Boo
has become increasingly disinterested in maintaining his fine and
gross motor skill exercises. I suppose after two and a half years of
these exercises he's getting tired of them. However, taking even a
week's break causes a very noticeable decline in Boo's abilities.
So, we continue his exercises...only in abbreviated forms to appease
Boo. That means I need to supplement these exercises in ways that
don't seem like exercises. Here are seven ways I've found that are
working...at least so far.
Knead
bread dough. Boo loves
homemade yeast bread and I make a couple of batches of bread,
cinnamon rolls, hotdog or hamburger buns, pita bread or doughnuts
weekly. (No we don't eat them all. We share.) Boo helps me knead
and sometimes shape the dough. The kneading process is great for
strengthening his hands and wrists. Shaping is better for fine motor
skills and memory. Just
how are we shaping the dough?
Cleaning
mirrors, windows and smooth surfaces. Using
a homemade spray cleaner and a soft cloth, Boo cleans the bathroom
mirror, window, front door and bathroom sink. This mimics some of
the arm circling exercises, gives some finger exercise guiding the
cloth around faucets, window panes and operating the spray trigger
and memory of what needs to be done.
Memory
of what should not be done is important too. It's also why I only
use homemade cleaner. The first time Boo cleaned the bathroom
mirror, I glanced at him and noticed him spraying his
face...deliberately. He thought he'd clean his glasses without
taking them off. So, now Boo only uses water, white vinegar and a
few teaspoons of castile soap for safety.
Turning
photos over without dragging them to the edge of the table. We
have a collection of photos of children, grandchildren and Boudreaux
that Boo likes to see. I put them in a stack upside down on a
rectangular cloth. Boo then lifts one, looks at it and usually talks
about it for a while. Then places it in a separate pile on the
cloth. This gives intermittent fine motor exercise.
Talking
about the photos helps with verbalization on days when he's not
interested in talking. Boo absolutely doesn't need to be induced to
talk about family or his cat. It also helps stimulate his memory.
Preparing
a fruit salad with melon balls. Boo
loves fruit salad; but because it usually raises his blood sugar,
it's a treat. Making melon balls using a melon baller is an awesome
fine motor exercise. It uses both his fingers and wrists. Boo will
vary hands as he tires. So, as an added bonus, this will exercise
both of his hands. And we have a fruit salad for the next day. He's
usually managed to eat enough melon while making balls that we have
to wait a day to eat the salad.
Wind
yarn around a small water bottle. This
isn't a strictly necessary job. The skeins of yarn I buy are easy to
use without rewinding. However, winding the yarn mimics arm circles.
Once again, as he tires he naturally uses both arms. Boo couldn't
seem to grasp how to make a ball with the yarn. So, he winds it
around an empty water bottle instead.
Hanging
and buttoning shirts. Confession
time: I don't iron unless forced to do so. Some of Boo's flannel
shirts do have to be ironed. They're so soft and require that he
button himself; so, they're well worth the effort. Usually I hand
Boo a plastic hanger and then a shirt. Most of the shirts he wears
daily are polo type shirts. So he has to slip the shirt over the
hanger and button the top button. On really good days he may hang
five or six shirts. Other days, two shirts are a struggle.
Putting
change in various banks. Somehow,
I end up with lots of change. If I don't have much change, I ask for
change at several stores to have enough for this activity. I cut a
slot in several water bottles to make banks that are unbreakable and
easy to open. All our change is placed in a bowl. Boo sorts the
coins and puts each in the appropriate bank. This definitely uses
fine motor skills.
This
activity uses a certain amount of logic. Surprisingly to me, this
has been an issue for Boo some days. He simply can't remember how to
sort the quarters, dimes, nickles and pennies. At times, I'll
separate the coins into two bowls. One bowl has pennies and nickles.
The other has dimes and quarters. Generally this is enough to
enable him to finish the sorting process.
Bonus
activity: Connecting nuts and bolts. Boo
picked up a small container of nuts and bolts when I was looking for
a screw driver recently. I didn't notice that he kept the container
instead of putting it back with the tools. Boo has enjoyed pouring
the nuts and bolts onto a plastic tray and picking up the nuts and
bolts and connecting them to each other. Other times he'll unscrew
them and put them back in the original container. Wonderful fine
motor exercise and sorting activity. I guess using nuts and bolts
makes it a manly activity.
