Luck of the Crafty Irish

As a child, I grew up being told that there was no day more important for us irish than St. Patrick's day.  There was always a special treat for me and my sisters and there is even a fun family story about our father decorating our house from top to bottom after my sister complained that we never did anything to celebrate Valentine's Day!  As a pediatric therapist, I like to have a few good crafts up my sleeves for the big day.  Here are a few that I will be doing with my kids at work over the next few days.

Shamrock Dot Craft-this is a very simple and quick project for children of all ages.  All you need is a cardboard shamrock that you can most likely find at any party or card store.  Take the shamrock and tape it onto a piece of white paper.  You can either use green washable paint or a green stamp pad to make the outline.  Depending on the kid you are working with (do they freak out when their hands get dirty???), you can use their finger or an eraser on a pencil as their "stamp". Once they are done stamping around the shamrock, and it dries a little, they can peel off the shamrock template and they will have a big white space in that shape.   I prefer to find a larger shamrock to work around so that kids can then write about what they feel lucky for.

Shamrock Marble Painting-I am a big fan of marble painting in any form.  Great for working on bilateral coordination, eye-hand coordination and focus and attention.  It's also a great activity for kids who may be more sensitive to getting their hands messy.  You can either find pre-cut shamrocks or cut one out on white paper or cardstock, tape them to the bottom of a cardboard box or a large tupperware that you are okay with getting dirty.  Choose some different shades of green paint and squirt a little of each into the box, throw about 1/2 dozen marbles into the box and let them roll away to make a fun pattern all over the shamrock.  If you are working with a kid over a couple of days, you can have them make the shamrock one day and write a message on the back when they come back.

Marshmallow Shamrock Stamping-if you are looking for something super easy and really fun, this might be your project.  All you need are a bag of large marshmallows, some green paint, a q-tip and some white paper.  Show the kids how to make a shamrock by placing three circle near each other, take a q-tip and have them make a stem and voila...you've got yourself a St. Patrick's Day clover.
*a real challenge for older kids would be to have them use the smaller marshmallows to make their shamrocks.  Makes them use those little hand muscles to a different level.  Plus, you can have the kids make cards for their loved ones either telling them what they feel lucky for or have them copy some Irish Proverbs onto a card.

Rainbow Bracelets or Necklaces-St. Patrick's Day isn't just about shamrocks, it's about rainbows and pots of gold.  A very simple, colorful and tasty activity is to make rainbow bracelets using Fruit Loops and pipe cleaners.  This is a fun way to work on improving bilateral coordination, visual motor, grasping, fine motor and sequencing skills.  Depending on the age of the children you are working with, you can have the colors all sorted out or make them sift through a bowl of Lucky Charms as they string the cereal onto the pipe cleaner.  You can decide on a necklace or bracelet based on the child's age, skill level and attention span.

Fruit Loop Rainbow and Pot of Gold-for some of my younger kids who are quite ready for shamrock making and stringing beads, I am going to use the Fruit Loops to make a rainbow.  It's an easy activity but works on so many great fine motor, visual motor and eye-hand coordination goals.  I found this free template that I will be using with the kids.  Again, depending on the child's age and skill level, I will either have all the colors pre-sorted for them or have them sift through and find the color they need.

While many of the kids I work with aren't Irish, it doesn't mean we can't use the day to do a fun craft and think about why we think we are lucky.  Kids also like any reason or holiday to be able to make something and take it home to give to those they love.  Do you have a work or family favorite St. Patrick's Day craft?  I would love to see some of the amazing things you do with your kids!  I am always a click away and love hearing from you.  And for those of you who celebrate....May The Luck of the Irish be with you always!

Let's Get Cooking!

It's totally crazy to think about how quickly this summer is going.  I don't know about you, but even though we are having a lot of fun and doing lots of things with our own daughter, my husband and I are sometimes trying to figure out what to do with her.  We are getting to that point, especially these last few days, that it's so hot out that we don't even really have the motivation to go outside.  So even though there are several weeks left of summer, it is now it is time to get creative and keep us all from going to stir crazy.

