Goody Goody Gumdrops! Drawing Made Easy and Fun!

For those of you who are regular readers, you will know that I am always on the lookout for new activity and drawing books.  Yesterday, while walking through one of my favorite Park Slope stores, Annie's Blue Ribbon General Store, I found a great new drawing book:  Goody Gumdrops.  Some kids are naturals when it comes to drawing.  They think about what they want to draw and just go with it.  But for many of the kids I work with, this is not the case.  Not only is not easy for them, it is something that causes them to get frustrated and makes them want to avoid the task all together.

I was eager to test out Goody Gumdrops by Ed Emberley after I saw it the other day. My almost 6 year old daughter was also very eager to test it out and then played with it for about an hour. It is one of the cutest and easy to follow drawing books out there.  If you are unfamiliar with Ed Emberley, he has books filled with easy and creative ways to teach children (although I have learned as well) how to draw by breaking it down into simple steps.  I loved the fingerprint books that were (and still are today) around when I was growing up.  Each page of the Goody Gumdrops book contains two different colored gumdrops with two sets of directions to follow in order to learn how to make a variety of animals. On the back side of the page, there are two other gumdrops that you can try and make the animals without the visual cues.  Kids will learn how to make almost any animal you can imagine.  My daughter loved learning how to draw a hedgehog!  By adding simple shapes and lines to the gumdrops, they have a higher chance of success learning how to draw.  At the end of the book, there are a bunch of other pages with frames for kids to make larger creations that they can then share with people.

Learning how to draw is an important part of growing up.  Not only is it a great way to work on improving graphomotor skills, but it is also great for increasing a child's confidence and self-esteem.  It's also the way kids begin to learn how to tell stories.  Before they learn how to write, they need to rely on drawing pictures to tell us stories.  Often times, kids avoid drawing because it is hard for them and they don't think they are good at it.  Forcing them to draw won't make them learn any better or faster.  Actually, forcing a child to do something that is hard for them may make them hate it and avoid it even more. It's critical that when working on a more challenging skill, that you make it fun and motivating for them to work on.

I am excited to begin using Goody Gumdrops with my kids at work.  It's definitely going to be one of the books that I recommend to families to use at home with their kids.  Do you have any great learn to draw books that you use or recommend to others?  If you have anything wonderful to suggest, I would love to hear about them.  I am only a click away and love hearing from you all!

I Love Love!

Growing up, my family didn't do much to celebrate Valentine's Day.  My mom would pick up cupcakes or cookies with hearts on them and we would make cards for school, but that was it.  It was nothing against love or anything like that, it just wasn't one of those holidays we paid much attention to.  When I began working with children, I realized that there were so many great learning opportunities that could come out of the holiday and started to do more with it.  Now that I have my own daughter who loves pink, red, hearts and all the other things that you think about when it comes to Valentine's Day, I've gotten way more into it.  And since Pinterest makes it so easy to come up with ideas, I have found that I enjoy it so much more!  Here are a few of my favorite projects that I plan on doing with the kids I work with over the next weeks.  I have tried to find projects that can be completed over the course of one or two sessions so the kids don't get too frustrated or bored by it.


I Love You to Pieces Picture Frame-Whether you have old puzzles that you no longer use (maybe because you have lost a few pieces or kids just aren't into it any more), or have those blank do-it-yourself puzzles, this activity is quick and totally personal. You will need:

*Glue
*Popsicle Sticks
*Crayons, Paint, Markers, Etc.

1.  Color 4 popsicle sticks and a handful of puzzle pieces in whatever medium and color your child chooses.

2.  Glue the popsicle sticks together and place the puzzle pieces along the sticks.

3.  Once dry, have a grownup write "I Love You to Pieces" along the frame.  Turn around and glue a picture to the backside of the frame.

Fingerprint/Eraser Heart Picture-you can make this on whatever background you want.  I am going to get some heavy stock paper and cut them into an oversized postcard so the kids can decorate the front with a heart and then turn around and work on their writing skills by writing messages to the recipient  on the back of the card.  I have seen this done on a canvas and a blank tote bag/apron (just remember you will want to use something more permanent on these things).  There are a couple of ways to do this.  The first way is that you can cut a large heart, tape it onto the surface you are working with and either use the eraser or your fingers to make different colored dots all around the heart.  Remove the heart when you are all finished and you will have a plain heart in the middle that you can write a message in.  The other way to do this is to cut a large heart out and tape the outline of the heart onto your working surface (so it looks like a stencil).  Use the eraser or your fingertips and fill in the blank space.  Be sure to have the children put dots all around the edge of the stencil so there is a definite heart shape when you pull the stencil off.  You will need:
*heavy stock paper/canvas/blank tote bags
*pink and red washable inkpads
*pencils with brand new/unused erasers
*wipes for cleaning hands between color changes
*canvas, tote bag, etc.

