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! ...
School Ideas
Ball Activities For Kids
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 ...
Fun Exercises For Kids Using Color Dots
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 ...
November Gross Motor and Fine Motor Activity Planning
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 ...
Action Songs For Kids – Examples and Benefits
Whether you are working with children in the home, clinic, or school, action songs for kids are an effective way to promote a variety of skills. Regardless of the setting, action songs can be used during transition times, as an intervention to promote specific skills, as a fun, ...
Monster Activities For Kids
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 ...
Movement Breaks In The Classroom
Movement breaks in the classroom can provide numerous benefits to children, including improved attention, improved ability to regulate emotions, and an increase in cognitive skills. When we consider the demands a child must meet in order to be successful in the classroom, there ...
October Gross Motor and Fine Motor Planning Ideas
Can you smell and taste the pumpkin in the air? Nothing says October more than pumpkin patch visits and Halloween. The October gross motor and fine motor planning ideas take a look at the themes pumpkin, fire safety, space and Halloween! Read all about fun ways ...
Space Themed Gross Motor and Fine Motor Activities
Many teachers, therapists and parents love to use themes when working with their kids. A space theme is just one of several great motor planning theme ideas. I'm excited to share with you several different ideas for space themed gross motor and fine motor activities ...
Fire Safety Gross Motor and Fine Motor Activities
Fire safety is an important topic that our children learn about from an early age. Fire safety week falls in the month of October, but fire fighter and fire safety themes happen all year long. Adding gross motor and fine motor skills right into the fire safety theme ...
Adapted Physical Activity Ideas For Kids
It is generally well-known that the benefits of physical activity and exercise for children are wide-ranging. Physical activity can help children maintain attention, sleep more effectively, maintain a healthy body weight, improve mental and emotional health, and perform better ...
Why OT’s Love Crossing Midline
If crossing midline was a product or company, I would be their brand ambassador. I mean, I really, really have this nerdy obsession with crossing midline. I love talking about it, educating about its importance, and seeing how many times in a day I can set up environments to ...
Community Helpers Theme – Movement Activities
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 ...
May Gross Motor Activities Planning
May is just around the corner. For many, the weather is warming up and the end of the school year is approaching. It's also a time where there is lots of energy to be burned. Gross motor planning for the month of May includes camping, sports, safari, and cowboy/cowgirl themes. ...
Physical Development Activities for Large Motor Skills
In the first years of life kids are growing and learning fast. Pediatric physical therapists tend to work on physical development activities that focus on large motor skills. Large motor skills are activities like walking, jumping, running, or skipping. ...
Gross Motor Activities For Kids
As a pediatric physical therapist one of my main jobs is to work on gross motor skills. To work on these skills pediatric physical therapists come up with lots of different gross motor activities for kids! ...
School Based Physical Therapy Documentation Resources
Are you new to the world of school based physical therapy? Maybe you are a seasoned veteran of the school based therapy world, but you are looking for a more efficient way to document? School based physical therapy documentation (and occupational therapy) can prove to be ...
April Motor Activities Planning
Spring is officially here and April is the perfect time to add all the fun spring themes to your motor programming. This April motor planning ideas include the themes - insects, bugs, and creepy crawlers, farm, baseball and earth/weather and ocean. It also ...
Letter Recognition Activities – With Movement
We love combining all things movement and learning at our house. This includes literacy and letter recognition activities. My boys are both preschool aged kids with one being 5 and one being 3. My three year old is working on letter recognition in his preschool, and my five ...
March Motor Planning Ideas – Fine Motor and Gross Motor
March is here and full of great options for gross motor planning. With St. Patrick's Day, the basketball tournaments, Spring etc. it makes it easy for March gross motor planning. Check out all of the different ideas for March gross motor planning. ...