Want a fun and engaging theme for gross motor and fine motor skills work that your kids will love? Try the pirate, princess and mermaid theme (maybe mermaid princess?)! This theme can be used any time of the year, but I prefer it as a summer or end of the school year theme. It can […]
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Pools are a great place to not only play, but also work on exercise and conditioning. There are several great pool exercises for kids that you can do that seem like all fun and play! The summer months are prime pool season, but indoor pools provide opportunity for these water exercises for kids when the
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Earth Day is celebrated April 22nd every year. I remember receiving a little pine tree in school on Earth Day that I could take home and plant. I drove by the house I grew up in about a year ago, and my little pine tree wasn’t so little anymore! As a physical therapist, I love
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Bilateral coordination means using both sides of the body together in a controlled manner. An example of bilateral coordination in everyday life would be stabilizing the paper with one hand while writing with the opposite hand. If a child struggles with bilateral coordination, it may cause everyday tasks such as writing, tying shoes, riding a
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The Coronavirus pandemic has presented us with many challenges. One of these challenges is finding new and different ways to work with kids outside of the traditional in person routines we were used too. The good news is there are lots of resources out there to help. Sometimes it seems that many of these resources
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As the new school year approaches, so do new challenges for teachers, therapists and parents. With all the different models for keeping kids and staff safe, new ideas have to be put in place to make learning and motor skills successful! This includes social distancing measures when in person school is in session. This also
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What kid doesn’t love an amusement park? The games, the rides, and the food! Nothing beats the day at an amusement park. Turning this into a theme for gross motor and fine motor is easy too. Adding this theme to your classroom, therapy session or home based learning can be done using the ideas below.
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In my past work as a school based physical therapist, the programming I did was for the school day. My daily plans often times followed different themes and seasons based on the time of the school year. We are now at at time where many teachers (of all types), school based physical therapists and occupational
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Have you heard the term crossing the midline? What exactly does this mean? Imagine a line down the center of your body. Crossing midline means that you can reach across the middle of your body (the imaginary line) to perform a task with your arms or legs. This is a skills that starts to become
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Building lower body strength in kids doesn’t have to be boring! Even traditional lower body exercises for kids can be made fun by adding a little twist. Today I’m sharing with you some of my favorite lower body strengthening exercises for kids.
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With Groundhog’s Day quickly approaching I can’t wait to share with you a fun Groundhog’s Day gross motor activity. What I really like about this game is that it works perfect for Groundhog’s Day, but is also a game that can be used all year long. Since the Punxsutawney Phil is out looking for his
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If you walk into a school, preschool, or daycare, it isn’t surprising to come across a sensory path! These paths have gained quite the buzz, and for good reason. They allow kids an opportunity to move and work on skills such as eye-hand coordination and spatial awareness, both of which are crucial for learning and
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Winter is here! That means winter themes are fun to incorporate into fine motor skills work. I love the idea of working on fine motor through manipulatives and play as much as possible. Check out some of the fun winter fine motor activities below!
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Building upper body strength in kids can be made fun with several different exercises! Today I’m sharing with you some of my favorite exercises that work on upper body strength and weight bearing for kids!
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As a mom with a background in pediatric physical therapy I’ve found a simple ball is one of the most flexible pieces I can have on hand in both therapy and play. There are so many different ball activities for kids that you can come up with for a variety of skill levels and goals.
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It’s been a while since I posted! I’ve been moving. The last time I moved, I could fit everything I owned in a car. It’s a lot different moving a family of 5 this time. That being said, I really wanted to get out this ideas on using color dots for fun exercises for kids!
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With November nearly here, it’s time to start thinking about November gross motor and fine motor activities planning! In true Pink Oatmeal fashion, the November motor planning ideas are all about themes. The themes for the month include Thanksgiving, Football, Dinosaur and Transportation. If you want even more theme ideas be sure to check out
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Making gross motor, fine motor, and physical activity fun is what Pink Oatmeal is all about. This week it is all about monster activities for kids! There are several great ways that a monster theme can be incorporated into gross motor, fine motor and physical activity. This is a fun theme to do anytime of
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Community helpers are a very popular theme in the preschool setting or kindergarten classroom. This theme involves discussing all of the different helpers out in the community. Adding gross motor or movement to this theme can easily be done through yoga/movement cards or setting up movement stations. Check out these different ideas for adding movement
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Have you ever heard the term visual perception? So what exactly is it? In short, visual perception is the ability for the brain to make sense of what the eyes see. Visual perception is very important part of our everyday lives! It’s a huge part of how we interact with the environment. Did you know
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