The occupational therapists at Allcare Therapy Services love summer, and so do your kids! There’s plenty to do outside that is both fun for your children and a great way to improve things like physical abilities, motor skills, and mental enrichment.
Make Obstacle Courses
Don’t waste a perfect day by not working in some fun at-home therapy! Our occupational therapists love taking the time to make obstacle courses out of household objects outside. Not only do they create a fun time for your children, but they’re a great way to develop the gross motor skills needed to complete it, like balance, coordination, motor planning, running, jumping, climbing, or crawling.
Beach Day
Having a beach day? Turn it into a therapy day! Bring tools and encourage your child to build sand castles (or anything they want!) in order to help develop fine motor skills. If they have any friends with them, make it into a fun competition to see who can build their castle the fastest.
When a child engages with sand and other tactile-based materials, it helps with tactile processing while fostering their fine motor skills. You can also have them help you fly a kite to work on their visual motor skills and their spatial awareness. There’s plenty to do at the beach that makes teaching important physical skills fun!
Play Catch
Who doesn’t love a good game of catch? Instead of baseballs, use a smaller beach ball or a plastic wiffle ball so there’s no real chance of injury, and just spend the day throwing it around! Your child will love spending time with you, and it’s great for things like hand-eye coordination, arm strength, and grip strength.
Set Up A Lemonade Stand
A lemonade stand presents many opportunities to improve things like fine motor skills for children. Have them make a sign with multiple writing utensils, encouraging them to use different colors and express their creativity. Help them make the lemonade, requiring them to follow step-by-step instructions, use measuring spoons, and pour lemonade into a jug.
As an added bonus, running a lemonade stand can help them with their social skills and help them feel a sense of accomplishment when they count their money at the end of the day!
Need some more great ideas for summer occupational therapy activities? Contact Allcare Therapy Services to speak to one of our occupational therapists!