I'm very excited to have The Inspired Treehouse here today, sharing a guest post filled with fun winter learning ideas! Since they are occupational and physical therapists, they even tell you what your child is getting out of each activity. So let's get started!
Hello P is for Preschooler! We’re so excited to be here today from The Inspired Treehouse to share our lesson plan for a Winter Sensory Motor Learning Group. Our team is made up of three occupational and physical therapists who work in a preschool and primary school setting. We often facilitate classroom lessons just like the one we’re sharing here in order to provide our students with a well-rounded set of developmentally appropriate activities that foster sensory, motor, language, and social development. While we typically use our activities in a classroom setting, this lesson plan could easily be adapted for use in a smaller group or even in a one-on-one setting at home. In our experience, low maintenance activities work best with younger kids – so only basic supplies and minimal planning are required!
Materials Needed:
Book: The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel
Scissors
Glue
Multi-colored felt/construction paper or craft foam
Markers/crayons
Paper plates
Music
Baking dish (or any household container you may have on hand)
Paper
Flour
Book: The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel
Scissors
Glue
Multi-colored felt/construction paper or craft foam
Markers/crayons
Paper plates
Music
Baking dish (or any household container you may have on hand)
Paper
Flour
Activity #1: The Jacket I Wear in the Snow With Printable Craft
What to do: Start by reading The Jacket I Wear in the Snow. Provide each child with a printable craft template and have them color the socks, long johns, sweater, and hat to look like the ones in the book.
Next, have them cut on all of the straight black lines, so that each article of clothing is on its own separate strip of paper and the person is on his own piece of paper.
Have the kids glue the strips onto the person in the right places (hat on head, sweater on body, pants on legs, socks on feet). Use felt, construction paper, or craft foam to cut out extra pieces like mittens, boots, and scarves. They can glue these articles of clothing right over top of the ones they have already colored and glued on, layering up just like we do to go outside in the snow!
Variations: Highlight or thicken the cutting lines as needed to make them stand out visually and to ensure success for kids who are just learning to cut on a line.
Skill Areas Addressed: Bilateral coordination, cognitive skills, coordination, fine motor skills, grasp, motor control, prewriting skills, visual motor integration, visual perceptual skills
What to do: Start by reading The Jacket I Wear in the Snow. Provide each child with a printable craft template and have them color the socks, long johns, sweater, and hat to look like the ones in the book.
Next, have them cut on all of the straight black lines, so that each article of clothing is on its own separate strip of paper and the person is on his own piece of paper.
Have the kids glue the strips onto the person in the right places (hat on head, sweater on body, pants on legs, socks on feet). Use felt, construction paper, or craft foam to cut out extra pieces like mittens, boots, and scarves. They can glue these articles of clothing right over top of the ones they have already colored and glued on, layering up just like we do to go outside in the snow!
Variations: Highlight or thicken the cutting lines as needed to make them stand out visually and to ensure success for kids who are just learning to cut on a line.
Skill Areas Addressed: Bilateral coordination, cognitive skills, coordination, fine motor skills, grasp, motor control, prewriting skills, visual motor integration, visual perceptual skills
Activity #2: Let’s Go Skating!
What to do: After sitting for a book and a craft, preschoolers will be ready to move!
Give each child 2 paper plates to stand on. Turn on some music and let them go crazy! Tell them to try to skate with the rhythm of the music — fast, slow, smooth, choppy. Can they move their arms side to side like a speed skater would? Show them how a speed skater or figure skater might move on YouTube! Here are some examples - Figure skating and Speed skating.
Variations: If the plates won’t stay under your kids’ feet, use duct tape like a strap to secure them to their feet.
Add an additional body control challenge by having them freeze when the music stops.
Put on a skating show! Who has the best form? Who would be the best figure skater? Who is the fastest?
Skill Areas Addressed: Balance, coordination, motor control, gross motor skills, proprioception
What to do: After sitting for a book and a craft, preschoolers will be ready to move!
Give each child 2 paper plates to stand on. Turn on some music and let them go crazy! Tell them to try to skate with the rhythm of the music — fast, slow, smooth, choppy. Can they move their arms side to side like a speed skater would? Show them how a speed skater or figure skater might move on YouTube! Here are some examples - Figure skating and Speed skating.
Variations: If the plates won’t stay under your kids’ feet, use duct tape like a strap to secure them to their feet.
Add an additional body control challenge by having them freeze when the music stops.
Put on a skating show! Who has the best form? Who would be the best figure skater? Who is the fastest?
Skill Areas Addressed: Balance, coordination, motor control, gross motor skills, proprioception
Activity #3: Finding Summer Through the Snow
What to do: On a piece of paper, draw pictures of spring and summer items (butterfly, bird, green grass, swing, sunshine, flower, rainbow, ant, etc.). Keep a list of the items you have drawn.
Place the paper with the drawings into the bottom of the baking dish and cover it with 1-2 inches of flour (snow). Tell the children that you are going to find summer through the snow.
Call out one of the summer items on your list and let one child at a time explore the flour, moving it around to try to find the picture of the item. Once he has found the correct picture, spread the flour evenly over the pictures again and move on to the next child so he can take a turn. Repeat until all of the pictures have been found!
Variations: Try using this as a memory game. Can they remember where the sun was? The flower? Make several pieces of paper with different pictures so you can switch them out to play again and again.
Keep this activity available in your sensory table for several days by making a larger piece of paper with drawings and using more flour.
Use this same activity to target academic concepts by hiding shapes, letters, numbers, or colors under the flour instead of summer items.
For the younger child or a child that has limited arm or hand movement, draw only 2-3 large pictures on the paper and limit the amount of flour you add for easier finding.
Skill Areas Addressed: Bilateral coordination, cognitive skills, fine motor skills, midline crossing, sensory integration, social skills, visual motor integration, visual perceptual skills
What to do: On a piece of paper, draw pictures of spring and summer items (butterfly, bird, green grass, swing, sunshine, flower, rainbow, ant, etc.). Keep a list of the items you have drawn.
Place the paper with the drawings into the bottom of the baking dish and cover it with 1-2 inches of flour (snow). Tell the children that you are going to find summer through the snow.
Call out one of the summer items on your list and let one child at a time explore the flour, moving it around to try to find the picture of the item. Once he has found the correct picture, spread the flour evenly over the pictures again and move on to the next child so he can take a turn. Repeat until all of the pictures have been found!
Variations: Try using this as a memory game. Can they remember where the sun was? The flower? Make several pieces of paper with different pictures so you can switch them out to play again and again.
Keep this activity available in your sensory table for several days by making a larger piece of paper with drawings and using more flour.
Use this same activity to target academic concepts by hiding shapes, letters, numbers, or colors under the flour instead of summer items.
For the younger child or a child that has limited arm or hand movement, draw only 2-3 large pictures on the paper and limit the amount of flour you add for easier finding.
Skill Areas Addressed: Bilateral coordination, cognitive skills, fine motor skills, midline crossing, sensory integration, social skills, visual motor integration, visual perceptual skills
Be sure to visit Claire, Lauren, and Pam, The Inspired Treehouse Team, at their website for more great ideas! You can also find them on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