1.  Depending on the skill level of the child you are working with, you can have them cut out a heart or you can it out and have it ready for them.  This will be placed in the middle of the surface you are working on and the kids will work all around it.

2.  I have kids use one thumb for one color ink and the other thumb for another and first tell them to place their prints all around the edge of the heart.  Once they are done with that, they can fill the blank space all around the heart.

Toilet Paper Tube Heart Stamp-a very easy and inexpensive craft project to do with even your youngest of kids.  Take a paper tube and push the middle down until it makes a heart; take a piece of tape and wrap it around to hold the shape. You can use paint or a stamp pad and have the kids dip the end of the stamp into it and have them place it on a piece of paper after.  Depending on the age of the child you are working with, you can grade the activity.  For the little ones, let them go crazy and put them all over the paper.  For older children, you can place targets on the paper that they have to place the hearts on.  Once the hearts are dried, you can have them color the hearts in.  For even older kids, you can practice working on handwriting by having them write messages to their loved ones.  You will need:
1.  Toilet paper/paper towel tubes
2.  Red and pink paints or stamp pads
3.  White construction paper
4.  Crayons, markers, colored pencils

Hole Punch Hearts-another very easy, fun and quick activity that your kids will love to do and that
can be adapted for each child's individual skill set.  For younger children who haven't yet mastered cutting, give them pre-cut hearts and let them punch holes all over the heart.  For older children, have them cut out the hearts independently and then let them use the hole punch after.  You can set some guidelines to work on improving attention and organizational skills like punch holes only around the border of the heart.  This is also nice because it leaves space in the middle of the heart for children to write personal messages to their loves ones.  You will need:
1.  Pink, red, white paper
2.  Hole puncher (you can use a circle one or if you are really fancy, find a heart shaped hole puncher)
3.  Scissors
4.  Yarn or string

Arts and crafts can be great for working on so many occupational therapy skills/goals including:
*improving grasping skills
*improving eye-hand coordination
*improving bilateral coordination skills
*improving creativity
*improving self-esteem and confidence
*improve executive functioning skills such as focus and attention, sequencing and organization

One of the things I love most about Valentine's Day is that you can talk to kids about empathy and how you can make other people feel happy.  Too often, holidays are about getting things from others but this day should be more about giving to others to show them how much you love them.  I've been working on making Valentines with my almost 5 year old daughter, and I love watching her work so hard to make them just right for her friends and family.  The level of pride she feels just making them is great, but I can't wait for her to see how happy she is making people when they receive them.

Do you have any fabulous, quick and simple activities that you enjoy making with your children that you want to share with me and my readers?  I am looking forward to focusing on love and crafts next week during all of my sessions and would love to have a variety of activities for the kids to choose from.  I'm always a click away and love hearing from you!

Foiled Again!

Every once in a while I stumble upon an arts and craft project and I feel like I have hit the jackpot.  I first felt that way when I discovered the Orb Factory Sticky Mosaics.  To this day, I still buy tons of these sets each year to do with my kids and they never get bored of it.  Actually, I have 12 kids on my caseload working on different pictures as we speak.  So when I was searching through the craft aisle at West Side Kids on the UWS the other day, I was thrilled to find the Foil Art Sticker Kits by at Peaceable Kingdom.

I am a big fan of craft projects that take more than one or two sessions to work on.  I find that it makes it more exciting and rewarding for the children that I work with to spread projects out over a few sessions.  I love seeing the pride on their faces when they finish something that they worked on for so long and try and make it a really big deal when they get to proudly show off their work to their parents or caregivers.  It's a really great thing to watch them run out of the room and share their work and tell everyone how they did it.  Sometimes, I will talk to my kids about the process and how hard it was when we started the project and how it got easier.  This is a great opportunity to build a child's self-esteem and confidence.

