Life Is An Open Book

This is a new addition to the gift guide.  My daughter is now 5 years old and in kindergarten so this is something that has been a major focus at home with her.  Finding fun and motivating ways to teach her how to spell, read and tell stories has been tricky.  However, there are so many great books and writing activities out there that have made such a big difference for

Over the course of the year, I've discovered some pretty great books that would make the perfect gift for those little bookworms in your life.  There is nothing like a good book, especially a good book that teaches important  life lessons to our little ones.  I could list a million books (not even exaggerating) but I am going to stick to ones that have teachable moments built in.  Ones that you can use to help children learn to be more creative are my favorite.

Just as important as the books, are the tools you can use to teach children how to learn the letters of the alphabet and numbers, learn how to read, spell and write.  Over the course of my career, I have tested out more toys than I can remember.  There are a lot to choose from and as parents, it can be very confusing to figure out which ones are the best for your child.

Below, you will find a handful of books that I think should be part of everyone's library.  You will also find different toys, games and activities that have been proven to be successful with the kids that I have worked with.  All of the activities I have mentioned are ones that can be used at home in a fun way.  They aren't workbooks, but real toys and activities that can be fun for children of all abilities.

I Am Books-I was introduced to these amazing children's books by one of the families I work with.  Brad Meltzer has written a series of books about real life heroes.  They are each written from the perspective of these heroes as children and talks about the struggles they had growing up.  He highlights what made them different and how they took those differences and made the world better.  For example, did you know that Albert Einstein was a later talker?  Or that Lucille Ball was encouraged to not be so funny?  My daughter who is 5 1/2 adores these books and I have been so impressed with what she has learned from each of them.  The questions she has asked and what she has taken from each book has been so fun to watch.
I Am Amelia Earhardt
I Am Rosa Parks
I Am Lucille Ball
I Am Helen Keller
I Am Martin Luther King
I Am Albert Einstein
I Am Jackie Robinson
I Am Abraham Lincoln
Disney Pixar Inside Out Box of Mixed Emotions-the success of the movie Inside Out was no surprise to me once I saw it the first time.  The kids I work with loved it and I loved how this movie helped kids feel okay about expressing their feelings and gain a better sense of understanding about their emotions.  When I saw these books, I had to pick them up to bring to work.  I run a social skills group at  The Meeting House for children with a variety of social difficulties.  We have put these books out for the kids during our snack and hangout time and they love them.  This set of 5 books features each emotion.  They are easy to read and even if you have a kid who can't read, they can look at the pictures instead.
In My Heart:  A Book of Feelings-this book by Jo Witeck is a brilliant and beautiful book about feelings.  For many of the kids I work with, understanding your feelings can be quite challenging.  In addition to being an occupational therapist, I work for The Meeting House, a recreational based after school program for awesome kids who have social difficulties.  This book is great for
Little Book of Big Fears-this book is written and illustrated by Monica Arnaldo and talks about all different kinds of things that people may be afraid of.  It introduces you to 16 children (in alphabetical order) who are each afraid of something different.  Drew is scared of raccoons and Quinn is horrified by needles.  Not all letters of the alphabet are in the book, but that is on purpose.  The letters that are missing spell out Gutsy and Brave....two things that will help a child get over their fears. This is a cute little book that helps children understand that it's okay to be scared of things and that there are ways to deal with those fears.

Hope Learning Toys-this brand of nature based learning toys have been created by a mother, teacher and toy lover.  Using a variety of objects found in the beautiful state of Maine, Heather has gathered rocks, shells, branches and wood to come up with an amazing set of learning toys.  My daughter has the Vintage Letter Alphabet Stones and adores them.  As soon as she received them, she started exploring them.  I loved that she wanted to put all the stones in alphabetical order while making their sounds.  We have been using them with her to practice her sight words during homework time and it has made it more interesting and exciting for her.  There are so many products to choose from beyond just the alphabet products.  I, for one, can't wait for the phonics matching game using wood from my favorite tree, the lilac tree.  You need to really spend some time exploring the Hope Learning Toys Etsy shop to find what products are best for your child.
Kids Story Maker-created by Magnetic Poetry, this kid friendly magnet sets encourages kids to build their own crazy stories using over 150 different word magnets.  I love how they have color coded all the words by different parts of language to reinforce nouns, verbs, prepositions, adjectives, etc..  For so many of the kids I work with, writing a story can be really challenging for them (decreased writing endurance) but they have lots of ideas.  For those kids who need some creative ways to practice telling stories, this is a great solution.  You can make a long-term project out of it by having them write a few sentences at a time...first they create their story by putting the magnets up and then they can copy them into a book.