One thing that brings me more joy than pretty much anything is baking.  It is something that connects me to my father and acts as my personal therapy.  As soon was Quinn was old enough, I started having her bake with me.  As a matter of fact, one of my favorite gifts for her was her first apron (thank you Carrie Cook!  Quinn still wears it when baking all these years later).  It started off simple and I would have her pour all the ingredients in for me.  As she got older and could be more involved, I'd let her do more.  The day I let her crack her own eggs was a pretty exciting day for her.  Baking with Quinn has been something that has not only been something we could do together to bond over, but has been a fun way to teach her new things.

Cooking and baking with your kids can be a wonderful activity, especially in air conditioning on these super hot days.  When parents are asking me for things to do over the summer to keep their kids up to speed with their occupational therapy goals, baking is one of the first things I suggest.  Not only is it fun, it can be tremendously therapeutic. Additionally, introducing kids to cooking/baking early on in life makes them more likely to take risks when eating and try new foods.  There are also a lot of ways to sneak in opportunities for learning when baking.  For example, if your child is working on learning their letters and numbers, they can make cookies using alphabet or number cookie cutters. If they need to work on building up strength, you can do it while stirring ingredients.

**before I begin the next half of my post, I am going to admit I am much more of a baker than a cooker.  So going forward, when I say baking, it represents both baking AND cooking***

Some of the therapeutic benefits of baking with your kids are:
Improve Upper Body and Hand Strength-baking is a great way to work on this skill in a fun and sneaky way.  Stirring the ingredients, especially as they start blending all together, can become increasingly difficult and require a lot of strength and endurance.  When baking for your family, I suggest that parents let their kids roll up their sleeves and mix with their hands instead of a spoon or a spatula....this really helps with building up the strength in those small muscles of the hands.
Improve Bilateral Coordination-baking is a great way to work on improving bilateral coordination because there are so many parts of this activity that require the use of two hands.  For example, when pouring the ingredients you need one hand to hold the measuring cup or spoon and the other pours the ingredients.  When mixing the ingredients together, it's essential that you hold the you hold the spoon or spatula with one hand and keep the bowl stable with the other one.  How about cracking an egg?  You need to hold the egg with one hand and keep the cup or bowl still with the other.
Improve Fine Motor Skills-do you have kids who need to work on improving cutting, grasping and other fine motor skills?  Baking is a great way to do that in a really fun way.  Need to work on cutting?  How about getting your kids to cut open the bag of chocolate chips?  If you have a ton of patience and time, you can use a pair of Zoo Sticks to put some of the smaller ingredients in (chocolate chips, pieces of fruit, etc.).  Even the simple task of pulling the paper off the butter is a great fine motor activity.
Improve Visual Motor/Visual Perceptual Skills-baking is a great way to work on improving visual skills.  When you are following a recipe, you have to be able to visually track between the recipe and the ingredients.  You need to be able to pour ingredients into a measuring cup or spoon and be able stop pouring them when they hit the line.
Improve Executive Functioning Skills-what I love about baking is that it is a great activity to work on improving higher level skills for older children.  Baking requires an incredible amount of focus and attention.  It requires one to be able to organize their ingredients, sequence and follow directions.  If you one doesn't (and I have lots of experience here) follow directions and focus carefully, you can end up with a mess of a project.  Baking is a great activity for older kids who need to work on improving their executive functioning skills and the best part is that much of the work can be hidden.
Improve Social Skills-baking is an incredibly social activity. Even though I am an occupational therapist and I tend to see kids on a 1:1 basis, I have also been lucky enough to spend a lot of my time working in social skills groups.  As a matter of fact, in September, I will be working with The Meeting House again as we begin our TMH Juniors group.  One of our program offerings will be a baking/cooking class once per month.  The social benefits of baking are endless and can be easily carried over at home with siblings and friends.  You can work on taking turns (pouring ingredients in), work on compromise and working as a team to complete a final project.  Once a cooking project is finished, there is a tremendous social opportunity to take advantage of.  You can set up a table or a picnic blanket and let the kids have conversations about what is happening in their lives.  If you have kids who have difficulty with conversation, you can throw a pile of conversation cards out in the middle of the table for them to reach out for when there is a lull in conversation.

There are a lot of fun and simple baking and cooking activities that you can do with your children...some that don't even require oven or heat!  Just keep in mind, when cooking with children, you will need patience and extra time.  Kids will ask a lot of questions, make a mess and may even lose their attention part way through your activity.  One thing to do in order to prevent that from happening is set up all the materials before you call your kids in....have your ingredients out, eggs cracked and in a cup, measuring spoons and cups ready, etc..  As children have more success with a cooking activity, you can start to add on responsibilities such as having them take out the ingredients.
Here are a few ideas for you to try with your kids, either at home or at work. I've tried them all and they have been a huge hit!

