Shop Subscribe

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Schoolyard Blog | Teacher Resources | School Specialty

Classroom must haves for teachers plus essential teacher supplies, lesson plans and activities.

schoolyard-logo
  • Education Essentials
  • Inspiration & Planning
  • Learning Spaces
  • Topics
  • Search
  • < Previous post
    Next post >
    5 Fun Activities to Soak Up Summer!

    Special Needs
    School Specialty • Jul 31, 2016 • Last Modified: Oct 5, 2018

    5 Fine Motor Skills Activities for Summer

    Finding fun activities for hot summer days can be a challenge, but these simple games and activities are great for helping children to work on fine motor skills. The summer months are a great opportunity to try new things — and for children with special needs to engage in activities that are both fun and challenging.

    5 Summer Activities: Working on Fine Motor Skills

    Check out these fun ideas to beat the heat AND work on fine motor skills:

    Squirt Gun Painting

    Fill your favorite squirt gun with liquid watercolors, use an easel or secure a piece of watercolor paper onto a tree or post and spray away to create instant art! Clean up for your art crew is also a blast..simply turn on the hose and/or run through the sprinkler. (adapted from Fireflies and Mudpies )

    Chalk It Up

    Use sidewalk chalk for drawing outside in a driveway or other cemented area such as a playground or patio. Fill a bucket with water and add various tools: eye dropper, turkey baster, squirt guns, spray bottles, small plastic watering cans, sponges etc. Use one or more of each of the water tools to make silly changes to the chalk art and/or wash away.  Great for building fine motor skills and promoting pinch and hand strength (adapted from Therapy Fun Zone).

    Go on an Ice Dig

    This basically entails freezing a bucket of water with added objects suspended in the ice block. It’s great for visual perception as well as fine motor and hand strength skills and is sure to keep your kiddos enthralled as they “dig out” their treasures from the block of ice. (from Your Kid’s Table).

    Sensory Jell-o Fun

    For indoor fun, make a large batch of Jell-O® in a shallow baking dish or cookie sheet. Just as the gel starts to thicken add a few small toys/objects (bingo chips, small plastic figurines, etc.) so they will suspend in the mold. Great for kids with low vision and/or more severe cognitive impairments for touch, smell (and even taste!) sensory input but supervise accordingly with the small parts. (adapted from Wonder Baby.org).

    Sand and Water Sensory Play

    To keep a group of busy hands active check out the MantaRay Mobile Mite. Fill with water or Shape it Sand, and add your favorite water and/or sand tools  for instant portable sensory play.

    More Special Needs Activities & Ideas

    If you’re looking for more ideas and inspiration for children with special needs, check out the other blogs on our Special Needs category page. We have activities, self-regulation tools, study tips, and more.

    Read More: Special Needs

    Facebook Comments

    Tagged With: Summer

    Recommended

    Drumroll Please. The 2022 Crystal Apple Award Winners Are…

    Inspiration & Planning

    Drumroll Please. The 2022 Crystal Apple Award Winners Are…

    Including Children with Special Needs in Literacy Activities

    Special Needs

    Including Children with Special Needs in Literacy Activities

    Encouraging Science Learning through Family Involvement

    STEAM & STEM

    Encouraging Science Learning through Family Involvement

    How Schools Can Overcome the Barriers of Family Engagement and Inspire Success

    21st Century Learning

    How Schools Can Overcome the Barriers of Family Engagement and Inspire Success

    Explore The Schoolyard

    Education Essentials

    Inspiration & Planning

    Learning Spaces

     

    TopicsShop Subscribe

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • RSS

    Copyright © 2022 School Specialty, LLC. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement · Social Media Statement · Do Not Sell My Personal Information - CA Resident Only

  • CATEGORIES

    • Education Essentials
    • Inspiration & Planning
    • Learning Spaces
  • TOPICS

    • Arts & Crafts
    • Early Childhood
    • Special Needs
    • Physical Education
    • Educational Technology
    • Student Resources
    • Organization & Storage
    • Classroom Management
    • STEAM & STEM
    • 21st Century Learning
    • Reading & Literacy
    • Healthy Students
    • Teacher Life
    • Back to School
    • Celebrations & Seasons
    • Out of School
    • News
    • Math
    • Science
    • Topics
    • Shop
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube