Thinking Inside and Outside The Lines

This may be my favorite section of my whole guide because one of my favorite things to do is color.

 I can spend hours coloring and my daughter has found a love of this as well.  We will sit side by side sharing our pens, markers and crayons talking about what we are coloring and helping each other out every once in a while.

Did you know that coloring is not only great for kids but has been found to have many benefits for adults as well?  This article from Huffington Post last year talks about how coloring can decrease stress in adults which makes it a great thing for parents and kids to do together. Not only is it fun, it's a great way to bond and talk about things.  Coloring is a fabulous way to work on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills in a non-stressful way.  When you are coloring with your child, you shouldn't tell them what to do (for example, what colors to use) or make them stay in the lines.  When there are specific instructions, have them read them to you and make sure they understand what is being asked of them.  Encourage independence, success, creativity and imagination as much as you can.

There are SO many great coloring and activity books out there right now.  So many that it can make it really difficult to choose sometimes.  There are also tons of different tools out there for coloring.  Some people like to color/draw with crayons and pencils, while others would much rather color with markers.  There is no right or wrong....it's whatever works best for you.  I have shared some of my picks below.  Ones that have been kid tested and therapist approved!

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.

The Super Book For Superheroes-this activity book is the perfect gift for your superhero loving artist.  It is filled with ideas, drawing, coloring and activities that encourage kids to be creative and use their imagination.  Kids will learn how to draw villains, create superheroes, secret hideouts, costumes and gadgets they will need to save the world!  For older children, you can have them write out their thoughts and write stories so you can work on improving handwriting skills at the same time.  Kids will have fun working on improving graphomotor, visual motor and perceptual skills, storytelling, focus, attention and organizational skills.

Happy Snacks Color-In'Book-my daughter is really into Shopkins right now so when I saw this adorable coloring book, I had to get it.  The pictures are so cute and engaging.  I love how while we are coloring, we are talking about what we see and whether we like that food or not.  My little girl is a bit of a "by the books" kinda kid, so I've used this book as a way to encourage her to think outside of the box and be more creative.  There is no reason the mushrooms on the pizza can't be purple or the marshmallows in the hot chocolate can't be green.  At the same time, we are working on improving visual motor/perceptual skills, eye-hand coordination, focus and attention and improving her grasping skills.  Once your picture is complete, they are easy to tear out and display for others to see!
The Usbourne Book of Drawing, Doodling and Colouring-I am a huge fan of almost every single Usbourne book I have every purchased.  They are colorful, engaging and educational.  This particular book is a favorite of mine because it combines the best part of many of their books into one big collection.  This book allows a child to color and create things.  It allows them to work on improving their drawing skills.  It gives them step by step instructions in a very easy to follow visual friendly manner that allows kids who feel like they aren't artists be really good artists!  There are pictures to fill in and make your own and give you instructions to follow in order to complete pictures.  Great for working on improving fine motor skills, such as improving grasping patterns, improving visual motor/perceptual skills, eye-hand coordination and executive functioning skills.

The Dollhouse Book-I am madly in love with this activity book by Rock and Pebble that I just found when at my local toy store, Norman and Jules.  The Dollhouse Book is a drawing book shaped like a half of a house.  When you open it, you will find 30 blank pages that can be turned into your child's dream dollhouse. Through drawing, coloring, painting or using stickers, kids can make 15 different rooms.  This is great for working on improving imagination and creativity skills as kids are encouraged to make each room different.  For kids who have a hard time with coming up with ideas, you can spend some time looking at pictures of different rooms of houses and have them talk about what they will draw.  This book is great for working on improving fine motor and grasping skills, improving visual motor and perceptual skills and executive functioning skills, such as focus, attention and organization.
Once Upon A Doodle-in this activity book, kids get to create and complete fairy tale pictures. What I

