OT-Inspired Summer Activities to Try at Home

Summer is here! We’ve put together a few fun and easy activities to support your child’s development while they enjoy time off from school. These ideas build on key OT skills - like fine motor coordination & strength, visual motor skills, sensory processing, and emotional regulation - through playful, everyday experiences. 

Wildflower Scavenger Hunt & Art

Lace up your sneakers (or hiking boots for an extra challenge!) and head outside to collect different kinds of wildflowers. Then, turn your collection into beautiful nature art. All you need is:

• contact paper or packing tape,

• scissors,

• and a paper plate (to make the frame)

Cut out the center of the paper plate and attach the contact paper or packing tape to the back so that the sticky side faces up. Press the flowers onto the sticky surface to make a suncatcher. 

Want to level up the activity? You and your child can decorate the frame with paint or markers, punch a hole at the top, and use string to hang the finished artwork. 

Repeat the wildflower hunt every other week throughout the summer to watch how your frame transforms as the wildflowers change throughout the season! 

Want to make the activity more sensory-focused instead? Create a checklist (or download this one from The Inspired Treehouse for free) with experiences like “listen for birds,” “feel the grass,” or “touch something slippery (like a worm!).” Let your child check them off as they go. 

This activity targets a wide variety of skills, including fine motor strength, visual motor and perceptual skills, executive functioning, and sensory processing.

Sensory Bottle

Create a calming, visual sensory tool with a few household items. Here’s what you’ll need: 

• A clear plastic bottle with a cap that tightens well

• Baby oil (fill the bottle about halfway)

• Water (fill the rest of the way)

• A few drops of food coloring

• Glitter or small beads (optional)

Seal the cap tightly (you can even hot glue it shut), give it a shake, and watch the colors swirl and settle. 

This simple project supports sensory processing with a focus on tactile and visual input, fine motor coordination, and executive functioning skill development. It can also serve as a self-regulation tool to add to the toolbox. 

Trace Me!

Gather some chalk and pick your favorite sidewalk spot. Take turns tracing each other’s body outlines. Then, use the drawings to start a conversation about interoception - our ability to notice internal physical and emotional states like hunger, thirst, fatigue, temperature, the need to use the bathroom, and emotions. 

For example, you might say, “I’m noticing that my stomach is grumbling. I’m feeling hungry!” and draw the stomach. Or, “My body is telling me it’s tired. My eyelids are feeling a little heavy,” and have your child draw the eyes. 

This activity helps build interoceptive awareness, a foundational skill for emotional regulation. 

Individuals who are developing interoception skills often benefit from adult modeling and description of their own internal sensations as a means of gaining awareness and learning language to describe their own interoceptive sensations. As a bonus, this activity also engages fine motor, visual motor, body awareness, and creative play. 

Photo by Gotta Be Worth It on Pexels

Share your summer fun with us!

We’d love to hear if you try any of these ideas. Tag us or send us a photo! Wishing you and your family a summer full of fun, movement, and connection.