Preschool Motor Group (PMG) Internship Program

Internship Overview
PMG Internship Requirements
What is the Preschool Motor Group (PMG) Internship?
Sample Morning Weekly Schedule
Learning Objectives
Helpful Qualities and Skills for PMG Internship  
PMG Leadership Corps – More Information/Requirements
Letters of Reference 
My Professional OT Journey 
FAQs – Additional Information
Intern Testimonials from 2022-2024 Participants
Application Submission

Internship Overview

For the 2024-2025 school year, we will run both fall 2024 and winter 2025 Preschool Motor Group (PMG) Internships, which are hands-on opportunities to work with children for a total of 46 hours over 3 months. Apply here now.

• The fall 2024 preschool motor group will run for 10 weeks on Wednesday mornings, likely starting September 18 and running through early-December with no session the week of Thanksgiving and a backup session (in case of inclement weather, supervisor illness, or school emergency on 12/4/24). Exact dates to be announced during the summer, 2024.
• Most likely the winter 2025 preschool motor group will run for 10 or 12 weeks on Wednesday mornings, starting in January and running through March with no session for OSU spring break and a backup session (in case of snow day). 

For both internships, students must commit to:

• Participate in two in-person trainings for this program prior to the start of each program – there are no exceptions. The tentative dates for the Fall 2024 in-person trainings are: Sundays August 25, September 8, and September 15 2-5 pm in Bexley (2 of the three dates, so please reserve them all for now)
• Attend all 10 (or 12) weeks, including the backup session date as well

The Leadership Corps internship affords a small group of talented and motivated undergraduates the opportunity to develop leadership, planning, learning, and practical application of knowledge for those seeking to enter the OT or PT profession.

• Students who are new to the internship should apply for the PMG intership and rising seniors and juniors are welcome to apply to the Leadership Corps (LC); however, priority for the LC will be given to interns who have already completed the PMG internship. 
• Students who have already participated in the PMG intership should apply for the LC and do NOT need to complete the PMG internship application. 
• In order to apply to the PMG Leadership Corps for either fall 2024 or winter 2025, please complete this form.  

Students are welcome to apply even if they have not had previous OT or PT experiences, however previous teamwork (e.g. sports team, job, student organization) and childcare experiences (e.g. babysitting, coach, camp counselor, student teacher, etc.) are required. 

PMG Internship Requirements

There are five mandatory parts of the PMG internship:

1. Application and Interview (in-person or virtual)

• PMG Internship: Preschool Motor Group Internship Application
• PMG Leadership Corps: Regular application + PMG Leadership Corps Application

2. Orientation/Training Sessions: see above for fall 2024 dates; the winter 2024 dates tentatively will be November 10 and November 24, 2-5 pm (with Dec 1 as a backup).

• Attend and actively participate in two in-person orientation/training sessions
• Complete 3 sets of assigned independent readings
• Submit responses to question prompts via Google docs

3. Documentation: Criminal Background Check and Medical Form

Information will be provided for all interns on how to get a background check.

• For the fall motor group, students are required to do a BCI background check, unless they have had a background check within the past 12 months and are able to obtain a copy that can be given to the preschool director.
• For the winter motor group only, students need to complete a physician-signed medical form and submit to the preschool director at the start of the program. Students also are responsible for getting FBI and BCI background checks unless they have had a background check within the past 12 months and are able to obtain a copy that can be given to the preschool director.

4. Motor Group: The motor group runs on Wednesday mornings. Interns must commit to be at all 10 weeks, including the snow date week.

5. Timely responses to GroupMe communications.

What is the Preschool Motor Group (PMG) Internship?

Undergraduates who have experience working and engaging with children in imaginative play and who are interested in pursuing Physician Assistant (PA), Occupational Therapy (OT), Physical Therapy (PT), Intervention Specialist (IS), Speech/Language Pathologist (SLP), and early childhood education have the opportunity to learn from an experienced pediatric OT about child development. After participating in extensive training, the interns will deliver a 10 week innovative program that consists of 40 minute weekly developmental motor stations for preschoolers who attend a parochial (religious based) preschool, weekly on Wednesday mornings). The majority of the children are typically-developing; a small number have been identified as having special needs and/or are in the process of being identified for services. 