like most about this book is that while there is a lot of room to be as creative and imaginative as you want, there are certain rules that need to be followed to complete the pictures.  For example, there is a page with a bunch of horses in a field.  Your child's job is to turn all those horses into magical unicorns.  Whether it be turning those horses into unicorns or drawing a long, stringy beard on Rumplestiltskin, kids will have fun coloring and drawing while working on improving fine motor, visual motor and perceptual skills, focus/attention and organizational skills.  It's fun to introduce kids to new fairy tales and work on building storytelling skills by having them tell you what's happening in the pictures they have completed.
Usbourne Sticker Books-my daughter is obsessed with these sticker books and can be entertained by them for hours on end.  There are several to choose from and you can often find them in most book stores.  I love them because they are great for working on developing fine motor skills, bilateral coordination, eye-hand coordination and visual motor and perceptual skills.  Also great for working on expanding language skills.  There are a lot of different sticker books (sports, princesses, castles and doll houses to name a few) to choose from so you will be sure to find one that is just right for your child.

Doodle Lit:  Coloring on the Classics-from the creators of the amazing BabyLit board books comes this fabulous and beautiful activity book.  Doodle Lit introduces kids to classic literature such as Pride & Prejudice, Romeo & Juliet, Alice in Wonderland and many, many more.  The book is chock-full of activities, including decorating the teapot for Alice's tea party and Jane Austen paper dolls.  There's so much more than just coloring in this book and can be a great book for your older children.  While learning about classic characters in literature, children are working on improving imagination and creativity skills, eye-hand coordination, visual motor and visual perceptual skills and improving fine-motor and grasping skills.
Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book-this beautiful and interactive coloring book, illustrated by Johanna Basford, is something that you will want to do with your children.  I have spent countless hours working on this book (and others from Johanna Basford) with my daughter by my side.  It's more than just a coloring book...adorable garden creatures are hidden throughout the pages, making it great for working on improving visual perceptual skills.  Additionally, it's great for working on building speech and language skills as you and your child talk about what you see on each page.
Scented Gel Pens-I am a total sucker for good coloring tools and these happen to be my favorite right now.  More importantly, my little girl (who ironically has a terrible pencil grip) loves them!  This particular set is great because the pens are smaller and encourage a more appropriate grip.  Even if you have decreased grasp strength, you can use these and be successful because they are smooth and easy to use.  An added bonus is that they smell really good so kids get excited to use them.

Chalkola Markers-I was lucky enough for this product to have found me before I published this years gift guide.  I've been searching for something like these for a while and they happened to drop in my lap.  For many of the kids I work with, I suggest that parents find a wall in their house that they can put up some chalkboard or white erase paper on a free wall to work on graphomotor skills.  However, finding the write writing instruments to use on these surfaces has been tricky.  Dry erase markers are great but for so many of the kids I work with, they drag their hand along their work and erase their work before finishing.  These chalk markers are great because they go on as smoothly as they come off.  When I took them out at my gym recently and had the kids write on our mirror, they were so excited.  I had one little boy (who has always been resistant to handwriting activities) ask to write his name four different time in as many colors.  The nice thing about these chalk markers is that once they are started, they are easy to use so if you have a kid with decreased grasp strength, they can still be successful.  I happened to work on a large wall mirror with my friends which is great for building up upper extremity strength and shoulder stability.  When working in this upright position, kids are also more likely to prop their wrists up correctly which puts them in a more appropriate grasping pattern.  Besides practicing shapes, letters and numbers, you can play games like Tic-Tac-Toe, Hangman or the dot game.
Crayola Pip Squeaks-all of the Pip Squeak line is pretty awesome but the markers are a staple in my gym and I recommend them to all parents.  There are two different kids of Pipsqueak markers....regular and skinnies.  I love them both and tell parents to try both to see what their child
does better with.  One of the things I work on the most with the kids I work with is getting them to hold a writing instrument in a correct way.  One thing I have learned is that the smaller the writing instrument, the more likely a child is to hold it correctly.  Some people ask why I recommend markers over crayons or colored pencils and the answer is simple:  if you have a child with decreased grasp strength, they will fine more success when using markers over any other writing instrument because the amount of pressure they need to use on markers is not as much as crayons or pencils.
Crayons and Pencils-it's hard to know which crayons and colored pencils are the best.  It's really a personal preference and you may choose different coloring tools for different activities.

