Fine Motor Skills

Crafting & Creating: Enhancing Fine Motor Skills at OT Summer Camps

Explore how summer camps with a focus on occupational therapy weave in activities designed to strengthen fine motor skills amidst the joy of summer fun.

Summer is almost here!

Are you looking for a fun and creative way to maximize your child’s learning and skill set during the summer? If so, it would be a great idea to explore professionals who specialize in children’s skills and development.Occupational therapists are professionals who can provide therapeutic services that focus on building life-long skills that promote independence and confidence throughout daily tasks.

While searching for pediatric occupational therapists near you , you might come across Triumph therapeutics especially if you live near Washington DC area. And We Got News! At Triumph Therapeutics we are happy to announce our upcoming OT summer camps.

Now let’s dive into one of the aspects of occupational therapy… fine motor skills.

“What exactly are fine motor skills?”
Fine motor skills refers to small or fine movements that involve muscles in your hands, face, and legs. Understanding how fine motor skills play a role in your children’s lives will be more specifically addressed in this article.

 

Understanding the link between fine motor skills and daily life

How do fine motor skills contribute to your child’s daily life?

Fine motor skills are utilized throughout a variety of activities such as writing, drawing, picking up a pencil, using scissors, using utensils, dressing, and many other daily tasks.

A common sign of poor fine motor skills in school-aged children is poor handwriting. In fact, “Almost 85% of the time spent on fine motor tasks consists of paper and pencil-based activities, which are perhaps about the most important skills for academic achievement (Marr et al., 2003).”[1]

Wondering when your child should develop these fine motor skills? Explore occupational therapy developmental milestones to help you get a better picture.
While observing your child’s fine motor skills, keep in mind that… “Children who struggle with fine motor skills may require support throughout the day, rather than only during activities that are predominantly fine motor in nature.”[2]

This is one good reason to reach out to an occupational therapy evaluation to rule out any underlying or complex issues. Now let’s dive into how our summer camp activities can benefit your child’s development and skills.

Camp activities that boost fine motor skill development

Our occupational therapist are determined on providing fresh and exciting perspectives on summer activities focused on strengthening your child’s fine motor skills.

Examples of fine motor skills targeted:

• Prewriting skills
• Precutting/cutting skills
• Developing functional grasp patterns
• Grasp/release with small items and toys
• Self care skills (such as opening and closing zippers and buttons)

Example of fine motor activities included:

1. Colored ice painting
2. Hole punch activity
3. Treasure hunt bin
4. Scoop the ice cream

Does your child have a difficult time separating from their favorite toy or electronic device at home? If so, let’s look into how our OT summer camp offers your child a great balance of summer fun apart from home.

The balance of leisure and learning

Many kids want to be kept indoors and left to their electronic devices during the summer heat. Not to mention how unmotivating it may be for them to complete more “learning” and school-related tasks during their break. This is why it can be difficult for many parents to find ways to encourage their kids to learn and expand their school-skills during the summer.

At Triumph Therapeutics, we will take care of your concerns for your child. Our pediatric occupational therapists focus on creating an encouraging environment in which learning can be fun and incorporate lots of play as well.

A great way to encourage learning and creativity is through play, movement, and exploring different settings and environments. According to research, “Play is performed by moving muscles repetitively to increase muscle strength, speed, and agility, resulting in the development of gross and fine motor skills.”[3]

During our OT summer camp we are able to design specific play and group activities that encourage strengthening not only fine motor skills but other essential skills as well such as social interaction, peer play, motor coordination, transitions, and emotional regulation.

Article Links

1. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1233771.pdf
2. https://research.aota.org/ajot/article/74/2/7402345010p1/6677/Fine-Motor-Activities-in-Elementary-School
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8625902/

 

Make sure your child does not miss out on all the summer fun and reach out to Triumph Therapeutics.