Visual Motor - OTPlan

Tissue Paper Rope Art

Steps:

Use both hands to tear the tissue paper into long strips (about 1 inch wide). Place the finished strips in the plastic container.
Take one strip. Hold one end steady with your helper hand. Use your dominant hand to twist the paper tightly. Turn it into a stiff, resistant rope.
Use a marker to draw a simple shape or a winding path onto the construction paper base.
Squeeze the glue bottle to trace a thick line of glue over the marker path.
Carefully press the twisted paper rope onto the wet glue line. Continue twisting and gluing until the entire path is filled with the colorful rope.

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Small pieces of tissue paper, if crumbled tightly, can be a choking hazard for children who still place objects in their mouths. Ensure materials are used only as intended.

Card Link Twister

Steps:

Use the marker to number 8 index cards sequentially from 1 through 8. This creates your chain links.
Use the hole puncher to create two holes at the top edge of each numbered card link.
Hold Card #1 steady with your helper hand. Push one bolt through each of the two punched holes.
Use your working hand to twist a nut firmly onto the end of each bolt. Practice using quick finger movements.
Now, take Card #2. Thread the exposed bolts from Card #1 through the holes in Card #2.
Twist two new nuts onto the exposed bolts to link the two cards securely together.
Continue this process, linking the numbered cards in order until you have created a long, flexible, and colorful chain.

Safety Tip:
Nuts and bolts are very small pieces. Ensure all materials are kept away from the mouth and supervised closely during assembly to prevent choking hazards.

Resistant Frame Weave

Steps:

Adult Prep: Cut a sturdy square from the cardboard. Use the masking tape to wrap a dense, continuous layer around the entire perimeter of the square, sticky side OUT. Press the sticky tape firmly onto the cardboard base.
Place the cardboard frame on a stable table. Encourage your child to bend and straighten the pipe cleaners until they are stiff sticks.
Ask your child to hold the cardboard frame firmly steady with their helper hand to stabilize the base.
Using the working hand, aim the pipe cleaner tip at the narrow, sticky frame edge. Use a strong push and a twisting motion to thread the pipe cleaner all the way through the sticky tape layer.
Continue this pushing and weaving action until the entire sticky frame is filled with colorful, rigid pipe cleaners.

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Pipe cleaners are small materials and pose a choking hazard for children who still place objects in their mouths. Adults must handle the scissors during preparation.

Foil Sculpture Clip Art

Steps:

Give your child a large sheet of aluminum foil. Encourage them to use both hands to tear the foil into smaller pieces.
Challenge them to crumple and squeeze the foil pieces tightly. Focus on making dense, rock-hard 3D shapes.
Adults can use scissors to cut small shapes or strips from the construction paper. Glue these shapes onto the ends of the clothespins.
Place the foil sculpture on the table. Hold the foil sculpture steady with your helper hand.
Use your dominant hand to pinch open a clothespin. Clip the decorative paper firmly onto the resistant foil surface.
Continue clipping the clothespins onto the stiff foil until the entire sculpture is covered in color.

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Ensure children crumple the foil tightly to avoid sharp edges. Collect all small foil pieces immediately after play.

Tear & Thread Cardboard Chain

Steps:

Adult Prep: Secure a piece of construction paper onto a stable piece of cardboard. Use the hole puncher to create 8 to 10 holes evenly around the edges of the board.
Give your child strips of sturdy cardboard. Encourage them to use both hands to tear the strips and crumple the pieces into tight, dense balls. Drop the finished balls into the container.
Pick up one colorful pipe cleaner. Help your child push the stiff pipe cleaner straight through the center of one dense cardboard ball. This creates a ‘loaded pin’.
Challenge your child to hold the cardboard frame steady with their helper hand. Thread the loaded pin through one punched hole in the frame. Pull the pipe cleaner through.
Weave the pin back through the next open hole, linking the crumpled cardboard ball to the frame. Repeat this process until all the crumpled pieces create a colorful chain around the border.

Safety Tip:
Constant and direct adult supervision is required. Small pieces of torn cardboard and cut pipe cleaners are small objects and pose a significant choking hazard for children who still place items in their mouths.