As an occupational therapist, I tend to use ones that are in the shape of a triangle because they help to Crayola's My First Crayons are a great and affordable option for your little artists and can be found in most drug stores, local toy stores and big box stores like Target.  A little tip...the smaller the crayon is, the more likely a child is to hold it in a more appropriate grasp.  For older children, P'Kolino carries amazing products.  My personal favorite is the Hexagon Shaped Colored Pencils.  Unlike most colored pencils, these are 100% color so you can use the whole pencil and there is no pencil sharpener required (honestly, where is a pencil sharpener when you really need it??).  Another nice thing about these colored pencils is that they are pretty durable and don't break easily, which is a nice feature for those kids who tend to use too much pressure when engaged in graphomotor tasks.
promote a tripod like grasp.

I could go on and give you all dozens of more options, but if you are anything like me, the more choices I find myself presented with, the more confused I get.  Do any of you have a fabulous coloring or activity book that you love?  I would love to tell Santa about them for my daughter if you have any we shouldn't love without!  I am always a click away and I love hearing from you with your ideas and suggestions.

TOS Review: Grapevine Studies

Alyssa and I have been reviewing the Old Testament 1: Level 2 Creation to Jacob study from Grapevine Studies written by author, Dianna Wiebe. Can I just say . . . we are having a blast! We received the Level 2 physical copy of this chronological homeschool Bible curricula, which is suitable for children ages 8-10 years old. It covers major events and people from the book of Genesis.

Ages and Levels Chart

Grapevine Studies offers a variety of Bible study curricula options for children beginning as young as age 3 and up. You can read about their statement of faith and information on their website. Grapevine Studies teaches the facts about the characters and events. The Teacher-Directed Doctrine approach utilized allows the parent or educator to choose what Bible version to use and what doctrine concepts to expand on.

We received the teacher and the student book. The Old Testament 1 Study contains a total of 12 weekly lessons or 45 daily lessons. The "Stick Figure Drawing Through the Bible" method was a hit with my daughter! If you have children who love to draw or doodle, then this curriculum may be a perfect fit. Alyssa loves art and drawing which is one of the reasons why I was hoping to review this product. Different learning modalities are addressed using a Hear-See-Draw teaching method. My daughter heard the Bible passages, then she saw me draw figures that correlate to the event or people, and finally it's her turn to draw.

The Student Book (orange cover) contains 64 black and white pages beginning with a timeline overview. Timeline reviews begin each lesson. The lesson pages each contain four square boxes for drawings. There is a lesson review on the second lesson page which consists of approximately 7-9 discussion questions. My daughter would also attempt to memorize 1-3 memory verses for each lesson. A student drawing page follows the core lesson pages. On this page, Alyssa was asked to draw her favorite part of the lesson. Space is provided for memory verses to be written and recitation prompts are also given. Additional level 2 memory work is added to this page. So far, Alyssa learned the number of Bible books for both the Old and New Testament. She also learned the Books of Law and found out that the Bible was originally written in Hebrew.

The Teacher Book has the same format and pages as the student book. It contains approximately 100 black and white pages with sample model drawings to help the educator explain and teach the lesson material. The Level 2 Teacher Manual (black cover) addresses Level 1 and 2 content. The answer keys are provided for review questions. I really appreciate that the teacher notes are highlighted in green. I know exactly what I need to teach and how to teach it!

Topics Covered

• Creation
• Adam and Eve
• The Fall of Adam and Eve
• Noah and the Flood
• The Tower of Babel
• Job
• Abraham
• Issac
• Jacob

Please see the FAQ section for pertinent information including ideas about the use of colors. You can also check out the scope and sequence while you're there.

