Looking to address visual motor, visual closure, fine motor control, and hand strength in one activity? All you need is: glue, food coloring, water, eye droppers, paper plates, and SALT! I used a couple of other additional items that just made it less messy and more organized.
Have the students draw anything that that they want on the paper plate (you can use anything that has slightly more thickness than construction paper). I specifically wanted them to work on the formation of specific letters. Therefore, I wrote the letters nice and large. For my older students I had them write words that had to do with Spring. For students that need to work on visual closure I had them make swirly designs.
Then using their hand strength and coordination, trace the lines by squeezing WHITE glue over it. I purchased disposable foil pans at the Dollar Store for the next step to keep the mess at a minimum. Of course you could use anything you already have. I even considered re-using our empty pizza boxes from dinner the night before! Give the student a paper cup with salt in it and have them poor the salt all over the plate (keep the plate in the tray). The salt will automatically stick to the glue so shake off any excess. You can then pour the excess salt back into the cup.
Fill 4 cups with water and add food coloring to each one. Then to work on finger dexterity and fine motor strength teach the students how to use an eye dropper. Have them fill their eye dropper with their desired color and drop small amounts onto the gluey salt mixture! The color spreads and you will start to hear the kids say "oooooh" and "aaaaah"! This was a great success and the kids LOVED it! I used it for students Kindergarten through 5th grade and modified the level of difficulty depending on their skill level. Have fun!
Don't forget to check out my webinars for other fun activities to work on