Let's Play(dough)!

Did you know that today is National Playdough Day?  Either did I but know that I do, I am going to do some really fun activities with my kids at work today using playdough!  In discovering this fact, I stumbled upon this fun list of facts about playdough.  Here are the most interesting ones:

*Did you know that Play-doh was first sold as a way to clean wallpaper?  People could remove soot and dirt from wallpaper by rolling it along the surface!

*It wasn't until 1955 that Play-doh was sold in stores as a toy?  Up until then, it was only offered in an off white color.  Once it hit the shelves as a toy they added red, blue and yellow!

*Over 2 billion cans of Play-doh have been sold since it's introduction!

Kids love playdough...and oftentimes, so do their parents.  It's a great activity that can be done at home to work on all kinds of occupational therapy and developmental goals.  Most importantly, it seems more like play than work for the kids so they are not as resistant to it.  There are so many benefits to playing with playdough.  In addition to being a great way to improve fine motor skills, it can be used to work on the following skills:

*increase upper body (shoulder and arm) strength-all that heavy work of pushing, rolling, smashing, etc. is great for building strength.  Remember, fine motor skill development is dependent on good upper body strength
*improve bilateral coordination-use different kinds of tools when playing with playdough to work on using two hands together.  For example, get an old rolling pin and have them roll the playdough into a flat surface before using cookie cutters to make shapes and other pictures.  They need to be able to use two hands in order to pick up the cookie cutters and push the playdough out of it.  All of those fun playdough kids by Play-Doh often require the use of two hands as well.
*improve manipulation skills-playdough is a perfect tool for working on improving manipulation skills such as grasping skills and finger isolation.  Have kids pinch little balls of dough using their "pinchers" or work on pointing by using their pointer finger to squish a hole into each ball.
*improve social skills-i've run many social skills groups before, and playdough is always used.  I love having it as a warm-up activity when kids are trickling in.  Sometimes I let the kids make their own creations or can have them work on something together as a group.  For example, give each kid in a group a different color of the rainbow and have them work as a group to put the rainbow together.

Here is a simple, 4-ingredient playdough recipe you can do with your kids today.
You will need:
1/2 cup of iodized salt (do not use sea salt)
1/2 cup of water
1 cup of flour (for mixing in the dough) plus an additional 1/2 cup for sprinkling/kneading
Food Coloring (this is optional but kids love color!)

1.  Measure your ingredients (except the food coloring) and put them all into a large mixing bowl.
2.  Mix ingredients together with a spoon or spatula until it starts to stick together.
3.  Once the ingredients start to come together, put your food coloring in and mix it just until it has a swirly, marble-like experience.
4.  Sprinkle flour onto a dry surface and dump the dough out and use your hands to knead the dough together.  Once the color is evenly distributed, you can begin to play!

**to store dough, place in a zip-loc bag or an airtight container***

Playing with playdough is not only fun, but therapeutic.  It can be used in therapy sessions to work on a variety of goals.  The best part is that kids are having so much fun squishing, squeezing and creating, that they don't even realize that they are doing work.  Here are some of my favorite playdough activities that you can do with your children today to celebrate National Playdough Day!

*grab a rolling pin and a bunch of cookie cutters and begin playing.  This is great for working on improving bilateral coordination, eye-hand coordination and increasing upper body and hand strength.  If you have a child who is struggling with learning shapes, numbers or letters, find some cookie cutters and work on it this way.

*roll playdough into ropes and have your kids cut the rope into little pieces with a pair of scissors.  Take a shape cookie cutter and gently press into a piece of flattened out playdough (do not push all the way through) and then have them cut the shapes out.  Great for working on improving scissor skills, bilateral coordination and strength.  

*check out this link here by a fellow OT blogger, MamaOT.  You will find 40 different playdough mats to use with your kids.  For those of you who are wondering what a playdough mat is:  they are pictures or drawing that have been laminated and encourage children to interact with the pictures using playdough.  For example, a child may need to "dress" a person, decorate butterfly wings or practice making the letters of the alphabet.  They can encourage kids to be creative and use their imagination while working on increasing hand strength and fine motor skills.  

*roll little pieces of playdough into balls and then have them pick them up and place them in a container using tongs.  This works on improving grasp strength, bilateral coordination and eye-hand coordination skills.  