Tell Tale-another great storytelling game by Blue Orange.  Tell Tale has three different versions to choose from (original, Fairy Tale and Disney Pixar).  Using the 60 different cards and illustrated rules, kids and families work together to make a story.  It's hard to bore of this game because it's different every time you play.  The best part is that kids are learning the whole entire time but having tons of fun.  If you want to work on handwriting, you can have the kids write their stories out as they are telling it.  It might take more than one session in order to complete it, but I am always happy to find activities that we can do over the course of a few sessions.  Great for working on improving processing speed, verbal abilities, attention and problem solving and reasoning skills.

Alphabet Magnetibook-another great magnet book by Janod.  This is the perfect on the go toy to work on learning how to spell.  The set comes with 26 pictures and over 100 letter tiles. Each picture has the name spelt out so kids can dig through the letters and put them in the correct order.  I love how the magnet board is in a grid (reminds me of graph paper), requiring them to focus on putting the letters in the blocks and staying in order.  For older kids, you could find magnets of pictures without the words written on them in order to practice spelling.  This toy is not only great for working on learning the alphabet and learning how to spell, but great for working on developing fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination and visual motor and perceptual skills.

BabyLit Playsets-I am a HUGE fan of the BabyLit series of board books.  They make such great  presents for all kids, especially kids of parents who love the classics.  When I saw these playsets, I got so excited.  There are four to choose from:   Pride and Prejudice, Alice in Wonderland, Moby Dick and The Jungle Book.  Each set comes with the original board book and different punch-out cards featuring the different characters from the story. The box it comes in doubles as the scenery/background for the story.  These are great for working on improving focus and attention, language skills and creative skills.  You can also work on improving fine motor skills and visual motor/perceptual by pushing the pieces out of the board and putting them together to play with them.  I can't wait to get a couple of these sets not only for gifts, but to use in my social skills groups to put on little plays with the kids.

When kids learn how to read and write, the world opens up to them in the most exciting of ways.  The tricky part is actually finding ways to encourage kids.  The books and activities I talked about in this post have been proven to teach kids.  The most important thing about each of them is that they are fun and that it ends up giving them confidence.  My rule is to always start out simple and increase the challenges as the kids master them.  Kids are way more likely to keep trying when they are given the time to move at their own pace.

Do you have any great books that you have read that you want to share with my readers?  How about alphabet and handwriting games or activities that your kids love?  I would love to hear from any and all of with your suggestions.  I am always a click away and so appreciate all the suggestions that have been given to me from you all.

Let's Boogie

A couple of years ago, my daughter received a Boogie Board as a birthday gift.  She was a little young and totally uninterested in drawing or learning how to write.  As a result, my husband and I spent more time playing with this toy and it eventually ended up in the bottom of a basket of toys.  Fast forward about a year or two and we have a little girl has blossomed into an artist and a kid who really wants to practice writing letters and words all the time.  Every time I turn around, there is another drawing or list of words on scraps of paper in our house.  While we try and save as much as we can, many of them are not what Quinn had in mind so they end up getting thrown away.  As she has become more interested in spending her free time engaged in drawing or writing, I have found ourselves trying to use other less wasteful things.  She can spend hours working on an easel but that isn't always so easy to take with us when we are on the go so I was happy to remember our Boogie Board and pull it out of the basket.

