One Bead at a Time

When my daughter was coming up with her list for Santa Claus last year, she kept this arts and crafts kit she had seen at Toys R Us.  She couldn't tell me much about it but said they had all kinds of beads that you could spray together to make animals and other things.  She was so excited but I had no idea what she was talking about.  When she unwrapped her Beados machine from her babysitter, I though she might explode with happiness.  I, on the other hand, was scared at first and just imaged these little beads spilling and going all over the place.  I also didn't see how Quinn would be able to complete this particular art activity without me helping her for almost the whole thing.  There were some tears (by both of us at one point), but once we successfully finished our first Beado project, we felt really good and excited to make more.  As an occupational therapist, I couldn't help but thinking about how great this particular product would be for some of the kids I work with.

For those of you who haven't heard of them, Beados and Aquabeads are small, colorful beads that stick together when sprayed with water.  They are two different brands of a pretty similar product but do exactly the same thing.  Each kit comes with several templates, a work palette, hundreds of different colored beads and a pen/wand that you use to put the beads into place.  My daughter has this work station kind of thing that comes with a base, a storage spot on the top for all the beads and a special pen that helps put the colored beads into the correct place.  There are tons of different sets out there including magical creatures, foods and sea creatures.  I am a big fan of the Alpha Set by Aquabeads which I have used at work with a bunch of my kids already.  My goal is to have my kids help me make the whole alphabet and then attach magnets or velcro to them and have kids work on letter recognition and practicing spelling words and other kinds of fun alphabet games.  

Total disclosure because it wouldn't be cool of me to not share some important facts about this product.   First of all, there are a lot of tiny pieces...lots and lots of little water beads that you need in order to complete all the patterns.  If they spill, you will be stepping on them for days to come. I highly recommend that you do this at a table with good lighting.  If you have younger children, it might be best to do this with your older kids while they are doing something else because your help will likely be needed.  Secondly, you (as a parent) need to have a lot of patience as your child is completing them.  Your kid will end up getting frustrated or annoyed because it is highly likely that they will end up messing up their design before it's completed.  It may take several attempts before you figure out the best way to complete this activity.  

With all those warnings above, there are a lot more benefits to using Aquabeads or Beados and I have been using them a ton with the older kids on my caseload.  I have found that motivating my older kids to work on things that challenge them becomes increasingly more difficult and they become very good at avoiding them.  Another thing that I have found is that if there is some kind of really cool thing to take home with them and the end of a session, it makes them more excited to work harder and work through those challenges.

Here are a few occupational therapy skills that can be worked on when using Aquabeads or Beados:

Improve Fine Motor Skills-as soon as I started playing with Aquabeads and Beados with my daughter, I thought about how great it would be for those kids who need to work on improving their hand skills.  While they are definitely tricky, they are great for working on developing fine motor skills such as grasping skills.  You can use the special pen that it comes with (it's about the size of a regular pen or pencil) and encourage the children to hold it in a tripod grasp.  If you want to really challenge a kid, you can have them use their pincer grasp to pick up the small beads and place them into the palette.  For an even bigger challenge, have them pick up a few at a time and make them hold them in their palm and translate them to their fingertips as they place them in the palette.  

Improve Visual Skills-there are so many different visual skills that can be worked on while playing with Aquabeads and Beados.  First of all, you have to be able to visually track between the beads and the palette with the template under it.  You need to be able to recognize what color bead you need (some of the colors are similar) and place it where it goes.  This is also a great way to work on improving visual motor integration/eye-hand coordination.  

Improve Executive Functioning Skills-finding fun and motivating activities for my older kids can be challenging, especially for those who present with difficulties with executive functioning skills.  Aquabeads and Beados are great for working on so many of the key executive functioning skills.  For example, if you have a child who has a difficult time with planning and prioritizing, you can talk to them about how they want to complete their picture.  Do they want to place the beads into the palette row by row or complete one color at a time?  Do they want to place the beads in from top to bottom or from left to right?  Make the child come up with a game plan and then have them evaluate how they did once they complete it.  Another great executive functioning skill that can be worked on is practicing how to control impulses.  So many of the kids I work with move quickly, not thinking about how those actions will effect his/her work.  Kids will learn quickly that if they move too fast, they will mess up their work and have to start over again.  When I do this with kids, I talk to them about how important it is to keep their bodies calm and in check.  These are also great for working on improving a child's attention and focus.  Depending on a child's attention span, I give them different templates to choose from.  I want them to be able to complete the project in one sitting and if it is too big, some kids won't have the attention or ability to sit still long enough for them to be successful.  I always want to set my kids up to be successful, especially with new activities, so making sure we set reasonable goals makes it more likely they will be successful.  

Improve Confidence and Self Esteem-while it is likely that your child may become frustrated during this activity, it is also highly likely that they will be so proud of their completed project that it will make them forget about how frustrated they got.  I actually just did this the other day with a little girl who had tried doing it a few days before.  Her mother said that she got so frustrated when she messed up that she ended up in tears and threw away the project.  We ended up talking about what had happened the other day and she decided she really wanted to try it and wouldn't get upset.  We came up with a plan, talked about how she needed to keep her body calm and not move too quickly and that if anything got messed up, we would fix it and move on.  We worked for a long time and when she finished it, she literally squealed with joy over her completed Shopkin Beado.  She also couldn't stop talking about how she didn't get frustrated and that she kept her body calm so it didn't get messed up while she was working on it.  