Zipsicle-I saw these when in Bed, Bath and Beyond a few weeks ago and had to try them.  Who doesn't love a refreshing ice-pop?  How about making your own with your kids?  These little pouches are perfectly designed for making your ice pops.  If you go here, you will find a bunch of tasty and easy recipes you can follow to make your very own ice pops.  The best part, is that you can avoid artificial flavors and colors, which so many of the kids I work with are unable to eat, and add lots of fruits and other healthy ingredients.  
Zoku-this is another fun way to make your own ice pops at home.  I wrote out the Zoku ice pop maker about two years (check out that post here) and since then, they have expanded their line.  They still have their original pop maker, but now have smaller ones that don't take up as much room in your freezer.  They also have molds that are in the shape of fish, people and rockets, which might make your little ones more willing to try a new flavor. You can follow one of their recipes or make something of your own.  
Rainbow Fruit Kabobs-another activity that doesn't require the use of an oven or heat.  I love the idea of fruit kabobs and have actually made these with many of my kids when I was running social skills groups.  This activity is great because it can encourage your child to try new fruits.  It works on building fine motor, visual motor/perceptual and bilateral coordination skills.  For younger children who are just beginning to learn their colors, it's a fun way to reinforce it for them.  It's also nice to work on improving organizational and sequencing skills for older children who are struggling with both of these things.  Lastly, this is a simple enough of an activity that you can do it in small groups and encourage conversation, cooperation and team work.
Alphabet Cookies-I have always found that if you hide the work in learning, kids are more likely to hold onto the information.  I have always had a set of alphabet cookie cutters in my office to use with playdough and the kids really love it.  At home, you can take those same cookie cutters and make cookies instead.  If you are motivated, you can make your dough from scratch but if you want to
make it simple and fast, buy the rolls of sugar or chocolate chip dough at the store....the end product is the same.  There are so many opportunities to talk about the letters during this activity...you can have them look through the pile to find a certain letter and talk about words that start with certain letters.  Once they are all baked (and cooled), you can have children put them in order.  And if you want to make it really fun and therapeutic, you can decorate the cookies after using icing, sprinkles and other fun decorations.

These are just a few ideas to get you started but really, you can make any recipe a good recipe for kids.  I know that my daughter just loves being part of the process.  It can be as simple as pouring the cheese, butter and milk into the macaroni when making mac and cheese or as complicated as shredding cheese with a grater (kid friendly of course) for meals.  In addition to all of the skills that can be worked on while baking or cooking, it's a great source of pride for a child to be able to tell people that they helped make whatever they are eating.

Do you have a favorite recipe or cooking activity that you do with your child?  It would be fun to be able to put together a list of things that you have been successful with and share them with each other.  While I am an avid baker, I am always looking for new and tasty recipes to try with Quinn.  I'm always a click away and love hearing from you all.

Stay cool and fun baking with your kids.  Who knows, if you start your kids off early in the kitchen, maybe they will be the next top chef!

It's all in the Pop(sicle)

With summer and the heat here, I thought it was time to write about an awesome popsicle maker that the whole family could enjoy.  Last year, I was looking for a way to make my own popsicles.  I am an avid baker and thought that it would be a great activity to do with Quinn who had recently begun to show an interest in cooking and baking with me.  When I went into William's Sonoma, I spied the Zoku Quick Pop Maker and knew I had found what I was looking for.  This year Quinn is a full fledged baker and I think we are going to spend a lot of time this summer experimenting with different tasty recipes to keep us cool all summer long!

The Zoku Quick Pop Maker is the perfect accessory to make a tasty and healthy summer treat.  Not only that, on days like today, they will be super refreshing.  The process if very simple and easy for little ones to be actively involved from beginning to end.  The first step is to make room in your freezer for the pop maker (I have the two pop maker but you can get one as small as one or as large as three at a time).  Place it in your freezer for at least 24 hours making sure it is lying even.  Once frozen, place the sticks into the pop maker....make sure they are properly lined up as this will help when removing them from the maker.  Pour the juice into the pop maker and watch it freeze....it's a little like watching water boil but I think the end result will be more exciting for your little one!  Once the pops are done, you use the handy dandy pop remover tool to magically remove them from the mold.  The last, and in my opinion, the most important is to eat your delicious creation.  I am fairly certain you will have a pretty proud prince or princess on hand after their creations are completed and they get all kinds of positive feedback from everyone who eats them!