For those of you who don't know about it, the Boogie Board is an ultra-light LCD writing tablet that can take the place of paper and pencils.  It's great for you on the go people who want to encourage your kids to draw/write and not always be attached to the iPad, iPhone, games, etc. It can be used for a variety of things and by kids of all ages.  The Boogie Board comes in a variety of colors which can sometimes make a big deal to certain kids (for example, my girlie girl loves the pink and flowered one).  Kids can draw, write and play games on the board and with a simple touch of a button, the screen clears and they can begin again.  If they make a mistake, it can be erased and they can try again.  Since the Boogie Board is so light weight, it can be thrown in a backpack or a purse without being too much of a burden.  I love looking out in a waiting room and seeing kids playing on theirs to pass the time between appointments.  We love to take ours in the car or on the subway to keep Quinn occupied and make the ride go by much faster.

I have not only been using the Boogie Board at home.  It has been a great tool to use at work and the kids love to use it.  It has been used for several purposes depending on the goals and needs of each particular child.  For example, it's a great tool to use for making To Do lists with kids who need the structure and routine.  I will write down our schedule for the session and after they complete each activity, they can then cross it off.  For kids who are working on handwriting, you can actually have them write the list for your session.

My favorite thing to use the Boogie Board for is to practice handwriting.  I tend to use it in conjunction with different iPad apps which can be a big motivator for those kids who like to avoid any handwriting activity.  My go to handwriting apps are LetterSchool or Writing Wizard as they are the most interactive and not just about tracing letters.  Kids will practice a letter on the iPad and then immediately pick up the Boogie Board to practice writing the letter.  There are several handwriting games you can play with kids based on their skill level.  For example, for kids who are learning how to read, you can make the sound of the letter and they then have to write the letter.  Another fun thing to do is to write words with some letters missing and have the kids guess what letter goes where and fill in the words.  If you have really creative kids, you can have them makeup their own handwriting games!

Some of the other occupational therapy goals that can be focused on using the Boogie Board are:
Improve Grasping Skills-each Boogie Board comes with a thin metallic stylus.  Any stylus is good for encouraging a proper grasping pattern, but I find that the stylus that comes with it is just the right size for adding a pencil grip onto.  I encourage the kids I work with to use a proper grasp whenever they use the stylus.
Improve Graphomotor Skills-I sometimes feel guilty about the amount of paper that I waste on daily basis practicing writing letters and numbers with the kids I work with.  Oftentimes, the kids end up leaving said papers on the floor in the waiting room and they never even make it home to show off to their parents.  With the Boogie Board, a child can practice over and over again without the guilt of what waste we are producing.  If kids want to show off their work to their people, you can take pictures and email it to them!
Improve Bilateral Coordination Skills-I love to have kids sit on the platform or bolster swing while using the Boogie Board as it forces them to use two hands.  They must hold the board with one hand and hold the stylus with the other.  When on a swing, they are also working on building trunk control and strength at the same time.
Improve Social Skills-I like to find ways to improve social development with all toys/products I use at work.  The Boogie Board can be used to encourage social skills by having kids play simple games together on it.  Tic-Tac-Toe, the Dot Game and Hangman are three good games that can be played in small group settings.

I love that the Boogie Board can be used for so many different things by children of all ages and it doesn't cost too much (approximately $30).  The Original Boogie Board can be found online but I have also seen it in several of the smaller, privately owned toy stores in my neighborhood.  While you may end up paying a little more in these stores, I always try and support small businesses whenever I possibly can.

Do you use a Boogie Board while working with your kids?  Do you have any other fun games or activities that you do while using it?  I would love to hear from any of you if you do.  I'm 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!

All Lit Up!

So Santa was really good to my girl this year.  He not only brought her all of the crazy things she asked for (he failed on the real live unicorn but she is keeping her fingers crossed he comes through next year), he also brought the toys her mom would have wished for.  He must have known that I had some concerns about her fine motor skills and the way she grasps objects.  With that in mind, he brought her the new/updated Lite Brite.  I wasn't sure if it would be a hit with her (or me for that matter).  I tend to not like the updated versions of great games...remember how they updated Perfection so instead of 25 shapes to match you only have 9?  Total bummer of an update.   I'm happy to report that all of the updates made to this latest version of Lite Brite are good ones...ones that actually make this an amazing toy for not only my little girl, but also for the kids that I work with that have fine motor, visual motor or sensory processing difficulties.

