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A Sensory Diet...nothing to do with food!

29/7/2014

 
A "sensory diet" is related to activities that a child performs through the day to help them to "modulate" their bodies - so not food related at all!   Think about some of the activities you do to relax - do you go for a jog? soak in a hot bath? go for a massage? drink a warm drink?

Understanding terminology around "sensory processing" can be confusing.  Start here if you are new to my website with some information about how we all process information with our senses.  

Broadly speaking some kids have difficulty coping with the sensory information they receive in their daily lives (visual, auditory, vestibular, proprioceptive, tactile, taste, etc).  Some kids can be sensory seeking and others sensory avoiders of any of the body's senses (and even at the same time). 
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​Proprioception: Heavy Work
Activities where the body has input to the muscles and joints.  This may involve lifting, pushing, pulling objects and a child's own body weight. {Read more here}.
A “sensory diet" aims to help a child level it all out and cope.  Different authors describe this in different ways.... "modulating" or "regulating" or "getting their engines ready", etc.  If you are concerned that your child may have a sensory processing disorder, contact an Occupational Therapist for an assessment.  The assessment typically involves an interview and questionnaire completed by parents and teachers as well as observation of your child.

The following are examples of activities that may be included in a "sensory diet" in a home environment where specialised equipment may not be available.  These activities are generally suitable for all children, however, professional advice should be obtained if you are uncertain (particularly with the vestibular system) about which activities or combination of activities to try.  Consideration should also be made regarding your child's age and cognitive abilities.  The activities have been categorised but also be aware that all the sensory systems are connected so one system may affect another. 

After trialing the activities with your child, make note of the affect of the activities. Does it calm your child, arouse them, over arouse them? Use this resource to help work out which activities work for your child. ——->Activities for me!

There are over 100 activities that I have put together here so if you are overwhelmed don't feel like you need to try them all today.

Two great resources now available so you can print out activity suggestions! This are practical resources for parents, teachers and therapists!   

Read more about the Sensory diet  activity reference sheet (similar to the activities listed here) and a more detailed Sensory Diet Activity Guidebook (includes explanations about each sensory system and activity suggestions)!


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Activities for a sensory diet...

