Index Cards - Page 6 of 7

Thumb Flick Target Game

Steps:

Use markers to draw a simple target or bullseye onto several index cards. You can assign point values for older children.
Secure the index cards flat onto a table using masking tape around all four edges. This prevents the card from moving.
Place a small pile of colorful buttons from the container near a designated start line on the card.
Show your child how to use the pad of their thumb to gently flick the button forward. The thumb should use the pointer finger as a stabilizer (thumb opposition).
Challenge your child to flick each button until it lands completely inside a target zone. If the button flies off the table, try using less force.

Safety Tip:
Buttons are small items that pose a choking hazard. Maintain constant, close adult supervision throughout this activity. Ensure all buttons are collected immediately after play.

Sticky Shape Rescue

Preschooler crossing midline to peel an orange foam shape from a wall, an occupational therapy activity for bilateral hand use and motor planning.

Steps:

Use Masking Tape to create a large rectangle outline (the “Rescue Zone”) on a sturdy wall or door at eye level for your child.
Cut various simple shapes (squares, triangles, circles) from Foam Sheets or Construction Paper. Using small rolled pieces of tape, stick these shapes randomly onto the wall *outside* the Rescue Zone.
Challenge your child to “rescue” the shapes by carefully peeling them off the wall. Encourage them to use one hand to stabilize the wall (the helper hand) while the other hand peels the shape.
Once rescued, the child must carry the shape and place it *inside* the taped Rescue Zone. They can match colors or simply stack them inside the boundary.

Safety Tip:
Ensure the working surface is clean and safe, and always supervise when the child is reaching high or standing near a door frame.

Lacing Pictures

Use the hole puncher and the index cards to punch holes in different directions or create different shapes.

Give the child a lace and show him/her the proper sequence to lace these holes.

Have the child lace the picture without skipping any hole.

Cut the Line

Use the ruler to draw 4 inch thick lines across an index card.

At the edge of each line put a sticker and ask the child to cut along the line you drew all the way up to the sticker.

When the child is able to cut along an index card easily, repeat the activity using a paper.

Hang Up a Pattern

On an index card or a piece of paper, draw a pattern of colors, letters, or numbers (you can also mix the symbols).

Draw the matching symbols on the bottom part of the clothespins.

Place the index card and the clothespins in front of the child. Ask the child to hold the top part of the hanger with his non-dominant hand.

Review the pattern with the child first, then ask the child to use the dominant hand to find the clothespin that has the first symbol in the raw.

Instruct the child to place the clothespin he found on the hanger, reinforcing him to use pincer grasp to open the clothespin, and crossing his mid-line by placing the clothespin on the opposite side of the hanger (i.e. if the child is right hand dominant, he will start placing the clothespins on the left side of the hanger).

Have the child continue following the pattern, placing all the matching clothespins on the hanger.