DIY Cat Toy: A Fun Craft for Kids!

This adorable "cat scratch toy" is a fun craft for kids.  It's fairly simple to make, and it requires fine motor skills and dexterity, which make it therapeutic!  Anyone who has a kitten or cat will be motivated to make this for their pet.

 

Materials Needed: Various buttons, Styrofoam mold (pictured: sphere), colorful pipe cleaners, and a hot glue gun.

1. Begin wrapping pipe cleaners at the base of Styrofoam applying glue as you go. Use caution with the hot glue to prevent burns. Provide close supervision if a child is a assisting.
2. You may wish to alternate colors.
3. Thread several pipe cleaners through the holes of the buttons. 
4. Once the ball is completely covered, take the pipe cleaners with the buttons and stick them into the foam.
5. Twist the pipe cleaners into any shape or angle that you prefer.  Ta da…you’ve made a fun toy for your cat! 

The project above was completed by one of our Master's of Occupational Therapy students at 
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center and posted with permission.

Tabletop Sensory Garden

This tabletop garden is full of sensory flowers/items that children will enjoy touching and exploring! As the child feels the different flowers, be sure to have her name the colors and explain how each one feels.  

Supplies:

Brightly colored flower vase

Plastic leis

Plastic straws

Plastic loofah

Styrofoam balls

Q-tips

Plastic scrubbing dish pads

Wire cutters

Squishy caterpillar toy

Foam dish scrubber

Butterfly clip

Twisty tie

Instructions:

1.     Place five plastic leis in the metal flower vase. Push the leis down firmly. Set aside.

2.     Cut q-tips in half using wire cutters. Firmly push cut q-tips into Styrofoam ball until the ball is covered to desired thickness to create a flower, leaving room for a stem at the bottom.  Push a plastic straw into the bottom of the Styrofoam ball to create a stem. Set aside.

3.     Push another plastic straw into the plastic scrubbing dish pads. Set aside.

4.     Wrap the loop at the end of the squishy caterpillar toy several times until it is secured onto another plastic straw to create another flower. Set aside.

5.     Pull the foam top piece out of the foam dish scrubber.  Wrap the foam piece around another straw and secure with a metal twisty tie to create another flower. Set aside.

6.     Cut the string handle off of the loofah.  Push another plastic straw into the middle of the loofah to create another flower. Set aside.

7.     Take all the flowers you have created and push them into the leis in the flower vase, arranging them how you choose.

8.     Clip butterfly clip to the side of the flower vase.

9.     Your sensory garden is ready!

The project above was completed by one of our Master's of Occupational Therapy students at 
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center and posted with permission.