The maker comes with a handful of recipes that you can test out.  If you are not a member of Pinterest, I suggest doing so immediately.  There are hundreds of recipes for you to try that people have pinned.  In the middle of writing this blog post, I got an email from one of my favorite blogs, Red Tricycle (another must sign up for especially if you are in the NYC, Chicago, LA areas.  They do have a national edition totally worth signing up for no matter where you live), featuring 20 popsicle recipes.  While all aren't meant for this pop maker, you could easily adapt the recipes for this appliance.  This is a guaranteed good time for not only your child, but you as well.

Some of the occupational therapy goals that can be addressed when using the Zoku Quick Pop Maker are:
Improve Sequencing and Organization:  if you have a child who presents with difficulties with sequencing and organization, you can take the steps of this activity and have the child put it in order prior to beginning the actual making of the popsicles.  Go through each step and talk about what supplies you may need in order to get your child organized and prepared.
Improve Eye-Hand Coordination:  depending on the recipe you choose, you may need to cut up fruits which requires good eye-hand coordination.  When pouring the liquid ingredients in, you will need to hold the cup with the liquids in one hand and hold the popsicle maker with the other.  If you have a child who is struggling with choosing a dominant hand (but know they may do better with one over the other), encourage them to use that stronger hand.
Improve Following Directions:  if you don't follow the steps and directions, your popsicles won't turn out the way they are supposed to. This is a good opportunity to talk to your child about the importance of following a recipe.  Many activities that kids are presented with are similar to recipes in that if you don't follow the "recipe", the final product won't turn out the way it is expected to.  
Improve Bilateral Coordination Skills:  when pouring ingredients, it's important to encourage your child to use two hands; one should be used to hold the cup and the other should be used to pour.  In addition, if you are using fresh fruits, they may need to be cut up or sliced.  This is another great opportunity to work on using both hands in a coordinated manner.
Improve Eating Skills:  I am sure many of you have worked with or are the proud owners of picky eaters (myself included).  By actively engaging your child in the process of making food, you may have a positive impact on their willingness to try new foods.  And when you present something to them in this manner, it will be more fun.  I find that kids are more likely to try new foods when they are more involved in the actual process of making it.
Facilitate Social Skills:  cooking is a great social activity.  It is a great opportunity to work on taking turns by dividing up the ingredients and having children take turns putting them in.  After the popsicles are finished, set up a table for the kids to eat them and encourage conversation.  Maybe you will need to lead the conversation but have it based around making the popsicles and then let the conversation go from there.


In addition to all the other things I mentioned above, this is a great way to begin teaching your children about foods and making healthy choices.  Go to the grocery store together and pick out the different ingredients so they can truly be part of the entire process.  Talk about how healthy fruits are and how they provide your body with the power to grow and become stronger.  I don't know of a single kid who doesn't respond well to the idea of becoming as strong as a super hero!

The only downside is that the maker takes up a chunk of space in your freezer.  If you plan on using it all summer, just be prepared to have a reserved space for it in there.  The great thing about it is that the actual freezing process of the popsicles is about 7 minutes so there is instant gratification for you and your kids.

As previously mentioned, you can get the Zoku at William's Sonoma.  I have also seen it in local kitchen stores in my neighborhood.  As always, I am a big believer in supporting small businesses when possible.  If you have a kitchen supply store in your hood, be sure to give them a call before going the Amazon or big box store route.  They truly appreciate and count on every sale they make.

I would love for you to share how you use the Zoku with your kids.  Do you have a recipe you would like to share with us?  I would love to hear of any fabulous new recipes that you may have and I am sure my other readers would as well.  I am only a click away and love hearing from all of you.

Stay Cool this warm summer!

Hiho, Hiho, Hiho Batik We Go

I don't consider myself entirely crafty.  I love it and am inspired by crafty moms who spend hours crafting with their children.  When I had my daughter 3 years ago, I imaged making holiday cards for all our family and friends using her footprints or letting her go wild with markers and finger paints.  Well, that hasn't totally happened but as she gets older we are attempting it more and this year we made the cutest Valentine's Day cards.