Proprioception: Whole body
  • Jumping on the trampoline
  • Leapfrog over another child
  • Jumping from one stepping stone to another
  • Jumping off the stairs onto the floor
  • Jumping from a bench onto the grass
  • Swinging on monkey bars
  • Swinging on overhead flying fox
  • Pulling wet clothes from the washing machine
  • Pulling dry clothes from the dryer
  • Tug-of-war pulling on a rope
  • Pulling against a towel (someone else holding on)
  • Hopscotch
  • Animal walking (crab, bear, snake, etc) forward or backward
  • Wheelbarrows on hands with someone else holding legs
  • Commando crawling
  • Stamping feet
  • Running (forward or backward)
  • Crawling on knees (forward or backward)
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  • Wiping clean a whiteboard
  • Lifting school chairs onto the table
  • Wrapped up in a blanket or towel and be squeezed (standing or on the floor)
  • Squeezed between pillows or mattresses (standing or on the floor).
  • Using a weighted blanket or weighted vest
  • Massaged by someone else
  • Bear hug from someone else
  • Hiding under blankets on bed
  • Hiding in small spaces
  • Squashing under therapy ball
  • Carrying shopping bags
  • Carrying heavy books
  • Carrying a backpack with a phone book inside
  • Carrying beanbags on head 
  • Carrying sand or water in a bucket
  • Carry furniture around the house (size appropriate)
  • Throwing and catching therapy ball
  • Digging dirt or sand with a spade
  • Pull rubbish bins to.from the kerb
  • Pushing a therapy ball up and down a wall
  • Pushing furniture
  • Pushing against a wall
  • Chair push-ups (lift whole body up from a chair with arms straight)
  • Pushing wheelbarrow full of leaves (kid size for young kids)
  • Pushing a box full of toys
  • Pushing or pulling a stroller, wagon, shopping trolley
  • Pushing hands against a grown up who pushes back
  • On the floor, pushing feet against a grown up pushing their feet back (cycling motion)
  • On the floor, cycling own feet in the air
  • Push-ups on the floor
  • Climbing up a slide
  • Climbing over furniture or pillows
  • Climbing up a ladder (suitable for child)
  • Child-safe rock climbing or climbing on nets at the park
  • Stirring a pot of food 
  • Vacuum the floor
  • Wipe the table
  • Clean the windows
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Proprioception: Hands and Fingers
  • Squeeze wet sponge
  • Squeeze soft toy
  • Squeeze theraputty or playdough
  • Squeeze bath toy
  • Squeeze a water pistol
  • Squeeze a water spray
  • Playing with a hand fidget toy
  • Pinch pegs {clothespins}
  • Pinch and pull theraputty
  • Pulling theraband
  • Playing "thumb wars"
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  • Finger play nursery rhymes and songs
  • Finger puppets
  • Finger push ups on the table
  • Catch and throw a ball 
  • Play a bat and ball game (eg. table tennis)
  • Play an instrument (eg. piano)
  • Play hands stacks with someone (applying pressure as you stack)
  • Clapping games
  • Messy play with rice, cloud dough, Kinetic sand, playdough, sand, etc
  • Cooking with hands to knead dough, roll meatballs, etc
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Proprioception: Oral
  • Chewing on chewing gum
  • Chewing  on commercial "chewy" products 
  • Eating crunchy food (apple, carrot sticks, corn on the cob, rice crackers, celery sticks, dry cereal, pretzels, ice, frozen ice block, etc)
  • Eating chewy food (steak, fruit roll ups, etc)
  • Poke out tongue
  • Puff up cheeks and squeeze out air
  • Push tongue into cheeks
  • Use a vibrating toothbrush
  • Blow bubbles in water, with a bubble wand, using a straw
  • Blow up a balloon
  • Blow into a straw to push a table tennis ball
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Vestibular: Sense of movement and balance
Movement stimulates the receptors in the inner ear {including spinning, swinging and hanging upside down}. Head position is an important consideration during these activities.  

Vestibular: Linear (up/down, side/side movements)
  • Spring see-saw 
  • Ball hopper 
  • Bouncing on grown up's legs 
  • Bouncing on therapy ball 
  • Piggy back ride 
  • Lying over therapy ball on stomach
  • Swinging at the park sitting
  • Swinging at the park lying over the swing
  • Swinging on a rope or tyre swing
  • Rolling down a hill or lawn
  • Grown up holding child's body and swinging them forward and backward
  • Lying on a scooter board and moving
  • Swinging on a hammock
  • Rocking horse
  • Flying fox sitting or suspended hanging
  • Skipping with a rope
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Scooter board activity.
Vestibular: Rotational (spinning around)
  • Grown up holding child's body whilst swinging legs around in a circular motion.
  • Sitting on a swivel chair and spinning around
  • Scooter board spinning on stomach rotating with hands to push
  • Twisting around on park swing and then untwisting
  • Merry-go-round park equipment
  • Spinning self in circles
  • Sitting on a spinning toy (eg. Sit 'n spin or Bilibo)
  • Spinning park equipment
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Bilibo can be used to spin around.
Vestibular: Upside Down
  • Forward or backward somersaults 
  • Handstands supported by wall or unsupported
  • Cartwheels
  • Gymnastic classes using parallel bars
  • Wheelbarrows on hands

Tactile System: Sense of touch
The tactile system discriminates touch (what and where touch occurs on the body) and processes for danger (fight or flight response).  Tactile input can involve deep pressure of the skin, muscles and joints (see Proprioception activity suggestions).  It may also involve modification to the environment.