Improve Social Skills-this is one of those activities that can be done independently or with a group.  If you have a couple of super-crafty kids that you work with, you can easily have them complete a project together.  With my daughter and her friends, they take turns placing the beads into place.  They have to compromise who will go first, how many beads they get to put in, etc..  I love the language it encourages, especially if you make one of the sets with characters (we are a big fan of the Shopkins, Frozen and Hello Kitty sets).   Once they are completed, they can act out scenes and make up stories together.

Like I have mentioned, Aquabeads and Beados are not for everyone and I am very careful about who I would give them as a gift to.  If you are a crafty and patient person and love spending time with your kids doing these kinds of activities, then I highly recommend them.  If you have a child who has fine motor difficulties and resists working with you at home, then this could be a fun way to get them to do work without them realizing that they are working!  I'll admit, I find myself totally wrapped up in an Aquabeads or Beados project with my daughter and love seeing the beads come together to make something fun.

Finger Looming Good

Two summers ago, the must have toy for everyone was The Rainbow Loom.  It would sell out in stores before they even had a chance to placed on the shelves.  You would go to the beach or the pool and see gaggles of kids gathered around their looms chatting, sharing their ideas and bracelets.  It was such a phenomenon.  I wrote about it in depth in this post here (which happens to be the most viewed post of mine) which still gets hits even two years later.  While Rainbow Loom isn't as popular as it was two summers ago, I find that kids still like making them, particularly my 6-8 year old kids.

The other day, I had time to kill between clients and walked into Learning Express and saw a handful of new items. One of the things that caught my eye was the Finger Loom.  Made by the creators of the original Rainbow Loom, this kit requires no hook and bracelets are made using just your fingers.  Even though I knew how great it would be for me to have in my bag of tricks at work, I immediately thought of my 5 year old daughter.  When the Rainbow Loom craze was going on, she was a sassy 3 year old who wanted to do everything her 5 and 7 year old cousins were doing.  She was so frustrated and sad when she couldn't do it but has been asking to learn ever since.  We have tried the bigger loom, but she would give up pretty quickly.  Yesterday, I was spending the day at the beach with just her and figured this would be a fun thing to bring out and show her.  At first, she wanted me to do it for her, but I insisted she at least give it a try.  When she first started, I agreed that we could take turns making the bracelet but after just a couple of times, she took the loom and the bands and took over the bracelet making.

There are a lot of things I like about this particular loom, especially for younger kids.  While I take out the original loom quite a bit at work, I find that for my kids who lack coordination, the big size can be awkward for them to hold onto and they require more help.  I also love that this doesn't require a hook to complete the bracelet.  This allows kids to get the hang of the process of making the bracelet without worrying about manipulating the hook, especially if they are holding it the right way.  Since there are only 4 pegs, there is less for them to be distracted by and they can keep their focus on just the bands and not the rest of the loom.  For so many of my kids, this will be a great way to introduce them to Rainbow Loom bracelet making and get them motivated to be challenged and try the bigger ones once they have master the Finger Loom.

Like the original Rainbow Loom, the Finger Loom has a tremendous amount of therapeutic benefits. Some of the skills that can be worked on using the Finger Loom are:
Improve Fine Motor Skills-this bracelet maker might be small, but it it is a great way to work on improving grasping skills and in-hand manipulation skills.  From picking the bands out of the pile, to placing them on the loom to using your fingers to pull the bands off the pegs, there an endless number of skills that can be addressed.  The best part is that the kids are so engaged and motivated by the bracelet making, that they don't realize that they are actually doing work!
Improve Bilateral Coordination Skills-this is a great tool to work on improving bilateral coordination skills (the use of two hands in a coordinated manner). It is nearly impossible to be successful making a bracelet without using both hands.  My 5 year old daughter tried it and realized quickly that she needed both hands because I wasn't going to hold onto the loom for her while she made her bracelet.  Once I prompted her to hold the loom with her non-dominant hand and to do all the fine motor work with her dominant hand, she become more independent and successful.
Improve Focus and Attention/Improve Executive Functioning Skills-like the original loom, the Finger Loom is great for working on building executive functioning skills.  If you want to work on working memory, you can give a child the directions and have them either write them down or repeat them back to you or another friend.  If you want to work on organizational skills, you can have the child you are working with pick out a pattern that they must follow and get out all of the bands that they will need to complete the bracelet out before beginning.  I like to have older kids work on these more challenging activities in a room with some distractions present in order to work on being able to build their focus and ability to attend and complete tasks in a more typical environment.  It seems silly, but if they can do something like making a bracelet with distractions present, they will be more likely to complete classroom assignments.

As we head into the end of July, I know many families are getting ready to go on family vacations and are always looking for things to keep their kids occupied on long drives, dinners out or time at the beach or by the pool.  The Finger Loom is a perfect thing to pack as it is light, small and takes up very little room in a bag.  It is also very reasonably priced (you can get a party pack of 9 looms for $16 on Amazon!) so you can pick one up for all the kids and/or guests who might enjoy them.  So in addition to being a great occupational therapy tool, it can be an activity that can keep a group of kids engaged with each other and develop social skills (sharing the bands, making bracelets for each other, etc.).

