Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Fun Fine Motor Felt Board!

Here is a fun DIY "therapy on a shoestring budget" activity that provides an awesome way to work on the development of fine motor skills!  An added bonus is that felt boards like this can also be used to practice naming and matching colors and shapes.
To make the fine motor felt board, you will need:
   1 foam board
   Various colors of felt squares
   Scissors
   Tacky glue
   Extra large/thick needle and thread
   Several colorful buttons in various sizes

Cut a white piece of felt that is the same size as the foam board and glue it to the board. This will serve as the background. Select a theme for the board, then cut the various colors of felt pieces to create the people, animals, shapes, numbers, or letters of your choice.  Use an ice pick or another sharp object to poke two tiny holes in the board in the spots where you want the buttons to be located. (Be careful!) Then, use the needle and thread to sew each of the buttons onto the board.  Cut appropriate size slits into the felt pieces that are going to attach to the buttons. It's time to play!

The project above was completed by a Master of Occupational Therapy student at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center and posted with permission.