 Australia has been devastated by bushfires. The impact has been widespread with over 1687 homes destroyed this fire season. There has been tragic loss of lives and families changed forever. Ash, air pollution and the affects of the fire continue to impact people and animals all over the country. Over 480 million animals have been killed. Country Australia have already been battling with unyielding drought conditions in 2019. The bush fires were exacerbated by the windy dry conditions. There are many suffering right now. For those of us who do not live in the direct path of the fires, we have been affected by air pollution and ash. We have taken for granted the ability to open the windows of our house for fresh air, to hang out the laundry to air dry and to send our kids out to play. We have taken for granted the clear blue skies that we normally enjoy whilst frolicking on the beach or lazing by the pool at this time of the year. We collect buckets of water in our showers whilst willingly keep to level 2 water restrictions. We have conversations about how it feels "apocalyptic" as we see the eerie red sun glow over us and try to avoid inhaling the thick smoke. Activities are scheduled indoors and we ache for those who have lost so much more than us. We watch the NSW "fires near app" and pray for rain. Australian fire fighters and volunteers have worked tirelessly throughout December 2019 and January 2020 to manage the fires. They have been joined by volunteers from around the world. In despair, we have seen Australian communities and individuals doing their part to help others in need. There has been money raised, people donating food/clothing/other items, some people offering accommodation to strangers, others sewing/crafting to help save wildlife (see HERE for details). It is really wonderful to see how kind and generous people are. Pictures books produced by the QLD Government are excellent resources to help your children to talk about their feelings when natural disasters occur. Use this link ---> BIRDIE STORIES  Image Credit: NSW RURAL FIRE SERVICE Your Kids OT is partnering with The Craft Train and Teach Me Mommy to bring you The Australian Bushfire Appeal Activity Pack. All proceeds from the sales of this pack will be donated to the RED CROSS. The Your Kids OT Australian activity pack includes a find-a-word, crossword, jokes, animal walks, recipe, box-letter writing, hidden pictures and animal drawing.  The Craft Train possum craft activity includes step by step instructions using a paper plate to make a ringtail possum. Kate from The Craft Train creates amazing crafts that are easy to make and look fantastic. You and your kids will love them. Make sure you check out The Craft Train for all of Kate's craft ideas.  Teach Me Mommy's Australian Quiz Cards includes a set of fun cards to test your knowledge about Australia. Nadia from Teach Me Mommy is a teacher turned mom. She shares educational activities that are plainly explained, educationally stiumulating and fun to do! Make sure you check out Teach Me Mommy for Nadia's activities.  The Australian Bushfire Appeal Activity Pack contains the YKOT's Australian Activity Pack, The Craft Train's Paper Plate Possum and Teach Me Mommy's Australian Quiz Cards. Once purchased, you will have unlimited access to these printables. You may consider purchasing more than one copy of this printable for your class, colleagues or family members. All proceeds from the sales of these pack will be donated to the Red Cross. If you prefer to make a direct donation, please use this link to the RED CROSS. Thank you for your support! 
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Three FREE printables in three weeks!
It must be Christmas time! Did you get your copy of the Christmas Activity Advent and Push Pin Christmas Tree? Today's printables are for school age kids who are learning to write descriptions and stories. You will find two pages with Christmas story prompt ideas. Use the story creation grid to encourage your child to choose a character, what happens in the story, when it might happen and where. Encourage your child to write multiple sentences (some will just try to link one thing from each column to write a very looooooong sentence). The second page includes prompts for your child to use their "senses" (sight, hearing, touch, smell, feelings, taste) to describe Christmas. You could turn this into a poem or add this information into the story. Even if your child is too young to use these pages as writing prompts, I would encourage you to use these to talk to your child about Christmas or create a story together. Perhaps you (the adult) could write the words and your child could draw the pictures. Here are a couple of examples of stories that my OT kids have written! 
I would love to see any stories your children create using these story writing prompts! Tag me @yourkidsot on IG or FB!
Use this form below to get your FREE CHRISTMAS STORY WRITING PROMPTS printable page. Why do I have to keep filling in these forms if I have been a subscriber for a while? ... Its the easiest way for me to get the printable to you whilst enabling me to keep track of how many of you are interested (or not) in particular printables! Thanks for your understanding! If you can't see this form in your email ----> CLICK HERE to go to the YKOT BLOG PAGE and you should be able to see the form online. Some email providers block these sorts of forms and graphics.
Are you new to Your Kids OT, don't forget to have a look at these Christmas ideas from the YKOT archives!
​Christmas Activity Fun Sheets Christmas Printable Pack Reindeer Gingerbread Stain-Glass Window Cookies Potato Stamped Gift Wrap Magnetic Christmas Tree Christmas Tree Craft ​Have you enjoyed the FREE PRINTABLES that I have shared this year? Which has been your favourite? 
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Tis the season of giving!
