Visual Perceptual Popsicle Stick Activity

Visual perceptual skills involve the brain organizing and making sense of visual information. Design copy activities like the one described below are a good way for a child to improve visual perceptual skills.

This DIY visual perceptual popsicle activity is easy to put together and carry out. All you need are several different colors of large popsicle sticks, Velcro dots, paper, and a copy machine. Place three of the Velcro hook dots each popsicle stick at each end as well as on the middle of the stick (as seen in the photo above) and three of the velcro loop dots on the other side of each stick. Arrange the popsicle sticks into different shapes or designs and make a photo copy of the designs. Now your child can have fun copying each design! 

 

DIY Binoculars for “I Spy” Game

   

I Spy is a fun game that kids love, and it’s great for a variety of skills, such as scanning, figure ground discrimination, visual attention, visual memory, and more. These binoculars are easy to make!

All you need are two toilet paper rolls, some construction paper, string or ribbon, and glue or tape. 

Have the child decorate the toilet paper rolls with construction paper. They can secure the paper to the rolls using a glue stick or tape. Use some tape to connect the toilet paper rolls and tape each end of the string onto the outside of each roll (as seen in the photo) and that’s it! Your child can then use the binoculars to look for different items. Mix it up by telling them to look for items of different color or different shapes. Or you can have them look for a specific item that you name. Just be sure to make it fun and engaging, and your child will have a blast!

 

Easy DIY Felt Board!

 

This DIY felt board can be used in a variety of ways! I love to use it when teaching a child the different shapes. You can begin by asking the child to point to the shape that you call out by name. It’s also fun to practice matching the shapes.  

Another fun activity is have the child identify big shapes and small shapes, as seen with the triangles in the photo below. 

 

The best part about it is that the board and shapes can be made in 15 minutes or less!

Supplies Needed:
-Felt in a variety of colors 
-A rectangular piece of cardboard (Approximately 11” x 14”)
-A large enough piece of craft felt to cover the cardboard
-Hot glue & hot glue gun
-Scissors

Cover the cardboard with the large piece of felt and glue it in place. Cut out a variety of shapes in different colors and sizes. Now have fun!!!

Free Match the Shapes Worksheets!

Here are a couple of shape matching worksheets that can be used to learn the properties of different shapes. This activity is fun for children who are working on recognizing, naming, and remembering shapes! Your child can color the matching shapes the same color. This is a great way to practice coloring within the lines. They can also simply draw a line to connect the matching shapes.

Fun Activity for Visual Perceptual Skills!

Making and copying designs with foam shapes is a great way to have a child work on their visual perceptual skills. Start by having the child create a simple design using 3 to 5 shapes. You can then copy the design that they created.

Next swap it up. You create another design, and ask the child to make one just like yours. If the first one you create is too challenging, simplify it by using fewer shapes.

When your child is able to copy the designs independently, gradually make them more complicated so that the child has a "just right challenge!"

The foam shapes are available on Amazon.

Make your own DIY shape sorter toy!

In this post, I am going to explain how to make a DIY shape sorter toy! You probably have the necessary materials right in your home! A shape sorter is a fun activity that helps to improve visual perception skills, spatial awareness, eye-hand coordination, and fine motor skills. When a child plays with a shape sorter, they engage their problem-solving skills and learn about colors, and shapes.

Needed:
- Shoe Box Scissors
- Pencil, crayons, or marker
- Colorful 3-D shapes or wooden blocks
- Contact paper- Stickers

Directions:
Cover the box and lid with contact paper. Secure the edges of the contact paper in place with tape if needed. Place each shape on the lid of the box, and trace the outline of each shape. Use the scissors or a craft knife to cut out the shapes. Press each shape through corresponding hole to make sure they all fit. Have the child help decorate the box using crayons, markers, and/or stickers, and it’s time to play! Have fun!!!
 

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

My “I Spy” Sensory Box is tons of fun!

Check out this awesome home-made “I Spy” sensory box! This engaging DIY activity is great for addressing visual perceptual skills, especially figure-ground skills. All you need to create the "I Spy" activity is a sturdy shoe box, small beads, and a variety of small items.  Fill the box approximately 1/3 full of colorful beads, and hide the small objects under the beads. Here are some example items:

• Mini toothbrush
• Barbie doll clothing pieces
• Small plastic pieces of food
• A tiny book
• A small plastic doll 

As the child finds the hidden objects, you can encourage language by asking questions about each object. For example, “What color is that shirt? What do you do with a toothbrush?”

If the child closes their eyes while locating and identifying the items, this will address stereognosis. To make the activity easier, hide larger objects, and to make it more difficult, hide smaller objects.

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

Visual Scanning: Free Worksheets!

When you move your eyes to look for items or information around you, this is called visual scanning. Visual scanning is important for reading and other school tasks like writing.

