Skill: Visual Motor

How the eyes and hands work together as a team. This is essential for tasks where movement is guided by vision, like catching a ball, cutting on a line, or staying within the lines when coloring.

Vertical Brick Layers

Find a safe vertical surface, like a sliding glass door, or just a regular wall. Use the masking tape to create a square “construction zone” frame on the surface, right at your child’s eye level.

Have your child pinch off small pieces of playdough and roll them into little balls using their thumb and index finger (this is the “cement”).

Ask your child to stick a playdough ball onto the back of a craft stick (the “brick”).

Now, have them press the craft stick firmly onto the wall inside the taped zone so it sticks. Challenge them to build straight rows of bricks from the bottom up to fill the whole square!

Safety Tip: Always supervise to ensure playdough is not eaten. Test a small piece of masking tape on your wall first to make sure it doesn’t damage paint or wallpaper when removed.

Cardboard Link Structures

Cardboard Link Structures

Steps:

  • Use markers to draw several long strips (about 1 inch wide) onto a piece of firm cardboard. Draw a few simple shapes like squares or circles, too.
  • Encourage your child to use child-safe scissors to carefully cut along the marker lines. Cutting the thick cardboard requires a strong grasp and finger effort!
  • Adult Step: Take the cardboard strips and shapes. Cut 2-3 short, narrow slits (about 1/2 inch deep) into the edges of each piece. Ensure the slits are slightly wider than the cardboard thickness.
  • Challenge your child to connect the cardboard pieces by sliding the slits into each other. The goal is to build a tall, unique, free-standing structure by linking all the pieces.
  • Encourage your child to use one hand to hold the structure steady while the other hand works to push and maneuver the joining pieces into place.

Safety Tip:
Adult supervision is required during all cutting phases. For children under 5, ensure all small cardboard scraps are immediately collected and discarded, as they may pose a choking hazard.

Laundry Basket Skee-Ball

roll a sock ball up the cardboard ramp, aiming for one of the baskets. This action requires good hand-eye coordination and control of force.

This activity is a fun, physically engaging game that helps children practice controlling their body movements and aiming. By rolling sock “balls” up a ramp into baskets of different distances, they learn to adjust the force of their throws to reach a specific target.

Create the Ramp: Lean a piece of sturdy cardboard or a couch cushion against a laundry basket to create a ramp.

Set up the Targets: Place 2-3 additional laundry baskets or boxes in a line behind the ramp basket, each one a little farther away.

Assign Point Values (Optional): Write point values on pieces of paper (e.g., “10” for the closest, “25” for the middle, “50” for the farthest) and tape them to the front of each basket.

Mark the Start Line: Use a piece of tape to mark a starting line on the floor a few feet in front of the ramp.

Prepare the “Balls”: Roll up several pairs of socks to create soft, safe balls.

Play the Game: The player stands behind the tape line and tries to roll the sock balls up the ramp and into the baskets.

Keep Score: After rolling all the socks, tally up the points from the baskets they landed in. You can play multiple rounds and try to beat your high score!

Weighted Puck Push

Weighted Puck Push

Steps:

  • Prepare the ‘pucks’ by filling several small Ziplock Bags about 1/4 full with dry Beans or Rice. Seal them tightly.
  • Create a long ‘push stick’ by taping two Paper Rolls together end-to-end with Masking Tape to form a hockey stick.
  • Use Construction Paper and Masking Tape to create a goal on the floor about six feet away from the starting line.
  • Start in a half-kneeling position behind the pucks. Use the push stick to tap and guide one weighted puck at a time toward the goal.
  • Encourage the child to use the stick to sweep the pucks from their left side to their right side to practice Crossing Midline.

Safety Tip:
Ensure the playing area is clear of trip hazards. When using the long stick, remind the child to keep a safe distance from others and always supervise play.

Band Launcher Target

Band Launcher Target

Steps:

  • Prep the launcher by taping one end of a craft stick firmly to the edge of a flat piece of cardboard. The stick must be able to spring back up.
  • Place the container (the target) a short distance away from the cardboard launch pad.
  • Encourage your child to use a precise pincer grasp to place a pom-pom onto the free end of the craft stick.
  • Use one hand to stabilize the cardboard while the other hand presses down on the craft stick tip using controlled force.
  • Quickly release the stick to launch the pom-pom toward the target container. Count the successful hits!

Safety Tip:
Always supervise to prevent small pom-poms from being placed in the mouth. Ensure the launch area is clear before shooting to avoid hitting anyone.