Other Materials Needed

• Bible
• Colored Pencils (8 Colors)
• Zondervan's Compact Bible Dictionary (highly recommended)
• Expo or Dry Erase Markers (8 Colors)
• Whiteboard
• Storage or Shoe Box to Have Supplies in One Central Location
• Index Card Box (Optional)
• Index Cards (Optional)

How We Used Our Grapevine Study
We used Grapevine Studies as a mother-daughter Bible study. I placed the pre-printed 3-hole punched pages of the complete study in a 3-ring binder and was READY to go! Very little teacher prep was required. The teacher pages were at the front of my binder and the student pages were towards the back of the binder. Each lesson day I would remove a page for Alyssa to complete. The front and back covers were thicker and had a glossy appearance. Alyssa used her Crayola Erasable Colored Pencils for the student drawings.

We spent 20-45 minutes each day working through the Grapevine Bible study. The company suggests that you teach the curricula within 45-50 minutes especially if you are covering lessons on a weekly basis. We reviewed the content for approximately 5 minutes. Alyssa and I used Grapevine 4 times per week covering one complete lesson a week. We took Wednesdays off, but she continued to review her index card verses and fact cards. Core lesson days were Tuesdays and Thursdays.

A Peek at Our Week
Day 1 (Monday): Timeline Overview or Timeline Review
The study began with a timeline overview giving Alyssa the "big picture" of what will be covered during the course of the study. I think this is a great way to capture the child's attention and prepare them for what's to come. We review the previous week's lesson and memory work every Monday. There was space at the bottom of the page to write out verses. Additional memory work was given and written on an index card. She really liked how they challenged her to remember the lesson titles and would often start drawing before I did.

Timeline Review

Day 2 (Tuesday): Storyboard Lesson Page 1
On this day, we focus on reading scripture and "stick figuring" using symbols, colors, charts, words, and figures to illustrate the Biblical truths and concepts. This has proven to be an effective method for long-term retention. Alyssa located the Bible verses. I read aloud the indicated scripture Bible passages from a student Bible. We discussed and summarized the content verbally. Then, I drew the stick figures on the whiteboard and reviewed the lesson. I always read the Bible passage prior to "stick figuring" on the whiteboard. Alyssa draws what I draw. She doesn't usually add in her own details. I will reiterate the content or begin reading the scripture for the next box.

Day 3 (Thursday): Storyboard Lesson Page 2
This is the second main teaching day. The same process is used as above except this lesson contains 7-9 questions we verbally discuss. They would make great journaling questions. We may use a spiral notebook for answering questions with our next unit.

Student Pages 1 and 2

Day 4 (Friday): Student Drawing Page/Character and Event Cards/Memory Work
Alyssa created character and event cards using 3"x5" index cards. She wrote the verse reference on the front of the card and the scripture verse on the back. She used my student Bible to locate and copy the verses. She enjoys choosing her "favorite part" of the lesson to draw. It really gives the parent a better understanding of what the child absorbed from the lesson.

The Level 2 curricula provides you with a list of Biblical words to define that will aid comprehension. We attempted to look up words in two different books without success. I suggest that you buy the Bible Dictionary that Grapevine Studies recommend so you'll have better luck. We verbally defined words using several different online Bible dictionaries.

Lesson 7, which is a lesson review, contains 47 Section Review comprehension questions based on the topics covered up to that point. The questions do an outstanding job of reviewing and summarizing key concepts and ideas presented. Lesson 12 is a Final Review which consists of 79 comprehension questions and 4 memory work recitations. The entire study ends with a complete timeline overview. I can't wait to see if Alyssa will be able to draw the entire Old Testament 1 timeline without any assistance.

Teacher Notes - Right-Side

What I Like

• Flexibility
• Chronologically Sequenced Lessons
• Interactive
• Easy-to-Follow and Understand
• Stick Figuring Method Makes Teaching the Bible Easy
• Recitation and Memorization Aspect
• Repetition of Format
• Review of Content
• Integrates Art
• No Prior Knowledge - Anyone Can Teach Using This Curriculum
• Lessons Vary Weekly Which Maintains Interest and Attention
• Familiarization with Bible
• Colorful, Fun, and Engaging Lessons
• Multi-Sensory (read-hear, See-draw, draw-do)
• Contextualized - Learning Straight from the Bible
• Multi-Level - More Than One Grade or Age Can Work On the Same Study
• Parent or Teacher Involvement
• Easily Adaptable if Desired
• I love that the company took the time to personalize our package with a little welcome note. My daughter cut this drawing out and saved it as a souvenir. It definitely added a personal touch and meant a lot to us!