Tactile System 
  • Avoid touching or approaching your child from behind;
  • Make sure your child can see you before giving them an instruction;
  • Avoid clothing fabrics which appear irritating;
  • Encourage your child to brush their own body with a natural sponge during bath time;
  • Allow a child to go first or last in a line to minimise tactile contact with others;
  • When using physical prompts, instructions or guidance, use a firm touch;
  • Use markers to help designate personal space when sitting on the floor or allow the child to choose their position;
  • Provide a quiet corner for the child to retreat to when required;

Visual System: Vision 
The visual system can be overwhelmed by what is seen.  The most helpful way to assist the visual system is to modify the environment {eg. reduce clutter, present one item at a time, remove unnecessary information from a whiteboard, position the child at the front of the classroom, watch a snow globe, etc).

Auditory system: Hearing and listening
The auditory system is required to process what and how something is heard.  

Auditory System
  • Find soothing sounds for your child (eg. music, waves, white noise, etc)
  • Use headphones to listen to instructions and block out other noises
  • Find a sanctuary in a noisy environment if possible (eg. lift, library)
  • Listen to audio books
  • Play commercial listening games (eg. Cock-a-Doodle Moo)
  • Play listening games with sounds from the environment (eg. garbage truck, siren, bell, clapping)
  • Help your child to manage unpleasant sounds by anticipating them (eg. turning on the vacuum, counting before using hand dryer at shops or hair dryer)

Olfactory: Smell
The sense of smell can also affect emotions, behaviour, memory and thinking as the nose receptors are connected to both the limbic system as well as the cortex.  Finding the smells that calm, arouse and over arouse will help to plan how to avoid or incorporate these smells into your child's routine. Essential oils can be added to homemade playdough or cloud dough. Dried flowers can be made into sachets for clothes.  Washing powder can be chosen or avoided.

Taste
The taste sense in also strongly linked with the sense of smell and oral sensitivities (see also Proprioceptive Oral activities).  Taste is also linked with experience as many flavours may be accepted after repeated trials.  Involve children in meal preparation, gathering ingredients and presenting the food. 

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Tactile Defensiveness ...what can we do?

27/7/2014

 
This week I'm looking at Sensory  Processing issues.  You may want to read some of my previous posts before reading this week's articles...start here.

Tactile Defensiveness has been describe as a pattern of observable behavioural and emotional responses, which are aversive, negative and out of proportion, to certain types of tactile stimuli that most people would find to be non-painful (Lane & Royeen, 1991). 

Our body interprets touch sensation for discrimination (what is touching and where) or danger (central nervous processing fight or flight).  Kids who experience tactile defensiveness often find certain textures to be "painful" and will avoid them or become distressed.



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This post will outline some general strategies that you may try at home or in the classroom. Mailloux (1992) describes these strategies as a way you can help your child to normalise the way the nervous system registers and interprets touch information.  

At home:-
  • Use firm pressure when touching your child rather than light touch;
  • Massage with straight, downward firm pushes on the top of the head or on both shoulders.
  • Give big heavy bear hugs.
  • Avoid touching or approaching your child from behind;
  • Make sure your child can see you before giving them an instruction;
  • Avoid clothing fabrics which appear irritating;
  • Encourage your child to brush their own body with a natural sponge during bath time;
  • Incorporate "heavy work" activities throughout the day. 
At preschool or school:-
  • Avoid touching or approaching your child from behind;
  • Make sure your child can see you before giving them an instruction;
  • Allow a child to go first or last in a line to minimise tactile contact with others;
  • When using physical prompts, instructions or guidance, use a firm touch;
  • Use markers to help designate personal space when sitting on the floor or allow the child to choose their position;
  • Provide a quiet corner for the child to retreat to when required;
  • Incorporate "heavy work" activities throughout the day. 


