This stunning plate, created by Max, is remarkable for three reasons:
• He painted it by himself, without any help from me.
• Note the color—NOT PURPLE!!! Except for one little splotch in the middle! He made it for an orange-loving girl in his class—Max has a crush, I think. Perhaps this is a turning point. I am a little weary of purple. And it's about time we married him off.
• It could probably sell for millions of dollars in an art gallery. I'm on it.
A new occupational therapist did a session with Max last night. You always get new tricks from different therapists, and sure enough, she had a good one. How's this: Painting with marshmallows! She poured fingerpaint onto a plate and presented Max with a bag of marshmallows.
Max was enchanted. First, he wanted to eat one. Then he grabbed one between his fingers (SCORE!), made some dots then and swooshed the paint around. The marshmallow makes the paint glide easily—I was dying to try! This was, by far, the easiest time he's had painting. He needs so much help learning to grasp things, and this was totally inspiring.
We've had some success with brushes. Alex Jumbo Chubby Beginner Paint Brushes are easy to grasp:
I found these Creatology ones at Michaels:
Alex also makes versions with thick handles:
Got any great tricks you've recently learned from your occupational therapists for inspiring kids to use their hands? Share! And any OTs reading this...spill!
Great idea - but in a world where nearly every second child suffers from hunger please, please, please use washable sponges instead of food for painting.
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What? How is using washable sponges going to feed a starving child?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, Ellen, interesting idea! I'm surprised he didn't want to eat it with paint on it though....
What fun! Those Creatology brushes look neat - I might just have to buy a set for myself ;)
ReplyDeleteI have that one on my blog too. http://therapyfunzone.com/blog/2011/01/marshmallow-painting-for-fine-motor-skills/ It really does work those fine motor skills.
ReplyDelete@shasta
ReplyDeleteFood - even junk food - should feed people's bodies.
What a GREAT idea!! I'm going to go buy a bag of them tomorrow. Katie has difficulty with paint brushes because they tend to stick to the paper more than she likes.
ReplyDeleteI often let Katie play with food like fruit loops and dry noodles and then *gasp* throw it out. In the garbage!
Er....Anne Rusing? Since when are marshmallows classified as a nutritious food? They'd probably send a starving child into sugar shock and kill 'em....I am with Shasta, I don't take your logic, either. Scarcity of food in one part of the world is not mitigated by plenty in another--if that were the case, there would be no hunger. The way that starvation is lessened is by teaching cultures to grow/farm/catch their own food in a sustainable fashion (but that is a discussion for another blog, not this one--and you've made your misguided point, twice--you're not getting any agreement, so enough already).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, back to the topic. My kids would want to eat the marshmallows, especially my oldest who has a real sweet tooth. I'd do better with makeup sponges, if I was trying this craft. I too like the fruit loops/assorted pasta shapes crafts that Kristine mentioned, as well.
That plate, to me, looks like a plate of spaghetti with extra sauce! Max is a regular 21st Century Warhol, only with more talent!!!
Love the Marshmallow idea (although I would probably eat them myself). My son is only two and he loves to play with lids off jars of tubs, sliding then around his tray and trying to pick them up has really help develop more control of his hands.
ReplyDeleteI am with @Shasta @Anne you've totally lost me LOL :) anyway back on topic have you tried getting Max to pick up coins - it helps with fine motors skills. I am SO glad Max is now able to paint, us people with CP must stick together after all :)
ReplyDeleteWay back on my elementary days, I really love to paint.But honestly, I am not that good:(.Those brushes look great and cute.My son would really love that for sure.
ReplyDeleteRemedio Hemorroides
Nisha, Max doesn't yet have the dexterity for picking up coins, but hopefully he will one of these days.
ReplyDeleteAnne, I appreciate what you say in principal. It's not as if we regularly conduct OT sessions at our home using food; this is a first. But if a few marshmallows are going to get my son with CP to better use his fingers, and I can't think of a similar non-food shape that could work, I'm going to use marshmallows. He cannot as easily hold a sponge.
I love this idea. My daughter is quite tiny and the marshmellows would fit perfectly in her little hands.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to get some of those brushes. Our OT tried something similar to the marshmallow thing, but with cotton balls since our little buddy would have popped the marshmallows in his mouth. We have used cotton balls as paint brushes and dipped them in glue to make cotton ball collages. Our son has a hard time grasping markers/pencils/etc and therefore hates to even try. We are using some of the Color Wonder products to make it a little more interesting. That doesn't mean he is doing it well or for any length of time, but he enjoys trying for a few minutes. Color Wonder Sound Studio http://www.amazon.com/Crayola-Color-Wonder-Sound-Studio/dp/B003P8FL1C/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1308835143&sr=8-3. Crayola Beginnings Color Me A Song http://www.amazon.com/Crayola-Beginnings-Color-Me-Song/dp/B00296N9G0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308835268&sr=8-1
ReplyDeleteglad that max is painting and it doesnt matter if its with marshmellows or not use those hands lil man go for it
ReplyDeleteI disagree with not using marshmellows if something gives someone more independance it is worth it!!
ReplyDeleteStamping with potatoes that you've carved into a circle, square, etc. . . .*You can probably google it and find a better explanation)
ReplyDeleteI thought it looked like spaghetti sauce too. And I did notice that it wasn't purple paint--what guys won't do to get a girl's attention!
ReplyDeleteI was going to suggest raw potatoes cut in half as well.
He can paint on tortilla shells with spaghetti sauce and marshmallows then eat the whole thing!
I LOVE this! Thanks for sharing your victories! I wrote a post about marshmallows for my blog on Monday, June 27. I invite you to stop by and leave a comment linking back to this post! I think my readers would love it!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sabrina -- those Creatology brushes look fun! I may need to give them a try!
ReplyDeleteI have used carrots with the tops left on as a different texture and something easy to hold onto for painting with my son who also has CP. You can trim the tops down a bit, so they don't get too long and floppy.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, and awesome ideas in the comment section. It's a rainy day here today...we might try to do some painting. We've got lots of marshmallows! :) Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fab OT and thanks for sharing the idea. It reminded me of the time, shortly after Jack's dx with PDD-NOS, when I picked him up after an enrichment class at the Y. The teacher apologized because as they were adding mini marshmallows to their art projects, Jack ate a bunch of them...along with glue. Ewww. So glad Elmer's is nontoxic, LOL!!
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