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Santa Maze Free Printable

Check out this awesome long Santa Maze that you can download for free to help Santa deliver all the presents! The great thing about this maze is that it requires students to practice their scissors skills along with. visual-spatial and visual-motor skills to help Santa fly over the houses. You can download it for free at the bottom of the blog post.

WHAT SKILLS DOES THIS SANTA MAZE WORK ON?

This free printable includes two Santa Mazes and helps kids work on the following skills:

Visual Motor Exercises - Long Mazes to Practice Pencil Control

Visual Motor Exercises – Long Mazes to Practice Pencil Control

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HOW DO YOU COMPLETE THIS ACTIVITY?

After you download this activity, you or the students can print, assemble and complete the Santa Mazes to practice pencil control.  Once the pattern/maze is assembled it is 28 inches in length.  This length encourages the child to cross midline and to rotate the head (vestibular input) while completing the visual motor exercise.  The patterns and mazes vary in difficulty from easy to hard with horizontal, vertical, diagonal, curves and circular patterns.  The patterns/mazes are all in black and white.  There is a step by step direction sheet with color photos for the children to follow along.

Santa Says Interactive Game

Santa Says Interactive Game

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HOW TO GET ACCESS TO THE FREE PRINTABLE

All you need to do is follow these three steps to access the printable page for preschoolers, kindergarten students, elementary and homeschool students:

  1. Sign up to receive the emails from Your Therapy Source. If you already get our emails, you can enter your email in the box. You will not be subscribed twice.
  2. You will be redirected to download the PDF format file of the printable activity.
  3. Print the activity.

OTHER WAYS TO COMPLETE THE ACTIVITY

Here are a few options to modify or differentiate this activity:

  • Print on cardstock paper and laminate it.  Use wipe-off markers to write on the free printable.
  • Make it easier by: creating the maze yourself and the student just has to follow the path or just have the student use their finger to trace the path.
  • Make it more difficult by: the student can create the entire activity using the scissors, glue and complete the maze.
  • Add in physical activity by: practicing pretending to fly like Santa or prance like the reindeers.

WHY ARE THESE SKILLS IMPORTANT FOR THE CHILDREN TO PRACTICE WITH THIS FREE PRINTABLE?

Here are more details about this free printable and why the skills are important to practice.

FINE MOTOR SKILLS

Fine motor skills refer to the ability to control small muscles in the hands and fingers. For example in this activity, the children have to: use scissors to cut out the maze.

Fine motor skills develop throughout childhood and continue to improve into adulthood. They are important for activities such as writing, typing,  cooking, and using other tools. There are many ways to improve fine motor skills, including occupational therapy, targeted exercises, and adaptive devices. Get more fine motor activity ideas.

VISUAL MOTOR SKILLS

Visual motor skills are the ability to use information from our visual system to guide our motor system. This can include skills such as catching a ball, writing, drawing, and cutting with scissors. Visual motor skills involve the coordination of both large and small muscles.

For example, in this activity the children have to: follow along Santa’s path on the maze using their finger, pencil, or crayon.

Additionally, visual motor skills develop over time – infants and toddlers typically have poorer visual motor skills than school-aged children or adults.There are many ways to improve visual motor skills, such as by playing sports, engaging in crafts, or participating in other activities that require coordination and fine motor skills. Anyone can benefit from improving their visual motor skills!

Get more visual motor activity ideas.

BODY AWARENESS

Body awareness is the ability to sense and be aware of the body in space. This includes the ability to feel where the body is in relation to the surrounding environment and to maintain a sense of balance. Body awareness is important for everyday activities such as walking, climbing stairs, and reaching for objects. It is also important for more complex activities such as dance and martial arts. 

For this activity, the children are: working on crossing midline.

People with poor body awareness may have difficulty with coordination and balance. They may also have trouble knowing where their body parts are in space, which can lead to clumsiness. There are various exercises that can help to improve body awareness, such as yoga and coordination exercises.  Improving body awareness can help to improve coordination, balance, and flexibility. Read more about body awareness.

VISUAL SPATIAL AWARENESS

The definition of visual-spatial relations is the ability to visually perceive two or more objects in relation to each other and to yourself. 

In this activity, children are working on: putting the pieces of the long Santa maze together in the correct order.

Good visual spatial skills are important for tasks such as math, navigating the environment, following directions, and solving puzzles. Children develop visual spatial skills by participating in activities such as  building with blocks, playing video games, and participating in sports. Check out more spatial awareness activities.

COORDINATION SKILLS

Coordination skills involve the ability to use your body in a smooth, efficient way. There is eye hand coordination, eye foot coordination, and bilateral coordination (using both sides of the body together). Good coordination skills are important for activities such as playing catch, sports,and dance. Practicing coordination exercises regularly can help!

In this activity, the children are working on these coordination skills: eye hand coordination creating the path for Santa.

Read more about coordination exercises for kids.

WHEN IS A GOOD TIME TO USE THIS ACTIVITY?

The free printable is great to use for:

  • Fine Motor stations
  • Christmas activity
  • Early finishers
  • Occupational Therapy Session
  • Physical Therapy Session
  • Carry over activities at home
  • School breaks
  • Anytime kids need some extra motor skill practice!

RELATED POSTS OR ACTIVITIES

WATCH THE ACTIVITY IN ACTION

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE COPY OF THE SANTA MAZE PRINTABLE HERE

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