*hide small beads, buttons or other manipulatives (I like to use these little animals from an old Mancala game of mine) and have the kids find them as fast as they can.  I remind my kids to pull the pieces out with their pinchers.  Once they have found all of the hidden pieces, have them hide them again for the next kid.  Great for working on improving grasp strength and manipulation skills, bilateral coordination and focus/attention.  

I have to admit, I love to play with playdough.  I love the way it feels in my hands, the way it smells and the way it can be used for a million different things (I will have to try the cleaning of wallpaper sometime).  My 5 1/2 year old daughter could play with it for hours on end.  However, my OCD definitely kicks in when people try and mix colors together!  In honor of National Playdough Day, I am going to challenge myself to pick up some fresh bottles of it for my daughter and play with her tonight and not worry for a second about mixing them up!

Do you have a wonderful activity to share using playdough?  A tried and true recipe you use with your kids that you would like to share.  I am just a click away and love hearing from you all!

Building Your Way To Fun

Sneak peak #3 to his year's holiday gift guide....building blocks and other manipulative toys.  These toys might be my favorite to play with at work and to give as gifts.  All the ones I have recommended are ones that you can find in local toy stores (support your local small businesses!!) and ones that should last you a really long time.  How many of you still have your alphabet blocks, lincoln logs or tinker toys from growing up?  I have chosen manipulative toys that should hold up like those have for so many of us.

Blocks and manipulative toys are great for so many reasons.  First of all, they stimulate creative and imaginative play.  They also encourage social interaction and cooperative play when used in group settings.  As far os occupational therapy skills, they can be used to work on a million things including bilateral coordination, eye-hand coordination, visual motor and visual perceptual skills, focus and attention and fine motor skills such as hand strength and increasing in-hand manipulation skills.  I love that these toys can be used in a therapeutic setting and then brought into the home so families can have fun with their kids while working on the skills that we are focusing on during our sessions.  Check out my list below and have fun building and creating!

Tegu Blocks-these blocks are one of my absolute favorite gifts to give kids.  I have had these in my own home since my daughter could sit up and play with toys.  These wooden blocks have a magnet inside so they can stick to each other.  They come in a variety of shapes and colors and now there are sets available where you can build cars and robots.  I love that any age child can be successful when using the blocks.  Great for working on improving fine motor skills, bilateral coordination, problem solving and imaginative play.  Can be played with independently or in a group.  If you are in Park Slope, check out the toy store Norman & Jules who has the best selection of Tegu Blocks in NYC!  During the summer, they have an outdoor space with a giant board to allow kids to make some of the coolest Tegu Block designs!

MagnaTiles-these have been on my list year after year.  These plastic tiles have magnets build into them so they can stick together to build 2-D and 3-D creations.  They are great for working on improving fine motor skills, bilateral coordination and visual motor and perceptual skills.  They come in a variety of shapes and colors so you can work on color and shape recognition when using them.  Additionally, Magna-Tiles help promote imaginative play and creativity.  Children can play with them independently or in small groups to work on encouraging teamwork and compromise.  Magna-Tiles are pricey but they will last you forever since they are so durable and well made.  I have had the same set of Magna-Tiles in my office for at least 6 years and they look as new as they did when I first bought them and they have literally been used by hundreds of kids.
Ogobild Bits- I discovered this Brooklyn-based company last holiday season when I saw them at one of the many amazing holiday markets all over the city.  If you have kids who love building, but you have enough Lego sets, this is a great gift for them!  There are small and large sets and each comes with a bunch of suggested items to build.  Great for working on building a child's imagination skills while building the muscles of the hands!  I have used them in my social skills group both with preschoolers and school age kids and they had an absolute blast.  Ideal for working on building grasp Ogobild with Animate Studio kits which are great for your older kids who may be interested in learning more about stop motion animation moviemaking.
strength and manipulation skills, bilateral coordination, eye-hand coordination and visual motor and perceptual skills.  These are super durable building toys that you will have for years and years to come.  OgoSports keeps expanding this line and have a bunch of new ones this year, including two
LaQ- I discovered this awesome manipulative building set this summer after a trip to The Bronx Zoo.  For the Lego lovers, this is another great toy.  These are actually flat shapes that snap together to make a ton of different shapes.  For tons of different patterns to make cars, animals, people, etc. using these different shaped blocks, clink here.  My kids love them and I don't see them getting too frustrated when it gets difficult to follow the directions.  Better suited for the older kids I work with (often too difficult for the preschoolers, especially those with fine motor difficulties).
Lego Duplo Read and Build- Legos seem to be another one of those toys that never get old.  When I discovered the Lego Duplo Read and Build Sets, I was so excited.  These sets are perfect for those smaller hands
that have difficulty with the small size Legos.  The accompanying instructions are great because they give very clear visuals on how to build the different objects (jungle and farm animals, bugs/caterpillar, a fairy tale and a car set) in the book.  This requires a child to organize their work, plan what they are doing and follow visual directions.  Great for working on improving grasp strength and bilateral coordination skills, visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  I love that kids have to follow along with the story while building the different objects which works on focus and attentional skills.
Pencil Grip Popbeads-I love these small popbeads!  They are great for working on increasing grasp strength and bilateral coordination skills.  These popbeads are bright in color and the kids love them.  For younger kids working on identifying colors, you can use these to work on that.  Also great for working on visual perceptual skills such as matching and sequencing.
Squigz/Squigz Benders/pipSquigz-these manipulative toys by Fat Brain Toys will bring hours of fun to your little ones!  Actually, you will love playing with them as much as your kids do!  These suction cup connecting toys will stick to each other and to almost any surface.  Use them in the bathtub or on your child's high chair.  You can push them together and pull them apart to make wonderful creations to stimulate your children's imagination skills.  The kids get a real kick out of the sound that they make when they pop apart!  They are also great for working on hand strengthening, bilateral coordination and eye hand coordination. Check out the different sets available to see which is best for your little one.
Hugs Links-these well made linking toys are great for kids as young as 3 months and as old as 3 years.  What you work on while playing with them at different ages is different, but they are versatile and well made.  B.Toys created a set of 24 colorful links that click together to build a rattle for the younger ones or a chain for the older ones.  Great for developing bilateral coordination, fine motor skills and upper extremity strength.

