Weavable Toys by The Recycling OT

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I am sure that you have heard of The Recycling OT (and if not, then you need to come play on the internet more).  Barbara’s (the recycling OT) claim to fame, and what she does best is cut up plastic detergent bottles to make toys and activities.  She has a whole book about making recycled therapy activities called The Recycling Occupational Therapist: Hundreds of Simple Therapy Materials You Can Make , and she also has a kindle book about making things out of plastic bottles called The Almost Complete Plastic Bottle Activity Book .  The Recycling OT’s newest activity is Weavable Toys.

The Weavable Toys are plastic shapes with strips of plastic that you weave through the shape.  These really work on fine motor skills, and are a great activity to help with buttoning skills.  You have to push the plastic through the holes which challenges the fine motor, motor planning, and visual perception skills.

Each set includes;

• four shape boards
• weaving strips for each board
• 18 plastic shapes to weave onto the strips or onto the strips and boards

Weaving the shapes with only two notches is similar to stringing beads or buttoning, and is great for developing finger strength as they have to push the plastic through the holes.  Weaving the plastic works on much more advanced motor planning skills.

The Weavable Toys are designed to be used in a variety of ways depending on the abilities of the person using them.  Possibilities include:

• removing the shapes from the white strips and inserting into a container
• removing the shapes from the white strips that have been woven onto the boards
• weaving white strips without using the shapes
• weaving the shapes into the strips on the boards
• overlapping shapes
• copying patterns of other boards or pictures of boards