Foil Art Sticker Kits by at Peaceable Kingdom are a fun and motivating project for any child.  So far, I have found that they work better for my older preschool kids or my school-age kids because it requires a decent amount of patience, and more importantly, focus.  It also requires a certain amount of hand strength in order to complete the project which means an older child will have more success completing it independently.  These projects are a great way to work on a variety of fine motor skills, including increasing hand strength and manipulation skills.  For kids who avoid those kinds of activities, this is a great way to hide that work and end up with a really cool project to take home at the end.  Another nice thing about the Foil Art Sticker Kits is that the options are not too overwhelming.  Each set comes with 4 different colors to choose from which I find to be helpful in organizing ones work and attention.  When there are too many colors to choose from, I notice that some of my kids become more distracted and end up jumping from one color to another rather quickly.

In addition to what has already been mentioned above, Foil Art Sticker Kits by at Peaceable Kingdom can work on the following skills:

Improve Bilateral Coordination Skills-looking for a simple but fun activity to promote using two hands?  This is perfect.  It will be nearly impossible to make your picture without using two hands.  First, you have to hold the sheet/picture with one hand while you peel the stickers off with the other hand.  Once you have the sticker off the picture, you have to hold the picture still with one hand while you rub the foil onto the sticker using a finger from your other hand.  Sounds simple but I can't tell you how difficult this can be for some children.
Improve Modulation/Regulations Skills-I have done these with a few kids at work and at home with my own 4 year old and have learned that the whole "slow and steady" motto really helps.  When a child tries and rub the foil really fast, it moves around too much and won't stick well.  They will have to redo their work which can be quite frustrating.  The nice thing about making this a long-term project is that after a session or two, I can see the kids slowing down and being more attentive to what they are doing and how quickly they are doing it.  As I say to my kids.....they don't have to be perfect but they must try their best to do their best.  For some of my kids, just being able to slow down is their best and that is a huge thing.
Improve Grasping Skills-a child is required to pull the sticker off before they place the colored foil on top of the picture which will work on developing a fine pincer grasp.  Additionally, a child has to use a fine pincer grasp to pull the top of the sticker off so they can place the foil on top.  For some of my kids, this is quite challenging and requires some encouragement and assistance from me to make sure to take only one sticker off at a time.
Improve Organizational Skills-for my older children who may be working on improving organizing their work and improving executive functioning skills, I have them think about what color they want each section to be prior to completing the activity.  After they have figured out what color will go where, they then have to complete all of the same color at one time.


Peaceable Kingdom is a great company and I love that they make so many great products that I can feel good about supporting and recommending to others.  First of all, they have an amazing mission:

Make good, do good, be good!

They use sustainable materials in their products whenever they can using recycled papers and soy-based inks.  They work with independent illustrators, giving people the chance to make their mark on this awesome world we live in.  Most importantly, they believe in creating products that help you connect to the kids in your life and for kids to connect to other kids.  Awesome, right?  Plus, they have awesome customer service.  If you lose a piece to one of their games, they will replace it for you at no cost.  Lastly, they are big into giving back to their people through a "Donation a Day" program.  I don't know about you, but I would like to see more companies out there like this and I will do what I can to support and promote them.

I found my Foil Art Sticker Kits at West Side Kids, an amazing toy store on the upper west side of Manhattan.  Be sure to check out your local toy stores to see if they carry these kits (or any of the fantastic products by Peaceable Kingdom).  I am a huge supporter supporting our local businesses whenever possible and hope that my readers do the same.  If you don't see these products in your local toy stores you can always find them on their website by clicking here.

I am always looking for new craft projects that will motivate my kids at work.  Ones that will work on improving their fine motor and attentional skills are awesome especially if they will help on building self-esteem and confidence.  Do you have other great projects like the Foil Art Sticker Kits or the Orb Factory Sticky Mosaics that you would recommend to me and my readers.  I am always looking for something new to add to my OT closet and love hearing from you all.  I am always a click away so please be sure to send me your favorites!  

These Blocks are Golden!

I don't really blog about things that I haven't personally tried but with the holidays about a week away and people looking for gifts, I felt it necessary to share this idea.  Yesterday on Facebook, many of my friends, most of them being moms of girls, posted this video.  It's an amazing 2 minutes of creativity and fun and if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend putting the volume up really loud and watching it now!  I watched this video and was instantly convinced to buy these for my own girl.  I can't wait to play these with Quinn once she opens them on Christmas morning.  I will post a full review after that but in the mean time, here is some information for you.  I have a feeling that after this video, these will be selling out so get them now!

