I have said previously that greeting cards are a great way to encourage kids to write their name and simple messages. Print off your free Father's Day cards here!  {Not Father's Day in your part of the world? Then why not pin this for later?}

A happy Father's day to those of you who are fathers reading this article.  To those who are reminded of difficult times or pain at celebrations such as these, my thoughts are with you.  

How do you celebrate Father's Day?  What do you think of these "scratchie" cards?  

P.S. Don't forget the Lego Challenge!  Send in your entries before you forget, thanks!

Just in case you haven't been playing along.  Here is how it will work for the final 2 challenges.

Here is how it will work:
For the next 2 Fridays, I will select a "Lego Challenge".  Encourage your children to build this during the week and take a photograph.  Send in the photograph with a brief description {eg. George, age 6, hovercraft or if you prefer Mr 6, hovercraft} by Thursday 5pm (Sydney time).  I will collate the photographs so your child can see their own creation and have a look at what others have made too.

Rules: 

• Open to children of all ages.  {This is not a school assignment so it is not about parental help for the best looking creation but parents can help if they want to! Parents you can build your own if you want to but please label as such. If no-one submits a photograph you might just get lots of my creations. LOL}
  
• Children can submit more than one photograph per challenge if they want to.
• Children may use any "brick-like-Lego" to complete the challenges including Duplo, Megabloks, etc.
• Photographs submitted will become the property of Your Kids OT and may be published on the website, FB and Pinterest.  Thanks!
• This is non-competitive challenge and is designed for encouraging imagination and creativity! Sorry no prizes and no winner.
• Email your  photo/s to cindy@yourkidsot.com
• Tell your friends about the challenge!
• Have fun!!!

Each year, schools and public libraries across Australia spend a week celebrating books and Australian authors and illustrators. Classroom teachers, teacher librarians and public librarians develop activities, offer competitions and tell stories relating to a theme to highlight the importance of reading.  We have a book week parade at our school today... here is my contribution to book week!

I hope this challenge doesn't stump too many but encourages great imagination!  Follow me on Facebook during the week for some inspiration!

Can't wait to see this week's creations!  Thanks for joining the Lego Challenge!

What's your child's favourite book?

Today, I am excited to introduce Julie Jones from "Have Wheelchair Will Travel".  The website is full of practical information for wheelchair users and their families in regard to travelling locally and overseas. 

2.  What are your top tips for travelling with someone who uses a wheelchair?
We started travelling locally to work out what we needed in accommodation, equipment and what was a priority for our family when holidaying.  Putting time into researching a destination, accommodation and the surrounding area will ensure that a holiday will go smoothly.  My best tip is to research online and then phone the hotel or apartment direct.  Never assume that reservation’s staff will know what you need in a hotel room.  Be specific with your questions regarding access and bathroom features in particular.  Book early as accessible rooms go quickly and accessible cabins on cruises are booked out more than six months in advance.

Lastly, if you have a child with a disability and you know that a wheelchair is going to be a part of your life in the future, I suggest going to the more difficult locations while they are young.  We travelled to New Zealand and Kakadu when BJ was younger and still able to fit in a back carrier. It meant we could do hikes that we could never do with a wheelchair now.

3. What is the most memorable travel experience you have had as a family?
We have many wonderful holiday memories which I feel bond us as a family.  Disneyland holds an incredibly special place in our hearts as it was where we had our first family overseas holiday.  There is a magic to Disneyland that I haven’t experienced elsewhere.  It is accessible and easy which helps makes it a good destination for us.  The quote on a statue of Walt Disney sums it up, “I think most of all what I want Disneyland to be is a happy place ........where parents and children can have fun, together.”  Walt Disney succeeded in making a place where adults embrace their inner child and children see another side of their parents.  This is our most memorable holiday to date.

4.  What have you found the most challenging about travelling as a family?
Flying long-haul is definitely our biggest challenge.  Most people find airline seating uncomfortable and it is even more so for BJ and for us caring for him. My hope is that in the future airlines recognise this and make allowances for people with a disability and their families with bulk-head seating available for those with the need.

