Beat the heat!!!

The sidewalk is so hot you could fry an egg???  Well at least that's how it feels outside here in Connecticut.  Yep we have been blessed with our annual visit from the 3H's (hazy, hot and humid).  I know that the preferred activity in this heat for my family involves sprinklers, the pool and lots and lots of water, but we can only spend so much time lounging poolside until our skin starts to wrinkle and we become completely water logged. 

I asked Kelly to put together a list of activities that children can do this summer in between dives off the diving board and building castles or burying dad up to his neck in sand. Kelly has compiled some very creative activities to get your kids moving and continuing to integrate all those great skills that they acquired during the last year so get out of the water for a few minutes and try these out!

Top 10 summer OT activities- By: Kelly Martin, OTR/L

1. Rolling down hill: Rolling down a hill is a great way to have some fun and get vestibular input. If your child is a sensory seeker and gets easily over stimulated by this input try to follow it up by having them do some active heavy work (ex: wheelbarrow walks or crawling back up the hill).

2. Make a birdhouse: Use popsicle sticks and juice box to create a summer time birdhouse, hang at appropriate height for your child so that they can go outside and put birdseed in it daily!

3. Water plants with spray bottle: Fill up spray bottle and have your child water plants outside, this is a good activity for fine motor manipulation and strength.

4.  Hop scotch: Help your child draw a hop scotch board on the driveway, make the boxes and have them fill in the numbers and write start and finish.  This is a great activity that can be done easily, incorporating visual perception, bilateral coordination, and balance.

5. Create a sensory garden: add fake or real plants/flowers and toy gardening tools to any sensory bin (container with dry kidney beans or rice).  Great for tactile input, executive functioning skills and exploring creativity. 

6. Playing catch: play catch with a medium sized ball, challenge your child by having them stand in one spot (or on a base), throw the ball slightly to the left/right/low and high.  This is a great simple activity to incorporate dynamic balance and crossing midline, not to mention that you will be integrating eye hand coordination as well as upper extremity strength!

7. Blowing bubbles: It may sound simple but blowing bubbles is a great way to incorporate some self-regulation, oral motor skills, eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills.  Take turns with your child blowing bubbles, tell them to point with pointer to pop, if your child is unable to do this, have them clap it to pop it.

8. Get creative! Use (safe) objects in your yard to create an obstacle course with your child, have them walk on a straight line, jump over branches and into hula hoops, balance on stepping stones, crawl under a bench or lounge chairs, climbing over uneven surfaces.  If you have a pool, use toys such as noodles and floats!

9. Outdoor scavenger hunt:  Create a list of things to find outdoors.  Not everything has to be collected.  Have them find a white rock, bumble bee, different color flowers.

10. Target practice: use an old tarp and cut holes in it, labeling each with points, hang on clothesline outside and have your child throw ball or bean bags into the target, this is a good activity for hand-eye coordination and depth perception