Happy Looming!

One Potato, Two Potato, Mini Potatoes....SCORE!

There are some toys that will never get old.  They will get thrown in the back of a closet or put in storage for a while, but you'll never throw it away and when you take it out again, you are reminded just how great said toy is.  One of those toys for me is Mr. Potato Head.  The original one has been in every gym and school I have worked in.  While you can still get the original Mr. Potato Head in almost every toy store you walk into, you will see that there are many newer versions of this toy.  There are the princesses, Star Wars characters and several others.  One of the best parts about Mr. Potato Head is that no matter what set you have, they can be used on any potato and you can mix and match the pieces to be as creative as your child wants it to be.

Recently, one of my co-workers at Heads Up brought in these mini Marvel Mr. Potato Heads and I can't get enough of them.  I mean, the kids can't get enough of them!  First of all, they are tiny and super light-weight and a set of four potatoes with their interchangeable outfits can be thrown in a bag for those of you who do any kind of traveling therapy.  Secondly, it doesn't matter what the kids age or gender is, all of them love playing with them.  After I purchased the mini potatoes, I spent some time on Amazon and discovered that there are a ton of these mini potatoes, including Transformers and a bunch of other super heroes.  It's amazing how motivated the kids are to use these mini Potato

Heads and how many ways they can be used in a therapeutic setting.  They are great for working on problem solving and improving organizational skills.  Each potato comes with three pieces:  a helmet/mask, arms and legs.  It's important that the kids put the pieces on in a certain order or they won't work (the arms are held in place by the legs so it is important that they put the arms on first).  Some of the kids get frustrated when first using them but it's a good chance to work on encouraging kids to learn how to ask for help and work on improving their frustration tolerance.  To work on improving organizational skills, I will dump out all the pieces and have the kids sort them into characters.

It's been really fun to see how all the different therapists in my gym have been using these in their treatment.  Since I work with two physical therapists, I've noticed that they are using them in obstacle courses....walking across balance beams, jumping on a hopscotch board, etc..  In my treatment, I have been using them while having kids on a slowly moving swing (to work on improving trunk control/strength).  I have also put them on a large therapy ball to work on improving trunk strength by making them reach backwards and then pulling themselves back up (with assistance from me) to a sitting position.  I've also put the pieces at the top of a ramp that they have to climb up and then crash into a big pillow before putting the pieces onto the potato.

In addition to what I have already mentioned, the mini Potato Head toys can work on the following occupational therapy goals:

Improve Body Awareness-one of the things I like to use Mr. Potato Head with is to work on improving body awareness.  Parents of typically developing children may not understand just how difficult it might be for children with sensory and body awareness issues to be able to learn body parts.  Use Mr. Potato Head to get kids to begin understanding what body parts look like and where they are on a body.  For kids who are struggling with this, I will have them put the pieces in, point them out on me and then show them in a mirror where they are on their own body.
Increase Grasp Strength/Manipulation Skills-the pieces are tiny enough that a child can work on improving manipulation skills.  And while the pieces aren't hard to put in, they do require that you use some strength to push them in and take them out.  

Improve Bilateral Coordination-it doesn't matter what size or version of Mr. Potato Head you have, it's a great toy to work on improving bilateral coordination skills.  It's nearly impossible to put the pieces in only using one hand.  If you are working on developing a hand preference, encourage the kids to hold the potato with their non-dominant hand and use their dominant hand to pick up the pieces, push them into place and then to remove them.  If you have a child who struggles with crossing midline, be sure to put the pieces in a place where they are forced to cross midline to reach for them.
Improve Social Skills-if you work with small groups of kids, these are a great toy to use with them.  They can build the potatoes and then do some role playing with them.  It's a good opportunity for working on turn taking, compromising and being a flexible friend.  For example, one child might want to put all of the characters back together as they are meant to be and another one might want to mix and match the pieces to make their own superheroes.  

One thing that I have seen but haven't tried (yet) is to use Playdoh to make your own potatoes and then take the pieces and put them onto it.  This is great for working on building up hand strength and bilateral coordination skills as well.  I definitely plan on trying this with some of my kids next week!  One thing I would like to try with some of my older kids who are working on handwriting is have them make their own superhero mixing all the pieces up.  They will have to come up with a name, a super power and then write a short story about them.

Those of you who read my blog know that when I find something great, be it an app, toy, activity book, etc., I must share it.  My favorite thing about these mini Potato Heads are they are not that expensive and can work on a ton of therapeutic goals in a way that the kids don't even know they are working.  They are so motivated by these toys that the work is truly hidden from them.  It's a real bonus for everyone involved.  With summer coming up and lots of people traveling, they are a great, light weight toy that can be thrown into a bag without taking up space.  They can be good for the car or plane or whatever mode of transportation you may be using.

If you are looking for your own mini Potato Heads, you can find them on Amazon.com.  I have also found a few of the Transformer ones in CVS.  I know that you can find them in many of the big box stores like Walmart and Target.

If you have any questions or comments, I'm always a click away and love hearing from you all!

