OT Activity of the Day:
Twister
Target Age Range: 6 and up
As a therapist, I love this game. It's a great way to focus on right and left discrimination. It's a great way to focus on gross motor coordination. And it's a wonderful way to work on balance and core strength.
I have to say, the newest version of this game is amazing. In addition to the regular stuff, it target's a child's ability to ideate and come up with various ideas for a given hand or foot. And for those kiddos that struggle with this ability, there are ideas on the back of the spinner. Perfect!
So here's how I play. First we establish right from left. If this is tricky I usually put a sticker or stamp on the dominant hand for visual assistance. Then one person spins and the other person plays. In addition to spinning, the spinner also has to count 7 spins (managing two tasks at once). At the end of 7 spins the spinner rolls the dice and based on the number rolled, the player on the board has to hold that position for the specified amount of time ( a great way to target core strength and balance). Usually it's just me and another kid playing, but this can easily be done in groups.
Enjoy!