We Are Family!

When you work with children, you end up working with their entire family....and that's pretty fantastic.  We all know the importance of family, especially the role a sibling plays to a child who may have delays.  I believe that a pediatric occupational therapist has a lot of very important jobs and one of them is helping parents figure out the best way to promote a healthy sibling relationship.  I have lost count of how many times parents have told me that they feel terrible about the lack of attention their non-therapy children get.

There are a lot of ways to include siblings, especially those that are close in age, in the therapeutic process. As therapists, our goal is to make sure that the kids we work with meet their goals.  However, I find it equally important that I provide parents with activities that they can do at home with all of their children.  Kids spend a lot of time at home and for some parents, figuring out what to do with them at home can be difficult.  I try and suggest games, crafts and activities that can easily be done at home, especially for those times where the weather prevents kids from getting out of their houses.

Below, you will find some of the things I have done over the years to help support sibling relationships:

*whenever possible, I have siblings join in on a session...even if only for 5 minutes.  This is far more important when a sibling is close in age or a twin to the child you are treating who is always dragged from session to session and having to spend so much of their time in a waiting room.  This practice goes a long way for all people involved!  Maybe the parents or the caregivers get 5 minutes to run to the bathroom or make a phone call or maybe they can actually observe the shared time and pick up some of the language that you use to help make play time at home more successful.

*one of the things I like to do is help kids learn how to be the "masters" of a game during our sessions.  This means that they not only know how to play the game, but are able to set it up and explain the directions to people.  Once they are masters, I have the parents buy the game for home so they can play it with their siblings.  It is such a confidence booster for the kids to be able to be in charge of something as their siblings tend to be the ones in control most of the time.  It's important that the games are good for a variety of ages and that they aren't too complicated, especially when it comes to explaining the rules.  Some of my favorite family games:
-Uno
-Yeti In My Spaghetti 
-Tumbling Monkeys
-any of the matching or simple games by Eeboo
-Thumbs Up
-Spot It

*cooking and baking with kids can be a great way to not only address some of the occupational therapy goals at home, but can also be a fun way to help in developing a good sibling relationship.  You want to try and keep things simple and with not too many steps or ingredients so you can encourage as much independent and cooperative play as possible during these moments.  Something like making pizzas (put all the ingredients out and let the kids go to town) is a great choice and one of my favorites.  Need other ideas, check out this great website that has tons of videos with cooking activities just for kids.  Obviously, be there to supervise and do all the important parent things like turning on the oven, putting food in and out, etc. but really try and let kids work through any of the problems they may run into.

*arts and crafts can be a great way to have kids play together at home and if you choose the right thing, they may not even need that much help from grownups.  If you have an easel, set it up with an endless amount of paper for them to color, paint or draw all over.  Once they are done with their masterpiece, have them tell you what they did or maybe have them tell a story and write it on the paper and then make a big deal and hang it up somewhere for everyone to see.  If you need inspiration for craft activities, do yourself a favor and spend some time searching Pinterest.  It may be an easy way to procrastinate, but can help you come up with some great ideas. And check out this link on Parents that can send you to a bunch of kid-friendly crafting sites. Some of my other favorites craft ideas:
Orb Factory Sticky Mosaics (get a set of large ones that they can work on together)
Pirasta Coloring Posters-these are a huge favorite for my daughter and my nieces.  They are large enough that at least two can get involved in the coloring fun....many more if you get the super big posters!
Play-Doh Sets

*last, but not least, blocks and other kinds of building toys make a great activity for siblings to do together.  They can work together to build something and then can add characters and spend some time doing imaginative play together.  Investing in good building toys is worth it...it might hurt the wallet at the time of the purchase, but good ones will take a good beating and still last forever.  Some of my favorites (and ones that are used in my house all the time) are:
Tegu Magnetic Blocks
Magnatiles
Janod Building and Construction Toy Sets

As one of four girls, I realize how important a good sibling relationship is and how it is can be easy for one child to feel like they are getting short changed on attention.  As a therapist, I think it is important that we do what we can to help families understand how easy it is for them to play together, no matter what kind of difficulties one of their children may be having.  Try and encourage parents to take their kids outside and play together whenever the opportunity comes up.  Whether it be blowing and catching bubbles, drawing with chalk on the sidewalk, kicking a ball back and forth to one another or one pushing the other on a swing, there are tons of ways that parents can help strengthen the relationship between their children instead of one feeling slighted.  Let's not forget how much children learn from each other...especially what they can learn from a sibling that they adore.

