OT FUN at Home
Today we’re turning a family dinner into an OT’s dream:). For many of us, we’re stuck in the monotony of life and what better way to mix things up than to have a fun family dinner (even if you’re just serving up leftovers and/or delivery, because we’re all just doing our best to survive). You can gear this activity towards your child’s needs no matter how old they are, here are a few ways that you can achieve OT goals while prepping and getting ready for a family dinner!
Setting the table! This is a great time to bust out those cloth napkins and work on those visual motor skills. Visual motor integration (visual motor skills) involves effective, efficient communication between the eyes and the hands, so that you are able to copy, draw or write what you see. This is so important when it comes to writing and a great way to practice would be to fold napkins! You can fold one and have your child copy you and then switch, they fold and you have to copy them:).
Name cards and/or menus! This is a great way to work on handwriting. For the name tags you can also work on folding paper so that the name cards stand up like a tent:). For the menu I might suggest having your child write one and then photocopy if you can, if not, one is good enough to share and you can prop it up somewhere on the table so everyone can see!
Following a recipe! This is a great way to work on fine motor skills (measuring, dumping, stirring, pouring, etc.), reading, and sequencing skills. Ask your child if there is something that they would like to cook/order/reheat and then promote them to Head Chef and you can “assist”, this might be very motivating for them.
Utensils! This could also be a great time to work on your child’s ability to use a spoon, fork, or knife. My advice is always model first and encourage but not mandate. For example, if your child has a more difficult time using a fork, start out slow, ask them to take just one bite using their fork and then they can go back to using their hands/spoons/preferred way of eating. Once they feel more comfortable with one bite increase the expectations. Always applaud and cheer on, positive reinforcement can go a long way.
Cleaning up! You can work on following multiple step directions with set up and clean up. For example, “Hunny can you put this cup by the sink and then throw this napkin away?” That’s a functional and perfect 2 step direction. Feel free to bump it down to one step or up to three!
Stay safe and healthy out there and I hope you enjoy!