Resources. I have a lot of interesting things to discuss with you today, so I need to get over the legiLiners. Dollar Tree OT is one of the things I frequently teach. You can purchase occupational therapy supplies at the dollar store. This is merely a list. You can use it as a resource items that you can use for OT fine motor exercises. Stickers, dry erase boards, clothes pins, Play-Doh, shoelaces, beads, push pins, paper clips, tweezers, hole punchers, straws, pom poms, golf t-shirts, hair elastics, shaving cream, bubble wrap, Q-tips, playing cards, disposable cups for sorting and stacking, tongs, chopsticks, lint remover, rollers, index cards, rubber bands, and ice cube trays. I adore ice cube trays.
Ideas include Velcro, balloons, blow toys, bubbles, and many others. This list is four pages long. The dollar store offers sixty different items for fine motor exercises. It's not just the list, either. Activities include things like shoelaces. You can practice tying shoes. You can practice weaving the shoelaces through a hole-punched card and adding beads to the shoelaces. After punching holes in a card, you can begin sewing. Another option is to use pool noodles and wrap them in rubber bands. You can cut the pool noodle and attach it to a string or rope. You can push golf tees into it. The golf tee can be used to balance a tiny puffball that has been forced into the pool noodle slice. Just many different ideas like that. Practice dressing, shaving cream, socks, and dry erase. It's a fun resource. OT suggestions for a fine motor kit. I wholeheartedly endorse the creation of a fine motor kit.
The top ten things you should have in your fine motor kit include a clothespin or tweezer of some sort, scissors, putty or Play-Doh, shoelaces, beads, dice, mini tops, cards, fidgets, and Wikisticks. I included a couple extras. Stickers, hole puncher, tennis ball buddy, and push pins.
This is another source of fun fine motor exercises and things you should have in your kit. Place everything in a pencil box, shoe box, or similar container. Additionally, before sitting down to practice handwriting, your students can complete a fine motor exercise as part of the handwriting warm-ups.
Please view the following video for more details: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3iUnCNJ5W8
