Looking for an easy way to incorporate some fine motor and gross motor skill development at home? Painter's tape is a quick thing you can dig out of the closet and use in so many ways!
1. Spiderweb
Rip 6-8+ long strips of tape and lay them over each other in different directions on a tabletop. For extra fun, do it on a piece of paper and color in the white spots to then peel the tape off and reveal a fun abstract piece of art!
Practice using visual perceptual skills, bilateral coordination, and a pincer grasp to slowly peel each piece of tape off!
2. Rescue a Toy
Pick out a handful of your child's favorite toys (animals, cars, puzzle pieces, etc.) and wrap each one in a long strip of painter's tape. Your child will use their bilateral coordination and fine motor skills to rescue their favorite toy! Wrapping the toy in more of a spiral makes it a little more difficult while doing just one wrap around is a little easier!
3. Reach and peel!
For an activity that is easily graded up and down based on skill levels, trying ripping 5-10 smaller pieces of painter's tape and sticking them on a tall mirror, sliding glass door, or wall.
-For kiddos who are learning to balance in standing and may not be walking yet, this is a great activity to practice standing with just one arm supporting them (the other one will be busy peeling!). Try putting pieces of tape all around them in different directions to encourage shifting their weight!
-For kiddos who are independently walking but need to work on their balance, try peeling the pieces off while standing on an uneven surface such as a pillow, couch cushion, or thick blanket. If you have a balance board or wobble cushion available that is great too!
-For kiddos who are working on core strengthening, try doing this in high kneeling. Extra challenge- try on an uneven surface such as a pillow, couch cushion, or thick blanket. If you have a balance board or wobble cushion available that is great too!
-To increase the fine motor challenge, make sure the painter's tape is fully stuck down on the surface with no edges lifting up or only a tiny bit!
4. What's on my arm??
One of my favorite activities to get little ones interested in a fine motor task is placing small strips of tape on their arms and legs. Painter's tape may not be interesting when it's on a mirror, but when there's suddenly something sticky and blue on their hands, arms and legs, it's a whole other story! What a great way to build body awareness and pincer grasp skills!
Try putting some on yourself as well and have your little kiddo help you out by getting them off!
5. Obstacle Course
You can build a whole obstacle course in your living room using just painter's tape!
-Rip long strips and place them on the floor to jump over
-Use the painter's tape to make a hopscotch course
-Place a long line of painter's tape across the room and have your child practice walking heel to toe across, do an animal walk, or walk backwards!
-Find two items of similar heights (ex. toddler step stools) and attach each end of a long strip of painter's tape to both items to create a home-made hurdle. Or simply use 2 walls in a narrow hallway! Step or jump over the hurdles!
6. Just rip!
Last but not least, you'll be surprised how interested your kiddo will be in simply just ripping pieces of the tape off themselves! You can make this easier for them by starting a tear for them (doing maybe 25% of the way across) and letting them rip the rest!
DISCLAIMER: The content in this blog should not be used in place of medical advice/treatment and is solely for informational purposes. All activities/exercises posted in this blog should be performed with adult supervision, caution, and at your own risk. Big Leaps, LLC is not responsible for any injury while performing an activity/exercise that has been posted on this blog. If you have any information on the content of our blog, feel free to contact us at info@bigleapsct.com.
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