Living in New York City has so many advantages.  Awesome restaurants, great shopping and amazing cultural opportunities.  Once you have children, you realize there are so many great places to go to as well.   I live in Park Slope and love it for all the reasons mentioned above.  However, we also are the home to many independent shops and not overrun by chain places quite yet.  Not long ago, one of my favorite shoe stores closed and I was totally bummed.  I had bought shoes for me and for Quinn and was sad that I wouldn't have this place so close anymore.  A couple of weeks after it closed, I discovered a kids batik clothing store would open in its place.  Not so disappointed anymore.  Right before it opened, I came to discover that not only would they sell insanely adorable clothing, they would have a studio in the back room so you could design and then paint your own batik article of clothing.  No longer sad about old shoe store but super excited for a new place to learn a new craft.

I have purchased many of the awesome shirts from Hiho Batik.  A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to finally try out the studio in back with one of my favorite people.  There are certain kids I work with who I just connect to.   Years ago, when I began working in my private practice in the city, I had the great luck to meet Jen and Riley.  I fell in love with this family immediately and felt so connected to this little 1 1/2 year old girl who wouldn't stop crying for anything.  Riley and I shared a birthday and I felt that we were meant to be working together and when she finally stopped crying, a relationship was born.  Riley has graduated from occupational therapy with me but the relationship has lasted for 7 1/2 years and each year I try and do something special with her for her birthday.  This year I knew exactly what that would be....we were hitting up Hiho Batik together for the first time.

I didn't realize until I went to Hiho Batik how many occupational therapy goals can be addressed.  I quickly learned that this fun little afternoon taught me that I could use this with the children I work with to help them gain skills and feel better about themselves.  I could not have been more impressed with Julia and Robyn, the owners of Hiho Batik.  They were so welcoming and helpful for us novice batikkers.   When we were feeling stressed about what we were doing, they bent over backwards to help us and reassure us that we were doing a great job.  They offered us extra templates, gave us support and made us feel like we were doing a great job  As a therapist, it means so much to find a place like this that will make an artist of any level feel good about what they are creating.  I can easily suggest this place to any of the families I work with because I know that when they go there, they will be treated like royalty.  They will be made to feel like they are doing a great job and that is what matters to me.  I spend a lot of time talking to the children I work with that things don't have to be perfect; they have to try their hardest and their masterpiece will be just right.

*Improve eye-hand coordination/visual motor skills-any time you are working with a writing instrument (in this case, the wax "pen") and tracing something, you are working on eye-hand coordination
*Improve attention and focus-when you are tracing over your design with the hot wax, you have to pay careful attention and focus on the lines.  If not, your design won't come out the way you imagined it
*Improve creativity and imagination-if you decide you don't want to use one of the patterns that Hiho provides, you can make any design you want.  This is a great opportunity to have a child work on being more creative and thinking outside of the box
*Improve self-esteem-the look on Riley's face when she finished her shirt was priceless.  Then when she got to see her completed shirts (and they were AMAZING) she was super psyched.  She put her shirt on immediately and the compliments kept pouring in.  While this is an activity that is great for any school age child, if you have a child who loves fashion, this is the perfect activity for them.  How much fun is it to tell you friends that you actually created the shirt/dress/sweatshirt you are wearing???
*Improve social skills-this is a great activity to do with a friend.  You can talk about what you are doing, what colors you are choosing, why you have picked a particular template, etc..  I would love to plan a weekend event for The Meeting House down the line because I think it would be amazing and a great place to practice so many of the social skills that we have been working on this year.

I can't wait to go back to Hiho Batik with the kids I work with and with my family.  I know that my nieces will love this.  During my visit last week, Quinn and I made an awesome dress for her third birthday celebration.  While it isn't an ideal activity for a toddler, we certainly had a great time making her special dress together.  Here Quinn is wearing her lollipop dress for her candy store birthday party!
She was so excited to put it on and was showing it off to her friends.  I love that we had that special time with Riley and we created a memory together.  Every time I look at this picture or her dress, I will think of this amazing time we all had together at Hiho Batik.

For all my New York City readers, I highly recommend this place.  I am not the only one who thinks this place rocks.  Check out New York Magazines writeup about Hiho Batik.  They were included in this years Best of New York issue.  For all my out of town readers, if you have plans to come to NYC, definitely hit up this place.  It will make your trip to the city that never sleeps even more memorable.