Vendor Suggestions

• More Writing Space - Alyssa had enough space to draw, but Level 2 needed more space for written responses and verses. The company may want to add more extra lines for younger children who still write fairly big using this particular level.

Recommendations
I HIGHLY recommend Grapevine Studies for all Christian home educators with right-brained learners looking for an easy-to-teach topical or multi-level study. If you have children who like to draw or doodle then they may enjoy using this study. Classic home educators may appreciate the "Stick Figuring Through the Bible" teaching method.

Alyssa is definitely understanding the Bible better and retaining more information using this study and method. We've had successful results. It is an effective way to learn about God and the Bible. My daughter seemed to be engrossed in the study.

My daughter is already asking me which study we will complete next, because she liked it so much. I plan on using the Birth of Jesus study in December. I would love to purchase the Old Testament Bible Study Part 2 Level 2 sometime in the near future.

Click on the following link to find Information about the Levels available.

Price
The Old Testament Grapevine Study is reasonably priced from $10-$37.50 depending on what you decide to purchase during checkout.

The study is available in two different formats: E-book or a physical copy of the pages. Visit the following link to view SAMPLES. Here's a chart that will help you decide where to start.

Note: All prices vary and are subject to change without notice.

Social Media
Facebook
Twitter @Grapevine Study
Pinterest
Google+
Periscope @Grapevine Studies

Visit the Schoolhouse Teachers Review Crew Blog for additional reviews about Grapevine Studies.

Life Is An Open Book

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More Than Meets The Eye

In this portion of my 2015 Holiday Gift Guide, I focus on fun toys that work on building a variety of visual skills.  Visual skills, simply put, are a set of skills that we use to gather visual information from our environment.  We use this information that we gather to integrate them with our other senses in order to gain understanding and meaning of different experiences.  Visual perceptual skills are especially important for learning things like reading, writing, completing puzzles and gross motor/sports skills.  Kids need to have good eye-hand coordination, visual tracking and visual attention in order to be successful with things such as riding a bike, tying shoes or being able to cross a street.

Since most of the children I work with have delays in the area of visual skills, finding the right tools to encourage them to work on said skills is essential.  It's important to find things that are not only educational and therapeutic, but also to find things that are highly motivating because children have a tendency to avoid tasks that they think will be too hard for them.  Below, you will find a handful of my favorite toys and activities that work on improving visual skills.  Additionally, most of them work on improving fine motor skills, problem solving, focus, attention and organizational skills.  All of them can also be used in small groups or with siblings to encourage social interactions with peers.

Janod magnetibook Vehicles-I am a big fan of all things made by Janod.  Their products are beautifully made and can take a beating from the constant use at my gym.  When I saw the vehicle magnetibook, I grabbed it for all the car loving kids on my caseload.  The set comes with 18 cards and 50 magnets in a magnetic storage box.  There is a scene where you have to place your vehicle (tugboat goes in the water, helicopter goes in the sky, etc.).  Kids have to find the required pieces for each picture and then put it together.  You can also give kids free reign to create whatever kind of vehicle they want and then have them tell me a story about what they created.  I have so many kids on my caseload who love cars and puzzles so when I saw this, I was excited to have something new and a bit more challenging for them after they had mastered regular puzzles.  Great for working on improving fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  As already mentioned, you can also work on encouraging imagination by having kids make their own vehicles instead of following the picture cards.
Janod Magnetibook Moduloform-another great magnet book by Janod but this one uses different geometric shapes to create figures and designs.  Kids can either follow the patterns on the provided cards or use their imagination and come up with their own designs.  Great way for kids to work on fine motor skills in addition to visual motor and visual perceptual skills. This could be a fun activity to do in a small group to work on encouraging team work, compromise and being flexible when working with other people.

