Have a long car trip planned this Summer? This is a great opportunity to strengthen Speech and OT skills! A little planning will go a long way!
LANGUAGE BOX:
Fill a plastic pencil box with small items!
- Our favorites are little erasers that look like food and animals
- Play Guess What?! Have your child describe the new items to you and you guess what they are! Ask questions: What does it feel like? How big is it? What color is it? What does it taste like? Switch roles and have your child ask you the questions and guess!
- Sort the toys into categories like fruits, vegetables, things you can ride on or animals. Or classify them by color, shape, use – the conversation is endless!
- Buy two of each item. Using only their sense of touch, have your child close their eyes and feel around in the box for a match. Describe how the object feels in their hands.
SENSORY BOX:
Fill a plastic pencil box with Sensory items like a squishy, finger trap, Jacob’s Ladder or tangle. This is also a great box for any child to bring along to dinners out.
FINE MOTOR BOX:
Fill a plastic box with a tennis ball with a slit, beads, pom poms, and clothespins.
Hungry Tennis Ball:
This activity helps improve hand and finger strength.
- Carefully use a knife to create a slit in the tennis ball. Then let your child decorate a face using the slit as the mouth and give the tennis ball a name. Have your child squeeze the tennis ball so the mouth opens up. To make it fun, play puppets or have your child pick up small items (e.g. cotton balls, marbles, dry pasta, etc)
For an added challenge:
- Count how many seconds your child can hold the mouth of the tennis ball open or how many items they can get before they get tired. Try to beat the record from the day before!
Helpful Hint: The smaller the slit the harder it will be to squeeze the “mouth” open. Start with a 1 1/2” inch slit and make it bigger if your child is having difficulty.
Clothespin Numbers:
This activity helps improve hand and finger strength.
- Write the numbers 1-10 on index cards.
- Using thumb and pointer finger, pinch clothespins open and attach to cards.