I have been a huge fan of Lite Brite since I began working as an OT.  In the almost 15 years since I began working in schools and private practice, I have tried just about every version that has come out! Many of them may be in storage in my basement right now but for one reason or another, haven't made it out of the basement to my office.  While I loved the original version of Lite Brite, it was large and took up a lot of space.  And you were limited to how you could use it because it needed to be plugged in in order to work.  The screen was also large, so it took several sessions to finish the picture and often times, it would get messed up and the kids wouldn't want to fix it.  I'll admit, that I haven't been using it much in therapy lately because I have found a lot of other things to use that will accomplish the same goals.  I'm excited to bring Lite Brite back into the rotation at work in the new year!

First, let me tell you about all the new features of the Lite Brite:
*the magic screen blocks the light when pegs are removed, making it easier for kids to make their own designs.  I can't wait to try having kids practice making letters, numbers and shapes with this
*the templates are reusable.  I used to get so upset that once the design was completed, you couldn't easily use it again.  Not only are the templates reusable, the paper is thicker and more durable for multiple uses.
*templates are smaller making it easier for children to complete a design in one sitting if you want.
*the board comes with 8 templates but there are also two refill sets you can buy each with another 8 templates and pegs that go with the them.  Check out the Lite Brite Underwater and Lite Brite Animal refill sets.
*the pegs now come in different shapes and designs to help make more detailed and realistic looking pictures.  There are also animal and nature pegs.
*the storage box can be attached and detached for the actual Lite Brite unit.  One of the versions I have has a door that flips open and with just a little bit of a bump, they would all fall out and get everywhere.  For some of my younger kids, I like to dump out all the pegs onto a flat surface so they can see better.
*the square/flat shape makes it great for us therapists to be creative with where and how we have the kids use this.  I plan on having kids work on a design while lying on their belly on the net swing or putting it up on an inclined surface so they have to reach up to place the pegs in.


In addition to everything I have already mentioned, the Lite Brite is great for working on a variety of occupational therapy goals including:
Improve Fine Motor Skills-the reason I have always loved Lite Brite was because it was a great tool to work on improving grasping skills in a motivating way.  It's also great for working on improving grasp strength and in-hand manipulation skills.  Depending on what your goals are for a child, you can adapt your rules for completion of the template.  For example, if you want to work on improving grasp strength, have a child use a pair of zoo sticks to pick out the peg that they need.  If you have a child working on developing more mature in-hand manipulation skills, give them a certain number of pegs they have to pick up at a time and challenge them not to drop them from their palm while they are putting the pegs in the board.
Improve Visual Motor/Perceptual Skills-one of the things I really like about this new version is that the pegs not only come in varying colors, but different shapes and designs as well.  This requires a child to be attentive to what shape they are looking for to complete their design.  It's also great for working on visual tracking and visual discrimination since the pieces are hard to distinguish at times.  A child needs to pay careful attention to whether or not they need a square or circle peg which can be tricking to do sometimes.
Improve Executive Functioning Skills-unlike some of the older versions of Lite Brite, this one offers smaller sized designs that can realistically be completed in one sitting for some of the older children I work with.  This can be a great way to work on improving attention and focus.  Additionally, you can work on improving organizational skills by changing your expectations for the kids.  For example, you can have a child pick one color to work on at at time and have them count, find and sort all the pegs they will need.
Improve Social Skills-I've always found that Lite Brite can be a great activity to do with a small group of children because it requires turn taking, helping each other out and can foster conversation. Especially when working with older and more

I know that everyone is probably on toy overload right now and the idea of adding something else into their collection is the last thing you are thinking about.  However, if you are looking for a new toy to add to your bag of tricks at work in 2015, I highly recommend the new and improved Lite Brite.

Now that I have shared my favorite gift that my child received this year, I would love to hear from any of you about yours.  I'm certainly not in any rush to buy new toys for home, but as the new year approaches, I want to have fresh ideas to motivate my kids at work to continue to work towards reaching their goals.  More importantly, I want to make sure they are having fun while with me at the gym!  I am only a click away and love hearing from each and every one of you!