I had heard about Goldie Blox last year from my sister Kara, a mother of two girls herself.   I am sure many moms of girls out there can agree that Legos and other building toys are great but almost always geared towards boys.  Goldie Blox are created by Debbie Sterling, an engineer who was bothered by how few women there were in the field.  She decided that she wanted to change that and became obsessed with creating a building toy that would introduce young girls to the world of engineering at a young age.  I think she has succeeded!

As a mother of a creative and spirited little girl who wants to be a butterfly or a violin when she grows up, I love the idea of introducing her to a world of possibilities when it comes to choosing a career path that makes her happy.  Whether she becomes a butterfly or an engineer, I just want her to know that she can be whatever she wants to be as long as she works hard.

As on occupational therapist, I love there is a toy I can bring into my office and play with my girls who lack confidence and a belief that they can be whatever they want to when they grow up.  In addition to working on a million occupational therapy goals, I believe these construction toys will build self-esteem and confidence in these amazing little girls I work with.  Some of the goals that can be worked on are building fine motor strength and coordination, improve visual motor and visual perceptual skills, improve motor planning and improve bilateral coordination skills.  The best part of this is that they can have fun while working on those skills.

Below, you will see a couple more pictures and the toy description taken right from the Goldie Blox website.  I will be back after Christmas with a complete review and talk more about the specific occupational therapy goals that can be focused on but I was too excited about this product after watching the wonderful video that I had to share.  I can't wait to see what Quinn comes up with when playing with them.  I can already picture hours of fun and building ahead of us this winter.

Happy building friends!  If you have used the Goldie Blox, I would love to hear from you and about your experiences working with kids who have fine motor or visual motor/perceptual/spatial issues.  Do you have suggestions on how to make this a successful activity for them?   I am always a click away and loving hearing from you all!

At GoldieBlox, our goal is to get girls building. We’re here to help level the playing field in every sense of the phrase. By tapping into girls' strong verbal skills, our story + construction set bolsters confidence in spatial skills while giving young inventors the tools they need to build and create amazing things.

In a world where men largely outnumber women in science, technology, engineering and math...and girls lose interest in these subjects as early as age 8, GoldieBlox is determined to change the equation. Construction toys develop an early interest in these subjects, but for over a hundred years, they've been considered "boys' toys". By designing a construction toy from the female perspective, we aim to disrupt the pink aisle and inspire the future generation of female engineers.

We believe there are a million girls out there who are engineers. They just might not know it yet. We think GoldieBlox can show them the way.

8-Bit Art Start for Little Hands

With summer in full swing and many people packing up and getting ready for vacations, I have been asked for suggestions for long plane and car trips.  A few weeks ago, while looking for birthday presents at a local toy store in Park Slope, I happened to see a cute set of sticker/workbooks called Pixel Heroes and Pixel Dolls.  I was immediately sold on the small size and how easily they would fit in my work bag (doing homecare this summer has forced me to look for smaller and more easily transportable items); I couldn't help but think how perfect they would be for so many of my clients who would be doing an extensive amount of traveling this summer and needed to keep working on their fine motor skills.

Using a fine pincer grasp to put stickers in the squares

Pixel Heroes and Pixel Dolls are quite similar to the Orb Factory mosaics that I wrote about here. Each book contains 9 different dolls or heroes to replicate.  On the left hand side of the book, you will see what the doll looks like and on the right hand side there is a grid shaded in guiding the user where stickers need to be placed.   There is an envelope full of small square stickers in the back of the book for easy storage and helps a child keep their work organized.  The gist of the sticker book is to use the different colored stickers and place them in the correct boxes.  They are required to go back and forth between the left and right sides of the books to make sure that they are following the correct pattern.  While this sounds easy, for many of the children I work with, it may be quite a challenge. First of all, the stickers are flat and not easy to manipulate so it's perfect for those kids who need to work on increasing grasp strength and in-hand manipulation skills.  It requires patience and focus to get the stickers in the boxes precisely.  This is a fun activity for older children who need to work on improving their grasping skills and it won't seem so therapeutic to them.  Remember, a child who has good grasping skills will have typically be able to hold a writing instrument properly, be able to manipulate buttons and snaps easier and develop other higher level fine motor and in-hand manipulation skills.  

