Summer is here! It’s time to get outside and encourage your children to hone their skills through play! It is so important for children to maintain and develop their skills during the summer while focusing on gross motor, fine motor, oral-motor skills and exploring various textures. Here are some activity ideas and strategies that can be implemented to target various skill sets all summer long!
Ball Activities
Tossing and catching a ball up in the air while standing inside of a hula hoop
Toss a ball at the wall, clap your hands and catch it
Hold a beach ball overhead with two hands to stretch your shoulders and back. Hold for 10 seconds.
Hold a ball with two hands at your belly button. Can you pass the ball around your waist without dropping it on the ground?
Create a small obstacle course with lawn chairs and pool noodles, can you kick a ball around the obstacles?
Fine Motor Activities at the Beach
Trace letters, numbers, and draw favorite characters in the sand
Search and dig for buried seashells
Scoop and pour sand and water using cups, bowls, spoons, and toy shovels
Heavy Work Activities at the Beach
Pull/push a cooler across the sand
Have your child carry their own chair
Dig holes/build sandcastles
Collect seashells, sand glass, or drift wood and carry them all in a large bucket or push a basket!
Tactile/Messy Play Activities
Play in the sand or make your own sand bucket/sand box at home
Play with shaving cream
Play in the dirt/ help with garden upkeep
Make ice pops or lemonade, knead cookie dough, or help to mix up pasta or potato salad
Make slime, play dough, water beads, and more!
Make rainbow spaghetti
For tactile play, it is important to keep your child comfortable and encourage them to describe the textures of each item, and how it makes them feel! If using hands is too much, start with gloves, a paint brush, or a cup
Oral-Motor Activities
Blow bubbles in a bowl with water and dish-soap, in chocolate milk, or in ice cold water
Make fruit popsicles to enjoy
Drink thick fruit smoothies with a straw
At Home
Sorting seeds into piles for planting
Go in the sprinkler
Swimming in the pool
Draw with chalk and then blend it with hands! Can they draw their own obstacle course?
Car wash
Pitch a tent in your backyard and use a flashlight to write letters on the wall
Make letters out of marshmallows and toothpicks
Have a picnic in your backyard and have your child open and close all the containers
Water flowers with a spray bottle
Make frozen paint ice cubes to paint with
Gross Motor Skills
Have a water balloon toss
Play balloon volleyball or balloon tennis
Go for a bike ride
Set up a hopscotch game
Create an outdoor obstacle course
Wheelbarrow walk or log roll on the gross
Kick or throw a blow-up beach volleyball
Play frisbee
By: Samantha Babyer, OTS
References
Summer Outdoor Activities for Kids. Your Therapy Source. (2021). https://www.yourtherapysource.com/blog1/2021/06/03/summer-outdoor-activities-for-kids/