Lite-Brite-over the course of my career, I've had almost every kind of Lite Brite created.   This particular version of the always evolving Lite Brite happens to be my favorite.  What sets it apart from the other versions is that the screen is flat but can easily stand up if you want your child to work on an incline.  The other great thing about this one is that they are no longer all circle pegs but there is a variety of square, circle, triangle and curved pieces that make the pictures look more realistic.  They are also great for being able to work on making letters and numbers! Lite Brite is great for working on improving fine motor skills, such as grasping, strengthening and in-hand manipulation skills.  Also great for working on visual motor and perceptual skills. The Lite-Brite comes with reusable templates (no more throwing them away after each use...yay!) with highly motivating pictures to complete.  You can also get the animal or underwater refill sets if your kids get bored with the ones that come with the set. 

Design and Drill Brightworks-Educational Insights has a great line of similar toys but the fan favorite (also known as the preschool voted favorite) is this set.  This set comes with a board, a drill with two different bits, a ton of different colored bolts and a book filled with patterns and designs to follow.  While children can build their own designs, they can also work on visual motor and visual perceptual skills by following the provided patterns.  This toy is perfect for working on improving eye-hand coordination, matching, patterns and sequences and problem solving skills.  Also works on building fine motor skills such as grasping, strengthening and in-hand manipulation skills.  My kids at work love this toy and ask for it week after week.  I love that while they are having fun, they are gaining some very important skills to help them in other areas of learning.
Design and Drill Dazzling Creations Studio-another amazing product by Educational Insights that works on improving a ton of fine motor, visual motor and perceptual and creative skills.  I had to get this set for my daughter (who ironically has some fine motor and grasp issues) when I saw there was a unicorn included.  It happened to be a big hit with her and she didn't even realize that I was trying to get her to work on her grip!
Similar to the Design and Drill Brightworks set, the Dazzling Creations studio uses a tool to create something magical.  This set comes with 4 different templates (unicorn, castle, princess and crown), a variety of different colored screws and a screwdriver.  Using the screwdriver, a child an create a colorful object. In order to complete their project, it requires strength, focus/attention and eye-hand coordination.  What makes this set different is that there are no patterns to follow so kids can be creative and use their imagination.
One of the things I like most about this toy is that there is a motor planning component to it.  Kids have to figure out which direction the screwdriver needs to be in (there is a star on the screwdriver that moves up and down) in order to put the screws in and to take them out again.  There is also an in-hand manipulation and grasping component when you place the special gems (a giant motivating factor for my daughter) into the completed design. One of the bonus factors of this particular toy is that there are no batteries required!

Eeboo Puzzles-I am a big fan of the whole Eeboo line of products but particularly impressed with the quality of their line of puzzles.  From the simple 2-piece alphabet, rhyming and number puzzles to the more complicated larger puzzles, they are all great and you can't go wrong.  I like that the pictures are bright and colorful and help stimulate conversation and language skills. What really sets these puzzles apart from many of the others you see is the quality of them.  They are thick and super durable which is great for little kids who like to be rough with their toys.  Since I work in a gym where toys are shared, finding puzzles that last is very important.  They get used over and over again, maybe thrown across a room or put into a kid's mouth.  Unlike your traditional paper puzzles, these take a lot more wear and tear to bend, break or to be ripped.  Puzzles are great for working on problem solving, eye-hand coordination, fine motor development and for working on executive functioning skills such as focus, attention and organization.  You can also work on improving social skills by having kids work together as a team to complete a puzzle.
Tiggly-I was first introduced to Tiggly at the toy show in NYC a few years ago.  I was an early adapter in using an iPad in therapy sessions with my kids.  Not only was it a highly motivating tool, it was something that was proving to help my kids learn things that they had once shied away from (especially learning how to write letters and numbers).  I have been using Tiggly Shapes with my little ones ever since and love how focused and attentive they are to the activity.  Since then, they have introduced Tiggly Math and Tiggly Words.  All Tiggly toys are designed to help kids develop fine motor, visual motor and visual processing skills, encourage creativity and to learn important
educational concepts.  Additionally, they can be used to work on improving bilateral coordination, problem solving and social skills.  All of the apps associated with the toys are highly engaging (and free when you buy the different sets)  and kids will be asking to learn when you have these on hand.  Below, you will find a brief description of each set.
Tiggly Shapes (2 to 5 years)-each set come with 4 shapes (circle, square, triangle and star) and 3 different apps that are compatible with them.  In addition to learning basic shapes, children are encouraged to learn a variety of other skills using the different apps.  In the Draw app, you use the shape tools to create pictures and imaginary creates.  Once created, they can make them come to life. In Safari (my favorite app for these toys), children construct animals in different habitats by matching the shapes that pop up onto the screen.  They start simple by having to match only one shape to create an animal and becomes more challenging when the shapes pop up on the screen and then start to move all around.  Tiggly Stamp is the most open-ended app and focused on encouraging creativity.  Using the different shapes, kids can create their own canvas to make up stories.  There are different themes for kids to use, such as halloween and other seasons.  This is a great app for working on improving speech and language skills as well.