Playing the game "I Spy" is a good way to work on this skill.  Also, here are several worksheets for kids that require visual scanning!

 

Circle Q Worksheet

Circle Cat Worksheet

Circle Laugh Worksheet

Free Valentine's Day Worksheets!

I love Valentines Day!  Here are 5 free Valentine's Day worksheets that address visual perceptual skills and fine motor skills.  Just click on the worksheet to go to a PDF copy. Enjoy, and have a happy Valentine's Day!

 

Free Holiday Worksheets for Visual Perceptual Skills!

Here are 4 free holiday worksheets that address visual perceptual skills. Visual perceptual skills are the ability to efficiently process visual information. When a child has visual perceptual problems, it can lead to challenges with writing, eye-hand coordination tasks, memory and attending to task. Enjoy these free visual perceptual worksheets over the holidays!

Have fun!

Free Visual Perceptual Worksheets: Matching Shapes

Have fum with these free visual perceptual worksheets!

When toddlers explore their surroundings, they discover that certain things have similar characteristics while others are different. They eventually learn to sort items by particular characteristics, and after that, they learn how to match. Your toddler will find it easier to match actual concrete items first, and once she masters items, she will move on to matching pictures. These worksheets will help your child learn about colors and how to discriminate various shapes. 

Free Visual Perceptual Worksheets!!!

Visual perceptual worksheets are a fun way for students to work on visual perception skills.  As a special thank you to my readers, I am sharing these free visual perceptual worksheets! 
 

The following worksheets address Visual Closure.

Visual Closure is the ability to visually complete a picture or form that is not in full view. This skill is important for reading and recognizing words, forms, etc. in a speedy manner.

 

Visual-Closure Activities

-Complete pictures in which only parts of objects/shapes are revealed.

-“What is missing” worksheets

-Dot-to-dot activities

-Jigsaw puzzles

-Building three-dimensional models from cubes, cylinders, and blocks

-Connect broken lines to complete a shape or form.

-Partially cover an object or shapes and have the child identify it.

-Figure-ground activities also help with visual closure.

Reference: Test of Visual Perceptual Skills

Free Visual Perceptual Worksheets

We use visual perceptual skills to understand what we see around us.  Visual perceptual skills are needed for writing, reading, and copying from the board.  There are many different ways to work on visual perceptual skills!  For example, visual perceptual worksheets can be fun way for kids to improve visual perception.  As a special thank you to my readers, I am providing these free visual perceptual worksheets! 

For free visual perceptual worksheets, click on the following links:

 Form Constancy Worksheet

Form Constancy Worksheet 2

Form Recognition Worksheet

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Free Visual Perceptual Worksheets!!!

Kids use visual perceptual skills to understand what they see in the environment.  Visual perception is needed for writing, reading, and copying from the board.  There are many different ways to work on visual perceptual skills.  Visual perceptual worksheets can be fun way for kids to improve visual perception.  As a special thank you to my readers, I am providing these free visual perceptual worksheets! 

For free visual perceptual worksheets, click on the following links:

http://drannezachry.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Visual-Perception-Sheets_Shape.pdf

http://drannezachry.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/VP_DC.pdf

http://drannezachry.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Visual-Closure.pdf

http://drannezachry.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Arrow-Worksheet.pdf

Click HERE for more free worksheets!!!

Fun DIY Activities for Visual Perceptual Skills

Sponges are one of my favorite "pediatric occupational therapy" items in my therapy bag!  There are so many therapeutic activities for basic kitchen sponges!  Simply cut the sponges into blocks or shapes of various sizes and watch any child enjoy making creations. Take a variety of brightly colored sponges, and create a stack in a particular sequence of colors/shape and then have the child re-create the stack. 

 Another fun activity that is great for visual perceptual skills is to make a variety of worksheets with different shapes that they child can place the sponges on top of to create a design.  This is basically an inexpensive tangram game that will challenge a child's visual perceptual skills.  The sheets can range from basic to more complex in order to increase the challenge based on the child's skill level!  So go to the dollar store and pick up a package of sponges and get ready to have some fun!

Therapy project by Meg Lawrence: Posted with Permission

Occupational Therapy Activities: Design Copy Worksheet

        Welcome to Pediatric Occupational Therapy Tips! My blog has tons of occupational therapy activities for children! Visual perception is a skill that many young children struggle with. Visual perceptual activities are a great way for children to work on these skills while having fun.
          Research reveals that there is a relationship between written language and the ability to draw or copy designs. If a child has problems with visual perceptual skills, fine motor skills, or visual motor integration, design copy activities can be an effective therapeutic activity.
           Here is an of examples of “do it yourself” design copy worksheet that I frequently use with children who have visual motor and visual perception challenges. The activity can be graded (made more challenging) by increasing the number of dots.  Kids typically enjoy attempting to copy the designs, and this is a fun way to work on directionality,  motor planning, attention to task, and visual motor skills.

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