Don't Let the Pigeon Run This Blog

Mo Willems writes some of my favorite children's books so when I heard that there was an app featuring the Pigeon from his books, I had to test it out.  What I love most about this app is that I have just as much fun playing it as the kids do.  There are some that are totally entertaining for them but painful for the grownups who have to play with them.  Definitely not the case with Don't Let the Pigeon Run This App.  This app is not cheap ($5.99) but worth every penny you spend on it.  

This game is a hit at the gym with my older preschoolers and younger school age kids and I would recommend it for kids between the ages of 3 and 8 years old.  There are three modes of play so you can increase the challenge as they become used to the game and the expectations.  

The first mode of play (Egg) is best for the little pigeons in your life.  Mo Willems has a few stories that he has read and they come to life.  For any kid who is familiar with any of the pigeon stories, they truly love seeing their little friend come to life.  

The second mode (Chick), which is better for younger children and children who may have difficulty with expressive language, requires a child to help narrate a story by choosing answers read to them.  A child goes through and answers a series of questions with 3 choices for each question.  What's great about it is that there are pictures to choose from so a child who has difficulty with auditory processing can answer the questions by relying on the visual cues presented to them.  Once all those questions are answered, the story is read back to them.  

The second mode (Chick)which is better for younger children and children who may have difficulty with expressive language requires a child to help narrate a story by choosing answers provided.  A child goes through and answers a series of questions with 3 choices for each question.  What's great about it is that there are pictures to choose from so a child who has difficulty with auditory processing can answer the questions by relying on the visual cues presented to them.  Once all those questions are answered, the story is read back to you.  

The third mode of play (Big Pigeon) is for children who can answer questions more independently.  In this part of the game, children have to answer questions, without any visual cues.  Best part, they answer into the iPad speaker so their voice is recorded.  When the story is complete, it is read back to them with their answers mixed in there.  I can't tell you how much the kids love this part of the game.  In some ways, it is like a Mad Lib game because you don't know how your answers will be used in the story until you hear it read back to you.  The laughs that I have heard from these stories is worth every cent I spent on this app.

The last feature I love about the game is that you can work on following directions and graphomotor skills in the Draw the Pigeon portion of the app.  Mo Willems himself takes you through a step by step guide of drawing the famous pigeon.  The completed picture drawn by your child is then incorporated into the stories that are read back to you.  The kids get such a kick out of seeing the picture of the pigeon (or whatever else they may have decided to draw) as their story is read back to them.

There are so many goals that can be addressed with Don't Let the Pigeon Run This App.  And they can be done in a fun way so the kids don't even realize that they are working.  I will list a few below.

Improve Attention/Receptive Language-a child must listen to the questions being asked and come up with appropriate answers.  I am all for allowing a child to be silly but if I know that they present with processing difficulties, I want to be sure that I know they are listening and paying attention to the questions asked of them.  If they insist on being silly, I will tell them that they have to answer 3 questions appropriately and then can answer the next one however they want.

Improve Modulation/Regulation-this can be worked on by making sure a child answers questions in a slow and clear voice.  I have observed some of my kids getting so excited that they rush through the answers and then they have to re-do their answer.  If the iPad doesn't get your answer, they will make you repeat it until they do.  I try and explain this to them before they begin answering the questions, but sometimes they have to learn by trial and error.

Improve Upper Extremity Strength-like with many of the apps and games I have spoken about on this blog, I am a big fan of having children play them while they are lying on their belly in a net swing.  So many of the kids I work with have decreased upper body strength and resist activities that work on this.  With motivating apps and games, they can be so motivated and focusing so much that they don't even realize their bodies are getting tired!  That's a win-win situation, right??

Improve Grasping Skills-when playing with the drawing portion of the app, encourage your child to draw with a stylus.  This will allow them to work on developing a proper grasp.  For some kids, they also have more control and ability to follow the directions when using something that resembles a writing instrument and not their fingers.

Improve Social Skills-I have used this with a group of children with great success.  This app is a perfect opportunity to work on having children take turns, be flexible when a peer might answer a question differently then them and being part of a group in order to accomplish a goal.  This might sound easy, but so many of the children I work with in group settings have a difficult time giving up control  and letting everyone have a say in something.  Be sure to explain the rules and expectation and what the consequences of not following them are.  I find that that helps the whole thing go much smoother for everyone involved.

I have a feeling that you will all become fans of this app.  And if you weren't a fan of Mo Willems before this, you most certainly will be after.  Like I have already mentioned, Don't Let the Pigeon Run This App is great for the whole family.  You will have fun playing it together and I promise you that you will spend a lot of time laughing as you do.

