While your kids have a long break or they're attending *another* holiday gathering, they might be getting antsy, or relying on you (or a tablet) for entertainment. Give you and your littles a brain break with these fun activities that focus on achieving OT goals!
OT Cookies
This is a fun activity that the whole family can enjoy!
This activity works on executive functioning skills (i.e., planning/organizing material, initiation, and shifting from one step to another) towards IADL independence.
Christmas Pre-Writing Activities
There are many steps a child goes through before they're able to write... the milestones we have here are not a hard age for mastery, but a guideline to keep kiddos on track!
We have created fun pre-writing activities to help encourage these skills. Download the doc below and let your kiddo trace with their finger or a writing instrument to understand the movement of different lines!
Q-tip painting!
Using a q-tip encourages a pincer grasp and increases difficulty because it is so narrow. This can also cut down on messes and help practice patience because they have so little paint on the q-tip at a time.
Christmas Look & Find
Scavenger hunts help with so many crucial skills such as:
Visual Scanning
Visual Memory/ Matching
Christmas Vocabulary and Articulation
Pincer Grasp and pre-writing (when marking off squares)
Christmas Breathing
We might not always have space or materials for a much-needed sensory break during the holidays.. here are some fun Christmas breathing exercises you can do anytime, anywhere with your littles to help with mindfulness, breath control, and emotional regulation.
Deep breaths help lower your heart rate, naturally calming you down, and giving you a chance to assess your emotions and physical state.
Additional Christmas Resources:
We love utilizing these fun resources during sessions! These are a fun break from standard activities that still encourage kiddos to reach their goals! This is a great way to work together as a family or keep the kiddos busy. Activities like this target gross motor movement, body awareness, coordination, balance, and more!!
Cosmic Kids Christmas Yoga: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8snGkhBF7nilgIbF-cL8d9BOcQIPay44&si=jO9CPUVUQnbDb30U
Elf on the Shelf Freeze Dance: https://youtu.be/CRdW6vDsX7s?si=7Q2PLc8anrerhvbG
Have a wonderful and active Christmas!
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