Sunday, February 19, 2012

FEBRUARY CREATIVE FUN

Saturday was this month's Creative Fun Day.  The weather was lovely and inspiring.  The afternoon began slowly and I used the time to work on sprucing up this blog and making a project for my friend Christy.  She is a renowned pediatric occupational therapist and she gave me something that inspired me to make something for her - but more about that later.

Around 2:30 / 2:45 creatives started to arrive.  It was a small, but crafty group and we spread our stuff out in one room and laughed, talked and created (and snacked) for several hours.

Here are some of the creations of the day.


Sarah made festive fabric flowers.

And  beautiful button flowers.


Meredith came in with an idea to make a monogram plaque 
with found materials and this is what she came up with. 


Laura started a handmade gratitude book.


 And I worked on my project for my friend Christy.

Here is what she gave me.


A little plastic candy holder with two types of lids.
It told me that it wanted to be a fine motor game.
One of Christy's books is called
Mighty Fine Motor Fun

So I remembered that I had some old bingo chips that I bought at a yard sale.
I used a label maker and put letters on one side and colors on the other side.


I put a label on the top and called it "Fine Fun".


I can't wait to see all the different ways we can come up with to use this in OT.  Or better yet, maybe Christy will give her pediatric students extra credit for coming up with different ways to use this to address as many performance factors as they can.  They can post their ideas here.
What do you think Christy?

Scout says that she has an idea for a game.  If I pour the little chips on the floor she promises to show me.  However, I think I already know this game and it doesn't end well for me.
JOIN US FOR THE NEXT CREATIVE FUN DAY -
MARCH 17, 2012 from 12:30-6:00
Click here for more details.

8 comments:

  1. I love this game that Jil created because it can be used in so many ways and can be used to play in the car with the family on a long ride during vacation or on short ride home to keep the kids from playing video games and actually using there brains! :)

    Here is my list of ideas for "Fine Fun:"

    1. Fine fun could be used as a scrabble game in the car. Each player would draw out 6-7 pieces and see who could come up with the best words whoever comes up with the most words when all of the pieces are gone would be the winner. (This game would work on memory and recognition)

    2. One person would draw out a bingo chip. Let's say they drew out a "B" that was "yellow" on the back. Everyone playing the game would have to come up with as many words as they can that begin with the letter "B" that can be yellow. For example, a banana is yellow, a bandana is yellow, a bell is yellow, a balloon is yellow, beach ball has yellow on it, etc. The person that comes up with the most words would be the winner. (This will work on concentration, attention, memory, listening,)

    3. Another idea is a "formatted telephone game." One person would draw the letter out and say an object that starts with that letter, then the next person would go, and they would continue until all of the bingo chips were gone. Each person would have to list all of the previous words along with coming up with their new word For example, the letter "a" is drawn. A stands for apple. The next person goes and draws a "p" and would have to say "apple" and "piano". The next person draws a "y" and would have to say "apple," "piano," and "yarn." The winner would be able to name all of the pieces in order they were drawn. (This activity would work on sequencing, concentration, memory, attention)

    4. This activity could work on expression of emotion by having the person pick through the letters to find the words to express their emotions. Once they picked out all of the letters, they would write out the word with the bingo chips. (This activity could also work on frustration tolerance by having them take their time and calmly pick through the letters and not getting upset if they didn't draw the letter they were hoping for the first time.)

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  2. Katie Boone- Fine Fun

    1. "I Spy" This game can be used for children that are learning their colors and letters of the alphabet. The client would pull out a letter or color piece and say "I spy something green" or if the client wants to use the letter side the client would say " I spy something that starts with the letter P." This activity works on improving concentration, memory, and visual skills.

    2. Another activity would be to have all the letters on the table. the OT would choose a word to spell like cat and randomly hide the letters in the playdough. the client would try to find the hidden letters and then spell the word using the letters that the client found. After the word is spelled the client would place the letters back into the cup and the OT would choose another word to hide in the playdough. This activity would be great for children who need a fun way to learn their spelling words. Also this activity provides tactile input, finger dexterity, pincer grasp, in-hand manipulation, and much more!

