MESS FREE Q-TIP STAMPING! {WITH FREE EASTER PRINTABLE}

19/3/2017

MESS FREE? ✔
EASILY TRANSPORTED? ✔
FUN AND ENGAGING? ✔
MORE THAN ONE THERAPY GOAL? ✔

This activity ticks all the right boxes for a mobile occupational therapist!

Have you heard of Q-tip painting? (Q-tips are also called "cotton tips" in Australia and are usually found in the personal care section of a supermarket). Q-tip painting has been quite popular in the last few years with Q-tips used as paint brushes dipping into paint and making "spots" onto various printables available.

Last year, I put together my Q-tips and my ink pads... creating Q-tip stamping! It was a hit with my kids; providing the same fun engaging activity without the MESS!

This is why I love Q-tip stamping!

Mess-free! I don't have to carry paint, bowls to pour the paint into or things to clean up the paint. I don't have to worry about cleaning up tables or be concerned about getting paint on school uniforms. An ink-pad is so much easier to transport - small and compact! Ink pads usually have a lid which keeps the ink from getting on anything you don't want it to.
Dynamic tripod grasp! We can work on holding a Q-tip like a pencil using a dynamic tripod grasp with a pinch between the thumb and index finger and open web space of the hand.
Separation of the two sides of the hand! Whilst the thumb and index finger pinch the Q-tip, the other fingers are tucked away. I can encourage the movement of the Q-tip with just the thumb and index fingers. As Q-tips have tips on both ends of the stick which can be used for stamping; try having your child use one end of the stick for one colour and then spin it to dip the other end in a different colour! Read more about the separation of the two sides of the hand HERE.
Pencil pressure! Kids need to apply just enough pressure to the Q-tip to apply the ink and to "stamp" the page. If too much pressure is applied the Q-tip will bend and break. If too little pressure is applied you can't see the "stamping" on the page.
Eye-hand coordination! A repetitive activity (most kids won't notice that it is repetitive) where focus is on stamping within the circles provided. Children will try to stay in the circles and control their hand movements. I have found this is so much more successful for kids than other pencil paper tasks which require eye-hand coordination (perhaps it is more motivating?!).
1:1 correspondance! As each circle is stamped individually, children can count each circle as they stamp working an important pre-mathematics and pre-reading skill.
Visual Perceptual and Spatial skills! If you want to make this activity more complicated, you could pre-stamp in the circles of a example page and have your child match your colour patterns.
Fun and colourful! Kids love this activity and don't realise they are "working" when they are filling in the dots. With a multi-colour ink pad, it is easy for kids to apply more than one colour on their page. There are a range of printables available on the internet but I have created these sweet Easter printables for you (actually I created this for me too - I use everything I create so everything is "tried and tested" before I release it). Download yourFREE EASTER Q-TIP PRINTABLE HERE!

This is an activity that would well in a classroom, at home or in an OT session! You could shrink down the pages and turn them into a card or display the finished pictures!

Have you tried Q-tip STAMPING before?

Do you have other mess-free activities that you use in therapy sessions?

If you try this activity for yourself, I would love to see it! Tag #yourkidsot on Instagram or email me at [email protected]

Don't forget to download yourFREE EASTER Q-TIP PRINTABLE HERE!

Cindy Chuan is a registered Occupational Therapist practising in Sydney Australia. She has two young 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!

Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT