Several years ago I entered the land of school based physical therapy. I honestly didn't know what to expect just 2 years out of school. . I was lucky, I had a wonderful mentor my first year to help guide me through my first year as a school based physical therapist. Today, I ...
School Ideas
Fun Brain Breaks For Kindergarten and Preschool
Kids need physical activity and movement. Fun brain breaks for kindergarten and preschool are some of my favorite things to share about. To anyone working with children this is not shocking news. That being said, teachers, parents, and therapists today run into a problem. So ...
Pediatric Core Strengthening – Creative Ideas
Working in pediatrics can be a lot of fun. What makes it fun is the fact that you get to "play" while working on important motor skills. Today I'm going to share some of my favorite pediatric core strengthening exercises that are so much fun that your kiddo may not even realize ...
February Motor Planning Ideas
February is here! It's a fun month for gross motor planning with a variety of different ideas to make movement fun all February long. With events such as the Super Bowl and Valentine's Day, February gross motor can be a breeze. I'm excited to share with you different February ...
January Gross Motor Planning
Hello January! It's the start of the New Year and the dead of winter. When I think of January gross motor planning I think of all things snow and cold as well as a fresh start with the New Year upon us. I like to break January gross motor planning down into different themes for ...
Snowball Relay – Winter Movement Game
Winter will be here shortly. Being from Minnesota, I always find it hard to believe winter starts in late December as the winter weather has already been here for a while! I'm excited to share a fun winter themed game that is perfect for the entire winter season and a fun ...
Christmas Gross Motor – Jingle Jive
Are you looking for a fun way to add movement and physical activity with a holiday theme? Need Christmas gross motor ideas? How about dancing like elves? The Jingle Jive is a fun game to create dancing routines during the holidays. The Jingle Jive is a great way to move and ...
Santa Boots Gross Motor Path
I love all of the different motor and sensory paths I am seeing out there. If you are a regular reader or have been looking through this website you will notice that I LOVE themes. That's why I created the Santa Boots gross motor game that is perfect for Christmas! It's easy ...
Supportive Classroom Seating -Alternative and Complex Classroom Seating Needs
I'm excited to welcome Nik Sell a school-based physical therapist to the blog today! He will be sharing some great options for supportive classroom seating for alternative and complex classroom seating needs. Sitting. Sitting might seem like a pretty boring topic. Most of us ...
E-Books For Pediatric Therapists
We are lucky that there are so many valuable resources available to us as therapists! Several of these resources are even created by therapists. I love creating resources myself, like the resources in the shop! I also love getting resources from other pediatric therapists. ...
Vertical Surface Activities for Gross Motor Skills
One of my favorite ways to do therapy with kids was using a vertical surface. There are a ton of benefits to working on a vertical surface including wrist extension, spatial awareness, visual attentions, shoulder and elbow stability, core strength etc. That being said, I also ...
Fun Ideas For Combining Gross Motor and Fine Motor Skills
This year we have been doing more fine motor activities in my house as I have two preschoolers (almost 3 and just turned 5) living with me. It took a while for my 5 year old to even care to do anything that involved sitting at the table, but since he is interested now we are ...
Relay Races For Kids
Summer is upon us and it's the perfect time to get outside and move. Relay races for kids is a fun way to do this! Whether you are looking for activities for your own kids, a family get together, camp, or summer school you need to check out these kids relay games! The relay ...
Summer Gross Motor Planning – Printable Summer Activity Calendars
Summer is just around the corner! Hooray! School is out and many therapists and parents are looking for simple and fun activities to do with their kids or to send home with their kids. At Pink Oatmeal, we've put together some summer gross motor planning ideas for you. Pink ...
Free Printable Scavenger Hunts
We are all about making movement fun. One of the most fun ways to move is with a scavenger hunt! That's why we've created several fun free printable scavenger hunts for you to use to make including movement in your day easier. Download one or download them all. Make movement ...
5 Tips For Incorporating Movement into Busy School and Home Routines
I am excited to welcome Sarah Selznick, MS OTR/L from Sarah The O.T. to the blog today. She is an occupational therapist with a background working with children and in the schools. She is sharing with us five tips for incorporating movement into busy school and home ...
May Gross Motor Activities Planning
It's May! For many, the weather is warming up and school will be out just around the corner. 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. Also, be sure to ...
Garden Themed Fine Motor Activities
Hello spring! It's time to start thinking about what is going to be planted in your garden. At least where I'm from, planting doesn't take place until May, but planning is going on all April. I think gardens are so cool and such a great learning experience as you have a bunch ...
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. It also includes bonus Easter ideas. ...
Spring Fine Motor Activities
Don't you just love the smell of spring? The fresh air and I can finally open my windows again feeling is so much appreciated after a long winter. Although, spring is often a short season where I'm from, it's a season I have great appreciation for. We are celebrating this ...