Turkey Week Perks

All you hard-working OTs who work in pediatric- or adult-client centered clinics, here's one reason to consider switching to school-based therapy---I only have to work two days next week!

Re-Purposing Corks

I just threw away all my corks!  Guess I've got to head to the store to buy more of what came with them!

Tipsy Cork Creations

If I use this idea in a public school I'll probably have to paint the outside of the corks--wonder if the paint will stick?  Maybe the same idea will work with slices of swim noodles???

Wikki Stix Make Great Rewards

Maintaining on-task behavior isn't always on the forefront of students' minds...  Wikki Stix to the rescue!

For every time the bell rang when the students were working hard with smart fingers and talking about what we were doing---they earned one Wikki Stix.  After earning five of them the students created pictures on the wall.  It was a great motivator!

 To him it was a car; to me it was double half notes in reverse.

 Cool place to stretch out the Wikki Stix; he eventually made a snake.

Sailboat or golf flag?

Make Your Own Jellyfish

If I had the right shape plastic bottle I'd make this tonight:

How to Make a Jellyfish

Cushy Bear Friends for Support

When you've had a long morning of sitting up tall, sometimes you need a few furry friends for support:

No, no, I didn't put a pillow over the student's face for the photo, just did some amateur-ish photo retouching.  I know it's creepy lookin' but I have to maintain the student's privacy.  Sorry.

Pumpkin Cloud Dough

Well, this recipe wasn't exactly cloudy, or doughy, but it still was fun to make:

Pumpkin-Scented Cloud Dough Recipe

The students explored a batch of pre-made cloud dough, then followed the directions to make their own.

Most of the students seemed to enjoy exploring the texture of the dough, which was very silky.

 Of course, we tried to form turkey and pumpkin shapes out of the dough.  But, they quickly fell apart.

 The two batches of dough had slightly different textures.  One hard-working teacher ground up orange chalk to add to the dough, to make it more vibrant orange. 

Yes, yes..the poor students had to answer a worksheet.  That's a pink bingo dauber, which requires almost zero pressure to make a mark.

I really did try to make the dough smell like pumpkin pie (cinnamon and nutmeg were added in abundance) but it sorta just smelled like flour.  Boring!

Just checked the blog where this recipe originated--they changed the mixture slightly.  More oil.  Here's a variation for the upcoming season:
Peppermint Scented Cloud Dough

Shoe Tying

Even though this requires quite a bit of finger control to slip the "rings" onto the laces, this is a nice idea for helping kids be more independent while they're still getting the hang of tying shoes in a more conventional way.  Shoe Tying Video

I've also used the tiny clips for Yorkies and other long-hair dogs, which work in a similar fashion to using the little rings.  You can substitute tiny elastic hairbands for the rings, as well.

Cowboy Shoe Tying Song and Video  This is a little weird with the creepy bird showing up out of nowhere...but the laces are fantastic.