Gift Wrapping as An Opportunity to Practice Occupational Therapy Skills
Winter is a time that many choose to exchange gifts, whether it is to celebrate a holiday or to show appreciation for those in your life. Gift wrapping provides a highly motivating opportunity for kids to practice and generalize the skills that they are working on in occupational therapy. This is also a wonderful opportunity for connection and child directed interaction.
Here are some step-by-step tasks for practicing motor skills:
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- Cutting the paper is a fun time to practice scissors skills including bilateral coordination and motor accuracy. The lightweight paper also requires kids to be aware of the force of their movement.
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- Holding the paper and applying tape is a chance to practice a pincer grasp as well as bilateral coordination and motor accuracy. The stickiness of the tape is also an opportunity for tactile sensation exposure.
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- Putting on the bow can be a time that kids practice gross grasp and release.
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- Applying a recipient sticker can be a time for exposure to tactile input as well as a chance to utilize bilateral coordination and use of a more advanced pincer grasp.
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- Printing the names on the package is a perfect time to refine sizing and placement of letters.
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- Carrying presents is an opportunity to practice bilateral coordination while receiving proprioceptive input (the body’s ability to sense positioning) from the weight of the package. This could be used for a heavy work activity.
