Tree of Gratitude Cutout Craft
This interactive, seasonal craft transforms a simple gratitude activity into a sensory-motor exercise. By adjusting how kids prepare and place the leaves, you can target specific physical, occupational, and speech therapy goals or developmental actions!
You’ll Need:
Printed Tree Template & Gratitude Leaves Template (find these in our app!)
Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
Child-safe scissors
Tape or glue
Optional: Therapy ball or wobble cushion
Instructions:
Prep the Workspace: Tape the large bare tree template to a wall or door, keeping some branches a little high or low to encourage a full range of motion.
Color & Write: Have kids color the leaves and write or draw one thing they are thankful for on the front or back of each. To work on core strength, have them complete this step while sitting on a therapy ball or wobble cushion.
Cut: Ask the child to carefully cut out the leaves along the dotted lines.
Move & Place: Instead of simply walking to the tree, kids can perform a specific gross motor movement (such as a bear crawl, bunny hop, or walking on tiptoes) to carry each leaf across the room.
Attach: They can reach up high or squat down low to tape their leaves to the branches, continuing until the tree is full.
Therapeutic Benefits:
Occupational Therapy: Cutting along the dotted lines practices scissor skills and bilateral hand coordination (one hand manipulating the paper, the other cutting). Pinching the tape and gripping crayons builds fine motor dexterity.
Physical Therapy: Carrying the leaves across the room and reaching for the branches works on dynamic standing balance, weight shifting, squatting, and shoulder range of motion.
Speech & Language Pathology: Practice the "th" sound in "thankful." Encourage expressive language by having kids articulate full sentences explaining why they chose to draw or write each specific item on their leaves.
