OT Activity of the Day:
Recycled Leaves
Target Age Range: 2 and up
Today we're making Fall leaves 3 different ways. We're using our fingers, wine corks, empty toilet paper rolls, and of course washable paint. There's a little something for everyone here so this activity is easily scaled up or down.
For the older kiddos (4 and up) you can focus on finger isolation and use your fingers to finger paint the leaves. Challenge them to use different fingers for different colors! Also challenge them to write a word or short sentence that will describe their tree!
For the younger kiddos (2 and up) you can focus on establishing a functional grip by having your child use the wine cork or empty toilet paper roll as stampers. (As with broken crayons and pip squeak markers, the shorter the writing tool, the more it naturally promotes a functional grip. This is because it's short and does not allow for multiple fingers on the tool.) Hint: the toilet paper roll was folded so it makes more of an oval shape. You can always cut the toilet paper roll down to really facilitate a functional grip as well.
Enjoy!