Pixel Heroes Sticker Book

In addition to what has already been discussed, Pixel Heroes and Pixel Dolls can work on the following occupational therapy goals:

Improve Eye-Hand Coordination-a simple but great activity to focus on eye-hand coordination skills.  The pixel sticker books require a child to look at where the sticker goes and move it around with their fingers until it is in the box the correct way.  For some of my kids, I have them remove the stickers if not placed in the box as close as it can be.  It's important for them to not only put the stickers in place but to correct it if it is not in the right way.  

Improve Visual Tracking and Scanning-if you have a child who has difficulty with this visual motor skill, Pixel Heroes and Pixel Dolls is a perfect activity to work on that without them really knowing that is what you are focusing on.  In order for the doll/hero to be completed correctly, they have to constantly scan between the picture on the left and the grids on the right.  They need to scan each row and figure out what color sticker goes in each box.  

Improve Self-Esteem and Confidence-as with many arts and crafts projects, they can help build a child's sense of confidence and self-esteem.  Don't ever under-estimate what completing a challenging activity all by themselves can do for a child's self-esteem.  I love seeing their faces as they place those final stickers into the grid.  I like to show the kids how their accuracy improved over time by comparing the first few rows with the final ones.  

Improve Attention and Focus-it's important for children to really stop and focus on the picture and the grid.  Unlike the Orb Factory mosaics, there isn't a number or a color for the children to place the stickers on.  They have to rely on being able to copy the pattern provided on the left to the blank grid on the right hand side of the book.  When I first begin this activity, I have the children talk the pattern out to me for the first few rows to help them be more successful in completing the picture.

Pixel Dolls Sticker Book

Improve Organizational Skills-I encourage children to start at the top, left-hand side of the page when beginning their hero or doll.  I have them complete it line by line and not color by color.  For older/school age kids, working this way is important for handwriting, reading and math skills as they all start in the top, left hand corner.
Improve Upper Extremity Strength-I have been having some of my older kids complete their chosen pixel hero or doll while lying prone on a net swing in order to work on improving his/her arm and neck strength.  I love killing two birds with one stone and this is the kind of activity that allows me to do just that.  A kid can work on building their fine motor and grasping skills at the same time as upper extremity strength.  A great way to hide the "work" behind the whole thing.  One of the things I like best is that I can tell a kid that we will stay on the swing until they finish a certain number of rows.  So instead of constantly asking how much longer they have until they are finished, they can just take a look at how much work they have left.

The Pixel Heroes and Pixel Dolls books will be a huge hit with your older preschoolers and school age kids, both at work and at home.  These are perfect for parents who need something to keep in their bags when going out to eat, waiting for a therapy appointment to start or just to keep your kids away from iPads, video games or the television.

I was able to pick my books up at a local toy store in Park Slope, Brooklyn so I wouldn't be surprised if you would be able to find it one of your local toy stores.  I love being able to support the local small businesses in my hood and encourage you all to do the same.  If you can't find them, I happen to have an obsession with an online toy website called My Sweet Muffin, that sells these books (and a million other amazing products).  I originally discovered this store because of an obsession with a certain Danish toy product but have come to realize that they offer tons of other amazing products that are not only fun but therapeutic.

I would love to hear about your experience with the Pixel Heroes and Pixel Dolls sticker books.  Do you have other products that you have seen or used that are like this?  As always, I am just a click away and love hearing from my readers.

Building Just Got More Fun!

Recently, I took a trip to the Bronx Zoo with my family to check out their new Dinosaur Safari.  While we were annoyingly shut out of the actual safari part, we were still able to participate in a variety of fun arts and crafts activities that they have set up in conjunction with the exhibit.  As a therapist, I am always on the lookout for new toys that will motivate my kids to be challenged when working with me.  When I walked into the area, my eyes immediately went to the dry erase board filled with the cutest homemade zoo animals and dinosaurs made out of LaQ construction toys.  I had never seen them before but spent some time playing with them at the zoo and went right home to order them for my office.  I won't lie...my husband and 3 year old daughter spent hours creating this weekend.  They didn't follow a pattern but used their imagination to build creatures from Quinn's mind.  They had so much fun playing and telling stories to each other based on what they had built.  While daddy did most of the work, Quinn still got to be an active participant by pulling some of the pieces apart and finding the pieces that daddy needed.