So, here are some of my favorite manipulative toys perfect for gift giving this year.  Not only are they great for working on a ton of occupational therapy goals, they are all well built and durable toys that should withstand the wear and tear over the years.

If you have any recommendations that should be added to this list, please email me.  I love hearing from you and appreciate people sharing new toys and ideas with me.  I am just a click away and hope to hear from you!

It's All in the Wrist

One of my many occupational therapy jobs is that I am a founding member of The Meeting House, an after school program for school age children with social special needs.  It's a recreational based program that focuses on fun, friendship and community but at the same time provides children who struggle socially with tools and skills that will help them be better friends at school, at home and any other place where they need to be social.  As the occupational therapist, I am there to provide my expertise but not provide 1:1 therapy.  The therapeutic aspect of the program is embedded and my job is to provide suggestions and insight to help the children succeed in this setting.   It's a fantastic program and we have some of New York City's most amazing kids attending the program.  If you are in the area, you should definitely come and visit us.  Contact me if you are interested in learning more about The Meeting House.

When the kids first come in after school, they have the choice of doing homework or hanging out and playing games with their friends.  It's a time for them to relax after a busy and sometimes stressful day at school.  I think it is one of the most important parts of our afternoon and am on a constant search for fun, but simple, games that they can be independent with.  I can spend hours a week scouring toy stores looking for such games.  A few months ago, I was on the hunt for games that would be good for our kids and found the perfect game:  Tenzi.

Tenzi is a 2-4 person dice game (more if you have children partner up with each other).  The rules are simple and everyone can play with little support from grown-ups.  Each child or team gets 10 dice.  One of the players shouts out a number and everyone rolls their dice until they have 10 of the same number.  It's really as simple as that and the kids have a great time.  While it seems like it could get competitive, I have yet to see that amongst our group of kids.  Because it is so fast paced, it's really more about having fun and less about being the winner.  When the first person rolls 10, they are encouraged to help a peer out.  I love watching the kids play this game; there is so much laughing and cheering friends on.  A truly perfect game to encourage social skills at The Meeting House.

This is not only a great game for improving social skills, it's also perfect for using with my kids at my private practice.  Because it is usually is me and one child at the gym, I can focus more on occupational therapy goals.  I tend to have my kids play this game while lying on a net swing or lying prone on a bolster to work on increasing upper extremity and neck strength.

Here are a few of the many goals that can be worked on playing Tenzi.

