand.A sock with holes could be worn over the hand to physically
prompt finger isolation (i.e. one hole only for index finger for popping
bubbles; three holes for thumb, indexf inger, and
Occupational
Therapy Outdoor
Activity IdeasPage2middle finger to encourage tripod grasp).For children who have difficulty
with hand and shoulder strength and endurance, using a smaller wand may
conserve the child’s strength to play longer. For children who have difficulty
with coordinating oral motor skills to blow bubbles, a ribbon wand could be
used instead, whether purchased or home-made. -To increase the challenge level,
use a tool to try and pop the bubbles. Building a Rock Garden-Encourage your
child to look for several rocks. The child can:-Use their senses to explore the
feeling and texture of the different rocks.-Grasp and stack the rocks into
different structures to develop their hand strength and hand-eye
coordination.-Sort the rocks by different traits, use the rocks to make
patterns, or sequence the rocks in a specific order.-Adequate supervision will
be required if there are concerns about the child swallowing or throwing rocks.
-Fill a portable tray or wide bucket with different size and shape rocks or use
lighter weight decorative rocks or shapes instead.
Occupational
Therapy Outdoor
Activity IdeasPage3-Tracearoundthe rocks to create different pictures using their index finger
to work on finger isolation or hold a tool to practice using their tripod
grasp.-Draw on or paint the rocks to target your child’s dexterity and
coordination skills. For fun, you can leave the decorated rocks around your
community on your next walk around the neighborhood! Drawing with Sidewalk
Chalk Your child can practice using a tripod grasp and build hand strength while:-Drawing,
colouring, printing, and stenciling.-Using a sponge, paint brush, paint roller,
and/or squeeze bottle to “wash off” chalk. To incorporate a variety of sensory
input, your child could also use chalk to blend colours and colour overtop of
different textures,such as concrete, wood grain, brick, etc.-See the CCSDvideo
PT Outside Activity Using Sidewalk Chalk for ideas on how your child can
practice their gross motor skills, such as playing Hop Scotch.-Adequate
supervision will be required if there are concerns about the child swallowing
or throwing chalk. -Draw on the fence, ground,or on a small portable
chalkboard. Use different sizes and shapes of chalk. If chalk is not available,
try drawing with water using a squeeze water bottle. Use a small stick or
branch to draw onto dirt, gravel, or sand. Crush small or broken pieces of
chalk into dust, mix it with water, and paint with the mixture using various
tools(i.e. finger, paintbrush).Gardening-Sensory exploration can be incorporated
when handling seeds, water, dirt, and mud. Your child could make a mud pie ! Various
ways to work on fine motor skills and gross motor skills can be targeted
when:-Adequate supervision maybe required to enforce that mud pies are for
hands only, as well as for safety when using sharper tools. -Use different pots
or a raised garden.-Sit on the ground in sections of the garden or yard that
are flat or accessible.
Occupational
Therapy Outdoor
Activity IdeasPage4-Using tools(i.e. shovels, watering cans, nozzles on hoses) to work on grip
strength, grasp, manipulation, and coordination.-Pulling weeds to target grip
strength, shoulder stability, and core stability. NOTE: wear gloves to protect
hands against spines and prickles.-Kneeling on the ground (i.e. 2-point or
4-point kneeling)to work on shoulder stability and core stability.-Planting
seeds to practice finger isolation. You and your child could also have
discussion sand exploration about:-Outside wildlife (if applicable), which can include
animal walks to work on gross motor skills and pretend play(being an animal,
exploring their habitat).-Hygiene, such as hand washing. Have a Picnic-The
picnic can contain real food or pretend food. This activity can help your child
incorporate planning and sequencing steps when preparing real food for the
picnic and setting up the picnic. Practice fine motor skills and visual motor
skills when: -Folding napkins in different patterns.-Looking at the shapes of
food (i.e. trace pretend food or use real food to build pictures).-Building on
with other activities such as drawing/printing a menu (can be cut and pasted from
a magazine)and using utensils.-Defer to any recommendations for food
consistencies and positioning in case of feeding/swallowing issues.--For
children who require a wide base to remain seated upright, they could sit with
legs crossed or legs straight and angled out to the side.--Children could also
sit on a chair with arm rests or modified seating(i.e. Ray-Lax chair, cube
chair).
Occupational
Therapy Outdoor
Activity IdeasPage5Build shoulder strength and stability by having your child lay on his or
her tummy with forearms rested on the ground. Have sensory food
exploration(pack a neutral “discard” dish).-Incorporate discussion about
balanced meal choices(e.g. choice board or plate with dividers –pick a veggie,
fruit, carb, protein).Outdoor Scavenger Hunt-Some ways that you could organize
the scavenger hunt for your child include:-Creating a list (visual, auditory,
or written depending on child’s needs) of objects to look for (e.g. rock, leaf,
bug, tree, objects of a specific colour, something hard/soft, etc.)in your yard
or around the community. -Hiding and looking for a variety of your child’s
favourite toys-Having your child practice crossing items off the list that have
been found using different shapes (e.g. |,–, O , +, \, o,/,X, r). --This activity can help your child work on following directions,
sequencing, joint attention, as well as practice using a tripod grasp when
picking up objects and visual-motor skills of pre-printing shapes and hand-eye
coordination when crossing items off the list. General safety with staying
close to an adult if in larger, public open spaces.-Pointing to an area or
“thinking with their eyes”, indicating to a help everywhere to look for an
item. Instead of making it a search, make it a list of, “How many [blank]can
you see?”-Outdoor Yoga-Holding poses for several seconds can help your child
develop gross motor skills, as well as work on shoulder stability and hand
strength. -Body awareness; work within limits that are comfortable for your child
-Practice kneeling or seated options. Specific poses can be selected based on
areas that your child is working on.
Occupational
Therapy Outdoor
Activity IdeasPage6Water Play-A bucket or kiddy pool can be used. Your child can practice
using a tripod grasp and build hand strength while squeezing sponges/toys,
holding water toys, and using kitchen tools to scoop/pour(e.g. ladles, plastic
cups/dishes, turkey baster, strainers).Incorporate a variety of sensory input,
such as varying the temperature of the water, adding items such as water beads,
food colouring, bubbles, etc.-Explore concepts such as sink/float.-Adequate
supervision maybe required for safety depending on the size of the body of
water and to check water temperatures.-Be mindful if child has limited mobility
and is in the water. General Outdoor Games-Examples can include:-Tug of War
(e.g. using a jump rope or other rope)-Song and movement games (e.g. Ring
Around the Rosie, Row Your Boat)-Bringing games outside (e.g. Twister; using
string or ribbon to “lace” along a chain link fence; What Time is it Mr. Wolf; Red
Light/Green Light)-Imaginary play outside (e.g. camping, animal walks/being
different types of animals and use hands or chalk to design different
footprints)-Throwing home made paper planes-Flying a kite-General safety with
staying close to an adult if in larger public open spaces.-Modify positioning a
s needed, may require adult assistance. Websites with Additional Outdoor
Activity Ideas
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