I would love to hear from any of you who have visited Hiho Batik.  It would be fun to see what you or your child have created while there.  If you have any questions or comments, I am only a click away and love to hear from my readers.

Endless fun learning your alphabet

Every once in a while I find out about a new app and have to share it with everyone.  Endless Alphabet is one of those apps.  I saw it on Cool Mom Pics about a month ago and immediately downloaded it to my phone.  It was love at first sight and as soon as I got home I put it on my iPad and introduced it to Quinn.  While she is not even 3 years old and doesn't know all her letters (we are working on it...I promise!), she has been hooked on the game ever since.

The reasons to love this game are, well, endless.  And the occupational therapy and speech therapy goals that can be addressed using this game are, again, endless.  Because there are so many great things about Endless Alphabet, I am going to make this easy and make a list for you all.  Before getting to that list, let me tell you about the game.  There is a word or words for each letter of the alphabet.  You choose the word and a bunch of really cute monsters come knock the letters out of their spots.  Your job is to put all the letters back into the correct place.

A.)  Letter Recognition-motivating way to work on introducing letters (and their sounds) to early learners.  Every time you pick a letter, it will tell you the sound it makes.  As you place it into the correct place in the word, it will repeat the name of the letter.
B.)  Matching (Visual Motor and Visual Perceptual skills)-this game is great for working on matching and visual motor skills.
C.)  Visual Tracking-a child has to look at the whole iPad screen and look (track) to find the letters to go in the correct spot.  Once they find them, they have to make sure that they are dragging them into the correct space.
D.)  Grasping-I tend to have my kids at work use a stylus when using this app.  This way we can not only work on the aforementioned goals, we can also work on encouraging a proper grasp.
E.)  Sequencing-for the older children, I not only encourage, I demand that they put the letters back in in the proper order.  That way they can begin to learn how to spell the words they are working on.  This also helps with improving organization skills, which so many of the kids I work with lack.

F.)  Increase attention/focus-if you are working on improving a child's attention and focus, you can set goals like you have to complete 7 words before being able to move onto the next activity.
G.)  Improve graphomotor skills-for my older kids who are also working on handwriting goals, I will have them write the words they have just "fixed".  For those who struggle with handwriting, being able to play a game and possibly learn a new word and then writing that word is much more fun for them.


H.)  Learn phonics-every time you pick up a letter, they make the sound that the letter makes.  Quinn loves this part of the game and has already started pointing to letters and telling us the sound it makes. Proof that if you make something fun your child can learn skills much faster.

I.)  Add new words to your child's vocabulary-while there are many familiar words in the Endless Alphabet library, there are also many new words for your child to learn.  After you complete putting all the letters into the correct spot, there is a short video that defines the word in a very entertaining way.  

J.)  This app is FREE-endless hours of alphabet fun for free.  Endless hours of alphabet learning for free.  Did I mention this app is free?

K.)  New words added weekly-you would think that for that large price-tag you would only get a few words.  Nope.  There is at least one word for each letter and new words and monsters are added weekly.  It is important to agree to the push notifications for this app so you can be alerted of the weekly updates. 

  

After a few minutes of playing this (not my daughter, not the kids I work with, ME!), I reached out to my speech therapy friends with iPads and told them that they had to download this game immediately.  I could see all the benefits for me as an occupational therapist, but knew that my speech friends would be addicted to it.  I was totally right.  Here is what speech therapist and my good friend Jacki Barredo had to say about Endless Alphabet:

Endless Alphabet is a speech therapist's dream! It's a great way for kids to practice listening to and producing individual speech sounds, while increasing their vocabulary skills.  It also incorporates sound-letter recognition skills, matching skills, and spelling skills.  And it really holds the kids' attention!  The videos which depict each word are funny and engaging, too.  Speech therapists will love how easily Endless Alphabet can be modified and navigated through to set up each child for success.

Parents, OTs, and other teaching professionals will love this app, too!
 #brilliant :)

This app has already brought hours of learning and enjoyment to not only the kids I work with, but also to my almost 3 year old daughter.  I know that my 4 1/2 and 7 1/2 year old nieces are loving this game as well which proves that this is a game that can be used for children of all ages.  It's no secret that I am a fan of the iPad in therapy, but if it can be used at home with all children, I love it even more.  I think this game is a brilliantly designed game and motivating for children of all ages and abilities which makes it a complete winner in my book, or really on my iPad.  

