Autism: Fine motor skill development made fun!

So I’m slowly trying to get back into home therapy with the kids, it’s been a bit random lately with all the other things we have going on so I am promising myself that this week will be the turn around point.

Today the kids were all home from school as our beloved car has finally died! So with a house full of little ones I had to break out some new activities to keep their little hands busy.

Miss 3 has been bugging me for weeks to open a new set of toys that I found at Kmart. It is a place wooden pizza. It consists of the cutting board, six pizza slices all with Velcro sides and pizza toppings that also attach with Velcro.

So Miss 3 set up the pizza and soon enough Master 5 was intrigued as to what she was doing and made his way over. The pair of them set to work.

They pulled the pizza apart, which was no easy feat, and removed the toppings, they then put the whole thing back together. They took turns using the wooden pizza cutter to push through the Velcro and seperate the pieces one by one.

They counted the toppings and then put them into their different groups, Master 5 was very against having capsicum on his pizza however didn’t like the little vacant spot it left so he added it back on anyway.

Their were a few moments of frustration when the pieces didn’t exactly match up the way they were supposed to, however with some perseverance he managed to get it all reassembled correctly and was quick to show of his efforts.

Their little play session only lasted half and hour but it was a good start. I spent the rest of the day trying to find all the pieces that go with the pizza set as they decided to move their activity to the bedroom, something I should have stopped as once therapy toys leave the lounge room I usually never see them again, but they were having an absolute ball playing so I let them go.

Eventually all the pieces were found, then lost again when Miss 1 woke from her nap and decided that she would like to play as well. I can’t complain as her new found interest in the game reignited Miss 3’s desire to play and the two girls spent ages making pizza for everyone.

While neither of my girls need any assistance in the fine motor skill development area, any game or activity that gets them counting, which this game did and teaching them to share is always a bonus.

This activity while so so simple is a fantastic way to get those fine motor skills working. It requires a lot of patience and effort and yet the children and just having fun while they “work”.

After the success of this fine motor skill activity I did some online window shops and discovered that you can buy any number of different wooden play sets including fruit cutting, cakes, bread and pastries and so many more, so I will be investing in a few different options to keep the kids engaged in this form of therapy.

I did also find plastic sets, in many different varieties as well however I think given the cost it’s better to spend that little bit extra and get the wooden ones as they are going to last a lot longer. When they outgrow them you will be able to resell or pass them onto someone else.

As always thanks for reading!

@mumofmany.