I know I am not the first therapist/professional who works with children that has faced this particular problem:  advising parents what to do to foster a healthy sibling relationship and limit the amount of guilt the parents feel about providing one child with more attention than the other.  What kind of advice or activities do you suggest?  Do you have a favorite Pinterest board or websites that you rely on for helping you come up with activities to do with your children?  Not only would I love to hear some of the things you all suggest to parents, I know that my readers would love to hear as well.  I am always a click away and love hearing from you all.

Stick It To Me!

According to my friends at Red Tricycle today is National Sticker Day which I love to know.  I have always loved stickers.  As a matter of fact, I have a little folder at home with some of my favorite childhood stickers and my daughter loves to look at them!  Stickers play a huge role in my work life as well.  They are used for way more than just a reward at the end of a great session.  Stickers can be used to work on improving fine motor skills, grasping skills and a ton of visual motor and perceptual skills.  You can work on improving bilateral coordination and crossing midline by taking the stickers and placing them on one hand and having them take the stickers off with their other hand.  I have also worked on improving upper body strength by placing a piece of paper on a wall above a child's head, placing stickers on the floor or on their feet and have them bend down to take them off and reach up high to put them on the paper.  Below, you will find a few more ideas of what you can do with stickers with your kids.  The best part about these all of these activities are ones that they are easy enough to do at home with them.

Writing-I have found that once kids learn how to write the letters of the alphabet, they need to start using that skill in a functional way.  I have used stickers of sports teams, characters or various objects to do just that and kids adore it.  I actually just started a Shopkins Book with one of my little guys who was clearly getting bored of just practicing his letters.  I couldn't get over how motivated he was and how all those letters that he had been struggling with were written with ease.  I was also excited because he was asking how to write the letters he didn't know and immediately practiced them.

Cutting-using stickers during cutting activities is a great motivator as well.  I will have kids put stickers on the top of a piece of paper and then draw lines from the bottom of the paper up to the sticker.  Depending on the child's skill level, the lines will be straight, curved or zig zags.  When cutting out shapes, I place the stickers along the shape (i.e. at the corners of a square or triangle) which gives them a visual reminder to turn the paper once they cut to that sticker.

Orb Factory Sticky Mosaics-I have probably talked about these a million times on this blog but they are the best and can work on so many occupational therapy goals.  These little sticker squares are great for working on improving grasping skills, grasp strength and eye-hand coordination.  At the end, the kids get a piece of art or some kind of cool project that they have completed that they get to show off.  My daughter's favorite are these Silly Snack ones because they remind her of her current obsession, Shopkins.  The variety in the Orb Factory line is amazing and you won't have any problem finding a set that will be sure to bring a smile to your child's face.  These are also a great activity to use during therapy sessions.  Place it on an easel to work on improving shoulder stability and upper extremity strength or have them work on it while they are lying prone over a bolster or on a new swing.

Sticker Puzzles-another one of my favorite therapy activities.  These sticker puzzles by Lee Magic Pen are an incredibly motivating activity for my little friends at work.  They also come in a variety of sizes so you can find ones that are good for preschoolers and ones that are good for the older kids in your life.  The goal is simple:  you have a grid with numbers on them.  You then take the a sheet of stickers with numbers on them (in mixed order), peel the stickers off and place them in the matching square.  These tend to be even more motivating for the kids on my caseload because there are 8 different puzzles in each booklet and they feature popular characters.  The Frozen and Cars ones are by far the most popular amongst my kids.  Great for working on improving fine motor skills like grasping and strengthening, eye-hand coordination and visual tracking skills.  I like that you can grade the activity based on each child's skill level.  For example, if you are working with a young child, you can give them the stickers in order so they don't get frustrated.  For older kids, you have them do it indepenently.  Best part, these are crazy inexpensive, lightweight and travel easily to keep your kids occupied on a plane, in a car or at restaurants.

