Blog Archives

Pom poms and golf tees

27/2/2014

We have some keen golfers in our family {grandparents} and fortunately for us ... they had some left over golf tees. {Why do you need so many golf tees? ... asks the non-golfer in me...}

I set up some pom poms, golf tees, toy hammers and a stryrofoam block as an invitation to play and watched Mr 3 and Miss 7 have a great time.

Colour sorting and matching.

There was hammering and pushing of golf tees into the stryofoam block. There was bilateral coordination where one hand held the stryofoam block steady whilst the other hand hammered.

Fingers were busy grasping the pom poms, balancing pom poms of different sizes as well as in-hand manipulation of golf tees and pom poms within one hand. There was some finger isolation as they touched the tops of the golf tees. There was colour sorting and matching.

There was some pretend play where the golf tees became candles for Mr 3 to blow the poms off the top after singing Happy Birthday.

In-hand manipulation as the golf tee was turned up the right way to be placed into the stryofoam block.

Blowing the candles after singing "Happy Birthday".

Pincer grasp with one side of the hand whilst a pom pom is held steady by the pinky side.

What a fun activity for home, preschool or in a therapy session! The stryofoam blocks survived the first battering...we will definitely be doing this again!

Maybe you can find some keen golfers in your family too?

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Did you know that your hand has two sides?

25/2/2014

Your hand has two sides. I'm not talking about your palm and the back of the hand.

I'm referring to the first three fingers of your hand as one group and your fourth and fifth fingers as the second group.

Here is a photo to explain what I mean.

The ability to use these two sides of the hands separately is called the "dissociation of the two sides of the hand". It is an important skill for manipulation and use of tools such as pencils, cutlery, scissors, etc.

When our "side 2" is stable {curled up into our palm or extended away from the other fingers}, we are best able to control "side 1" for precise movement.

Your Kids OT

Infants begin to develop this dissociation of their hand during crawling and tummy time activities. This is further developed as a toddler and preschooler with the manipulation of small objects and toys in daily activities.

How does hand dissociation affect activity performance?
In handwriting, you may notice your child moves their whole hand {and often their arm} across the page as they write. This may result in slow work and a lack of fluency of movement. It may also result in poor legibility as your child may not be able to control the pencil in a precise manner.

In cutting, you may notice your child has difficulty manipulating the paper to turn as they cut out a shape.

In buttoning a shirt, you may notice your child is unable hold the button hole with one hand and the button in the other hand. This involves precise control and stability with both hands working together.

In tying shoelaces, you may notice your child has difficulty stabilising the laces to tie the bow. Learning to tie shoelaces may be very frustrating for a child who has difficulty with hand dissociation.

Your child may appear "clumsy" or "all fingers and thumbs" when trying activities such as these.

What can you do?
To assist a child with separating the two sides of their hand you can encourage them to hold something with side 2 whilst using side 1.

For example, your child may try holding a piece of Lego, a ball of playdough, cotton wool, an eraser, a button or a coin with their 4th and 5th fingers. They can attempt any of the activity suggestions below whilst holding onto this item.

Activity suggestions -

poking toothpicks into playdough, theraputty or marshmellows;
threading activities;
travel games with small parts (eg. Connect Four, Battle ship);
manipulating pipecleaners or wikki sticks to create shapes and pictures;
tearing pieces of paper;
scrunching paper into balls;
pulling apart cotton wool balls;
pulling "post it" stickers off their pad;
placing coins into a piggy bank;
using water guns or squirt bottles;
using pegs on a low clothes horse; and
placing stickers onto paper;
building a lego creation.

Read more about the separation of the two sides of the hand at The Happy Handwriter.

Writing charms are little toys attached to a pencil to help aid the stability of a child's hand. I haven't used them in therapy and I am unaware of an Australian distributor. However, they may be purchased at http:www.funandfunction.com in the USA.

{Note: I have not received any renumeration for this post.}

Have you noticed that your child moves their hand as one unit? Do they have difficulty with handwriting, cutting, buttoning or tying shoes? Does it affect your child with another activity?

Try incorporating some of these activities into your child's play this week.

App Review: rED Writing- Learn to Write

23/2/2014

rED Writing - Learn to Write by Rogue Mobile

Firstly, this app is listed as an iphone app in itunes, however it is compatible with use on an ipad. It is currently available for $2.99 A. I have not received any remuneration for this post and the opinions expressed are my own. However, if you purchase this app through the iTunes link on this page, I will receive a small commission.

rED Writing app has been designed for an Australian audience. Yeah! That means Australian education approved fonts used throughout Australian schools to trace and learn. There is even an Australian voice to prompt your child along the way with the name and sound of each letter. {Sorry to my international subscribers, this is for the Aussies!}

The app supports multiple users, which works well in a classroom, with a therapist seeing multiple children or within a family.