Tiggly Math (3 to 7 years)-I've been looking for a great math app for years so was really excited when I saw that Tiggly released this last year.  Each set comes with 5 interactive math tools (they look like squares connected to each other) that can be used with the 3 apps that you can download with purchase.  Through cooking, creating and
Cardtoons-in this app, counting comes to lives with 25 imaginative stories.  Kids count, drag and match objects which is great for working on developing eye-hand coordination, motor planning and focus and attentional skills.  Simple pieces of cardboard shuffles into a variety of positions making different objects (gumballs for a frog who likes to blow bubbles and bananas for a camel's back are just two examples).
Tiggly Chef-kids learn early addition concepts as they help the crazy chef prepare over 40 outrageous meals.  Kids will have fun and laugh a lot while learning about addition.  The chef will tell you what he needs in order to make his different recipes and using the Tiggly Math cubes, you give him the exact number of necessary ingredients.  My daughter has had so much fun learning early math skills using this app and I guarantee your child won't give you any fight about practicing their math with this app!
Tiggly Adventure-this app is the most appropriate for your younger kids (preschoolers).  Using the tools, kids will build bridges, ladders and other kinds of objects needed in order to skip obstacles that might get in their way.  It's a fun way to introduce your children to numbers and encourage language skills at the same time.
Tiggly Words (4 to 8 years)-each set comes with 5 lower-case vowels that you will need for the apps

that go along with them.  Children become more familiar with the building blocks of language, learning long and short vowels, phonics, nouns, verbs and word building using this hands-on and interactive tool.  They have fun spelling silly words and solving unusual problems, hiding the fact that they are learning at the same time.
Tiggly Doctor-your child gets to be the Tiggly Town Doctor when playing this game that focuses on teaching kids their verbs.  In addition to using the different vowels, kids will be asked to complete action verbs to cure their patients of their very unusual illnesses.
Tiggly Story Maker-using the tiggly word toys, you make new words by replacing the CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) patterns.  If you create a word that has an actual meaning, the word will come to life.  Kids will learn about CVC patterns, short sounds, building words and the beginnings of writing stories using this fun and engaging app.
Tiggly Submarine-in this words app, children begin to learn simple words with short vowel sounds and spelling patterns.  They get to explore the underwater world and go on adventures while learning at the same time.

These are just a few of my favorite toys that work on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  Do you have anything that you use with your kids that you (and more importantly, your kids) love?  Please be sure to share your favorite toys with me and my readers before the holidays so we can be sure to add it to our shopping list.  I am always a click away and love hearing from you all!

B is for Birthday Celebration

My 39th birthday was last week. My sweet daughter made me a Lemon Supreme Cake with Lemon Frosting. I helped her with the oven and cracking the eggs. She did the rest! I am so blessed to have her as my daughter. She also made me several beautiful birthday cards.

I will link this post up for the 2nd week of Blogging Through the Alphabet. Letter "B" is covered this week.