During the weekly sessions, interns in teams of 2-3 will lead groups of 2-3 preschoolers; the same groups of interns will work with the same group of children each week. The groups of interns will guide the children as they rotate through 6 or 7 multi-sensory stations. Sometimes interns will work one on one with a child within the group, while at other times, the interns will all work together with all of the children in the group. The activities help the children to strengthen their core muscles, mature their brain/body connections, develop their balance, and improve other foundational skills such as tolerance for movement. In working directly with the children, the interns will help them develop and practice foundational motor skills that promote later academic, emotional regulation, and athletic success.

The children enjoy the activities, which are age-appropriate, challenging, fun, and social. In fact, the preschoolers look forward to each motor group session, as well as getting to know the interns. 

Take a look here to see the kinds of activities we do:

Sample Preschool Motor Group Lesson Plan 

This will be my 15th year running motor groups for preschoolers and kindergarteners at Columbus area schools. Since 2018, 71 undergraduates from Capital, OSU, and Otterbein have successfully completed the PMG internship, including 19 in the Leadership Corps internship. 

There are two “tracks” of the internship: the PMG internship and the PMG Leadership Corps. 

Sample Morning Weekly Schedule (subject to change)

Learning Objectives 

Undergraduate students who assist with the Preschool Motor Group may have the opportunity to:

• Fulfill 46 hours of internship experience: 6 hours of trainings and 40 hours over 10 weekly sessions running hands on stations with preschoolers
• Develop an understanding of typical and delayed developmental markers/ milestones for children ages 3-5 years.
• Observe and actively help implement effective, evidence-based treatment strategies, protocols, and interventions for preschool age children to ensure healthy development of sensory motor skills.
• Gain exposure to clinical reasoning in treatment planning.
• Aid the therapist in planning, organizing, setting up, and running a station-based sensory motor group.
• Create promotional materials for families to encourage healthy development of sensory motor skills at home through play.

Helpful Qualities and Skills for PMG Internship 

• Previous child care experiences required, such as babysitting, camp counselor, student teacher, etc., including experience engaging in imaginative play with children are required
• Qualities: adaptable, compassionate, conscientious, creative, curious, dependable, empathetic, hard working, imaginative, inquisitive, kind, motivated   
• Excel in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with lots of interaction with children and peers
• Skills: good communication, problem solving skills, experience working on a team
• Non-smokers preferred
• Personal and professional references (one of each) requested on application
• Physical stamina and strength to move equipment (mats, bins, boxes, etc.)
• Professional conduct: appropriate demeanor, language, behavior, attire, reliability, etc. 
• Willingness to push out of one’s comfort zone, learn, and grow   

PMG Leadership Corps – More Information/Requirements

• The Leadership Corps is an an integral part of the PMG program. This internship affords a small group of talented and motivated undergraduates the opportunity to develop leadership, planning, learning, and practical application of knowledge for those seeking to enter the OT or PT profession. Through working closely with Laura “behind the scenes,” I am able to get to know students in greater depth, which enables me to offer mentoring and support during the graduate school application process. To read more about the Leadership Corps program, expectations, responsibilities, and time commitment, please read here.
• Priority for the Leadership Corps will be given to returning interns who have already completed the PMG internship and/or new participants who are rising/current seniors and juniors. Returning interns do not need to redo the reglar PMG application; they just need to complete the PMG Leadership Corps Application.
• 3-5 undergraduates for each motor group session chosen on the basis of experience, availability, and personal qualities 
• Time commitment: 60 hours total: 
  • 8 hours training time (assist with trainings)
  • 40 hours hands on with preschoolers
  • Minimum 12 additional hours of projects to develop leadership, understanding of treatment planning, and practical application of knowledge