Tell Me a Story...with Dice!

I am always looking for fun, motivating and interesting ways to work on handwriting with the school age kids I work with.  For many of the kids I work with, this is one of the biggest things that they struggle with and finding ways to work on it without frustrating them can be really tricky.  I have used apps on the iPad but there haven't been many I have fallen in love with and use much.  Plus, when it comes to my older kids and the handwriting thing, I try and keep technology out of the equation if possible.

I'm going to give a big shout out to my friends at Norman & Jules, a toy store (or my home away from home) in Park Slope.  In the two years they have been in my neighborhood, I have spent a lot of time (and a lot of money) walking through the store finding the most amazing of toys for my own child and the children I work with.  They have an eye for unique gifts but what I love most is that they sneak in the educational piece in a really good way.  They find things that can work on academic skills but in the most interesting and fun way.

One of my most recent purchases are the storytelling dice designed by Hannah Waldron.  There are two sets, a pirate themed set and a fairy-tale themed set, that will be sure to get your child motivated to work on expanding their imagination and storytelling skills.  The Pirate Adventure Dice set has 9 wooden dice with different pictures on each side of the dice.   A child is encouraged to create a story using the pictures that they roll.  Some of the pictures on this pirate themed set includes a ship, mermaids, parrots, a message in a bottle and several more!  The Magic & Fairy-Tale Dice, also 9 wooden dice with all different pictures.  Using pictures like magic potion, a wizard, a frog and a ball gown, a child can create their own fairy tale.  From beginning to end, the story belongs to the child(ren) and how they interpret each of the pictures.  There is no right or wrong and a child is allowed to be as creative as they want.  Just try and remember each child's abilities and don't expect more from them; always set up a situation where the child will be successful and motivated to try something more challenging the next time around.

These dice can be used in so many ways and can be adapted to work for any child, no matter what their skill level is.  It can be used in a 1:1 therapy setting, in a group/social skills setting or at home for family game night!  Many of my families ask me for suggestions on what they can do at home to work on what I am working on in therapy and it's most important to me that my suggestions are fun for everyone and cause as little stress as possible.  These dice will be fun for everyone!

Suggested Uses
For beginners or younger children, I recommend choosing 3-4 cubes to roll at first.  Work up to adding more pictures.  Work together to come up with a story using the pictures.  Great for working on sequencing and organizational skills.  Have the child really think about what makes the most sense when arranging the pictures.  If you are in a small group setting, give each child one dice and allow them to add to the story.

For older children who are working on handwriting goals, this is a great tool to use to get them excited about writing.  I have used these with great success for just that purpose with a wonderful 9 year old boy who struggles with organizing his writing and struggles even more to get his wonderful ideas onto paper.  Again, start off small and don't overwhelm a child.  I start with 4 dice for the older kids, have them roll them and then work with them to organize the pictures into place before beginning the actual writing part of the activity.
**require a certain number of sentences for a story, making sure that there is a beginning, middle and end.  This can be really difficult for some children but if you let them talk through the story before they write it, you may find they are more successful.  I find it is helpful to give some children a set amount of time to work on their story to encourage them to take their time.
**discuss what is expected before beginning this writing activity.  For example, if you are working on spacing, sizing, etc., go over those rules before they begin to write.

These are also great for groups up to 9 kids.  I can't wait to try these with an older group of kids I work with.  Not only will it be great for working on storytelling, it will be great for working together to come up with a collaborative story.  Compromise, turn taking and being flexible are important life lessons, both socially and academically, and it's important to teach kids about these things.  To make it more exciting for a group of kids, you can take a picture of the pictures used and have someone write up the story that they came up with as a group to share with their families and friends.
**if you are working on specific social skills with a group, you can have the kids come up with a story based on that theme.  It could be a really fun way to help generalize the skill and get the kids to think of your lesson in a more meaningful way.

Another great thing about the Pirate Adventure Dice and the Magic & Fairy-Tale Dice is that it is hard to get bored with them.  Every time you roll the dice, your pictures are different which means your stories are always going to be different.  I can't think of a better way to keep the imagination flowing for kids of all ages.

