I have a bunch of fun things to share with you today. One of the things that I often teach is “Dollar Tree OT." This is a workshop on occupational therapy tools you can get at the dollar store. I have a list, and it is a resource for you.

These are things you can use for OT from the Dollar Tree for fine motor activities: clothespins, stickers, dry erase boards, Play-Doh, shoelaces, beads, pushpins, paper clips, tweezers, a hole puncher, straws, pom-poms, golf tees, hair elastics, shaving cream, bubble wrap, Q-tips, playing cards, disposable cups for stacking and unstacking, sorting tongs, chopsticks, lint remover rollers, index cards, rubber bands, and ice cube trays. I love ice cube trays. They are great for sorting and keeping small items from rolling away.

There are also bubbles and blow toys, Velcro, balloons, and lots of different ideas. I have over four pages here with 60 different things you can get at the dollar store to do fine motor activities.

And it’s not just the list. There are activities included, too. For example, it might say “shoelaces.” With shoelaces, you can work on shoe tying. You can work on putting beads on the shoelaces, and then you can also weave the shoelaces through a hole-punched card. You take a card, hole punch it, and then you can do sewing.

You can also use pool noodles. You can put rubber bands around the pool noodles. The pool noodle can be sliced and strung onto a rope or string. Golf tees can be pushed into it. A small puffball that has been pushed into the pool noodle slice can be balanced on the golf tee.

There are just a lot of various concepts like that. You can use socks, shaving cream, practice dressing skills, or dry-erase activities with the socks. It’s an entertaining resource.

OT Ideas for a Fine Motor Kit

Making a fine motor kit is something I strongly support. Your students can perform handwriting warm-ups by doing a fine-motor exercise before sitting down to practice the actual handwriting.

A clothespin or tweezer of some kind, scissors, putty or Play-Doh, shoelaces, beads, dice, mini tops, cards, fidgets, and WikkiStix are among the top ten items you should have in your fine motor kit. I added a few extra ideas, including pushpins, stickers, a tennis ball buddy, and a hole puncher. 

Put all those items in a shoebox, pencil box, or similar container. Don’t forget your LegiLiners!

For additional information, please watch the following video: https:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3iUnCNJ5W8