• The PMG Leadership Corps members work as a team to run the motor group. Some of the responsibilities include the following:
  • Collaborating with Laura on the weekly motor group curriculum, making changes as needed to accommodate the children’s skill development
  • Weekly leader tasks: distribute name tags to interns, help supervise station set up, set up clipboards with pencils and data sheets, help explain station changes and new activities to interns during station roundup, help pair children with intern groups
  • Entering data about the children’s performance into Google documents/spreadsheets
  • Creating activities for the PMG interns to get to know each other and communicating with them about their experiences
  • Creating social media posts
  • Assisting with written communication about the children’s progress with the preschool teachers, such as carry over activities for the classroom 
  • Organizing documents to enable the program to run smoothly
• PMG Leadership Corps members also complete additional projects under supervision, such as: creating handouts for parents/caregivers on a specific motor skill, identifying helpful, websites, or researching academic publications for articles on specific motor skill development 
• PMG Leadership Corps members write reflections on the internship experience and provide details and details for the application process about leadership, communication skills, initiative, and perseverance during the internship

Reminder:

• Rising/current seniors and juniors who are new to the internship who are interested in applying for the PMG Leadership Corps must complete the regular Preschool Motor Group Internship Application AND the Leadership Corps Application prior to the internship interview to let me know that you are interested. Ideally, students will be notified prior to the start of the program if they have been chosen for the leadership cohort. 
• Returning interns only need to complete the PMG Leadership Corps Application.

Letters of Reference 

• Many students ask me to write letters of reference on their behalf for OT or PT graduate school, and I love being able to advocate for those students who have gone above and beyond during their internships and whom I have gotten to know well.
• Students who want to be able to request a letter of recommendation should apply for the PMG Leadership Corps, as 60 hours is the minimum number of internship hours for me to write a letter of recommendation, and this is only available to interns who complete the PMG Leadership Corps. This is in order to be fair to the undergraduates who intern with me directly who often fulfill 80-100 hours for a class. 
• Because the OT/PT graduate school application process is so competitive, simply fulfilling the basic requirements of the internship does not enable me to get to know students well enough to write strong letters of recommendation. 
• But please note that to receive a letter of reference that espouses excellent performance, students must demonstrate excellence during the internship. Thus the PMG Leadership Corps is an opportunity, but not a guarantee, of a letter of reference that will enhance a student’s application. If I feel that I cannot write a solid letter of reference, I will let students know so that they have an opportunity to improve their performance during the internship.

My Professional OT Journey 

My name is Laura Faye Clubok. I am a pediatric occupational therapist living in Columbus, Ohio. I completed my undergraduate degree at Harvard College and graduated with a Master’s of Science degree in OT in 1999 from the Boston School of Occupational Therapy at Tufts University. I moved to Columbus in 1999 and began a private practice in 2001.

My interest in occupational therapy started much earlier. As you may have guessed from my logo, I was born with a thumb on my left hand and several “nubbins” in place of fingers. Born and raised in suburban Boston, Massachusetts, I first began receiving OT services when I was in the third grade to help me to adapt to living in a two-handed world. My early experiences with OT ultimately inspired my career choice: after earning my bachelor’s degree (in government!), I pursued a master’s degree in occupational therapy, focusing on pediatrics. I chose to work with children who, like me, needed extra help playing, learning, and interacting with the world. 

As sole proprietor and owner of On the Other Hand Therapy, I work with a variety of schools and at my home-based therapy space. My goal is to provide OT services that enable my clients to develop their foundational developmental skills so that they can be successful in school and beyond. I enjoy collaborating with families and other service providers to ensure carry-over of OT into school and home daily routines. 

About my professional experiences: over the past 25 years, I worked for almost 20 years at a local parochial school as the school OT. I currently offer private OT services to help children ages 3-15 with the development of fine and gross motor skills and run motor groups for preschoolers through first graders. In my first OT positions, I worked as an itinerant therapist and then later as a contract therapist for the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Educating parents, preschool and elementary school teachers, and other occupational therapists on a variety of OT topics is very important to me: I have instructed kindergarten teachers on how to teach handwriting from a developmental perspective; taught preschool and elementary school children principles of strong posture; presented to Ohio school based OTs on how to empower students with upper limb differences; and presented to preschool and elementary school teachers how to incorporate multisensory learning into school curricula.