 Our other challenge is fitting in as much as possible at our holiday destination.  I always like to make the most of a destination and see it all.  It is trickier when a wheelchair is involved.  At each stop we transfer BJ in and out of the car and the wheelchair in and out of the van.  We don’t like BJ to miss out on anything so my husband will bump the wheelchair upstairs if they prove an obstacle, push up a steep hill to get to a look-out and transfer BJ in and out of the car as often as necessary.  It is tiring but we think it is worth it.  It is all manageable but it does require planning and research so it is less carefree than our travel from years gone by.

5.  What can we find on the “Have Wheelchair Will Travel” website?
The website is a mixture of travel tips and stories about how we have managed a particular stage of BJ’s development.  I like to share as much as I can to help others with a child with a disability so it is not all about travel as I understand not everyone is in a position to do so.  I have done stories on gifts for children with special needs, birthday party ideas and my experience finding a pre-school for BJ.

The main focus is providing ideas and practical tips on travelling like how to book an accessible hotel and specific information on destinations.  I include stories on our experience flying with BJ, what to expect at security check points and share lots of photos.  There is only one rule, it must be positive.  I will point out tricky situations but I want to provide positive stories that give families the confidence to give it a go.

6. Are you planning your next holiday? If so, where are you going?
There are no definite plans at the moment but Hawaii is on the top of my list.  I’m always mentally planning a holiday but work and school commitments don’t allow me to put them all into action.

7.  Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
I think having a family member with a disability is a constant learning curve. 
We have found that making time to share fun times as a family is vital to helping with the tough times. 
Ensure you surround yourself with supportive friends, family and therapists.
Consistency is the key to successful outcomes when it comes to therapy.  BUT make sure therapy is done in a fun and purposeful way and your child will be more willing to participate.
Trust your own ability to know what is right for your child and seek it out. 
Take time out for yourself as a parent.  You need to look after yourself.

Thank you Julie for sharing your insights and experiences.  You are an inspiration to those who have contemplated travel with a family member with a disability, providing practical and honest reviews of your travelling experiences.  I have enjoyed reading about accessible playgrounds around Sydney too!

You can find links to Julie's website and FB page here.  Let her know that Your Kids OT sent you.  

Have Wheelchair Will Travel webpage
Have Wheelchair Will Travel FB page

If you know a great website that you would like featured here at Your Kids OT Website Spotlight, let me know via cindy@yourkidsot.com. 

What is your most memorable travel experience?

I have prescribed weighted vests when working with children with Austism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and/or Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD).  Weighted products may also benefit children with ADHD, anxiety, depression or other mental health difficulties.

Weighted vests or blankets may be used at various times throughout a day.  It is not recommended that they are used continuously all day.  A weighted vest or blanket may be used as a part of a sensory diet providing gentle deep pressure at chosen times (eg. during reading on the floor, during homework time, at night during sleep, etc).

Sensory Calm is a Sydney based company specialising in chain weighted vests and blankets for children and adults.  There are different size and weight options available, depending on the size of the person using the vest or blanket.  The chains in the blanket are arranged in longitudinal channels.  The weighted chains are sewn into the blanket and vest and can not be removed without damaging the product.  The vest comes with three clips across the body which are difficult for a child to release on their own {which is a good thing}. 

The vests and blankets are TGA approved, hypoallergenic, machine washable on a 60 gentle program and they are made from a Fire retardant fabric.  

Sensory Calm are able to arrange a trial of these products and further information may also be obtained from their website. There is valuable information including links to case studies.

Sensory Calm recently provided me with a chain weighted vest and blankets for trial. I was impressed with the quality of the products and the guidelines provided when introducing the products for the first time. 

A brief trial of the chain weighted vest and blankets was conducted with Joshua, aged 6 years from Sydney {name changed for privacy}.  

Background information:
Joshua is in Kindergarten in a mainstream school in Sydney.  He was seen for an Occupational Therapy assessment in 2013 (by a different OT).  At the time, he demonstrated difficulty with multi-sensory processing (interpreting information from several sources at once), problem solving and motor planning (planning out and carrying out solutions to motor based problems with his body).  Whilst at preschool, Joshua had difficulty persisting with a task he found challenging.  He also had some difficulty with fine motor skills and had not established a hand dominance.

Product trial:  Joshua was given the weighted vest and blankets from Sensory Calm to trial over a period of 4 weeks.  The vest and comforter (small blanket) were used during "quiet activities" such as playing Lego on the floor or watching television.  Joshua used the comforter most nights when sleeping.