There are 6 learning modes including upper and lower case letters, numbers and fluency patterns. The app guides you with a "monster" showing you starting points for letters and correct letter formation. Kids earn "monster theme" stickers along the way to help with motivation.

Kids can choose from a variety of backgrounds and colours. You can also choose whether you want lines behind the letters and numbers (ie. scaffold lines).

This app allows you to choose the letter or fluency pattern you would like to write. This is useful if you are working on particular letter families or spelling a name as you can choose what is appropriate. You are not required to work through the alphabet from A to Z.

I encourage school age children to use a stylus for this app. The stylus should be held with a functional pencil grasp, preferably a dynamic tripod grasp.

Overall, this is an excellent app for kids learning letter formation within the Australian context. I would recommend it to parents, teachers and therapists! Download it today from the itunes store.

Ready, set, go.... in the morning and for bed.

20/2/2014

Do you find yourself in "repeat mode" every morning?

"Have you brushed your teeth?"
"Put your shoes on."
"Pack your bag."
"Have you washed your face?"

School days are often worse than the weekends. Where does the time go? Even if your child is an early riser, in those moments before you need to be out of the door there is chaos. Does this sound like your house?

On the other hand, some children struggle with getting ready for bed. There is another drink of water to be had, teeth to be cleaned, a book, turning the night light on, going to the toilet... the list might get longer each night.

For some children, a visual time table or visual checklist can help with getting "ready" or organised in the morning or at night. Some children find visual cues helpful for completing tasks such as getting dressed and for others understanding the routine of the day can be better understood through photographs or pictures.

Visual cues help children to plan and organise. They provide predictability and routine, which can be difficult to teach a child with a disability.

There are some excellent free visual aid resources at http://www.visualaidsforlearning.com/

The visual aids on this website have been designed for children with Down Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Language Disorders and Delays, Hearing Impairment , Developmental Delay, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, English as a Second Language, Learning Difficulties. There are resources for school, home, toilet training and behaviour.

You can download the pictures, cut them out and arrange them as required.

I created some visual aid resources for my daughter when she started Kindergarten. She uses a visual checklist to get ready in the morning and to get ready for bed. I printed out the "routine girl glasses" and placed it into the NYTTJA picture frame from IKEA. The NYTTJA picture frames with plastic insert from IKEA come in a variety of colours and for $2.49 are a bargain. They make excellent dry-erase boards, perfect for checking off a visual checklist in the morning!

You can purchase these visual checklists from the Your Kids OT shop. The morning routine includes using the toilet, getting dressed, combing hair, brushing teeth, washing face, putting on socks and shoes. The evening routine includes bathing/showering, putting on pyjamas, brushing teeth, coming hair, using the toilet and reading. The routines which include putting on glasses exclude putting on socks and shoes.

You will find four self care routines available.
Routine girl
Routine boy
Routine girl glasses
Routine boy glasses

Morning and evening "Routine girl glasses" and "Routine Boy" available at Your Kids OT Shop.

Your Kids OT

Ikea NYTTJA picture frames

Here are a few tips for introducing a visual checklist or timetable...

Start by being with your child for the whole morning and evening routine.
Show them the relevant picture and ask them to complete it.
Demonstrate how to mark off the activity with a tick or cross on the circle next to the activity.
Help your child work through completing each picture and ticking off the corresponding circle.
Provide praise after each activity and when all the pictures have been ticked off.
You may need to do this for a few days (or longer) so they are familiar with the routine. Also show your child how to erase the board before each morning or evening routine.
Once the routine chart is familiar, encourage your child's independence in completing the chart each morning and evening.
If your child forgets to complete an activity redirect them to the chart to "self-check" if each picture has been marked off ... rather than telling them the activity that was missed. This helps with with future planning, organising and "executive functioning" **.

Have a closer look at these checklists at the Your Kids OT shop and see if they will help your child with planning and organisation.

** Executive Functioning - Read more about this at the National Centre for Learning Disabilities.

Homemade: More than a posting box

18/2/2014

A simple posting box made from a yoghurt container is a brilliant fine motor activity. Read on to see the other benefits of doing this activity.

To make:
Cover a plastic container with scrapbooking paper (or decorate by painting or with stickers).
Cut three slits in the lids using a Stanley knife- horizontal, vertical and diagonal slits.

