Children are naturally curious! They love to learn and love to play.  They love to learn through play.

When choosing toys and activities, I love activities that do "double duty"... address some skills like hand strength, bilateral coordination, visual tracking... as well as learning a cognitive skill such as "shapes".  

Here are 8 fun ideas to introduce to your children to learn about shapes! I've used a paper plate but feel free to use cardboard if you can't access a paper plate. 

1. Make Shape Stencils.
Cut out shapes in your paper plate that can be used as stencils.  

2. Pom Pom Maze
Cut small shapes in your paper plate.  Place a pom pom on the plate and use both hands to move it around the plate to find a specific shape or series of shapes. 

3. Threading Shapes
Use a hole punch to make holes to represent the corners or in the case of a circle, multiple holes to create the circle. Use a ribbon or yarn to have your child thread. 

4. Stain Glass Shapes
Cut out shapes on the paper plates and cover with cellophane.  Kids love to look through the stain glass. 

5. Fold the flap shapes
Draw shapes around the edge of the plate. Cut between the shapes.  Ask your child to find the shapes and fold down the appropriate flap. 

6. I Spy Shapes
Draw or stick on some shapes onto a plate.  Ask your child to find  a specific shape on the plate or in a certain colour.  

 

7. Shape Roads
This has been a popular  FREE subscriber email printable.  If you don't have this printable, use this link HERE .
Print and cut out the shape.  Stick them onto the plate and then have your child use their cars to "drive" on the shapes. 

 8. Peg shape match. 
Use self adhesive foam shapes... place a shape on each peg (clothespin) of the same colour and a matching shape on the paper plate.  Have your child find the matching shapes by placing the pegs. 

Do you have a favourite way to learn shapes?  
​
Watch these paper plate shape ideas on You tube ---> ​https://youtu.be/5kPU-PSjA9Q

More paper plate ideas?  Find some Paper Plate Road trip games here! 

Paper plates are so easy to transport and are a great size for little hands. Which idea will your child enjoy? ​

Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia.  She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning.  Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete).  Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT.  Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog

Cindy is a member of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team.  They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK.

​The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. ​​​
Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/yourkidsot
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"Practice makes perfect!" 

Did you grow up in an era with this mantra repeated to you as a child?  

I'm not sure that this drove me to persist or excel in any way as child.  

"Practice makes progress..." is a much better attitude to have.  It is one that we can foster in our children. 

It is one that we can tell ourselves. 

For our children, we want to encourage attempts.  We want to encourage risks being taken and that it is really okay to make mistakes.  We want to encourage persistence when things are difficult and positive self talk.  We want to encourage hard work as rarely is something achieved on the first try. 

The Your Kids OT byline is "make learning fun".  We want to create a "just right challenge" where learning comes from natural fun opportunities. For some children, this comes from rapport built with the therapists or engagement from their caregivers. 

However, I don't always get it right... as a therapist or as a parent (true confessions). Whilst success stories are shared (see this one on IG), I might not so readily share when things have gone wrong. 

For ourselves as parents, educators, therapists.... this is permission that you (we) don't have to get it right all of the time.  Especially in the last 12 months when we have been thrown into new depths of online learning, telehealth services, managing lock downs, it is also really okay to make mistakes.

If I've learnt anything in my 20 plus years as an occupational therapist, it's that we are all life-long learners.  The longer I practice, the more new things I learn.  Even terminology continues to change.  "Postural control" has given way to "core muscle strength".  "Planning and organizational skills" have given way to "executive functioning". "Social skills" have broadened to "social emotional learning".  You will see that I'm slowly making changes on my website to reflect these categories ---> Article categories. 

So whether you are a therapy undergraduate about to embark on your career, a parent who is navigating life with a child with a disability, an experienced educator who has a new class of children or here to pass on this tip to the children in your life.... "practice makes progress".  

Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia.  She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning.  Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete).  Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT.  Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog

Cindy is a member of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team.  They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK.

​The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. ​​​
Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/yourkidsot
YKOT shop:  https://www.yourkidsot.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html
Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Your-Kids-Ot
You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUz_5nYEOCkj32DiOCQo4Q/featured
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourkidsot
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourkidsot/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourkidsot/
​

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No prep.
Quick.
Easy.
Any service delivery method.
Groups or indviduals.

There are many reasons to love "pencil warm ups"!

Just grab a pencil or a crayon.  These "pencil warms ups" have been collated for school-age children to encourage dynamic finger movements of the thumb, index and third fingers.  We want to build these fingers with strength and dexterity to manipulate a pencil for writing.  

Before your child will successfully do these "warm ups" they will require a certain amount of stability in their shoulder, elbow and wrist.  You will find that the children who don't have this stability are using their whole arms to move the pencil.  They may have three fingers holding (grasping) the pencil, but they use their whole hand as one unit to move in a static way. This is developmentally appropriate for younger children (preschool age).  Children who are moving their whole arm or their hand/wrist will try to "cheat" with these warm ups. They will hold the pencil firmly whilst moving at their wrist or elbow. That's ok! Give them time and work up towards dynamic finger movements.  Find more fine motor skills activities here ---> FINE MOTOR SKILLS

"Pencil warm ups" are great for the classroom as the whole class can be doing these activities together. As an OT you might want to introduce these warm ups to individual children or use them for a group.  Use them via virtual therapy services or in person.  Parents can implement these warm ups easily at home and the whole family could get involved. 

Use the FREE printable as a reference or watch the you-tube video. The printable has a QR code and link back to the you-tube video. I have time-stamped each warm up in the comments section of you-tube for easy reference to each pencil warm up. 

FREE PRINTABLE: Pencil Warm Ups Printable!
YOU-TUBE: https://youtu.be/ua3x-KMlefI

Pencil warm ups are not new, however I hope that you have found some new ones with the ones that I have shared.  I have included more emphasis on thumb movements as I see many children who have difficulties with thumb flexion, extension and opposition.  Sometimes children I see demonstrate dynamic finger movements, however hold their thumb locked into place for stability. 
​
Let me know if you are using these pencil warm ups! Are there some new ones that you haven't tried before?  Have you got a great pencil warm up that you use? 

Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia.  She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning.  Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete).  Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT.  Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog

Cindy is a member of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team.  They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK.

​The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. ​​​
Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/yourkidsot
YKOT shop:  https://www.yourkidsot.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html
Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Your-Kids-Ot
You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUz_5nYEOCkj32DiOCQo4Q/featured
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourkidsot
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourkidsot/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourkidsot/

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