Parental observation: Joshua was always relaxed and content with using the weighted vest of comforter.  He sought the weighted vest on 2 occasions.  He was unable to identify why he wanted the weighted vest and would say that he was "cold".  Joshua loved sleeping with the comforter.

Additionally, Joshua's siblings also enjoyed the sleeping with the comforter and using it during the day.  Whilst they do not have identified Sensory Processing difficulties, they found the blanket comforting.  

Joshua's family are investigating the purchase of the comforter from Sensory Calm.

A big thank you to Joshua and his family for trialling these products and allowing their story to be told here.  The photographs on this page are not of Joshua.

Would your child benefit from trialling a weighted vest or blanket?

This is a sponsored post by Sensory Calm. I was compensated for my time in writing this post. Reviews and endorsements of products are only 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. 

For more information about sensory processing, refer to the following articles:

Here is how it will work:
Each Friday for the next 3 weeks, I will select a "Lego Challenge".  Encourage your children to build this during the week and take a photograph.  Send in the photograph with a brief description {eg. George, age 6, hovercraft or if you prefer Mr 6, hovercraft} by Thursday 5pm (Sydney time).  I will collate the photographs so your child can see their own creation and have a look at what others have made too.

Rules: 

• Open to children of all ages.  {This is not a school assignment so it is not about parental help for the best looking creation but parents can help if they want to! Parents you can build your own if you want to but please label as such. If no-one submits a photograph you might just get lots of my creations. LOL}
  
• Children can submit more than one photograph per challenge if they want to.
• Children may use any "brick-like-Lego" to complete the challenges including Duplo, Megabloks, etc.
• Photographs submitted will become the property of Your Kids OT and may be published on the website, FB and Pinterest.  Thanks!
• This is non-competitive challenge and is designed for encouraging imagination and creativity! Sorry no prizes and no winner.
• Email your  photo/s to cindy@yourkidsot.com
• Tell your friends about the challenge!
• Have fun!!!

This week's challenge is... build a bridge.  
 

Use the comments below to encourage our young Lego builders! I love how you can see a little of each child's personality in their creations. 

I'm looking forward to seeing your Lego creations this week! Don't forget to come back next week to see a photo of your creation and what others have made.

Did your kids have fun with the first challenge? 

Story stones are a beautiful way for kids (and grownups) to tell a story.  The stones act as little visual prompts and can be used in a variety of ways.  

WARNING!! Making these stones does involve cutting up a book.  Gasp! This is the first book that I have ever cut up but I think it was worth it.   I bought this lovely nursery rhyme book from a charity (thrift) store for $1 and it already had some tears and missing bits {which made me feel better at the thought of slicing it up even further}.

What do you do?
I selected pictures and organised them according to colour.  Characters and animals were cut and stuck to green stones (they were the largest), objects were stuck to red stones and background pictures were stuck to the blue stones.

How do you use these stones?

• Lay them out onto a large tray.  Let your kids pick stones and tell their story.  
• Ask your child to pick 3 stones and tell a story.  {Change the number of stones according to your child's age and abilities}.
• Have one story teller and one stone selector.  As the story teller pauses, the stone selector can add a new stone to be included in the story.
• Divide the stones into categories {Character, object, setting} and place them into separate containers.  Ask your child to close their eyes to select a stone from each container.  Tell the story. 
• Give your child a "theme" to include in their story. Examples include - the big surprise, the great escape, a happy day, a big fight, it all ends well, lost and found, etc.
• Use the stones as a writing task using any of the above suggestions.  This is a great activity in a therapy setting. Encourage the introduction, complication and resolution to the story.

I made these story stones one evening whilst I was watching TV.  I found it relaxing doing this type of craft.  You could easily include your children in making these stones as they may enjoy selecting, cutting and pasting.

When I first lay out the stones, Mr 4 needed some modelling in picking stones and telling a story.  Miss 7 instantly picked all the animals and embarked on her story about an animal shelter.  I was apprehensive about Mr 4 taking to the stones as there are not a lot of "stereotypical boy pictures" such as trains, diggers, dinosaurs, cars, etc.  I was pleasantly surprised that the story stones held his interest and he returns repeatedly to tell a story.

