Find out what makes school-based occupational therapy fun—for OTs and for students!

<p>If you’re a school-based OT, you know how much fun occupational therapy can be—for both you and your students! And if you’re an OT who has been considering working in schools, but you haven’t yet made the leap, we highly recommend it! Here’s what makes school-based occupational therapy fun—along with some fun OT activities your kids will love.</p><h2>Why Being a School OT Is So Much Fun</h2><p>It’s true that being a school-based occupational therapist can be challenging at times. Some days the paperwork and pace can get stressful. Fortunately, there are all kinds of tools to help you streamline administrative tasks…like our resources on <a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/blogs/goal-writing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">writing OT goals</a>, <a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/blogs/writing-plps" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;documenting present levels</a>, <a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/blogs/ot-assessment-tools-for-face-to-face-and-virtual-ot" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">conducting assessments</a>, and <a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/blogs/successful-ot-ieps" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">attending IEP meetings</a></p><p>The rewards of being a school OT, however, absolutely outweigh the challenges and make it a really fun journey! Here’s what’s so fun about being a school OT:</p><ol><li>You can use your creativity to research what works for each of your students and to put together an individualized therapy plan that keeps them engaged, happy, and successful.&nbsp;</li><li><br></li><li>Many of the goals you focus on as an OT deal with areas of children’s lives that are naturally fun—like extracurricular activities, play and leisure, sensory components, and social interaction.</li><li><br></li><li>When you work with your students on academics, work skills, or other tasks they may struggle with and find less appealing, you won’t be bound by a curriculum. You can turn boring subjects into occupational therapy games and make the experience fun!</li><li><br></li><li>You can enjoy the autonomy of setting up your own schedule and your OT sessions with students. You may even get to travel between different schools. And let’s face it…it’s fun to have that kind of freedom at work!</li><li><br></li><li>Ah! Summer! Doesn’t the idea of having summers off just sound fun? Working the school-year calendar and teachers’ hours can drastically improve your quality of life. You can even choose whether you want to take the summer to relax or to earn some extra income with a side gig during your time off.</li><li><br></li><li>It’s fun to get to know kids, parents, teachers, administrators, staff and other therapists. You’ll get to be part of an extended school family!</li><li><br></li><li>You get to help teachers and parents help kids. Providing fun ways for teachers and guardians to implement OT supports in the classroom and at home can make adults feel more effective and kids feel more confident.</li><li><br></li><li>You get to see students who were struggling strengthen their social interactions, motor skills, cognitive processing, organization, handwriting, self-advocacy, and more.</li><li><br></li><li>You get to use fun activities like the ones below to help your kids thrive!</li><li><br></li></ol><h2>Fun Occupational Therapy Activities for Students</h2><p>These occupational therapy resources highlight the fun side of OT! Don’t forget to bookmark your favorites. Enjoy!</p><p><a href="http://funotactivities.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fun OT Activities</a> – Fun OT Activities is full of free resources assembled by a California-based occupational therapist whose goal is “putting the FUN in functional.” Activities are downloadable, no prep or low prep, and are organized by fine motor, bundle, visual motor, handwriting, and life skills. Further, the activities are interactive and keep teletherapy and distance learning in mind.</p><p><a href="https://www.toolstogrowot.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tools to Grow OT</a> – Tools to Grow OT has thousands of free activities as well as a subscription premium membership. Many of the activities are for interactive digital teletherapy. In addition to the fun OT activities for kids, you’ll also find OT planners, calendars, caseload management, awards, family activities, and more.</p><h2><a href="https://www.theottoolbox.com/blog/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The OT Toolbox</a> – The OT Toolbox has resources, ideas, tools, and activities to promote healthy development through play and movement. It is organized into fine motor, executive functioning, handwriting, sensory, and vision topics and has fun tools for teachers, parents, and therapists to use to help kids succeed.Occupational Therapy Opportunities</h2><p>We hope these resources help you add some fun to your occupational therapy sessions with your students. To see our latest opportunities, visit our <a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/job-search-results?what=ot&amp;where=" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">school OT jobs</a> today.</p><p><br></p>

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