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"Hanging around" is heavy work.
"Heavy work" activities refer to activities where the body has input to the muscles and joints.  It can relate to the whole body (pushing, pulling, lifting, playing and moving), the mouth (chewing, sucking and blowing) or using hands (squeezing, pinching, fidgeting).  Heavy work activities are generally recognised as a way to help children improve attention, arousal level, body awareness, muscle tone as well as decreasing defensiveness.

Some examples of "heavy work" activities include swinging on the monkey bars, erasing a whiteboard, putting chairs onto desks, carrying a heavy backpack, chewing on chewing gum, pushing against a wall, jumping on a trampoline, etc. 
Occupational Therapists may use additional strategies to address tactile defensiveness as a part of an overall sensory program.  This might include brushes to aid sensory input, weighted vests, a scooter board, therapy ball or a body sock.

Sensory Processing can be a complex issue to understand with lots of jargon.  Seek an individual Occupational Therapy assessment if your child appears to be having difficulties processing the sensory information in their environment to perform daily activities at home or actively participate in the classroom.
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Therapy ball activities used as a part of a sensory program.
Lane, S. & Royeen, C. (1991). Tactile processing and sensory defensiveness. In Fisher, Murray, & Bundy (eds.), Sensory Integration Theory and Practice. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company.

Mailloux, Z (1992). Tactile Defensiveness: Some People are More Sensitive. Sensory 
Integration Quarterly, Vol XX, No.3, pp 10-11

Come fly with me ...

24/7/2014

 
Paper planes appeal to kids (and adults) of all ages.  It may be something you did as a child with a grownup helping you to perfect a great flyer.

You may not have stopped to think that paper planes encourage visual motor planning, bilateral coordination (using both hands together), and fine motor accuracy in executing the folds. They are lots of fun too!


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In the Miller Function and Participation Scales there is an "origami" subtest that measures this against age appropriate norms.  Miller describes the skills needed for this activity to be similar to participation in home activities (eg. folding towels, napkins, clothes or the newspaper) or school activities (eg. turning pages in books or folding paper for art projects).
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Mr 4 received a terrific book for his birthday recently with over 50 examples for folding paper planes. Whilst he needs lots of help to complete the simple ones, Miss 7 has taken over the book and has loved following the instructions to build a variety of planes.  Miss 7 and Mr 4 have spent hours flying the planes {outside, inside, down the stairwell}, decorating them and turning them into characters for stories (mostly Miss 7 with that one). Miss 7 has also attached messages to some of her planes (see the photo). Best of all it is something despite their different interests and abilities that they can do together. 

Here are instructions for one of Miss 7's favourite planes ... the "acrobatic".  Make sure you press down after each step.
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Do your kids enjoy making paper planes?  What is their favourite? Send me a photo of your creations, I would love to see them!
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Note: This post may contain affiliate links.  All photos and comments made here are my own.

Recipe: Pork and Cabbage Dumplings

22/7/2014

 
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We love dumplings!  Whilst dumplings can be bought easily from an Asian grocery shop, we love to make our own so we know exactly what is inside.  Here is a yummy recipe that you can make at home with your kids.  

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There is a little bit of preparation before starting this recipe - measuring out the ingredients and finely slicing the cabbage and chives.  You will be the best judge whether your kids can help with this or not. If you can't find Shaoxing wine, just leave it out.  

Kids will need supervision during the "steaming" part of this recipe depending on whether you steam on a stove top, steam over or electric steamer like I did.  Tongs might be helpful to remove the dumplings after cooking.
Ingredients

300g pork mince
150g Chinese cabbage (wombok) finely chopped.
1 Tab oyster sauce
1 Tab chopped chives
1 Tab Shaoxing rice wine
1 packet Gow gee wrappers
Water
Salt and Pepper (good pinch)

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Ingredients for pork and cabbage dumplings.

Equipment needed

Mixing bowl
2 Teaspoons
2 Plates
Steamer

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Equipment needed for pork and cabbage dumplings.