Stickers in general are a great thing to have in your bag of tricks. They are relatively inexpensive and easy to carry around.  If you check out your local toy stores or stationary stores, you will be shocked to see the variety of great stickers at an affordable price.  My favorites are Smickers scented stickers and books and the Kawaii stickers.  Another big hit amongst my kids (especially my own daughter) are the Usborne Sticker Dolly Dressing books.   What I love about them is that you can be creative with them and kids love them so you can really hide the fact that you are doing "work" with them.

Now that I know it is National Sticker Day, I plan on having a lot of sticky fun with my kids today.  What are your favorite things to do with stickers?  Do you have a favorite sticker book or collection that you would reccomend to me and my readers? I am just a click away I love hearing from you all and value your ideas!

Let's Get Crafty!

I could spend hours looking at the craft section of any toy store.  Arts and crafts are a dream for occupational therapists because they can work on so many skills including fine motor, visual motor/perceptual/spatial and executive functioning skills.  What I love most, is that at the end of all their hard work, a child has something to show off.  Many of the gifts below are craft kits that can be done in one sitting or over time.  I have seen every single one of these gifts at local toy stores so be sure to check out your local stores before hitting up the internet...remember tomorrow is Small Business Saturday and these people work so hard and give so much to your community.  I know that I will be hitting up my toy stores this weekend when I begin my shopping.

Below, you will find just a sampling of the many craft kits and supplies you can get for your kids.  I know that last year was all about the Rainbow Loom (which is still an awesome gift) but there is so much more out there that will keep your kids creating for hours!

Orb Factory Sticky Mosaics-these craft kits have been on my list for years and years and each year, they come up with even more sets.  They now have sets for girls and boys, little kids and big kids.  There are bracelets, prince and princess crowns, treasure and jewelry boxes and SO much  more.  Each set comes with different colored square stickers and a guide for what color goes on what number on the empty mosaic grid.  These are great for working on improving fine motor and grasping skills, executive functioning skills such as organization, focus and attention and visual motor, perceptual and tracking skills.   Kids love that after a long time of hard work, they get a really cool piece of art to take with them.  This is a highly motivating craft kit that won't break the bank.

Boogie Board-my daughter was given this a couple of years ago and used it off and on.  Now that she is really into practicing writing letters and drawing pictures, this has come out again.  The Boogie Board is a thin and light weight LCD writing tablet...think Etch-A-Scetch...that kids can use for school or play.  With the push of a button, the screen clears and you can draw something new.  It comes with a stylus that attaches to the board so you don't lose it (It also works with your fingernail if you happen to lose it). Perfect for long car rides, while waiting between appointments, etc.. Great for working on improving graphomotor skills, creative thinking, grasping skills, bilateral coordination and visual motor/perceptual skills.

Foil Art Sets-Peaceable Kingdom has a ton of wonderful products but the Foil Art sets are probably one of my favorites of theirs.  They are inexpensive and can be used with kids of all ages.  There are sets where you can make your own stickers (great for younger children or kids with decreased attention span) and sets with larger pictures.  Each set comes with shiny colored foil that you use to decorate the stickers or pictures.  Peel off the top layer of the picture, choose a color and then use your finger to press the foil onto the sticky paper.  Great for working on bilateral coordination, eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills such as improving grasping skills and finger strength.

Loopdeloom Weaving Loom-so many of the kids I work with talk about wanting to learn how to knit but have a difficult time learning and get frustrated.  While the Loopdeloom is not a knitting kit, you can use it to make a lot of the same things that you would if you were knitting.  This weaving kit is made for older kids and great for working on improving eye-hand coordination, focus and attentional skills, executive functioning skills such as following directions, organization and sequencing and fine motor skills.

Project Kid-this craft book from Park Slope mother of two Amanda Kingloff has a ton of great

projects for your little ones.  It shows you how you can build fun and creative things from everyday products you might have in your home.  Take spaghetti boxes and turn them into skyscrapers, paper straws and cupcake liners and make a vase full of flowers or turn toilet paper tubes into a train.  You can teach your children about recycling while making some really cool crafts that you will all enjoy putting together.

Make Your Own Superhero Cape-who doesn't love to pretend they are a superhero?  This amazing kit comes with all of the necessary supplies, including tips to help you choose your design, to help your child's inner-superhero come to life!  I have seen this awesome kit at Hiho Batik in Park Slope and other local toy stores.  Great for working on encouraging creative skills.  Also great for working on improving fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, organizational skills and focus and attention.