To use:

This posting box is perfect for posting small buttons. Encourage a pincer grasp and open webspace of the hand when posting. {The webspace is the open circular shape that is made by the thumb and index finger as seen in the photograph on the far left}. This can be done with either hand.
The posting lid can also be propped up with some playdough. This allows for the button to be transferred from one hand to the other through the slit. When passing through the vertical slit, the spatial orientation is as you would need for buttoning shirts. I have found this really useful for those who have difficulty buttoning up their own clothes {to practise this bilateral activity with the correct orientation to themselves}. This visual spatial orientation is found in only a few other "natural" learning environments, so having this set up can bring great results.
You can also introduce concepts whilst doing this activity such as sorting the buttons according to colour or counting as your child posts.
Your child may also practise in-hand manipulations skills by holding a group of 5 buttons in one hand. Your child then needs to move one button from the group to the thumb and index fingertips, before posting.

This activity is suitable for older toddlers, preschoolers and even school age-children. Supervision is required for younger children as the buttons may be a choking hazard.

Does your child struggle to do up the buttons of their shirt? Have they ever practised with the correct visual spatial orientation to themselves? Will you be making a posting box?

More than a posting box: ready to Pin to your Pinterest board.

Your Kids OT

Left, Right, Left?

16/2/2014

Does your school age child continue to have difficulty with knowing their left and right?

Here is a quick way for them to figure it out. Ask them to position their hands as shown in the photograph in front of themselves.

In this position the left hand forms a letter "L" and the right hand forms a backwards "L". "L" for left.

Good bilateral coordination leads to an awareness of the two sides of the body, selection of one side as dominant and a sense of right and left discrimination. Read more about bilateral coordination here.

Your child can use this visual prompt whenever they need it! Try it today. Let me know if it helps!

"L" for left.

Your Kids OT

Kids in the Kitchen and Valentine's Day Choc-Dipped Strawberries.

13/2/2014

You may have wondered why I have included a section for recipes on this website. If you are expecting inspiration for a gourmet dinner party or fine dining experience, then you will be disappointed.

The recipe section of this website aims to encourage kids into the kitchen to assist and perhaps manage some recipes independently.

The benefits of encouraging kids in the kitchen are well documented, beginning with nutrition and meal preparation. Healthy eating and nutrition is an important issue we discuss as a society with the rise of childhood obesity. Introducing kids to ingredients and how to use them is so important in helping them along the path of healthy eating.

Meal preparation is a skill for life that should not be underestimated. Here are more benefits...

Your Kids OT

From an OT's perspective, here are a few benefits of involving kids in the kitchen: -
* Motor skills - Eye/hand coordination, pouring, cutting, bilateral coordination, finger isolation and manual dexterity.
* Concepts and Cognition - learning about measurements, size, colour, shape, temperature and time. Attention and concentration are also important skills that can be developed in the kitchen.
* Sensory skills - a variety of textures can be experienced in the kitchen when using your hands as well as in your mouth with tasting.
* Social skills - turn taking, waiting, cooperation, language development, sharing, time with other family members in a shared experience.
* Planning and organisation - planning and organisation of ingredients, equipment and time; sequencing the procedure, motor planning in relation to equipment and ingredients.
* Personal skills - self confidence, sense of achievement, sense of belonging to a family, independence and responsibility.

So now that you are convinced that your child can help in the kitchen, how can you make it happen?
1. Consider your child's safety and use commonsense with knives, electrical appliances, stoves and ovens. Adult supervision should always be available.
2. Consider suitable work surfaces and accessibility for your child (e.g. Standing on a stool at a kitchen benchtop or sitting at a dining table.)
3. Expect mess!
4. Consider the number of children who are cooking and their various ages. What can each child be involved with doing?
5. Choose easy recipes with quick results (eg. a dip or milkshake).
6. Expect mess!
7. Expect short attention spans and taste testing {probably before the recipe is complete}.

So, what can they do? The following age guides are guides only. As a child gains experience in the kitchen, they may be capable of more than the suggestions listed below.

Age guide for Kids in the Kitchen...

2 year olds
* pouring, mixing, tearing, spreading, scooping
* using hands to squeeze, knead, push
* placing cupcake liners in tray
* helping to make choices (eg. flavours, colours)
* taste tester
* wiping the table

3 year olds
* managing fine motor tasks with smaller ingredients
* sorting, mixing, beating, scrubbing, tearing, dipping, spreading, shaking
* locating equipment in the kitchen
* picking herbs
* cracking an egg
* setting the table
* turning on some electrical appliances (eg. slow cooker, electric steamer and rice cooker, blender).