LaQ construction toys are a great way to work on improving grasp strength and fine motor skills.  There are 7 different shaped pieces/connectors.  With those 7 pieces, what one can build is just endless.  The pieces are small and require a child to use a pincer grasp to push the pieces together.  For kids who struggle with grasping skills, this is a fun way to work on improving that without them even knowing it.  And if they are fans of construction toys, they will be asking to play with these all the time.  Unlike Legos, LaQ blocks are thin so you can really only use two fingers on each hand to push them together (for therapists/educators who do a lot of homecare, they are small and light enough that you can throw them in your work bag and bring them from place to place without being weighed down).  The pieces are colorful and they make this awesome snapping sound when they are pushed together.  For some kids, it is great to have some kind of sound to know that they have successfully gotten the pieces together and should move onto the next step.  

There are a variety of sets to choose from including dinosaurs and food.  While each set comes with a book full of patterns, you can check out their website for many more great ideas.  The nice thing is is that there are 3 different levels of patterns so there should be something for everyone to choose from.  I like the patterns on the website a little better than the books that come with the sets because they break down the steps with more clarity.  

In addition to what I have already spoken about, there are several other OT goals that can be addressed using LaQ construction blocks:
Improve Organization and Sorting Skills-there are 7 different shaped pieces in all LaQ sets.  They may come in a variety of primary and pastel colors, but these 7 shapes can make thousands and thousands of designs and patterns.  Many of the kids I work with need help organizing their work and on each of the patterns provided, there is a grid provided telling you how many of each shape and color you need.  I like to have my kids sort these out before they begin to put their creations together.
Improve Bilateral Coordination Skills-for those of you who work with school age children who continue to struggle with bilateral coordination, this is a great activity to work on encouraging that skill. There is no way that a child can be successful with this toy if they don't use two hands.  They will need to hold pieces in both hands in order to put complete the patterns and be successful in creating a final product.
Improve Visual Motor/Perceptual Skills-while there is room for a child to be totally creative, there are hundreds of patterns to choose from.  When I was at the Bronx Zoo, there were mostly zoo animal and dinosaur patterns out for kids to create but through my google searches, I have found all different kinds of patterns.  I bought this set more geared towards girls that includes a head band and jewelry box, to name just a few.  Once you pick a pattern, it really requires you to visually attend to what you are doing in order to follow the patterns so the pattern comes out the way it is supposed to.
Improve Frustration Tolerance-this is a challenging activity.  It requires a child to have an enormous amount of patience, which many of the kids that I work with lack.  It may require them to not only accept but ask for help from a friend or a grown-up.  Asking for help can be a frustrating thing for a child who wants to believe that he/she can do things all on their own.  They would rather figure it out on their own which often leads to them giving up.  Encourage kids to ask for help and talk to them about how everyone sometimes needs help and that it is okay.

How awesome are these LaQ creations?

Improve Focus/Attention Skills-this is an activity that requires a child to really focus on what they are doing.  They need to focus on what pieces they are taking and focus on following the directions/patterns.  If their attention strays, they may have to take apart the whole project and start again from the beginning.  If I know a child has difficulty with attending, especially to new and more challenging activities, I like to set a timer for them.  They know before even beginning that they will be required to focus for x amount of time and just knowing that sometimes keeps a child's focus and attention on what it needs to be on.
Improve Confidence and Self-Esteem Skills-I have always noticed how completing long term Lego projects often bring out a tremendous amount of pride in a child.  I have bought Lego sets for my kids who have fine motor delays and decreased self-esteem and confidence and worked on these sets for weeks or months at a time.  When they finish the project and can show it off to their parents or caregivers, they are beyond proud.  This is a similar activity and from what I have seen so far, when a child finishes their creation, whether it is from their imagination or from a pattern, they are beaming with pride.

Improve Social Skills-while a child could be happy doing this completely on their own, it is also a great activity to do with a friend.  This is a perfect activity to do in a small group to work on turn taking, problem solving and working on pragmatic skills like asking and accepting help from a peer.  For many of the kids that I work with, the idea of completing a project like this with the help of another is a difficult concept.  As children get older, they will be required to participate in group projects at school and will have to learn to be flexible and work as a partner and not an individual.  This is a great activity to do in order to prepare your child for working as part of a team with friends and classmates.

More awesome LaQ creations at the Bronx Zoo

I can't say enough about how great these manipulative toys are.  My only regret is I didn't know about them earlier in the year because I had many kids on my caseload who would have loved them and we would have been able to work on so many skills without them even realizing it.

I would love to hear from you guys about how you are using these at home or at work.  Do you have any creations you want to share with us?  I am just a click away and would love to hear from you.