Goose Grease DIY Peg Dolls-Goose Great dolls are made right here in Brooklyn and while you can easily buy a set of these adorable wooden peg dolls or have a set custom made of your family!  My favorite thing is that you can also buy a pack of 4 dolls to make your own dolls the way you want to! These DIY kits come complete with wooden dolls, paint, paintbrushes and all the other necessary tools to make your very own dolls.  Great for working on fine motor skills, bilateral coordination, focus and attentional skills and eye-hand coordination.  Also great for working on improving creative thinking.

Make Your Own Monster-this adorable kit comes with all the necessary supplies to make your own monster.  Each kit is unique and comes with a pre-stitched monster, stuffing and felt pieces.  No sewing skills required!  Great for working on improving fine motor skills, bilateral coordination, organizational skills and improving focus and attention.

Usborne Big Colour By Numbers Book-all of the books by Usborne are wonderfully creative and motivate the kids I work with.  This color by number book has beautiful pictures and patterns for kids to color in.  I like that there are also pages with no numbers and just colored dots for a child to use as a guide.  Great for working on improving visual motor, visual perceptual and visual scanning skills, grasping skills, eye-hand coordination, focus/attentional skills and organizational skills.

Usborne The Big Book of Things to Find and Colour-another great activity book by Usborne.  This one is packed with tons of fun pictures.  Each page has directions for things to find and color in.  For example, there is a page filled with fairies and you have to find all the ones holding wands and color them in a certain color, find the one with wings and color them in, etc..  This highly motivating activity book works on improving visual motor and visual scanning skills, focus and attention, grasping skills and planning and organizational skills.

Lazoo-I adore all the coloring and activity books by Lazoo.  So many great ones to choose from that will motivate even the most unwilling kid to pick up a crayon and color. Incredible Stickers, Holes, Squiggles, Let's Color and Imagine That! stock my shelves at work and at home.  Each of the books has a unique quality to them but each of them helps to work on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills, helps to encourage imagination and creative thinking, improves grasping and graphomotor skills as well as focus, attentional and organizational skills.

NPW Build your Own Kaleidoscope-this is a simple yet very fun craft kit you can pick up for your little one.  My 4 1/2 year old had one this summer and loved it and still plays with it.  This kaleidoscope kit comes with all the pieces necessary and takes just a short amount of time to assemble.  While it comes with beads that you can put in but you can also collect buttons, leaves or flowers to put in as well.  The tube can be decorated with stickers or markers which allows a child to be as creative as they want.  Kaleidoscopes are great for bilateral coordination, eye-hand coordination and sparking a child's imagination.

Klutz String Art Kit-looking for something fun for an older kid on your list this year?  This string art kit is perfect for those crafty kids.  They can create intricate designs and be super creative.  They can choose a pattern, pin the design and start looping the string around the pegs.  It comes with a custom pin-pushing tool that makes sure that pins are in correctly as well as lots of colored string, patterns and a book with detailed instructions.  Great for working on fine motor skills, improving eye-hand coordination, visual motor and visual perceptual skills and working on executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, following directions and organizational skills.

Do you have any other great art and craft kits that you recommend?  I have a lot of crafty kids on my gift list and am always looking for something fun and creative for them.  I am only a click away and love hearing from you all!

Happy Holidays!

Sticky Business-Orb Factory Forest Friends

Just a quick post for any of you looking for a cute Easter present for your preschooler or school age child, I have the perfect suggestion.  You know my love for the Orb Factory Sticky Mosaics since I raved about them in this blog post.  They are constantly coming up with new products and they just get better and better.  You can read about all the occupational therapy benefits there but had to share this adorable new set I discovered on my shopping trip yesterday.

The Forest Friends set is just about the cutest thing I have ever seen and would make the perfect addition to any Easter basket!  For my Brooklyn peeps, I know that Little Things on 7th Avenue in Park Slope carries this and a few other very cute sets.  I have already done this with one of the older children I work with and she loved it!  I have a feeling this set will be a constant in my therapy closet!

As always, I am just a click away if you want to ask any questions or need any other gift suggestions.  I love sharing ideas that I know will bring fun and happiness to your lives!