Method

1.       Place pork mince, Chinese cabbage, oyster sauce, chives and Shaoxing rice wine, salt and pepper into the mixing bowl.
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2.       Mix with your hands until all ingredients are combined. Wash and dry your hands.
3.       Spread out a layer of Gow gee wrappers onto a plate.
4.       Place a heaped teaspoon of meat onto a wrapper.
5.       Using your finger spread some water on the edge of one wrapper.
6.       Fold the wrapper over covering the meat and press down.
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7.       Press the wrapper together and pleat.  (To pleat pinch the wrapper and fold over, repeat).
8.       Repeat steps 3-7 until all of the filling mixture is used.
9.       Steam the dumplings in a single layer for approximately 12 minutes.  
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10.    Serve dumplings with a dipping sauce or with a noodle soup.
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Hmmm... I'm not sure why I said 2 plates but I suppose it means you can lay out more wrappers or maybe it was for the finished dumplings...

You can buy ready made dumpling dipping sauce from your local Asian grocery store or supermarket. Grownups might want some chilli sauce too!

You can find an extended version of this recipe with photographs for each step at the Your Kids OT shop.  All recipes have been designed for kids (with adult supervision) or for children with a disability. 

Have you made dumplings before?  Enjoy!
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Looking for more recipes to get your Kids in the Kitchen? Try these...
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Anzac Slice
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Banana Sour Cream Muffins
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Chocolate Fudge

Painting at home ... not as hard as you think!

20/7/2014

 
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Congratulations for getting past the title...are you someone who says "I leave painting for preschool!" or  "I don't let my child paint at home"? There is nothing wrong with this.  I don't think that I ever painted at home as a young child...  

However, painting can be great fun and a way for your child to express themselves.  Some of the concerns that parents have are "my child is impulsive", "my child has poor attention", "my child will paint a few scribbles and then has had enough", "there is so much effort in setting up and clearing away", "my child doesn't like it"....  Any of these ring true for you? 

Painting at home does not need to be a daunting thing with young kids.  The key is preparation and organisation (from the grown up).  It may be "saved up" a rainy day activity or for the school holidays when there is less rushing around.

Here is a simple painting project for toddlers and preschoolers with a few tips to make it successful for you and your child. 

What do you need?
  • Art smock (or paint shirt)
  • Paint
  • Paint brush
  • Painters palette (plastic lid or plate)
  • Plastic cup with water
  • Old egg carton
  • Cardboard rolls 
  • Messy mat for the floor/table (optional)
What do you need to do?
  • Provide your child with one paintbrush and one colour at a time.  
  • Paint one cardboard roll and then clean the brush in the water before presenting the next cardboard roll and next paint colour.  
  • Place the cardboard roll on an old egg carton during painting and then leave it there for drying.
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#Otlifehack: using egg cartons to support painting.
Presenting one colour and one cardboard roll at a time reduces impulsive behaviour.  It helps a child with poor attention skills to focus on the one activity.  It also helps to provide a clear "finish" point when the roll is covered in paint.  The egg carton provides some stability during painting and reduces the amount of "touching" for those with tactile defensive reactions to paint. 

Activity suggestion
There are lots of things that you can do with the cardboard rolls once the paint has dried.  

Here is one suggestion... I attached them to the wall using masking tape. Mr 3 then used tongs to pick up pom poms to release down the "coloured tunnels".  He also used a pincer grip to match the pom poms to the painted roll.  

This is a great fine motor activity for building up hand strength as well as learning and matching colours.
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So hands up if you shudder at the thought of painting with your kids?  I hope these simple tips make it a less daunting activity to consider.  It may not be an every day activity for your household but it is possible!  Let me know if you step out of your comfort zone for this one....
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#OTlifehack, #OTtips, #OTfine motor
If you enjoyed this article you may also like...
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Homemade: More than a posting box.
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Homemade: Car play road map
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What's in your hand?
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Pom poms and golf tees.
Enjoying Your Kids OT?  Share this newsletter with your friends, family, teachers and colleagues.  Find me on Facebook or Pinterest or comment below.  Thanks!