Avokiddo Apps=A+ Apps

One of things I love most is finding a good app. Even better is when the design studio who created that app has several wonderful apps to choose from.  Two of my favorites, Toca Boca and Pepi Play, come up with new apps all the time that always blow my mind and I have blogged about several of their games.  Recently, I discovered a new studio and I can't get enough of their apps.  More importantly, the kids I work with are loving all the new apps on my iPad!

Avikiddo is an award-winning creative studio that specializes in creating quality educational apps for children.  They believe that when somebody enjoys something, they will connect with it in a way that learning will take place more naturally.  And I LOVE their philosophy (which I am sharing directly from their website):  Our philosophy is that education should be more than teaching math and literacy.  It should provide a challenging and stimulating environment where children obtain knowledge through active exploration and interaction.  An environment where they can use their imagination to reveal their true inner self; a world infused with purity and creativity.  We design our games with love and affection, truly believing in these principles.

I was originally drawn to the Avokiddo apps because of the awesome graphics.  There was something unique and creative about it that I hand't really seen before and thought I would check it out.  My fiIt's impossible to choose just one favorite of the Avokiddo apps so I have decided to write a little something about each.

Beck and Bo-a delightful and incredibly interactive app that takes two kids, Beck and Bo, on an adventure through 12 different scenes.  I would highly recommend this app for speech therapists and special educators who are working on building vocabulary.  The scenes vary from a day at the beach to building a snowman.  Each scene starts of pretty empty and it is up to the child to grab different objects falling from the sky and place them where they want in the scene.  For example, the winter scene starts off with snowy hill and you have to grab different parts of a snowman and put it together, including a hat and scarf.  From an occupational therapy perspective, this app is great for working on visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  It is also great for working on improving executive functioning skills such as attention, focus and organizational skills.  If you are working on improving grasping skills, you can always use a stylus to encourage a proper grasp on writing instruments.  Want to work on increasing upper body strength?  Have them play this app while lying prone either on a bolster or on the net swing.  They will be having so much fun that they won't realize how much they are "working" on getting stronger!

Avokiddo Emotions-this was my first Avokiddo app.  I was running a social schools group for preschoolers and we were focusing on emotions with the kids.  The iPad always motivates my kiddos and I did a search and found this.  It was a huge hit with the kids.  One of my favorite things about this app is how it allowed the kids to freely interact with different characters and then generate conversation about how they reacted.  It allowed them to really look at the animal's faces and recognize what different emotions looked like.  For example, the characters ears flatten and droop down when they are sad or they would jump up when they were startled by a loud noise.  For generalization purposes, we then would act out different emotions with the kids after we played the app.   This is a great app for working on speech and language skills and making kids more aware of social cues.

Thinkrolls-I just recently discovered this app and am loving both the original and the newest version which was just released on Wednesday!  Great for older preschoolers and school age kids.  It's a highly addictive game that has kids roll a variety of adorable characters through mazes.  While going through the maze, the encounter different challenges that requires them to think about how to use them.  They also unlock new characters which I have found makes for a really excited kid!  For example, as they are rolling through one of the earlier mazes, they run into a blocked path by a cracker that they must eat to keep going through the maze.  As you go through the levels, you may be blocked by a balloon that must be popped by the spikes on the wall or drop ice cubes on a fire so they can pass it.  One thing I really like about this game is that it is great for kids as young as 4 and as old as 9.  It's great for working on visual motor/perceptual skills like tracking and scanning.  Most importantly, I love how it works on problem solving and critical thinking.  It makes kids have to slow down and think about what they are going to do in order to pass the obstacles.  As they move through the mazes, they start to combine the different obstacles so the kids really have to think about what each thing does and make sure they do it in the right order in order to pass the obstacle.  This is a great app to work on improving social skills; you can have kids work together to talk about how to  overcome the challenges and take turns moving through each level.
Thinkrolls 2, the new version of Thinkroll does not disappoint.  It's the same concept of rolling through a series of mazes, but there are new challenges and characters introduced. Like the original Thinkrolls, kids are required to roll their characters through mazes, using problem solving and critical thinking to figure out how to overcome challenges.   Both games offer two levels of play, easy and hard, that makes this great for children of all ages.  Even adults will have fun playing this game and will find themselves stumped at times as they the game becomes increasingly more challenging.

Avokiddo ABC Ride-one of my absolute favorite alphabet apps out there!  Like all the other apps already discussed, it is incredibly interactive and engaging making learning super fun for the kids playing it.  The game starts off by choosing your character, Beck or Bo, and putting them on a bike and have them go on an alphabet adventure (you can go in order or have it be random).  Each letter has a mini-game to get the kids engaged and helps them associate a letter with a word.  For example, water the flowers to find the F or put the robot back together for the letter R.  My favorite is C where you have to cram the candy the hippo is dreaming about into his mouth.  Not only are the kids learning about the letter, they are working on following directions, matching pictures and maintaining their attention/focus.  Once the child has completed each mini-game, a whole word will show up on top, the letters will drop and the child has to match/drag the letters back into place.  This app is great for working on more than just learning letters.  It works on improving visual motor/perceptual skills, eye-hand coordination, following verbal directions and improving focus and attentional skills.  For my older kids who are working on handwriting, I have them write the words before they move onto the next letter for an added step.  