The stones are beautifully smooth and there is something nice about holding (and stroking) the stone as you talk about the picture.  These are stones that will keep on giving as your children use their imaginations.  

Do your kids enjoy telling stories? Will you do this homemade activity with your kids or without them?

If you enjoyed this article, you may also like...

You may also like these articles:

Buying a few base boards was a great way to encourage my kids with the imagination part of playing with Lego.   Here is another way .... the YKOT Lego Challenge!!  

Before I go into the details, I have to let you know that I was inspired to do this after reading about LEGO quest (found on Pinterest).  In 2010, a series of quests were given where readers would build and photograph their achievements.  I wish we could have been a part of this quest but my kids would have been too young.

So here it is....

Here is how it will work:
Each Friday for the next 4 weeks, I will select a "Lego Challenge".  Encourage your children to build this during the week and take a photograph.  Send in the photograph with a brief description {eg. George, age 6, hovercraft or if you prefer Mr 6, hovercraft} by Thursday 5pm (Sydney time).  I will collate the photographs so your child can see their own creation and have a look at what others have made too.

Rules: 

• Open to children of all ages.  {This is not a school assignment so it is not about parental help for the best looking creation but parents can help if they want to! Parents you can build your own if you want to but please label as such. If no-one submits a photograph you might just get lots of my creations. LOL}
  
• Children can submit more than one photograph per challenge if they want to.
• Children may use any "brick-like-Lego" to complete the challenges including Duplo, Megabloks, etc.
• Photographs submitted will become the property of Your Kids OT and may be published on the website, FB and Pinterest.  Thanks!
• This is non-competitive challenge and is designed for encouraging imagination and creativity! Sorry no prizes and no winner.
• Email your  photo/s to cindy@yourkidsot.com
• Tell your friends about the challenge!
• Have fun!!!

This week's challenge is... build with 50 bricks.  
This can be any bricks that you select.

I'm so excited to see what your kids will create!  

Are you {and your kids} up for the challenge? The Lego challenge?

Red light... stop, Orange light... get ready, Green Light...go.  

Traffic lights are a great way to help kids organise themselves for work whether it be in a therapy session, in the classroom, in the playground or at home.

I have created 2 sets of traffic light visual aids to help kids to organise themselves, ie. to help with self regulation.  Stop, Think, Do and Read, Plan, Write.  

The traffic light visual aids come in a set including "Stop, Think, Do" and "Read, Plan, Write" in 2 sizes.  The A4 size is suitable to use as a poster and the smaller size is suitable to be cut up and distributed to several children.  You could print off copies for a whole class and paste them into an exercise book, use them as a bookmark or laminate and place on a child's desk. 

These visual aids may be used in a variety of ways to help your child self regulate.....examples include helping children before they do a writing task, in social situations when they are challenged or distressed, to manage anxiety or anger, exam practise, etc.  This may also be of assistance to children who are impulsive.

These traffic light visual aids for planning and organisational skills may be purchased from the Your Kids OT shop or Teachers Pay Teachers.  I value your feedback here or on the sites where you purchase them.  Thanks for telling me and others what you think! Let your colleagues know by pinning this or sharing this post.

Thank you for your support of Your Kids OT.

Tummy time is encouraged from birth to promote head, neck and upper body strength.  Start introducing tummy time early with a minute or so a few times a day.  Slowly increase the duration of tummy time.   Here is a great article about tummy time on the Raising Children's Network.

Tummy time is typically shown to parents as time for baby to lie on their stomach's on a mat. Tummy time can take place in a number of positions.  My favourite was those first moments of skin to skin contact when my baby was placed on me!  

Other positions you might consider are over a gym ball, over your lap, over a roll, across your arm, over a rolled up towel, up on your shoulder, up on your legs.  You can introduce toys or a mirror as your baby gets older to make tummy time more interesting.

I recently asked my readers to send in their photos of their babies doing tummy time.  I loved seeing all the gorgeous babies and it was great to see tummy time in practise in a variety of ways.  Here is a collage of the photographs {including some of my own 2 bubs}.  Thank you again to all those who contributed!

Tummy Time never gets old - Playapy

Is Tummy Time Important? - Smarty Pants Mom

Have you considered another position for you child to have tummy time or have I just made you a little bit clucky with these gorgeous babies?