The ability to independently move individual fingers is an important skill for the completion of a variety of academically related fine motor tasks including handwriting, cutting, and typing. While there are many different games and activities that can assist with the development of this skill, occupational therapists can also look to the musical profession for occupation based activities to teach digit isolation as this skill is also important when playing many musical instruments. Here are three occupation based musical activities that can be easily incorporated into pediatric occupational therapy sessions in both outpatient and school based settings. Let them also serve as an inspiration for other types of musical activities you could try!

Finger-plays:

• Supplies: music with hand motions such as “The Itsy Bitsy Spider,” “Five Little Monkeys” or “Open, Shut Them,” CD player or other device to play music (alternatively, you could sing music without accompaniment)
• Set-up: plug in device if necessary, review hand motions for songs
• Positioning: position self facing child (can be sitting or standing)
• Instructions: therapist plays music and sings along with child, teaching child the hand motions to each song; songs may be repeated as many times as desired before moving to next song

Finger drums:

• Supplies: small plastic cups with a rolled lip, balloons, rubber bands, electrical tape, scissors, music with obvious rhythmic beat, CD player or other device to play music
• Making drums (can serve as a session of its own): cut the neck off of the balloons; pull one balloon tightly over the top of each cup to form a taught surface and secure with a rubber band; wrap electrical tape over rubber band to hold it in place and secure cut edges of balloon to cup
• Positioning: position self facing child
• Instructions: therapist plays music and engages child in playing rhythm on drum with fingers to match the beat of the music; encourage child to alternate which fingers are used to vary the sound produced

Keyboarding:

• Supplies: electric keyboard or piano, bench or chair, beginner piano books or sheet music that uses 5 or fewer different notes (so that each finger plays no more than one note), colored sticker dots in 5 different colors
• Set-up: label the notes on the sheet music with a different color sticker dot for each note; label the corresponding keys on the keyboard or piano with the appropriate colored sticker dot; label each finger on the child’s hand with the color sticker dot indicating which finger should play each note (the sheet music should identify this)
• Positioning: seat child on bench facing keyboard or piano
• Instructions: therapist instructs child to play each note in the sequence indicated on the sheet music by matching the colored dots on the music, fingers, and keys; activity can be repeated with as many songs as desired as long as color coding remains consistent

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