FAQs – Additional Information

• Is this internship paid or volunteer?

This internship is strictly volunteer. But it can count for academic credit (see below)

• Is there a fee to participate?

Students are responsible for paying for their background checks (BCI only for fall motor group and both BCI and FBI for winter motor group), unless they have had a background check within the past 12 months and are able to obtain a copy that can be given to the Preschool director or have participated in the internship previously and are returning for LC.

• Does this internship count for academic credit?

That depends on your major, your specific program, and your college. I am willing to work with any university to make the internship count for academic credit if that would be helpful for students. On The Other Hand Therapy is an approved internship provider site for OSU students. Eligible OSU students need to enroll in HRS-4189 or KNHES5191 internship classes (1 credit hour), meet with their academic advisor, write learning objectives, record weekly reflections, and complete 45 hours.

• Will you write me a letter of recommendation for OT/PT graduate school if I do this internship?

The short answer is: students who are interested in a letter of recommendation for graduate school should apply to the PMG Leadership Corps internship. Please see section above, Letters of Reference.

• How many hours is the internship?

That depends on whether interns complete the standard PMG or LC versions. The standard internship is roughly 46 hours of in person time and the LC is a minimum of 60 hours.

• How many weeks is the internship?

10 mostly consecutive weeks in person with the preschoolers (we take a week off for Thanksgiving in the fall motor group and OSU spring break in the winter motor group) following two training sessions in the months prior to the start of the motor group.

• What are the days and times of the motor group?

The Motor Group runs on Wednesday mornings. Interns must commit to be at all 10 weeks, including the snow date week. See above for exact dates.

• The fall motor group usually starts the middle or end of September through early December with no session the week of Thanksgiving and one back up date for emergency/inclement weather/sickness of supervisor
• The winter motor group usually starts the second Wednesday in January and runs through the end of March with no session on mid-March for OSU’s spring break and one back up date for emergency/inclement weather/sickness of supervisor

• Can I miss one of the training sessions or a week of the motor group?

Because this is a team-based program that depends on the full contribution of every participant, interns may not miss trainings, and absences during the motor group are only permitted for illness or family emergencies. Students who commit to the internship are expected to plan their schedules to avoid conflicts (obviously sickness isn’t planned). Students who know that they will miss a training or motor group week are encouraged to apply for a different semester, if possible.

• I have a class that conflicts with my attending the entire program each week – can I come late or leave early for motor group each week?

Because this is a team-based program that depends on the full contribution of every participant, interns may not arrive late or leave early on a regular basis. Students are encouraged to apply semester when they can commit to the internship with no scheduling conflicts.

• Is preference given to specific interns for the PMG internship and PMG Leadership Corps?

Yes, preference is given to rising/current seniors and juniors, but sophomores should feel free to apply. Students who have participated previously in the PMG internship are given preference for the Leadership Corps. In general, students who are new to the program should apply to the regular PMG internship and new seniors and juniors may apply for the Leadership Corps.

• If I am interested in the PMG Leadership Corps, do I fill out the regular application or the PMG Leadership Corps application, or both?

Returning interns only need to complete the Leadership Corps Application. New seniors and junior interested in the PMG Leadership Corps need to complete both applications: the regular Preschool Motor Group Internship Application AND the Leadership Corps Application prior to the internship interview to let me know that you are interested.

• Is it okay if I haven’t worked with children before?

Actually, NO – it is essential that you have worked with children previously. Because of the interactive design of the motor group, previous child care experiences, such as babysitting, camp counselor, student teacher, etc. as well as experience engaging in imaginative play with young children are required. 

• What are the ages of the children I will work with?

3-5 year olds, broken into age cohorts.

• How many children will I work with? Will they be the same children each week?

