 Push pins! You may have some handy for your bulletin board but have you used them to draw? OTs love to use "push pins" as a tool for fine motor skill development, especially for encouraging a pincer grasp! Read on to the find out all the great therapeutic benefits of this activity. But first, what do you need to do?! 1. Get your templates at the Your Kids OT shop! Print them off. 2. Put a piece of paper over a cork mat. 3. Place the chosen template page over both the paper and cork mat. 4. Use a push pin to poke small holes onto the template page. Use the non-dominant hand to support the pages so that it doesn't move. Encourage your child to pinch the push pin so that they are not squeezing too hard. They need to apply just enough pressure to poke a small hole (not too hard otherwise the push pin stays in the cork mat). 5. When all the holes for the picture have been "poked", hold the paper up to see the picture. Kids love to see their created picture and many of my OT kids have place their pictures on their bedroom windows as art!  Therapeutic benefits! There are so many skills that can be achieved with "push pin poke drawing"!
All these skills are needed for complex hand tasks such as writing, drawing and cutting. They are important "pre-writing" skills and can help with the development of an efficient functional pencil grasp as well as helping with the fluent control of the pencil needed for writing. Did you read my recent article about my favourite fine motor toys needed for pencil grasp and handwriting? This activity is suitable for a wide range of ages. I have used this with preschool-age children (about 4 years of age) and primary school-age children. They have all loved it! Supervision of the "push pin" is advisable so it may not work in a whole-class environment. You could try toothpicks or bamboo skewers instead!  This activity is so much FUN! Don't take my word for it, you will have to try it out! Don't forget to get your templates from the Your Kids OT shop! Also available from Teachers Pay Teachers. Have you tried "push pin poke drawing?! 
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 Toys are a BIG thing for occupational therapists! Maybe we are just BIG kids that never quite grow up (Peter Pan style)? We get excited when we see new products released. We get thrilled when we see old products re-used or re-purposed. We are nostalgic about our old toys. We are curious to see how children "play". We love seeing children use their imaginations and interact with each other. We are fascinated when children use "non-toys" as "toys"! AND We love to see toys which help guide child development! This may be fostering curiosity, problem solving, creativity, cause and affect.... or developing skills (fine motor, gross motor, visual motor, sensory motor, etc)! But what fine motor skills are important with pencil grasp and handwriting? As occupational therapists, we are looking for more than a child's ability to play with Legos or pick up sultanas! These are the common examples that get shared with us in relation to fine motor skills. A child's ability to hold a pencil (ie. pencil grasp) and then use the pencil fluently and effectively may be influenced by a number of skills. Before we look at the hand and fine motor skills, we also need to consider the development of bilateral coordination skills (using both sides of the body in a coordinated way), being able to stabilise the body during writing and having the right posture (read about this at Miss Jaime OT).
Important fine motor skills for pencil grasp and handwriting. • Pincer grasp - This is the neat "pinch" achieved between the thumb and index finger. Read more about this HERE. • Thumb opposition - This refers to the ability of the thumb to rotate and reach to touch all other fingertips of the same hand. Read more about this from The Inspired Treehouse HERE. • Palmar arches - This refers to the arch formed when we "cup" our hands and is related to the loops of blood vessels which are found in our hands. Read more about this from Irvine USD Special Education Preschool HERE. • Separation of the two sides of the hand - This the use of the thumb, index and third fingers of the hand whilst maintaining stability in the fourth and fifth fingers of the hand. Read more about this HERE. • Wrist stability and extension - This is the position of the wrist so that it is resting on the table and slightly extended so that the fingers can be used to control the pencil. This is one of the reasons as occupational therapists, we love to encourage working on a vertical surface or use of a slope board if necessary. • Hand strength - This refers to the contraction of the hand muscles to grasp a pencil to control it without fatigue or pain. Read more about hand strength HERE. • In-hand manipulation - This refers to the ability to move items around in the hand using precise finger movements and includes translation, rotation and shift. Read more about this in THE HANDWRITING BOOK.
