Customize your tracing pages!

For free customized tracing pages go to http://www.kidzone.ws/tracers/ocean/index.asp  Enjoy!

What to do with broken or flat crayons!

These are Flip Crayons.  For children learning how to write the tiny size and two tone color encourages a dynamic tripod grasp and in hand manipulation skills.  They are so cool.  You can get them at www.hwtears.com.  Or if you have some broken crayons around, I have an idea.

Peel the paper off of your broken crayons.

Sharpen both ends of your crayon.

I like to add labels to mine.  Adding a sight word to the crayon takes it that one step further in supporting academic skills. 

Mine crayons do not have the cool two color flipping action, but they will encourage in hand manipulation in the same way.  When one side is flat it can be flipped to the sharp side.  Nobody likes a dull crayon!

Matching Game

This is a super simple matching game my daughter came home with from school today.  She colored, cut, and glued these ghost on to playing cards that she had also cut out.  Now she has a little memory or matching game to play with.  Wow, that addresses a ton of skills!  Grasp strength, cutting, writing, fine motor control, hand-eye coordination, sequencing, visual memory, visual perception, and if she played the game on a mat on all fours we could also add body awareness, proprioception, and motor planning to the list.  So easy and so cool!  (oh, and cheap!)

My friend Sharon gave me these awesome print outs of how to do animal walks with children.  This one pictured is the path of a dolphin.  I was trying to think of ways to use them in a game and I came up with magnet tracers!  I put the animal paths on a piece of heavy card stock so that a child could hold and manipulate the image with one hand while tracing under the image with a magnet. Another magnet goes on top, which will follow the design.  I glued spools to the magnets to be used under the picture so that tiny hands can grasp them better.  I also glued colored foam dots to the top magnets for added visibility.  I remember doing this activity with my grandma as a kid, her magnets had tiny deer on them!

Scratch off Bingo

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How to make the cards:

• lObtain spelling words (25 words) for the week from the teacher, in this case I use school themed words.

• lPut the words into an excel document, print, and cut them out to be put into a ball for drawing out when words are called.  

• lIn excel create a bingo card template creating a 16 space grid or 4x4 space square.   

• Make several cards scrambling the pre-determined words and remembering to use a free space for practice scratching when giving instructions. 

• lCover the card with clear contact paper or laminate the card if a laminating machine is available.  Covering the card with clear packing tape works also. 

  

Recipe for scratch off:

• lOne part liquid dish soap to one part metallic acrylic paint. 

• lBrush on a light coat with a small brush so that the words and lines are still visible.

• lWipe the edges clean with a paper towel.

• lLet dry over night. 

 

How to play the game:   

Have the children sit at desks pushed together or a table.  Give each child a bingo card and a penny for scratching.  Draw a name to see who goes first and have that child retrieve a word from the bingo ball.  Have the children pass the word around in a clock wise motion so that each child has a chance to see and match the word to their bingo card.  If a child has a match that child then scratches off that space exposing the word while staying with in the boundaries of the square.  Have the child place the word on the table or desk for all to see.  Pass the ball to the next child and continue clock wise until some one calls out a bingo or has scratched off 4 spaces in a row (horizontal, vertical or diagonal.).  The child who has bingo must then pull out each word from the pile on the desk that was in their bingo line.  If all words are there that child has bingo and gets a sticker or congratulated.  

 

lTime:20 minutes 

 

lSpace requirements: Desks or table, and chairs. 

 

lWorking towards:  Visual memory, visual perception: figure-ground and spatial relations, hand-eye coordination, reinforcement of reading and spelling concepts, and it provides the proprioceptive input (through resistance and vibration) that is needed for body awareness and motor control. 

 

lPrecautions:  Possible risk of choking if a child puts the penny into their mouth.  Children may not be able to read some of the words drawn.  The use of spelling words increases the chance that the child will be able to read the words.

 

Big Doggy

I came across this dog at a garage sale and had the idea to cut him up and turn him into something even cooler!  I cut a hole for his mouth, stuck a sock in it and stitched it tight all the way around.  I did the same for his ear holes.  After the hole where made my daughter stuffed his mouth and ears with letters from the refrigerator. 

This activity promotes:  grasp strengthening, in hand manipulation, verbalization, letter recognition, stereognosis, and proprioceptive input through deep pressure on hands and arms. 

Super Soapy Boat

In this activity the child will cut out an outline of a motor boat as shown above, from an index card.  I laminated mine because I found the boats water log fast!  Once cut out, place the boat gently on top of the water.  Drop a small amount of dish washing soap from an eye dropper into the notch cut out from the boat and watch it zoom across the water!  Do 2 or 3 trails with different boats.  Depending on the child's skills you could also have them write their down their observations to reinforce academic concepts. 

Time:  10 minutes

Materials:  Index cards, dish soap, scissors, water basin, water, dropper, and a foam template for tracing.

Set up:  Draw boat outline on cards and laminate.  Have a water source and drain in the room.  Have lots of towels readily available. 

Precautions:  Beware of sharps (scissors) and the possibility of accidental ingestion of soap.  Prevent water from being spilled on the floor which would be a hazardous situation increasing the risk of falls. 

This activity address:  Pinch, tripod grasp, hand-eye coordination, pre-writing skills, cutting skills, body awareness through the proprioceptive, (the resistance given when cutting laminate and card stock).