Do you have any other design studios you really love?  Any games that you want to recommend to me or my readers?  I am always on the lookout for good apps, especially ones that will work on a ton of skills, motivate the kids I work with to learn and ones that can encourage social skills at the same time.  I would love to hear from you and am always a click away!  In the meantime, I hope you and your littles enjoy these apps!

Game On!

Last week I talked about how I was pretty much bored of all of the apps and toys I have been using since September.  It's not that they aren't fun or have lost their therapeutic value, it was just that I needed a change and something new to motivate the kids I work with.  I am pretty sure I heard some sighs and saw some rolling of the eyes in the last few weeks as I pulled about Barnyard Bingo and Whac-A-Mole!  I spent some quality time with Amazon and found a couple of great games by Educational Insights that have been a hit with the kids at work.  

First of all, I'd like to take a moment to talk about this company.  There isn't one thing that they have created that I haven't loved.  All of their games are fun, motivating and incredibly well made which means that they can handle the wear and tear of lots of kids handling and playing with them at the gym I work with.  As an occupational therapist, I adore that the games all have a fine motor component to them and can be graded to make it appropriate for pretty much any child on my caseload.  I don't have any of their actual toys, but as I was searching through their collection, I found many things that I will be adding to my collection very soon.  For example, check out these two drill sets:  Design & Drill Dazzling Creation Studios and Design & Drill BrightWorks.  I know a lot of kids who would flip out over these!

The two games that I picked up this week have been a hit amongst all the kids I have tried them with.  They have provided a just right challenge while working on a lot of different occupational therapy goals.  

Crazy Cereal-this electronic game is a fast-paced, exciting 2-player game that requires kids to match colors.  The game consists of 3 bowls (two small bowls for each kid to collect their cereal pieces and one large one to be placed in the middle for all the cereal pieces).  Each child grabs a bowl and a spoon, turns their spoon on and let the cereal grabbing begin.  The spoon lights up different colors and the child is expected to pick up whatever color it flashes one at a time.  Every once in a while, the spoon goes crazy and flashes all different colors at which point they can pick up two pieces of any colored cereal at a time.  I have modified the game for younger kids by not having them turn the spoon on (it moves pretty quickly) but by calling out the color that I want them to pick up instead.  Great game for working on color recognition and matching.  In addition that the aforementioned, Crazy Cereal works on the following occupational therapy skills:

Improve Bilateral Coordination Skills-great for working on using two hands in a coordinated manner.  As the kids are collecting the cereal, they need to hold onto the spoon with one hand and the bowl with the other.  

Improve Fine Motor Skills-once the kids have completed the game and have collected as many pieces of cereal as possible, I like to have them put the cereal back in the big bowl using a pair of Zoo Sticks.  This is great for working on grasp strength and manipulation skills.  

Improve Eye-Hand Coordination-kids must look at their spoon and watch for what color it will turn before picking up their cereal.  I have to remind the kids quite often to look at the spoon after they collect each piece of cereal as the spoon changes color pretty quickly.

Improve Executive Functioning Skills-this game requires a tremendous amount of focus and attention in order to be successful.  If they aren't keeping their eyes on the spoon in between turns, they will often pick up the wrong color.  They also have to remember to pace themselves and only pick up one (or two) pieces of cereal at a time.  This requires them to regulate and be in control of their actions, which can be quite challenging when kids are excited and really want to win!  For older kids who are working on sequencing and organizing their work, you can have them read the directions and then tell the other kids the rules of the game.  

Improves Social Skills-while this game can be played independently but is way more fun playing with a friend.  It works on promoting good sportsmanship, especially learning how to be a good winner and loser!

Pancake Pileup-when I saw this game, I was sold by the fact that it was a physical game that got kids up and moving around the gym.  This has been a long, cold and snowy winter and so many of the kids I work with who benefit from running around outside have spent a lot more time sitting inside.  This game is not only great for occupational therapy but also for improving gross motor skills.  It is a fun movement game that has kids copy stacks of different flavored pancakes shown on a card.  Using a spatula, kids have to pick up the correct pancake and walk them over to their plate.  The child who finishes theirs first without making a mistake is the winner.  Depending on the age/skill level of the children playing, you can have them each pick up their own card or have them do the same card.  This is another one of those great games that can be adapted to be appropriate for all children.   I also love it because it can be done in a group as small as two but can also be done in classrooms or small social skills groups.  In addition to what has already mentioned, Pancake Pileup can work on the following occupational therapy goals:

Improve Eye-Hand Coordination-kids need to use eye-hand coordination as they scan the pile of pancakes for the correct pancake, as they pick up the pancake with the spatula and also when they are placing it on the plate.  

Improve Motor Planning-I've really enjoyed watching the physical therapists I work with play this game with the children they are working with.  They have been using it with just one child so they can be a little more creative.  While this game works on balance and coordination, it can also be played while doing a simple obstacle course.  Or you can play it while having a child walk across a balance beam or while stepping on stepping stones.  The kids have to be mindful of the obstacles that have been created.  

Improve Focus and Attention-the point of the game is to get your pile of pancakes stacked up as quickly as possible without dropping them from your spatula.  Kids need to focus on maintaining their attention to what they are doing because if they start looking around and drop the pancake off the spatula, they will have to start again.  