This is a list of MY favourite toys that help children in the fine motor skills they need for an efficient pencil grasp and fluent handwriting. 1. Wind-up toys. 2. Bubble Wrap 3. Travel-size toys (eg. connect four, battleship, mastermind) 4. Stick toys (eg. Kerplunk, Pop-up Pirate) 5. Wikki stix 6. Tweezer/tong games (eg. avalanche, Operation, ) 7. Squeeze Toys (eg. bath toys, claw activaters, popper toys, roll tongue animals etc) 8. Beads and lacing toys (eg. FILO, HAPE wooden beads) 9. Dice games (eg. Snakes and Ladders, Monopoly, etc) 10. Trigger finger games (eg. Hungry Hippos, jumping frogs) 11. Finger Lights 12. Playdough or putty games (Refer HERE for ideas!) 13. Finger puppets 14. Spinning tops 15. Elastic Band Toys (eg. loom bands, Thumbs up, etc) 16. Toys with small suction pads (eg. Squigz, Stik Bot, Oogi) 17. Screwdriver, nuts and bolts toys 18. Eye droppers 19. Mosaic tile games (Moza Blop - see photo) 20. Peg boards 21. Marble games (eg. Tricky Fingers, marble runs, marble maze) 22. Magnetic boards (eg. Magnatabs, Marbletick, magnetic drawing boards) 23. Stamps with ink pads 24. Stickers 25. Trigger toys (eg. small water pistol, pinball) Don't forget to look around your home for "loose parts"! "Loose parts" might be anything from buttons, toothpicks, pom poms, paper clips, sticks, elastic bands, coins, etc. These make great "tools" for fine motor play. Use them over my "Shape Roads" (which you can receive by subscribing HERE) or "Letter Roads" (read about this HERE). What are your favourite toys for the development of fine motor skills? 
 Disclosure: Affiliate links are included in this article to promote products that I recommend. Reviews and endorsements of products will only be made based on my expertise and personal opinion; and deemed worthy of such endorsement. The opinions shared in sponsored content will always be my own and not that of the advertising company or brand. You may also like:
 Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote products I love and recommend. I receive a commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. "Are they made from EAR WAX?" No they are not! Wikki Stix are made of hand-knitting yarn enhanced with a microcrystalline, food-grade non-toxic wax (and not ear wax like one of my little friend thought)! These soft little colourful sticks are pliable and stick on just about any surface, can be lifted and re-stuck again. Bend the wikki stix in any shape. Make 2D or 3D shapes. Join several together. Wikki stix make the perfect tool to use for learning and developing fine motor skills. They can be used in a variety of ways! We love to make "finger obstacle courses"! Watch the video to see a finger obstacle course in action! You tube link - https://youtu.be/6k-Md6XgH54 We love making finger obstacle courses (remember this one made with a shoebox lid?)! Little hands can work on the manipulation and planning involved to set up the obstacle course. Fingers then push and press into the table, leap and perform to complete all sorts of obstacles. You could target finger isolation, thumb opposition, manual dexterity, motor planning, eye-hand coordination, crossing the midline, bilateral coordination and more! Stay connected with more great tips and ideas for working on fine motor skills coming soon! Have you made a Wikki Stix Finger Obstacle Course? Try it!   OFFER ENDS JANUARY 26TH 2018 You may also like:
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AuthorHi, I'm Cindy and I am an Occupational Therapist. I enjoy working creatively with children to see them reach their potential. Read more about me here. 
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Disclaimer: The information on this site is general in nature and should be used for educational and entertainment purposes. 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. This blog does not replace formal therapeutic professional advice given by a health professional or medical practitioner. Reviews and endorsements of products will only be made based on my expertise and personal opinion; and deemed worthy of such endorsement. The opinions shared in sponsored content will always be my own and not that of the advertising company or brand. Content, advertising space or posts will be clearly identified if paid, affiliated or sponsored. Affiliate links may be found throughout this website in advertising. This means that if you follow through with a purchase from these links, Your Kids OT will receive a percentage of the sale. Your Kids OT undertakes to meet the requirements of the "Social Media Policy" as published by Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Further information about this policy can be found here.
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AuthorHi, I'm Cindy and I am an Occupational Therapist. I enjoy working creatively with children to see them reach their potential. Read more about me here. 
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