Sometimes you will work one-on-one with a child within a group of 2-3 interns and other times you will work with 2-3 children all together within your intern group of 2-3 interns. You will work with the same group of interns and children each week, but your intern groups will be different for the different classes of children. 

• Do I need to have a car? 

Carpooling is highly encouraged! As long as there are several interns from the same college, carpooling should be possible. Otherwise, you will need reliable transportation to Bexley, Ohio. 

• How will I learn the skills to work with the children?

There are 2 required training sessions and 3 required independent learning assignments prior to the start of the weekly sessions. The trainings and assignments will help prepare you for the activities you will run with the preschoolers.

• Do I have to have had previous OT or PT experiences?

It is helpful, but not necessary to have had previous OT or PT experiences. As noted above, you do need to have previous child care experiences. Since you will be working very closely with your peers, you also need to have had previous teamwork (e.g. sports team, job, student organization) experiences.

• What if my class schedule changes after I have been accepted into the program?

Over the past five internships, only one student has withdrawn after being accepted into the program. Of course class schedules can change, but please understand that there typically is a waiting list for the internship, and interns cannot be added once the trainings have started. Kindly share any reservations you may have about your class schedule at your earliest convenience for full transparency.

Intern Testimonials from 2022, 2023, and 2024 Participants

It’s a great and rare hands on experience!

I would definitely recommend this internship to other students because it is very hands on and it is pretty rare to find and opportunity like this during undergrad to prepare you for grad school/a future career in OT/PT. I think it’s unique in the way that it is run and everyone was very kind and the kids were amazing to work with.

I would rate this experience a 11/10! I found all aspects of it to be inviting, informational, beneficial to my career goals, and fun!

I would definitely recommend this internship for anyone interested in OT/PT. It is a great way to learn more about pediatric occupational therapy, and it can really help you figure out if it is the right career path for you. Laura is extremely helpful and open to feedback, she wants to do her best to make sure it’s a positive experience for the interns and preschoolers.

I had an overwhelmingly positive experience from participating in the motor group internship. I learned so much about what it means to work within a pediatrics environment and also what it is like to work in an integrated team with people of varying interests and career goals. I am very grateful for the opportunity to further my connections and learn about my intended future career!

It was amazing. Such a great learning experience. I learned so much and was able to have more hands-on experience than ever before. This internship truly made me see OT in a new light. I learned so much information I had never learned before and Laura did such a great job providing us the framework to succeed.

I would absolutely recommend this internship. It has been a genuine pleasure to be a part of. The hands-on experience that you get working with the children is unparalleled. On top of that you also get exposure to the more business side of OT through the independent learnings as well as planning the activities. Also, the supervisor (Laura) really cares about each and every intern and makes sure that everyone is getting as much out of the experience as possible.

I would absolutely recommend this internship. Everyone here was very helpful and welcoming. I was able to gain a better understanding and strengthen my interest in OT and it was an overall great experience. Laura has been so helpful and kind. She has helped expand my knowledge and experience regarding OT.

For additional testimonials, read here.

Application Submission

Applications will be considered and positions filled on a rolling basis. 

• Everyone interested in the 2024-2025 PMG Internship program should complete the Preschool Motor Group Internship Application.

• Returning interns interested in the PMG Leadership Corps only need to complete the Leadership Corps Application.
• Seniors and juniors who are new to the program need to complete both the Preschool Motor Group Internship Application. and the Leadership Corps Application prior to the internship interview to let me know that they are interested in the additional leadership and mastery opportunities. Please remember that for the Leadership Corps, priority is given to students who have previously completed the PMG internship.

After students complete the PMG application, they will be directed to sign up for an interview within a month if they are applying for the next internships. All applicants should send a resume or summary of extracurricular activities, work, and volunteer experiences to me at the email address provided in the application. 

Questions are always welcome. I look forward to meeting students who are interested in the internship and determining if this is a good fit on both sides! 

© 2024. Laura Faye Clubok, MS, OTR/L, On The Other Hand Therapy