*Improve visual tracking skills-a child has to carefully scan the playing space to look for the number of dots on each dice
*Increase grasp/hand strength-by having the child use just one hand (I usually encourage the child to use the hand that they write with) to pick up the dice, you can work on improving the hand muscles which is important for handwriting, cutting and other school related skills
*Improve wrist control-rolling dice is a great way to work on improving wrist control and strength.  You would be surprised how difficult something as simple (to us) as rolling dice can be for children with fine motor difficulties and strength issues.
*Improve attentional/focus skills-a child has to pay close attention to the number of dots on the dice.  If they are not paying attention, they might keep picking up dice that already have the desired number.
*Improve modulation/regulation skills-a child has to not be impulsive when rolling the dice and not just pick up the dice again before finding the desired number.  In the thick of the game and out of pure excitement, I have had to remind the kids I work with to not pick up a dice that is not theirs.
*Improve organizational skills-a child has to organize their dice in a way that they don't constantly pick up the dice that already have the desired number.  I talk to my kids about having a place to roll the dice and having a place to put the dice that have already got the correct number.  This can be VERY difficult for the children I see who have impulse control issues.

While I have played this game mostly with the school age children on my caseload, I have been thinking about ways to make this work for the younger children.  I think I am going to try using only 5 dice and help my children work on counting and 1:1 correspondence while counting.

I really do enjoy this game and think you will all love it too.  As always, check out your local toy stores to see if they carry this game (I found mine at Little Things Toy Store in Park Slope).  I always feel better buying local even if it means spending a little more than from online stores.

 I would love to hear if you have any other suggestions/adaptations for younger children.  Remember, I am only a click away and would love to hear from you all.

Oh Go, OgoSports!

Happy New Year to you all.  I hope that the holiday season treated you all well and that the new year brings you much health and happiness.

Thanks to a dear friend (Thank you Alice Szigethy), I was recently introduced to a Brooklyn based toy company.  Two common interests that Alice and I have is our love of children and finding really cool toys/products for said children.  When she told me about OgoSport, I had to check them out.  She had seen them at one of the holiday markets in New York City and was already on the prowl to sell them at her store in Lake Hopatcong, Main Lake Market.  Without even seeing their products in person, I ordered half a dozen toys online and anxiously awaited their arrival.  I am fairly certain that I played with the OGOBILD Kit much longer than my almost 3 year old daughter!  This product is reasonably priced ($16-$34 for varying sets) and very well made which is another bonus.

Being a pediatric occupational therapist, I am constantly on the search for cool toys that will work on improving fine motor skills and build hand strength.  The tricky part is finding toys that will accomplish that without being present as "work", but will be fun for the children.   If I can find toys that will do that, I see progress so much faster with them.  These OGOBILD toys do just that.  One of the things I love about them is that they are easy enough for the younger children (toddler age) to push the pieces in and out but challenging enough that the older children can still have fun and enjoy them as well.  What I love most is that while they give you ideas on what to build, you can really encourage a child to use their imagination when using the OGOBILD toys.  There is a ton of therapeutic value behind these toys and I can't wait to start using them with my kids at work.

What will OGOBILD toys work on?

*Increase grasp strength and in-hand manipulation skills-encourages using a fine pincer grasp which helps in improving strength and being better able to use your hands.
*Improve eye-hand coordination-being able to put the pieces together
*Improve bilateral coordination -must use two hands to hold the pieces in order to put them together
*Improve visual motor/perceptual skills-being able to follow the step by step picture directions; finding the right pieces when all spread out
*Improve attention-by adding more pieces to a project, you can increase how long they attend to the task at hand
*Improves motor planning, sequencing and organizational skills-being able to follow the steps accurately and putting things into order will help with improving a child's ability to sequence and organize themselves for successful completion of the task at hand
*Facilitate imagination skills-once the project is complete, I would have a child tell a story about their finished product.  Does it have a name?  Where does it live?  Build more characters and create a story.
*Improve social skills/ability to work with a friend-have children who struggle with play/social skills, work with a partner to complete a project.  A grownup can supervise, but should really stand back as much as possible in order to let the children resolve conflicts.
*Improve confidence and self-esteem-when a child is able to complete a task, especially one that might be a bit more challenging, it builds confidence and encourages them to try new and even more difficult things.  I love seeing a child's face when they have accomplished something they thought impossible.  And what happens after that is always amazing!  They are more willing to try new things with less encouragement from a grownup.

Check these toys out....I know they won't disappoint!  I would be interested in hearing feedback from all of you what your children think of them.  Maybe even share some pictures!  As always, I am just a click away if you want to email me with any specific questions or thoughts.

I am really excited to take my blog to the next level this year.  I have a lot of things to share with you all and hope that my ideas help your child or the children you work with become more confident with themselves.