Fine Motor Friday - Slant Board

Occupational Therapists study occupation. What is the occupation of a child? Simply put, it's play. Learning and growing in the area of fine motor development is crucial to a child's development of play and ultimately helps facilitate their later ability to be a successful student.

By profession, I'm a pediatric occupational therapist although I spend pretty much all my time being a mom. As Boo nears 3 years old it is getting easier to pull out some of my work stuff and start working on fine motor skills. It helps me too because I get to dust off those distance corners of my brain and start thinking OT again. Let's explore development and have some fun.

Slant Board -
I have talked about positioning a lot in terms of placing your body in a stable, steady position to support the motion and precision work on the hands (fine motor work). I wanted to spend a little bit more time talking about another tool - the slant board. You can purchase a slant board through many catalogues but it's just as easy to make your own.

Why would you even need or want a slant board for your child? Working in a slightly vertical position (a similar effect can be found using an easel or blackboard/ dry erase board) puts your forearm in a great position of support and allows the wrist to be slightly extended. This allows the hand and fingers to do the work they need for fine motor activities. It also helps the rest of the upper body align - upright posture and good stability at the table top.

So here's what you need: a large 3 ring binder - this one is 3"


Clips - these are magnetic, I would have preferred a larger, flatter clip but this worked fine.

Hot glue glue to attach the clip to the binder...

... and you're done! So super easy!!


Here are some action shots of Boo trying it out. Looking at these pictures I should have pushed her chair in a bit more but I didn't notice... next time! :)




This is a side shot so you can see Boo's new chair. It's a Stokke KinderZeat chair and I love it! (I really love that I got it on craigslist too). She can use it for a really long time and look at the wonderful position. It has also made mealtime easier.


And just because baby hands are so cute here is one of Pumpkin and her nesting cups.