Sunday, September 11, 2011

Buddy Art

I love this activity!  This is a picture from an early childhood classroom, however, I've done this with K, 1st, and 2nd graders too and they always love it too!

Start with a box and 2-3 small rubber balls.  Each student works with a buddy and there's quite a bit of team work involved.  In this case, they were given a choice of 6 colors and were asked to pick 2 (that alone was a challenge for some!).  Then they decided if they wanted 1 ball or 3.  There is some motor planning involved as they coordinate how to roll the balls around the box "just right" so that they don't go flying out.  These little guys had a plan that they wanted their paint to go "up and down" in lines and they did a pretty nice job with that!  Other kiddos tried for circle swirls or just a plain ol' pretty design. 

From an OT perspective, I love that this task incorporates bilateral hand skills.  It's a great team task and fun to do at the beginning of the year to encourage students to work together.  Give it a try!

Jen Dermody, OTR/L

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