I would love to hear what you all think of this app.  Do you have a favorite word (mine are Juggle and Gargantuan)?   Shoot me an email or share your comments with the readers if you have any questions or comments about Endless Alphabet.  As always, I am just a click away and love to hear from my readers.  If you have specific questions for Jacki regarding speech and language skills and/or goals, let me know and I will get your questions to her.  

Hoping you and your lovies have endless fun with Endless Alphabet!

EZ as 1, 2, 3

This is mainly a toy blog, but as an occupational therapist, I spend a lot of time helping children in becoming more independent.  Not only in play, but in their self-care skills.  Children who are able to independently get dressed will be more confident and become less reliant on grownups to do things for them.  As a parent, I love that my almost 3 year old daughter insists on dressing and undressing herself. Things may be on backwards and her legs may end up in the wrong holes in her underpants, but she is proud of herself.

A couple of years ago, I read about EZ Sox and began to tell everyone I know who has children about them.  They are not only adorable, but they are brilliantly designed.  They are a pair of cotton socks that have two loops on the top.  A child can easily grab onto them and stretch the sock to get them over their toes.  There are a variety of patterns, but I love the animal prints because it gives children a clear visual as to where the top and the bottom are.  I also think that

The first thing a child has to do when they come to my gym is to take off their shoes and socks.  Since many of them have a goal of being able to independently remove them, this is a great opportunity to work on it every time they come visit me.  In the last couple of years, when I see a child struggling with socks, which is quite often, I share EZ Sox with them and they are always so happy with them.  For many of my children who have decreased grasp strength, just putting socks on can be very challenging and frustrating.  Not only are these socks cute, they are stretchy enough that children with fine motor difficulties can quickly get the hang of them.  And when a child is able to master putting their socks on without help, they are often more eager to start working on the more difficult dressing/undressing skills like buttons, snaps and zippers.

These socks are not just for children who have fine motor difficulties.  They are great for toddlers who are just beginning to learn how to dress and undress themselves.  My 7 year old niece still uses them just because they are so cute!

If you have any questions about this or anything else, remember I am just an email away.  

Let's Face It, This is Fun!

I was at Little Things Toy Store in Brooklyn the other day looking for something for Quinn.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something I had never seen and had to have it immediately.  The Magnetibook Crazy Face, created by a french company called Janod, is a brilliantly designed game where you have to complete a face out of magnets.  There are a bunch of cards with pictures of people and then you have to sort through a variety of face pieces to make a match with the card.  There are clowns, girls, boys, sports players and silly faces so it can be appropriate for any child.

A common occupational therapy goal with preschoolers is to improve body awareness.  Children who have body awareness issues often have a difficult time drawing pictures of people because they don't have a clear understanding of their own body and what it looks like.  As a child goes through occupational therapy and their body strength improves, so does their body awareness and their ability to draw pictures of people.  This game, Crazy Face, is a great way to help improve both of these skills.  In addition, it helps to improve visual perceptual and matching skills.  Using a bunch of magnetic face pieces, you are asked to copy a card with a picture of a face on it.  You can grade the challenge for each child; for example, you can show the child the card and have them sort through all the magnets and pick out the right pieces or have the right pieces laid out for them and have them put them in the right place.  I truly love a game/toy that allows you to easily grade the activity for each child's skill level so that makes this toy even more appealing.

When I am in the gym, I like to make this part of an obstacle course.  I have the children do some swings, climb up the ladder to collect a magnet and then crawl through a tunnel where the board is waiting.  Sometimes all that sensory input helps organize them and give them a clearer idea of where their body is in space and they are more successful with putting the piece in the right place.  I have already tried this with a handful of my children at work and they love it!  When it was time to put it away and move onto something else, they asked for another turn.  I say that is a true sign of a fun toy!

I found this toy at a local toy store in Park Slope.  As always, try supporting your local toy stores when you can.  If you can't find it, ask them to order it for you.  

If you have any questions, I am just a click away.  If you are looking for some other games similar to this, I would love to help you find them.  Don't hesitate contacting me with any toy, game or iPad/iPhone app questions you might have.  

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.