Table Time
Activity: Creating Musical Instruments
Materials:
Skill Check
This activity targets coordination, fine motor imitation, and sequencing events.
Growing My Skills
Please select one or two instruments from activity printable to construct with the child. Keep items simple and use whatever materials are available within the home.
The easiest items to construct are the rainmakers and tambourines; easy for all age groups.
Floortime Play
Activity: Rock Band
Materials:
Instruments from previous tabletop activity
Skill Check
The goal of this activity is to spend time together in a playful, imaginative way. There should be limited structure and a lot of pretending
Growing My Skills
Play favorite songs while using favorite instruments.
Experiments with different sounds: is it soft? loud? fast? slow?
Older children may want to put on their own concert, encourage them to sing and play their instruments for siblings, parents, or pets!
Relaxation Time
Skill Check
The goal of this week is to utilize calming music as an everyday relaxation tool.
Growing My Skills
Looking at a kid-centric visual interpretation of a classical music rendition will expose your child to a different type of music
Comment on “what the music sounds like” or ask your child to label one aspect they saw within this video
Creative Time
Activity: Pots and Pans Drum Show
Materials:
Any pots and pans you have in your home
Wooden Spoons
Skill Check
The goal of this activity is for your child to get creative with sounds! Play some music and let them explore the different ways to make sounds with their “drums.”
Growing My Skills
Allow your child to explore their options and pick out their favorite pots and pans to use to make their drum set
Model how to use a wooden spoon like a drum
Put some music on and enjoy the live performance!
Movement Time
Activity: Single Leg Stance
Materials:
Chair or something sturdy & safe to hold on to if it’s hard to keep balance at first
Skill Check
The goal of this week is to work on our balance and coordination to move from a one-leg stance to bigger movements. Make sure to try this with both your right and left legs!
Growing My Skills
If your child is having a hard time standing on one leg, give them something sturdy to help with their balance
Try hopping in place while holding your single-leg stance. Once this skill is down, kids can transition from hopping in single-leg stance to hopping on both legs – their own dance move!
Try an outdoor game of hopscotch
Have your child try to pop bubbles while staying still in their hopscotch position (try this both when on one foot and both)
Mealtime
Activity: Lip Rounding
Materials:
Straws
Small round foods (e.g., peas, blueberries, grapes)
Construction paper
Scissors
“Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” Video
Skill Check
The goal of this activity is to target the skill of lip rounding. Lip rounding is the ability to make a circular opening with your lips. This is an early developing skill for feeding. You need to be able to round your lips when it comes time to use a spoon, straw, or cup. When developed, the amount of rounding of your lips can be changed. This makes sure that the lips stay sealed around a feeding utensil (spoon, straw, cup). It also helps get enough pressure for straw drinking.
Growing My Skills
Listen to “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” with your child
Spend time commenting on how the foods crawl up to the branches and then crash down to the ground
Cut out a tree from construction paper, and place it in front of your child on the table
Use the straws to blow small round foods (e.g., blueberries, grapes, peas) from the “branches” to the ground
Your child may need you to model this, and verbally cue to have round lips to hold the straw
Make it a fun racing game by seeing who can blow their food to the ground fastest
Language Time
Activity: Groovy Joe Ice Cream and Dinosaurs
Materials:
Pretend ice cream toy or paper
Cotton balls
Groovy Joe Ice Cream and Dinosaurs Video
Skill Check
The goal of this week is to provide opportunity for your child to increase use, expand, and improve understanding of language through imagination and movement
Expanding Skills
Watch “Groovy Joe Ice Cream and Dinosaurs” with your child
This interactive book contains an important message (and fun song!) regarding the importance of sharing, an important pragmatic skill that we target language surrounding
Depending on your child’s level of language, you can “mute” the video and provide your own narration, utilizing simple words or phrases on the images, or keep the volume up
After the video, spend time with your child discussing how it feels to share, that it is a “green choice” and makes someone a good friend/play partner
After the book, play pretend ice cream shop!
Take turns sharing the ice cream with one another, and utilizing language to request to share
This activity allows for language skill targets such as requesting, turn-taking, answering and asking wh- questions, answering and asking yes/no questions, following directions