So if you are in the New York City area, I highly recommend making the trip to Park Slope to check these dice out in person at Norman & Jules.  I apologize in advance to those of you who walk out with an empty wallet because I guarantee you won't be able to walk out without many of their awesome toys!  For those of you out of town, be sure to check out their website.

Three Cheers for Lazoo!

When I first began this blog, I wrote about my favorite coloring books.  Included in that were a series of  activity books by Lazoo.  They were a staple in my therapy closet then and still are now.  So how excited was I when I discovered they now had a series of apps for the iPad?  So far there are 4 of them and 3 of them are free which is always a bonus.

I just downloaded these but already am in love with them.  More importantly, my 3 1/2 year old daughter loves them.  They all keep her attention and engaged (which isn't so easy since she is a kid that likes to be on the go ALL THE TIME).  I can't wait to test them out with my kids at work next week.

I'm going to attempt to briefly review each of them here.

Lazoo Zoo

It's snack time at the zoo and all these animals are hungry and wanting to be fed!  There are 11 different animals to feed and fun things happen to them depending on what you feed them.  For example, the giraffes spots will change depending on what you feed him or the ape whose hairstyle changes when you have fed him too much.  For my speech therapist friends, there are lots of opportunities here to work on expanding language with kids and work on story telling.


Magic Stickers

I have the activity book of this and LOVE it!  I love the book version of this because you can work on fine motor skills and creative skills at the same time.  Makes kids think outside of the box and can really encourage a lot of language from them at the same time.  For me the problem always has been that once you complete the page, that's it.  So the fact that there is an app for this makes me so happy.  There are 8 different backgrounds that you can decorate with over 50 stickers to choose from.  There are suggested stickers for each background but you can use whichever one you want to.  You can decorate a piece of broccoli or a loaf of bread any way you want and then you can make it come to life.  Bonus feature to this app....you can create your own stickers!

Let's Color
What's better than have a coloring book where the pages come to life?  I can't think of anything much better!  The app comes with 18 different pages and there are additional ones you can purchase.  
For many of the younger kids I work with, they struggle with figuring out where to start a picture.  Sometimes I will give them ideas based on their interests but this can still be difficult for them.  I like that the picture gives you a starting point to jump off from.  And there are no wrongs here which is always important.  For example, there is a picture of a little boy playing a trumpet and the app reads "What COULD come out of a trumpet?".  The child can choose from different colors and "writing instruments" and go crazy.  For some of my more unorganized kids, I may have them talk me through what they are thinking about drawing, how they will draw it, etc. in order to get them more organized and focused on their drawing.  Once the child is happy with their picture, they press go and their picture comes to life.  One of the things I like about this app is that once the picture is done, you have the option of saving it and emailing it to the child's parents.  Great way for a parent to know what they were doing in therapy but also a great way for children who may have language issues to talk about their picture and tell a story.


Squiggles
This activity book by Lazoo is still one of my favorites.  The concept is so simple but can foster such creative thinking, especially in many of the kids I work with who struggle with that important piece of being a kid.  There are 8 pictures with scenes that you need to complete by adding a squiggly line to bring them to life.  For example, there is a page with a bunny asking you to draw squiggly clouds so it can rain and water her flowers.  You can begin by tracing the clouds already shown and then the kids can make their own.  They can use whatever color they want and whichever tool they want (chalk, crayon or a ketchup bottle to name a few!).  There is a picture with a bunch of cars and you have to draw the exhaust coming out of the pipes.  Once you are satisfied with your picture, hit play and watch your picture come to life.  The squiggly rain clouds start raining and the flowers start to bloom.  The cars race back and forth on the screen.

I can't really choose my favorite app because each one offers something so unique and different from the others.  What I do know is that each one is motivating and encourages creativity and imagination skills.  For many of the kids I work with, this is something difficult to bring into our therapy sessions so it is always nice to find something that can do that in a motivating and fun way.  I also like each of the apps make a child think outside of the box.  They make them look at the pictures and see something different than what it is.  For example, they tell you to look at a head of broccoli and imagine as a tree and fill it up with birds, flowers, etc..  I am sure many of you can relate to this:  many of the kids I work with are creatures of habit, routine and can be too literal at times.  It is so difficult for them to have a different perspective about things and this is a fun way for them to begin to look at things a little differently.