#OTLifeHack... Playdough unstuck

18/7/2014

 
The #OTLifeHack campaign (during the month of July) is an international collaboration between occupational therapy associations from Canada, the US, Britain, Ireland, Spain, New Zealand and Australia. 

A life hack is any trick, shortcut, or new method that solves an everyday problem, and the #OTLifeHack campaign aims to share these simple, bite-sized, consumer-friendly tips for easier daily living by using the power of social media.

The campaign is taking place on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google+ right now. What’s your best OT Life Hack? Search the hashtag, follow OT Australia on Twitter or Instagram, or on Facebook and join in the fun!  

I'm just learning about hastags but if you follow on FB... you can search #OTlifeHack on FB to find lots of brilliant ideas too.

Here is one my #OTLifeHack ...playdough unstuck.
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Have you ever had this problem?

Playdough stuck to carpet. Dried playdough.

The solution for removing it was relatively simple.  I took out my hairspray.

Yes, it worked!  You have to trust that the after photo is the same patch of carpet but it is just a few sprays of hairspray and a damp cloth. 

Done. Back to original state~ reasonably clean carpet. Simple solution to an everyday problem.

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You may have also read a previous post I wrote about various ways for little ones to "hold" their cards. Read it here.  Simple solutions to an everyday problem, that is what OT's are dubbing an #OTlifehack. 

Today I am also linking up with some other OT bloggers.  Make sure you check out their #OTlifehacks too!  Note that these links will be live approximately 7pm Sydney time tonight so please come back again to check these out if you are reading it earlier.
  • OT Cafe
  • Your Therapy Source Inc  
  • Therapy Fun Zone 
  • The Pocket OT http://www.pocketot.com/
  • Mama OT 

What's your favourite #OTlife hack?  Have you tried hairspray on stuck playdough?
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Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post for hairspray! 

Everyday writing... encouraging reluctant writers.

15/7/2014

 
Some children are very reluctant to write.  They may look at a blank piece of paper and have trouble transferring their ideas from their head to the page.  Others may look at the piece of paper and are overwhelmed... there is the letter forming to consider, the content, the effort on the hand, the placement of the letters, the spacing, the speed that the work needs to be done ... etc.  With that list it is incredible that most of us pull through with writing.

It may be that your child is working on one or a number of things such as pencil grasp, fine motor skills, letter formation, letter size or story creation ideas.  Regardless, I try to encourage all the children I see for "handwriting" issues to incorporate it into their daily life.  As will all skills, handwriting takes practise but no one wants to sit and write hundreds of "lines" with no purpose. Giving your child some purpose with their writing may help motivate them. 

Here are a few ways to encourage your reluctant writer with everyday writing... 
#1: Card writing- Birthday cards, thank you cards, mother's day, father's day, Christmas cards, Valentine's Day... start with your encouraging your child to write their name and then the recipients name.  Anything else is bonus.

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#2: Shopping list - Keep a list on the fridge. Your child can add to the list through the week.  Start with one item at a time. Don't worry about spelling! 

You could reward your child at the end of the week with something they would like to add to the shopping list.

Alternatively, you could ask different siblings to be the writer for the day.
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#3: Journal writing - Keep a journal of special events {eg, holiday journal}. Provide simple writing prompts such as the date, What I did, What I ate, My favourite thing... Encourage drawing and recording how they felt during the special event.  They could also record who was with them and what the weather was like.

Collect tokens, tickets, postcards, stickers to add to the page.  

Help younger kids to "write" whilst they tell you what to write.

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#4: Penpal - Kids love receiving mail {that is, real mail delivered by a postman in a letterbox rather than something electronic}.  