Improve Social Skills-great game for working on building sportsmanship, especially how to be a good winner or loser.  If playing in a larger group, you can work on teaching kids how to be part of a team, how to cheer their friends on and how to build up tolerance for others when they mess up. If you have a small group of kids, this is a great game to do relay-race style to work on taking turns and work as a team.  

It's so great when you find games that can be used in both therapeutic and social environments.  These are just two of many of the great games by Educational Insights.   When parents ask me for suggestions on what they can do with their children at home, I'm always happy to give them games and activities that can work on achieving our goals in a fun and stress-free way.  I love when kids are so comfortable with a game that they are able to tell the rest of their family how to play it.

Do you have any great new games that you like to recommend to families?  I'm still on the lookout for a few more new and exciting things to do at work and would especially love some more games that get the kids up and moving since this crazy weather has kept a lot of kids stuck inside for days on end!  I'm always 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!

This Tree Doesn't Need To Be Watered!

One of my favorite things to do is re-discover a favorite toy or game at work.  I'm sure you toy lovers (aka hoarders!) know what I am talking about.  You play a game multiple times a day with all different kinds of kids.  These are the games that are fun for the kids but also work on occupational therapy goals in a way that makes it not seem like work.  They are often simple and don't require a lot of reading to figure out how to play the game properly.  They are the games that rules can be changed and adapted based on a child's goals and needs.

Tricky Tree is one of those games for me.  I had lent it out a while ago and it was just returned to me a few weeks ago.  As soon as I got it back, I felt as though I had been reunited with an old friend.  We hadn't been together for a very long time but we picked up just where we left off!  Even better, it's a new game for so many of my kids at work and they are loving it!

Tricky Tree is a great game for working on increasing grasp strength and manipulation skills.  The game is made up of leaves (clothespins) and branches and the goal is to make as big of a tree as you can before it falls over.  It is a great game for working on increasing grasp strength, improving in-hand manipulation skills and problem solving skills.  It can be used with preschoolers but also keep my older school age children motivated.  It can be played individually or with a group of children.   Best of all, it is a simple game and a ton of time does't have to be wasted explaining the rules of play.  The point of the game is simple:  try and build a tree using as high as you can without letting the tree fall over.  You take the clothespins and put them on the tree branches.  It requires a child to think about which side of the tree needs more leaves so it won't fall over.  For my younger children, I will work with them and figure out the best place for them to put the leaf.  For my older children who need to work on problem solving and organizational skills, I will talk to them about how to keep the tree balanced before they begin playing.  We talk about what happens if they put too many on one side of the tree and not enough on the other.  I will talk to them about balance and will sometimes try and compare it to their bodies....when they are carrying a super heavy backpack, they might feel like they will fall over.   I try and give them as few clues as possible while they are playing and hope that they will take their time and really think through what they are doing.

In addition to what I have mentioned above, the following occupational therapy goals can be addressed:

Improve Grasping Skills-this game was made for working on improving grasping skills.  Small clothespins to manipulate that act as leaves.  You need to use a pincer or three finger grasp to open the clothespins to not only put them on the branches, but to take them off at the end of the game.  For my younger children, I don't enforce the pincer grasp but for my older children, I always remind them to use the proper grasp.
Improve Bilateral Coordination Skills-Tricky Tree is great for working on encouraging bilateral coordination skills.  While one can try to play this game using one hand, they will have a truly difficult time being successful.  As you can see in the pictures, you need to pinch the clothespin with one hand and hold the tree steady with your other hand.
Improve Organizational Skills-if you have a child who needs to work on motor planning and organizational skills, this is a perfect game for them.  I like to have my kids sort the pieces into piles before beginning play to work on organizational skills.  All the leaves go in one pile, the two-point branches in another and the 3-point branches in a third pile.  I find that the more organized their work space is, the more organized their actual work will be.   To work on increasing hand strength, use a pair of zoo sticks to sort the different pieces into piles.
Increase Upper Extremity Strength-for older children who also need to work on building upper body strength, have them play this game while lying prone on the net swing.  You can place the clothespin leaves and the branches on the opposite side of where they are building so they have to walk on their hands more.  I always find that kids are more likely to spend more time on this swing when engaged in a fun and motivating activity.
Improve Social Skills-while this game can be played with just one child, it is even better when played with peers.  Part of being a good friend is not only being able to play games with peers, but learning how to be a good sport when you win or lose a game.  If you have enough kids (I would suggest 4 for this), you can put the kids in two teams and the kids have to work together to figure out how to put the tree together without it falling over.  They can work on problem solving together to figure out the best option for their moves so the tree doesn't topple over.

I love these simple, non-battery operated toys and feel like they end up being the most played with toys in my closet.  Some of my favorite games are beginning to change (and not necessarily for the better), so I love that games like Tricky Tree that won't ever change.  And if taken care of properly, it can last forever.

What are your favorite non-battery operated therapy games?  I would love to hear from all of you about what you are playing and more importantly, what games your kids love to play with.  I am only a click away and love hearing from you all!

Pinch Me! These Princesses are Perfect!

One of the benefits of having my own child is discovering all the new toys out there and getting to use them first hand.  I happen to have a kid who is obsessed with princesses.  I have learned from personal experience that even if you don't push the princess thing on your little girl, it still happens somehow.  Not that I am complaining.  I love playing with Quinn and all her princesses and watching her girly girl personality grow bigger with each passing day.