4 year olds
* spreading, sprinkling, scooping, mashing, whisking
* starting to use a butter knife to chop and dice
* helping to select recipes

5 year olds and up
* reading recipe: collecting ingredients and equipment needed
* measuring quantities
* setting timers
* using the microwave
* stirring a pot on the stove
* using oil sprays

Valentine's Day Choc-dipped strawberries.

A last minute romantic gesture or a pre-planned surprise. Your loved ones will be none the wiser. Choc-dipped strawberries look great and will be a hit for the sweet tooth.

This is a quick and easy recipe for you to do with your children today. Download it free from the Your Kids OT shop. There are step by step instructions with photographs for each step.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Your Kids OT

Review: Poisson Rouge {Red Fish} Website and Apps

12/2/2014

Poisson Rouge {Red Fish} is an innovative website for children. I first discovered it about five years ago and it continues to be a firm favourite in our household.

Self-described as a "playground", it has over 300 activities for children of all ages and a range of abilities. It is truly a wonderland of exploration.
Children are encouraged to use the mouse to navigate through the various activities. There are simple "single click" cause and affect activities, "click and drag" activities for sorting and matching, as well as more complicated numeracy and literacy activities.

The activities have a range of appeal ... with music, colour, art and science elements. There are a range of languages to engage in specific activities for an international audience or for those children who may be learning more than one language.

Poisson Rouge Website

This picture collage is just a small sample of the games on offer at Poisson Rouge. The alphabet is available in 6 languages with a mini-game represented with each letter of the alphabet. As you can see there is a sorting game requiring a "click and drag" of the fruit placing them into the correct bowls. There is a cake making game which requires some visual perceptual skills to match the item to the shadow. Once the shadow is matched then it is added to the cake and finally the cake is baked. The fish game asks the player to match colours whilst naming the colour. The x-ray game is a fun activity moving the x-ray around the body. The zebra game is a puzzle to be completed.

The creators describe their site like this "Poisson Rouge makes toys, that one can grab and manipulate and study and make one's own, within a privileged environment" and "Poisson Rouge doesn't try to teach, but offers a play-and-learn environment suitable for free exploration. There is no right or wrong way to play."

Whilst reviewing this blog, I have discovered that the creators of Poisson Rouge will be beginning a paid subscription to access this website. It is unfortunate but understandable in this economic climate. This begins on February 15th 2014, so I suggest accessing the website now and giving it a test run whilst it is still free. http://www.poissonrouge.com/

Poisson Rouge have also created some apps for Android and the iPad. They are based on mini-games you can find on the website and are just as easy to navigate. Here is a quick summary of the English language apps. I have included "Youtube" clips where available for you to see the apps in action.

Maths Bug $1.99
14 activities suitable for children 1-8 years. Games include number matching to dots, following a bug trail with your finger, matching shapes and patterns, drawing and musical bug activities.

Amos From Outer Space $1.99
Appealing to toddlers and preschoolers, this space themed app has games for simple cause and affect to play peekaboo, draw, dress up the astronaut as well as experiment with colour and muisic.

Maths Planets $1.99
This app has been designed for school aged children with 14 activities {ie. planets} of mathematic exploration. The games include multiplication, pattern matching, time recognition and more.

Ten Green Bottles $0.99
The famous nursery rhyme has been turned into a delightful app for toddlers.

Musical Aquarium $1.99
An underwater adventure with a musical feature. Feed the stingrays, clean the whale, touch the starfish and much more.

Magical Patterns $1.99
To be honest, this is my least preferred of the apps here today. This app has a range of patterns which hide a picture. The picture with the pattern imprint moves when touched. A play of the visual perceptual skills here.

Word Castle {English} $1.99
An app for language and vocabulary recognition and development. Topics include toys, body, kitchen, workshop, animals, bathroom, numbers, music, transport.

Visit Poisson Rouge and explore the website for yourself! Let me know what you and your children think of the website and apps. I have 2 promo codes available for each of the apps featured here for the first 14 people to comment below {1 promo code per person}. These codes are redeemable for the next month only.

I look forward to hearing from you!

This is not a sponsored post. However, if you purchase the apps through the links here, I will receive a small commission. All comments made are my own.

Roll roll roll ..... the playdough!

9/2/2014

Playdough is loved by kids everywhere. It is so versatile. It appeals to a wide age range of kids. It is portable. It is fun!!

Playdough is great for sensory exploration, fine motor manipulation, finger isolation and imaginary play. Playdough can also be useful to help a child learn concepts such as shapes, numbers and letters.
Here are some of our favourite ways to use playdough. You could "invite" your child to play with one of the playdough props below each time they play.

Squashing, squeezing, rolling, poking...

Using cookie cutters.

Making roads.

Making faces.

Making impressions with forks and other implements.