If you can, organise for your child to have a penpal.  It may be cousin, a friend that you don't see very often, a grandparent or in our case the daughter of a friend of mine living in a different country.  Miss 7 loves writing and receiving her letters. 
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Is your child a reluctant writer?  Writing with a purpose can be very motivating.  Try one of these suggestions this week!  
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Fluency and Pencil Control

13/7/2014

 
A foundation to writing is being able to control a pencil (or writing tool) with a relaxed hand to form the lines and curves needed to make recognisable letters, numbers or symbols.

We often jump in too early trying to teach kids to recognise and reproduce letters and numbers, when they haven't had a chance to master controlling the pencil for lines, curves and shapes.  Writing also requires the integration of visual skills with motor skills to piece together how lines, curves and shapes stick together to form a letter or number.

Mastering lines, curves and shapes will bring smooth pencil control and fluency is so important with all writing (print and cursive) and drawing.

Asking children to draw over "printables" is beneficial for eye-hand coordination and having a visual guide to drawing. {Refer to this post for free pre-writing printables.}  However, it is also important that children can draw lines, curves and shapes without visual prompts {which is why I like worksheets that fade the visual prompts like these ones}.  It is important for children to "feel" where their arm, hand and fingers are during this movement (kinesthetic learning) as well as plan how to move their arm, hand and fingers to reproduce the pattern.
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The end of the school holidays and back to preschool for Mr 4.  Miss 7 and I are having a "mummy and daughter" day as she still has another week off.  

What do you think of when I say "Fluency and pencil control"?  
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Fluency patterns available from Your Kids OT Shop.
I have created a "Fluency Patterns Sheet" which has a set of 14 fluency patterns.  Here are some ways you can use this sheet to help your child with pencil control and fluency.  Print, cut out and laminate each fluency pattern.
  • Tracing over pre-writing patterns with a finger, paintbrush or  dry-erase marker.
  • Provide hand over hand (that is guide your child's hand by holding it) to draw the fluency patterns.
  • Draw a set of pictures on a white board and randomly pick out a fluency pattern to draw a path from one picture to another (see photograph collage below).
  • Use fluency pattern cards as a time-filler in a Kindergarten classroom for independent drawing on paper.  See if your children can reproduce the fluency pattern by calling out the name.
  • Use fluency patterns cards in a pre-school environment for independent copying on paper.
  • Make rainbow fluency patterns using different colours for the same pattern.
  • Use grid paper/books to draw straight line fluency patterns (such as zig zags or castle)
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You can purchase these fluency patterns from theYour Kids OT shop or Teachers Pay Teachers (ps. it costs less than a cup of coffee).  Try them today.  
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School Holiday Ideas #6

10/7/2014

 
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Well it is the last day of the school holidays.  Have you had a good break? We have been pretty busy with holiday activities and appointments.  Miss 7 has another week off, however Mr 4 is back to preschool on Monday.  Thanks for hanging around and welcome to the new subscribers in the last two weeks.  

This is the last of the school holiday ideas and I will be back to blogging new ideas next week.  Have you played a game with your kids these holidays?  Uno is still popular in our home and I have written about some suggestions for your little ones who have trouble holding cards . Maybe you could pull out the Tupperware Shape-O and try one of my suggestions. Click on the title or photo to take you to the full article.

Enjoy the weekend!

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What's in your hand? Card holding ideas.
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Tupperware Shape-O activities
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Post script:  Both Mr 4 and Miss 7 have difficulty "losing" at games.  How about your kids?  I found this helpful free chart on Teachers Pay Teachers by Teaching Trove.  Click on the image for the link. Hope you find it useful too.
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School Holiday Ideas #5

8/7/2014

 
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Have your kids been having a lot of screen time these holidays?  Have you had a chance to try these apps that I reviewed earlier in the year (click on the title or the image)?  The following 2 apps are free to download so let me know what your kids think of them.
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Sparklefish
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Lazoo Squiggles, Let's Colour 
and Zoo
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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.

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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.

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