Your Kids OT blog – Your Kids OT

OT BINGO is a new challenge that I’m introducing in 2025 to encourage sharing of activity ideas from the Your Kids OT community. Each month I share a board of 9 prompts and also recap the any activities that I have done in the previous month. 

March was a busy month. The newness of the school year wears off very quickly with most children becoming familar with their new routines, making connections with their teachers, therapists and friends! 

Here is a look at some of the activities that I incorporated into my sessions during March using the prompts. 
* Silicon straw  – This oral motor activity was a huge hit when I shared this on social media.  It is easy to set up a container with water, a small basket container (as a goal) and some items that float.  We use the silicon straws to blow the items across the water into the goal and to blow bubbles in the water.  This is an effective way to encourage deep breathing and oral motor skills (lip closure, blowing). They were all feeling calm after this activity.

Some of my young children needed to work out the difference between blowing and sucking the water.  A big highlight was when one of my children who selective speaks (ie. non verbal most of the time), stopped in the middle of blowing bubbles to tell me “fish” then blew again and stopped to say “more”. This spontaneous speech gave me an insight into his thoughts. 

Silicon straws (rather than plastic, paper or metal) also provide an opportunity for oral motor input by chewing.  They are also easy to clean by placing them in the dishwasher. 

Watch this oral motor activity in action HERE. 
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* Crawl – There are so many benefits to encouraging children to crawl at any age! You can read about the benefits HERE.  One of my favourite ways to encourage crawling is by using a lycra tunnel.  The lycra material provides compression and resistance as the child crawls.  I describe it to children that it is “like receiving a hug” and everyone seems to agree.  There was one of the biggest smiles that I have seen on a school age child who crawled through my lycra tunnel for the first time.  Most children request if they can crawl repeatedly!

Crawling and breathing activities are sensory based.  They provide children with an opportunity to regulate with through proprioception (crawling) and oral motor (breathing).  It is so beneficial incorporating these sorts of activities into daily life regardless of a child’s sensory profile. 

* Vertical Surface – I recently discovered that a set of “road pieces” that I had stick to vertical surfaces such as glass and white boards! This set from Kmart Aust (not sponsored) was almost donated away, however since realizing that it sticks on a vertical surface, I’ve definitely been bringing it along to OT sessions more! We can work on motor planning and problem solving skills to build the roads.  Driving the cars build upper arm stability with shoulders, elbows and wrists all involved in keeping the cars on the road.  For some children, we have also incorporated drawing and writing skills on the whiteboard.  

Watch this vertical surface activity HERE. 

For more on vertical surface tips, watch this series of tips:
* Encourage wrist extension
* Encourage crossing the midline and hand dominance
* Try different body positions
* Use a variety of surfaces and try different activities

* Wheels on the Bus – So ….  I decided to “borrow” the tune of the “Wheels on the bus” to work on pencil grasp and dynamic finger movements. 

The fingers on the pencil bend and stretch.
Bend and stretch. Bend and stretch
The fingers on the pencil bend and stretch.
Bend and stretch. Bend and stretch.
All day long.

The resting fingers hide away.
Hide away. Hide away.
The resting fingers hide away.
Hide away. Hide away.
All day long.

Watch the finger movements and listen to the song HERE.

Looking for visual support for preschoolers to sing the original song? This preschool printable pack contains visuals and pre-writing worksheets to support early childhood development. The Wheels on the bus printable pack can be found HERE. 

* Roll Paper – “Playing hair dressers” .. This was a fun scissor skill activity for those learning to orientate their scissors and snip paper.  We cut and rolled hair (strips of paper on a TP roll) working on fine motor and bilateral coordination skills too. I used this activity for some children who were able to cut, however also had anxiety with making mistakes.  We used the “scraps of hair” to practice turning the corner and being more precise.  Because they were “scraps” it helped the children not to worry about being perfect.   For other children, the scraps were used to make collages (for further fine motor skills). 

Watch the hair dressing paper activity HERE.