Making letters.

Making "Mr Potato Head" Playdough creatures.

Making shapes.

Making rings, bracelets and other jewellery.

Making food

Making birthday cakes.

Making a zoo.

Use playdough mats to complete a picture.

I love the playdough mats designed by "Planet of the Apels". I have printed and laminated them. I have used them with my kids in therapy. I've also used them with my own kids and given away complete sets with some playdough as a gift. You can find these free printables here.

Here are a few helpful playdough tips:

Playdough is suitable for children 12 months upwards (adult supervision is required for young children).
Playdough should not be consumed by children or animals (there is a really high salt content).
Use a large blob of playdough to help pick up little scrap pieces of playdough.
Store playdough in an airtight container. If you leave it for a while before packing away, it will dry up and you may have to throw it away. You can store playdough in the fridge.
Avoid carpet and rugs when using playdough.
Try adding glitter or natural essence for a multisensory experience.

You will also find a free copy of my playdough recipe in the Your Kids OT shop. or you can watch how to make playdough ---> Playdough recipe You Tube video.

Do your kids love playdough?

Mr 3 decided using his elbow was an even better way to use playdough!

Roll roll roll ... the playdough!

Picture collage perfect to pin to your Pinterest Board.

Your Kids OT

Recipe: Playdough

6/2/2014

Who loves playdough?

I make playdough using a very simple recipe. It is the boiling water method. Have you tried it?

Making playdough yourself allows you to make several colours at one time. You can experiment with glitter or fragrances too.

It lasts for a long time...months {even when not refrigerated}. As the colours get mixed together {as the inevitably do with children} you may want to make a fresh batch.

In these photos I have used a natural food colouring to make the playdough so the colours are a little dull. Store bought food colouring will give you a vibrant colour.

Making playdough is a great way to get the kids in the kitchen. Children of all ages will love measuring, pouring, mixing and kneading. Preparation is the key if you don't like mess in the kitchen or get stressed with your kids in the kitchen.

Older children may be able to assist with obtaining the equipment needed using the list or photograph provided.

Adult supervision is required when pouring the boiling water. You may also like to add extra oil or water in the final stages depending on the humidity on the day of making it.

Ingredients
2 cups plain flour
4 Tabs cream of tartar
2 Tabs cooking oil
1 cup salt
food colouring
1 cup hot water

Equipment needed
Mixing bowl
Mixing spoon
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Kettle

Playdough Ingredients

Playdough equipment needed.

Method
1. Place the flour, cream of tartar, cooking oil and salt into the mixing bowl. Stir.
2. Boil the water in a kettle. Measure 1 cup of water and gradually pour this into the mixing bowl. Stir carefully.
4. Put the dough onto your tabletop and knead until it forms a smooth ball.
5. Divide the mixture into 2 and add food colouring.
6. Knead each ball of dough until smooth.
7. Store in an airtight container.

{Note: You can use one colour if that is preferred}.

This recipe is available as a free instant pdf from the Your Kids OT Shop. You will find a child friendly layout which will also be used for future recipes you will find at Your Kids OT. The playdough recipe includes step by step instructions on a single A4 page version as well as a larger three A4 page version with larger photographs.

Have you made playdough before? Make some this weekend!

Playdough recipe

Picture collage perfect to pin to your Pinterest board.

Your Kids OT

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Disclaimer: The information on this site is general in nature and should be used for educational and entertainment purposes. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. This blog does not replace formal therapeutic professional advice given by a health professional or medical practitioner. Reviews and endorsements of products will only be made based on my expertise and personal opinion; and deemed worthy of such endorsement. The opinions shared in sponsored content will always be my own and not that of the advertising company or brand. Content, advertising space or posts will be clearly identified if paid, affiliated or sponsored. Affiliate links may be found throughout this website in advertising. This means that if you follow through with a purchase from these links, Your Kids OT will receive a percentage of the sale. Your Kids OT undertakes to meet the requirements of the "Social Media Policy" as published by Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Further information about this policy can be found here.

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Hi, I'm Cindy and I am an Occupational Therapist. I enjoy working creatively with children to see them reach their potential. Read more about me here.

Pom poms and golf tees

Did you know that your hand has two sides?

App Review: rED Writing- Learn to Write

Ready, set, go.... in the morning and for bed.

Homemade: More than a posting box

Left, Right, Left?

Kids in the Kitchen and Valentine's Day Choc-Dipped Strawberries.

Age guide for Kids in the Kitchen...

Valentine's Day Choc-dipped strawberries.

Review: Poisson Rouge {Red Fish} Website and Apps

Roll roll roll ..... the playdough!

Recipe: Playdough

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