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    Replies
    1. How about a fun game where you flip the items back into the container! You could open the big lid and use it as a backboard, then depending on your client's skill level flick items off various objects. Bingo chips could be flicked off a table to isolate and coordinate flicking with the index finger. Because the opening is small and may be hard to hit, paper circles could be added underneath the container to create a target. A higher level could also be placing the chips on the index finger and flicking with the thumb. If client could work chip out to PIP joint of index finger, this could even be used to indirectly promote pencil grasp for handwriting!


      Another fun activity could be a "go fish" sort of activity. You could create a fishing pole out of a stick, string, and something sticky as the "lure". Chips could be fished out of the container or placed in the container after bein fished out of a "pond".

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  3. The child reaches in and with a fine pincer grasp pulls out a letter. The child must then print the letter (manuscript) and identify and verbalize the color on the opposite side. Crayons could be used to print the letter with the corresponding color. This activity addresses fine motor (handwriting), cognitive (recognition, concentration), psychosocial (interpersonal skills, self efficacy), physical (grasp patterns, fine motor) and many more.

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  4. I Love this idea! I think it would be a great conversation starter for a family at dinner time! One person would draw a letter out, make a word starting with that letter then the rest of the family would follow with words rhyming with that letter. It would be great to get a family conversating over dinner :-)

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  5. 1. I would use the "Fine Fun" with color coded stations set up in the designated space. The child would shake and roll a piece which would be color coded to match a station. At the station the child would do activities designed for the specific intervention. These might include jumping jacks, skipping, hopping, putting jelly beans in a jar, or cutting around lines. There could be a designated number of times or another "shake and roll" to see how many times to perform an activity.
    2. Also it could be used to help reinforce probability and terms like certain, probable, and impossible. Using the colored tiles as a way to "guess" how many times a color would appear. The child could tally marks and create a colored graph using fine motor skills to color and mark. The child could cut colored shapes to glue on the graph using more dexterity with fine motor skills.
    3. Each color could represent an animal chosen by the OT and child. When a specific color is chosen the child could move to mimic that animal. Spurring movement, imagination, and creativity. This could be used alone or in groups where the children need some extra socialization skills.

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  6. Natasha Yeary - One way I would use "Fine Fun" would be to create a life-size board game. The "board" would be in a large S-shape and be made of different colored (all the different colors from the back of the bingo chips) shapes (circles, squares, and triangles). The child would reach into the large hole in the container and use the fine pincer grasp to pull out a chip. The child then would name as many animals (or food items or whatever you were working on) as he could. He would then see what color was on the back and find that color on the game board. He would use himself as a piece to move that many spaces of only that color. This activity could work on coordination, fine motor, grasp, memory, sequence, concentration.

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  7. Jessi Bryant:
    I love this tool and all the ideas everyone has listed! There are so many things you can do with it. Here's a few more...

    Glue/Velcro googly eyes (and any other face parts) to the containers lid so that when it is open it looks like some sort of animal with its mouth opened. Have the child sort the chips by colors. Encourage them to decide what food each colored chip looks like (i.e.- red chips = tomatoes, blue chip = blue berries.) Then let them feed the "food" to the animal. (Works on fine motor, categorization, creativity, social interaction, following directions)

    Arrange chairs in a circle with one less chair than you have participants. Pick one chip without looking. The color that is drawn is the color that you have to find of an item in the room. Once players get the matching colored item they must hurry to sit in a seat. Remove one chair each round until one person is left. (Works on frustration tolerance, social conduct, social interaction, color recognition, following directions, motor planning, gross motor)

    Divide chips evenly into how many player there are. Have players pick up chips from a flat surface. Play HORSE as you would with a basketball and goal but instead using the chips and the container. (Eye-Hand coordination, social interaction, fine motor, crossing midline, attention, following directions, depth perception)

    While in the car, draw a letter out and let children try to find a sign with a word that starts with that letter. (letter recognition, social interaction, figure/ground perception.)

    Let the child draw a letter out and say what sound the letter makes and/or a word that starts with that letter. (fine motor, social interaction, letter recognition, letter sounds, spelling, memory, visual thinking)

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