Learn to Button: Baseball Tic Tac Toe Game!

 

Sometimes learning to button can be frustrating and boring, especially if you ask a child to practice over and over again on their own clothing. So way not turn it into a game? Here is a fun and motivating DIY activity for a child to work on buttoning skills.

How to Make a Button Tic Tac Toe Game:
   Supplies Needed- 9 large (1-inch) buttons
                               Flannel fabric- 1 print (Let your child select the pattern)
                               2 different colors of felt fabric
                               Iron-on Interfacing (found on Amazon)
                               Sharpie Marker

1. Cut the flannel print into a 30 x 30-inch square.
2. Iron the interfacing onto the back of the fabric.
3. Use a ruler and Sharpie Marker to draw out the tic tac toe grid.
4. Sew a button in the center of each grid square.
5. Cut the Xs and Os out of the felt fabric, and cut button-size openings in the center of each one.

It's time to practice buttoning while playing tic tac toe!!!

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

Does your child have difficulty zipping? Try this!

Here is a quick and easy idea to help a child manipulate a zipper on a backpack, lunchbox, or jacket. All you need is a medium to large sized split key ring.

The zipper pull will need to have a small hole in it. Attach the key ring to the zipper pull.

This will make it easier to grasp and pull the zipper. With a little practice, your child will be zipping and unzipping independently!

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Teaching Kids with Special Needs How To Dress Appropriately for the Weather

Picking out the appropriate clothing for a child can be a challenge, especially for those who have  can difficulty understanding cold vs. hot and rainy vs. sunny. A student that I see for therapy uses this nifty worksheet, and it has proven to be very effective. If you're child is struggling when picking out appropriate clothes for the weather, try having him fill out this worksheet every evening before bed and pick out his clothes for the next day. For younger children, add some fun by including a sunny/snowy/rainy coloring sheet, depending on the weather forecast.

Weather Report and Forecast

Today the temperature high was_____________________.

The temperature now is________________________.

The weather today way: 

                                      rainy   sunny  cloudy   snowing    windy

                                                             (Circle all that apply)

Tomorrow the temperature high will be_________________

    and the temperature low will be__________________.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is:

                                  Rainy    sunny cloudy    snowing    windy

                                   (Circle what the weather may be)

Tomorrow I will wear a:

Short sleeved shirt  Long sleeved shirt   Sweater Sweatshirt

Jeans       Pants         Shorts          Athletic pants

Tennis shoes          Sandals         Boots

Jacket       Heavy coat        Raincoat        Umbrella

        (Circle the items you will wear tomorrow)

I will wear this because the weather tomorrow will be:

            Hot        Warm          Cold            Cool

Now I will pick out my clothes for tomorrow!

Teaching Kids to Button- Make it Fun!

I attended an amazing conference this weekend and I learned all sorts of fun and creative therapy ideas! Now, I'm looking forward to sharing them with you. I want to give credit to Leslie Adler, MA, OTR for this idea...it's totally hers! Thanks Leslie :)

Do you dread working on buttoning skills? You have to pull out the button board or button vest over and over again, which can get old. How about a new trick for your tool box? This buttoning string is sew easy (ha! ha!) to make! All you need: 1 button (I used a larger size, but you can vary the size based on the child's skill level), yarn, felt, scissors, and googly eyes.

Take 3 pieces of yarn that are 8 to 10 inches long and braid them together. Sew a circular piece of felt on one end, and the button on the other. Now, cut 4 or 5 different shapes out of the felt (see photo for size). I made flowers, a fish, and a butterfly. Add googly eyes and other decorations, if desired. Cut a small slit in each shape. Make sure that it's just the right size for your button to fit through. If you have a sewing machine, you can use it to stitch around your buttonholes, just so they don't stretch out. Now you have a buttoning string! See the video below:

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