A few months ago, Quinn and I were hanging out with good friends and she discovered Caraline's princess dolls.  Princess dolls that we somehow didn't have or know anything about.  Somehow we have gone through her short life without having knowing anything about the MagiClip dolls by Mattel.  They are indeed magical.  Especially if you are a 4 year old girl (or the mother of a 4 year old girl and an occupational therapist).  Fast forward a couple of weeks and Quinn gets these magical dolls for her birthday and they may or may not have been her favorite toy.  And she may or may not have played with them for hours.  The truth is is that the more I played with them with her, the more I realized just how awesome these simple toys are.  The best part is that there are so many occupational therapy goals that can be worked on when playing with the MagiClip Dolls.  I am now using them during my sessions with many of my kids as are the physical therapists I work with!  I like to place the kids on a large therapy ball and work on core strengthening by having them lie back and reach for one doll and a dress.  It's a great way to get some of the kids who avoid the more physical work to be motivated to participate in the task.

The MagiClip Dolls are so simple yet so much fun.  They are a huge hit with any princess lover of any age.  My older nieces love these dolls as much as Quinn does!  Each doll has a dress (or two depending on which set you get) that is removed and put back on by pinching the bottom of the dress.  It is kind of like a clothes pin in the way it opens/closes.  The doll slips out and can easily be switched into one of the other princesses dresses.  Take a look at the pictures to the sides to see how they work.

There are several occupational therapy goals that can be worked on when playing with the MagiClip Dolls.  Here are just a few:
Improve Bilateral Coordination Skills-these highly motivating toys are great for working on improving bilateral coordination skills.  In order for these to work, a child is required to use two hands.  They must hold the doll with one hand and pinch the bottom of the dresses with their other in order to remove the dresses and then to put them on again.
Improve Hand Strength/Grasping Skills-these dolls are great for working on improving both hand strength and grasping skills.  I make sure that my kids use their "pinchers" when opening the dresses to pull the dolls out.  Many of my kids try and use their whole hold to open them, but if necessary, I will do hand over hand modeling to get them to use three fingers only. For the typically developing child, the opening/pinching of the dresses isn't too difficult but for those children who low muscle tone or decreased strength in their hands, it can be a challenge and can really work on improving their grasp strength.  
Improve Organizational/Attentional/Problem Solving Skills-I love that a child really has to focus and maintain their attention on the dolls when they are putting the dresses on the doll.  There is a definite front and back and the doll won't slip into the dress if it is on backwards.  For some of the dolls like Rapunzel or Aurora, a child has to have patience and pay attention that the dress goes under their long hair.  Some of the kids I work with get very frustrated with this and need encouragement to focus and keep at it until it is on all the way.  Once I get them to slow down and focus, they are able to problem solve to figure out the best way to get the dress on the doll.
Improve Visual Perceptual/Matching Skills-at home, my daughter can play with these dolls and dresses for hours and hours.  She loves putting different dresses on the dolls and then setting them for a ball or a party.  For my kids at work, I like to let them play around but also try and make these as therapeutic as possible.  For the starter set (7 princesses each with their own dress), each princess has shoes/undergarments (I call it a bathing suit) that matches the color of the dress that they are supposed to wear.  I work on improving matching skills and color recognition by encouraging the children to find the right doll to go with the right dress.  This sounds easy but can be complicated for some children.

I don't have many complaints about the MagiClip Dolls.  My only major complaint is that there just isn't enough of a variety of them and that they are getting harder and harder to find these days!  I love me some princesses but would love to see some of the other characters be represented with this toy.  How about some characters for my "I am a boy and don't play with princesses" kids on my caseload????  I would love to see some of the other Disney characters represented as well.  One of the other things I really like about these dolls, especially compared to other princess doll sets, is that the sets just come with a doll and dress.  There aren't a million little accessories to go along with them and potentially lose.

Every once in a while, I have been able to find these magical dolls at some of my local toy stores but they are hard to find. I have been able to buy big sets here on Amazon.com and seen some of the individual sets during my Target runs.  Keep your eyes open at your local toy stores to see if you can find them there.  It's no secret that whenever I can, I like to support my local small businesses.  Recently, I have been able to buy some of the dolls at Little Things Toy Store in Park Slope and at Toy and Stationary World on 72nd (between Broadway and Columbus) on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Are there any toys like this that any of you have used with your kids at home or at work that you can share with me and my readers?  I would love to hear from you and am just a click away!

Have a Happy Friday you princess loving people!

Pinch It To Believe How Great It Is

When I think about how much has changed since I became an occupational therapist over ten years ago, I think about the iPad and how this piece of electronics has added to my practice.  While I know there are many of you therapists out there who don't use iPads or technology in their work, I know there are just as many of you who do.  I make a concerted effort to not rely on it too much and be sure to use it minimally and only for certain kids.  My goal is to use it as a reward or to work on skills that may be more challenging and need more motivation to spend the necessary time on it to make a difference in his/her skills.