If you have any questions or want to tell me your favorite part of this app, send me a note.  I am just a click away and would love to hear your success stories while working with your kids.  Do you have another occupational therapy or speech goal that can be met that you would like to share.  I love learning from all of you out there and look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks for reading!

Let's Get the Doodling Started

Until I began working with kids what seems like a lifetime ago, I didn't realize that not being able to draw was something so many kids struggled with.  I just assumed that everyone knew how to draw and that some were just better at it than others.  

It is quite common that children who have handwriting difficulties will also have a hard time with being able to draw.  When I evaluate a child to determine their occupational therapy needs, I always ask that they draw a picture of themselves or their family and to draw another picture of their choice.  It is really interesting to see 

I am a big believer that sometimes it requires some motivation and bribery to teach kids new skills.  Typically, kids avoid things that are difficult because it doesn't make them feel happy.  This shouldn't come as a surprise to any of the adults reading this blog as I think we are all guilty of the same thing.  I know I still avoid doing things that aren't easy or that I might not be very good at.  As an adult, we can do that without too much backlash.  Children are sometimes forced to do things that they aren't good at or that is hard for them and it makes them much more resistant to wanting to do it.  So it is really important to me that I find fun and creative ways to work on those more challenging things so that it ends up being more fun and less work for them.  As a child I wasn't a great drawer, but I had fun and could draw a variety of things so it made me sad to see kids get stressed out when drawing.

Doodlecast for Kids, created by zinc roe Design, is a super cute app that works on teaching kids how to draw.  The really cool thing about this app though is that while you are drawing, it records your drawing process including your voice.  You can then save it on You Tube and send it to parents, teachers, etc..  As a therapist, I love that I can share this process with parents so they not only see their child's work but that they can have a better understanding of what kind of language I am using in order for their child to be successful.  The chances of seeing progress quicker is more likely if we are all using the same language and a similar process with kids.  

As you can see in the picture to the right, there are different ways to start the drawing process.  I like the idea of giving the kids a starting place like the water and the eyes.  When I use it, I brainstorm with the kids even before they begin to draw about what they will include in their picture.  For example, if completing the water picture, I would ask what kind of animals could be in the water, what could be in the bottom of the water and/or what might be on top of the water.  If you choose to use the word bubbles it will ask you to draw something yucky, wet, etc..  

As you can see in the picture below of the octopus, you can let your imagination run wild.  Sometimes once kids are given a starting place, they can jump into completing a picture with greater ease.  As they become more adept at completing the pictures, you can start to use more of a blank canvas and allow them to draw pictures of their own.  Many of the kids I work with struggle with the motor planning and processing part of drawing a picture and end up shutting down.  Even when they feel comfortable enough to draw a picture using the blank template, I would still talk through the process with them to help organize their work and know what they are thinking so I can then help them if they get stuck at any point.  

Listed below you will see just a few of the many therapeutic benefits of Doodlecast for Kids.  

Improve Grasping Skills-as with many other handwriting apps, I like to have the kids hold a stylus when using this app.  Check out this link to the Fred and Friends iCreate Crayon stylus.  I find apps like this are perfect for being able to work on holding a writing instrument the correct way because they tend to become so engrossed in their work.

Improve Motor Planning and Following Directions-sometimes when I ask children to draw pictures, they just scribble all over the paper and quickly finish what they are doing.  When using this app, you could help talk through the process and come up with a plan and then encourage them to follow that plan.  I would make it simple and stick to 3 or 4 steps in the beginning and begin increasing the demands as they are more comfortable with the app and their drawing skills.  

Improve Imagination Skills-this app can be a great way to get kids to start thinking outside of their boxes when drawing.  Many kids I work with will draw the same picture every time I ask them to draw.  Hopefully this will help them begin to feel more comfortable drawing new things and add more details and ideas to their drawings.  It might take time, but I have a feeling that they will become more confident in their drawing skills.  

Improve Social Skills-this is a perfect game to do with siblings, parents or friends.  It would be fun to do this with a small group of kids and see what each one adds.  This is a great way to work on improving a child's flexibility about working with friends and doing something they may not want because each person will be able to add to the picture and they have to not get upset. 

I am really looking forward to using Doodlecast for Kids more with the kids at work.  I think they will really get a kick out of the fact that after they finish their picture, they can watch what they did and see how they got to the finished product.  As I mentioned before, I also love the fact that you can share the videos with the parents.  It is a great way for them to see what we are working on in therapy, what their child is capable of doing and how they can do similar things when they are working with them at home.  

I would love to hear your thoughts about this app and how you might use it with your kids and how you might adapt it for even greater success for your kids.  As always, I am just a click away and would love to hear from you.  Happy Doodling!