Are you a new occupational therapist preparing for the upcoming school year? Feeling a tad overwhelmed? Don’t worry! The Magic OT Bug is here to lend a helping hand.
Let’s dive into the must-have items for your OT room. The best part? Most of these essentials are budget-friendly and can be found at your local dollar store.
Writing and Drawing Supplies:
Pencils, markers, crayons, dot paint, watercolors, acrylic paint pens, Write Right Stylus, colored pencils
Fine Motor Tools:
- Q-tips and cotton balls: Perfect for promoting tripod or pincer pinch grasp. Q-tips can also be used to write letters and decorate pictures using paint. Tear cotton balls apart for craft projects.
- Spray bottles and eye droppers: Ideal for fine motor and finger strengthening activities. Use them to create tie-dye effects on coffee filters or turn them into artistic creations like flowers or butterflies. They are also great for watering indoor and outdoor flowers and plants.
- Popsicle sticks: Great as writing spacers, for craft projects, or building geometric designs. Check our TikTok and Instagram videos for unique and fun ways to use popsicle sticks in therapy sessions.
- Clothespins: Use for activities like letter matching or picking up small items. This is also a great way to develop the pincer and tripod grasp and improve finger strength
- Tweezers: Another way to address fine motor skills. Pair with cotton balls or pom poms for midline crossing activities. There are all types of tweezers, but these are our favorite!
- Play-dough, thera-putty: Use your fingers to pinch off a piece and roll it into small balls. Hide small beads into the putty and have your students find them all. We love using this thera-putty.
- Tissue paper: Perfect for tearing and scrunching to use in craft activities.
- Pipe cleaners: Excellent for making bracelets, necklaces, or for crafts
- Hole puncher: A fun tool to promote a tripod grasp and address hand strength. Our students love using a hole puncher on paper. This is our go-to hole puncher.
- Different colored fabric hair bands: These are great for so many activities. Place them on toilet paper rolls, pick them up with tweezers, use them on your fingers, and have your students copy the same design on their fingers. These are the hair bands we use.
- Paper straws- Cut paper straws into small sizes to create DIY lacing beads. Children can thread them onto strings or pipe cleaners to practice fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
- Write Right Stylus– This stylus is different from all other styluses. It has sensors where your fingers need to be placed. If you are not holding the stylus in a tripod grasp, it will not work. You can get it here.
Therapy Supplies:
- Hole puncher, scissors, ruler
- Rubber bands, round colored stickers, yarn, beads, pop poms
- Glue, glue stick, painter’s tape, scotch tape, packing tape, two-sided tape
- Glitter, paintbrushes, molding clay, Play-dough, kinetic sand, Playfoam
- Construction paper, writing paper, tissue paper, tracing paper, coffee filters
- Tweezers, clothes pins, blocks, Squigz
Sensory Materials:
- Shaving cream: Great for sensory activities and can be mixed with glue to create puffy paint.
- Wikki Stix: Ideal for tactile activities like shaping letters and making shapes. We use this one.
- Fidget toys: Squeezy balls, stretch tubes, putty, spinners, Pop-It
- Sensory Seating: Move and sit cushions, Wobble Stool, BouncyBand
- Stickers: Create a fun activity by drawing letters or numbers all over a sheet of paper and having the kids scan for them. Once found, they can place stickers on the corresponding letters or numbers. Stickers also serve as excellent incentives for a reward system. At the start of the year, we often implement sticker charts where our students aim to collect five stickers to earn a prize. This system provides them with a motivating incentive to engage and excel during therapy sessions.
Having these materials in your OT room sets you up for success without breaking the bank. You can find most of these items at your local dollar store or the Dollar Spot at Target. I have linked the ones used in OT (We get a small commission if you buy through our link). With these tools, you can create engaging and effective therapy sessions for your students. Here’s to a successful school year ahead!