Every once in a while I stumble on an app and get so excited.  I belong to this awesome group on Facebook for pediatric occupational therapists and it's been such a great resource.  I've used it to find clients who are moving and need to find therapists in their new town or to helpf find specialty therapists for clients I currently work with.  The best thing though is that we are able to bounce ideas and suggestions off of each other and because of it I have discovered some great toys, activities and apps from these other great therapists.  One of the things I have recently discovered is the app Pinch Peeps by Everplay Interactive.  While the game is simple (in theory), there are so many occupational goals that can be addressed during play.

The point of the game is to pinch two similar creatures together before they explode.  It sounds easy, but it is a fast moving game and it moves faster and faster so focus and attention is crucial.  Before the iPad, I had a hard time working on this skill without it being boring for the kids.  How long could you ask a kid to pick up small beads from a table or to pull little pegs out of a pretend birthday cake made out of putty or playdough?  For me, it wasn't long before the kids got bored and wanted to move on or would just avoid this activity entirely.  A few months ago, I blogged about Dexteria Jr..  This app was a huge hit with my kids from the beginning and continues to motivate them to work on their fine motor skills.  I am sure there a bunch of apps out there I don't know about (if you know of them, please tell me!!) and Pinch Peeps seems to be one of those I will be relying on all year long and telling parents about.  I try and use this game right before a handwriting activity as I find that once you warm up those hand muscles through games like Pinch Peeps, the hand is warmed up to hold a writing instrument.

A child must find the matching peeps and pinch them together.
Starts off easy and gets increasingly more challenging

Here are just a few of the occupational therapy goals that can be addressed using the Pinch Peeps app:
Improve Pinching Skills-clearly, if you want a game to work on improving and encouraging pinching (a crucial prerequisite skill for graphomotor skills), this is your game.  The whole purpose of the game is to work on pinching skills by finding the matching peeps and pinching them together. As you get better and better, there will be challenges such as pushing the bombs away from each other with your fingers instead of pinching them together.
Improve Eye Hand Coordination/Improve Visual Perceptual Skills-in addition to pinching, you have to be sure that you find the matching "peeps" so it makes this app perfect for targeting visual perceptual and matching skills.  At first, there is only one pair to match but as you go on, you get more creatures to match at a time.  Eventually, there are challenges (avoiding bombs, obstacles and such) which require you to really focus on the visual cues on the screen.  And this is great for working on eye-hand coordination skills because you have to scan the screen to find the matches and then use your hands in order to pinch the matches together.

In addition to the regular part of the game, there are
challenges such as these throughout

Improve Focus and Attention Skills-one of the great things about Pinch Peeps is that it moves quickly which requires a child to really focus and pay attention to what is happening on the screen.  If they aren't paying careful attention, they will match the wrong peeps and they will lose a life.  If they don't pay attention to the obstacles that are placed on the screen (bombs need to be pinched away from each other or a bar will show up in the middle of the screen and you have to pinch the bombs together by avoiding touching the line)

Improve Upper Extremity Strength-I love killing two birds with one stone.  Whenever it is appropriate, I will put my kids in the super hero (aka net swing) to play with the iPad.  Sometimes my kids tolerance for lying in the prone position is minimal and it requires a tremendous amount of encouragement from me for them to stay in the swing for even a minute.  Give them something interesting and motivating, and I can get them to stay on that swing for ages.  They don't even realize they are tired or how hard they are working because they are so focused on the game.  Pinch Peeps is a perfect game to distract kids from doing other things.

While you have to pinch the peeps together, you need to
pay attention to the bombs and pinch them apart
before they explode

Executive Functioning/Organizational Skills-for the older kids on my caseload, organization skills is something that I try and hide into our work.  I feel like when I am all on top of them and forcing them to do it, it becomes more of an argument or stress inducing thing.  With this game, I have my kids watch me play the game for a little while and tell them to pay close attention to what I am doing because I will have them tell me the purpose of the game and the instructions based on what I am doing.  This helps them organize themselves before they begin the game; helps them regulate their actions and prepares them for success with the game.  It's also a great way to see how well a child can understand visual cues/directions (this game doesn't give verbal directions, instead there is a little video (that I mute) to watch that gives you all the directions.  Depending on the child, I will have them repeat part or all of what they saw back to me.

I am loving this game and love that it is sold (and by sold, I mean it is free!  You just have to deal with this annoying thing before you start the game of a popup ad.  Be sure to "x" out of the ad and avoid a trip to the app store before each game begins.) as a game for everyone, not kids with special needs.  I'm not gonna lie...I have found myself playing this between clients and have fun with it.  I am pretty sure if I were to put this on my niece's iPods, they would love it too and they are typically developing 5 and 8 year olds).  There is enough of a challenge that it can be played by everyone.  I love the added dimension of matching the peeps so a child can work on more than one skill at a time.

If any of you are looking for a new (and cheap) game to add to your iPad repertoire, Pinch Peeps is a perfect one.  It offers the just right challenge that I am sure you are all looking for when working with your kids but allows the kids to have a good time at the same time.  No matter how great an app is, if the kids don't have fun while playing it, then it just won't have the lasting power if there isn't an element of fun to it.

I would love hear from you guys and your thoughts on this game.  Does anyone have any other games similar to this that might encourage pinching and other fine motor skills like Pinch Peeps and Dexteria Jr.?  I am just a click away and looking forward to hearing from you with other fine motor app suggestions.