Pediatric projects--turkey and cornucopias

The kids made turkeys by tracing their hands, cutting out the shape and gluing feathers onto the paper.

The kids also made cornucopias by cutting out their favorite foods from magazines and food ads and gluing them onto the cornucopia.

(Apparently, this kid likes sugar)

Another turkey on the bulletin board.

I like these activities because they help you determine if the kids are sensitive or sensory averse to glue, construction paper or feathers. You can determine bilateral integration by looking at how and if they cut. You can assess fine motor skills by looking at how they hold the pencil when they trace their fingers for the turkey. You can determine their problem solving skills by how they cut corners and around weird areas when cutting out the pictures from the magazine. You can look at their posture while cutting and writing and you also assess their attention span and ability to concentrate on activities and follow directions. You can also assess communication and social interaction by how and if they share. Asking them what types of foods they eat for Thanksgiving also assess communication and social interaction skills and you can learn about their immediate familial cultural. (As a side note, I was disappointed to see one teacher correct a student when he said he does not eat pumpkin pie or stuffing for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving and stuffing is a personal experience. In my family we don't eat either. Instead, we eat sweet potato pie and dressing, a typical Southern Thanksgiving meal. So, please be mindful when talking to students that we are respectful of culture and differences).

These are just a few examples of what you can assess by these activities. The kids are having fun, you're having fun and you're also learning about their performance skills. These are awesome school-based occupational therapy activities.