These apps can also work on the following occupational therapy goals:

Improve Eye-Hand Coordination-fun way to work in improving eye-hand coordination for those little ones who struggle with this skill.  In the Lazoo Zoo app, there is a series of foods for a child to choose from and they have to pick that out and then drag it to the animal.  They need to make sure they are putting the food in the right place or else it won't do what it is supposed to.
Improve Visual Motor/Perceptual Skills-these apps are chock full of ways to work on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  A child must visually scan the screen in order to pick out the stickers/writing tools/colors.  They must visually track when dragging the stickers over to the animals in the Zoo app.  They need to maintain their visual focus on the objects they are coloring in and you can require that they need to remain in the lines or they will have to try it again.  You can work on tracing skills by having them trace some of the images already on the screen.  I am sure there are many, many more that I am leaving out but I think you get the picture.
Improves Graphomotor Skills-each of the apps can focus on improving handwriting, drawing and other graphomotor skills.  You can require children to include certain shapes and lines in their pictures before they are allowed to do free drawing.  For your older kids, you can ask them to write some letters in the picture as well.

Improve Fine Motor Skills-I plan on having my kids do this at times with the iCreate crayon stylus to work on improving their fine motor and grasping skills at the same time.  For my younger kids, who avoid handwriting activities, I can get them to do so much of the same stuff on the iPad but with much less complaining.  The rule for them though is that if they don't use the stylus, they don't get to play the iPad.  For those kids who have difficulty with isolating fingers for fine motor work, the rule can be that they are only allowed to use their pointer finger to drag stickers over, draw lines or color in the pictures.  This sounds easy, but I can't even begin to count the number of times I have to remind kids to only use their pointer finger when using the iPad!
Improve Attention and Focus Skills-each of these apps require a different kind of attention and focus.  It may be important to set boundaries and guidelines with the child you are working with prior to them beginning.  For example, I can envision many of my kids just wanting to draw one line here or there and then making it come to life.  Or they may get bored with what they are doing and ask to move onto another page.  Sometimes what works best for me with any handwriting or drawing app is to say that they need to spend a specific number of time on their drawing before doing something different.  I also like to require that they use a certain number of colors and shapes (this clearly depends on the child's individual goals).  I like to see how long they can do things independently but if I see their attention starting to go, I will try and guide them in order to complete it entirely.  Not only is it important for a child to follow through on what they start, it is a real confidence and self-esteem booster.
Improve Bilateral Coordination-when my kids use the iPad, I make sure that I can always see two hands.  One hand has to be on the iPad doing the work and the other must be holding the iPad in order to keep it from moving around.  Way too often, I see the kids using the iPad zoning out with one hand just hanging down doing nothing.  These are often the kids who need to be reminded to keep both hands up on the desk when participating in handwriting or drawing activities.
Increase Upper Extremity Strength-I can't wait to test this out with my kids on the net swing!  So many of my kids complain after just seconds of lying prone on the net swing.  However, when I place the iPad in front of them, the complaining decreases significantly.  These apps are motivating enough that I believe it will keep the kid's attention and they won't even realize they are getting tired on the swing.
Improve Social Skills-while these apps are great to do 1:1, they can also be used in small groups.  I find that kids tend to take suggestions and ideas better from their peers at times.  Or that they are more willing to try something new and different if they see a friend doing it.  Other social skills that can be addressed are turn taking, improving frustration tolerance (a friend may want to put a different sticker on that broccoli tree and you need to let it happen) and flexibility (a child may have an idea of what the final picture should like but they have to be flexibly and allow their friends to add whatever they want to the picture).

I hope that you all enjoy these apps as much as I am already.  I can see them becoming a presence in so many of my therapy sessions.  I would love to hear what you think about these apps and how the kids you work with are liking them.  I am always a click away and love getting feedback and suggestions from you all.