I'm giving away my second FREE printable for Christmas 2019. If you have been following me for a while, you will know that I love to use push pins (ie. drawing pins) to work on fine motor and bilateral coordination skills. in 2017, I shared the benefits of push pin art (PUSH PIN POKE DRAWING) and earlier this year I introduced an entire alphabet set where you could use push pins to write letters (ALPHABET DOT PICTURES). So in the spirit of giving, I have made a Push Pin Christmas Tree to share with you. Simply print off the page (there are two trees on the page) onto green paper. Place the paper over a cork mat. Use a push pin to poke a small hole into each of the black dots (I tell my OT kids that they don't have push very hard - just small quick holes) .... and you are done. I turn the page around to hold the picture up to a window (black dots facing the window). Its is fun to see the light shining through the holes. Encourage your kids to form a pincer grasp or tripod grasp around the push pin. It's best to use a pin that has a large head so there is something to grab onto. You will find kids who use a lateral grasp on their pencil or who have hyper-mobile joints may struggle with this activity. Encourage kids who hold out their 3rd, 4th and 5th fingers straight; to tuck these fingers into the palm of their hand. Sometimes asking these children to hold a small item like an eraser will help them with the "tuck" (see also separation of the two sides of the hand). Encourage kids who float their wrist and/or forearm from the table to rest it down during this activity. 
You could take this a step further and decorate the tree with your favourite markers. You could even add more holes to create patterns for tinsel or baubles.
To receive this FREE PUSH PIN CHRISTMAS TREE printable, simply fill out the form below. Why do I have to keep filling in these forms if I have been a subscriber for a while? ... Its the easiest way for me to get the printable to you whilst enabling me to keep track of how many of you are interested (or not) in particular printables! Thanks for your understanding!
Are you new to Your Kids OT, don't forget to have a look at these Christmas ideas from the YKOT archives!
​Christmas Activity Advent Tree ​Christmas Activity Fun Sheets Christmas Printable Pack Reindeer Gingerbread Stain-Glass Window Cookies Potato Stamped Gift Wrap Magnetic Christmas Tree Christmas Tree Craft Pssss... Guess what? I have one more FREE CHRISTMAS printable coming! This one is for older kids who are working on writing skills. I can't wait to share this one with you too! ​Ho ho ho! 
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Let's be honest.
Who's tired? Who has tired children? Who can't even think about Christmas yet? Whether we are ready or not, the end of the Australian school year is approaching and it is less than a month until Christmas! I love Christmas and the joy it brings to my family. Somehow the buzz of Christmas gives me new energy! I love doing special activities with my kids and counting down to Christmas. In years past, I have done various "advent" calendars (read here). This year I am sharing an "Christmas activity advent" with you! I promise that the activities are easy to implement. They will encourage your children to move, make, draw and have fun. For those who want to work on cutting skills, encourage your child to cut out the decorations. Have your child choose one or two activities a day and place the cut out on the tree page. For those of you who are a little tired; I've included a page which already has the decorations and activities placed. Simply choose an activity and get started! You could cross off the ones you have done or even do them multiple times. OTs and teachers, feel free to use this in the lead up to Christmas. Choose the activities that are relevant for your setting. You could even send home a printed copy for your families. Get your FREE CHRISTMAS ACTIVITY ADVENT ---->
Looking for more Christmas ideas? Try these from the YKOT archives!
​Christmas Activity Fun Sheets Christmas Printable Pack Reindeer Gingerbread Stain-Glass Window Cookies Potato Stamped Gift Wrap Magnetic Christmas Tree Christmas Tree Craft Does Christmas bring you energy? Have you started your Christmas-themed activities? ​ 
Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia. She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning. Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete). Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT. Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog
Cindy is a member of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team. They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK. ​The information on this site is general in nature. 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. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote products I love and recommend. I receive a commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. ​
 As an occupational therapist; my job is to play! (Read about why we use play in OT.) You don't need fancy toys to encourage learning through play. I'm a big believer in the cardboard box and how it can prompt imagination! Toys that I choose are very specific. I use toys to address many specific skills - fine motor, visual motor, problem solving, planning, social skills, handwriting, sensory motor development to name some... FUN is a big part of my selection process. I'm selective with games that I use in therapy sessions and have a wider range which I love to play with my family. Master YKOT is the king of board games here and we even love making our own games. I'm so excited to share with you the YKOT Amazon Store Page! I'm constantly asked about products that I use and where you can purchase them. It is difficult when my readers come from all over the world to point you to the right place. Whilst I support you looking for these items in your local toy or therapy store, the YKOT Amazon Store Page provides me with a platform to put all my favourite items in one place. I've collated this collection of recommended toys and games available many of which I have tried and test. Some are may be slightly different to the specific ones I own as I'm in Australia so the suppliers may be different. There are a few items that are on my own "wish list" so I might be shopping from my own page very soon! I have loosely categorised these items into LISTS
But note that many toys/games can achieve multiple skills simultaneously (which is often why I pick these specific items). These items contain affiliate links; which means that if you follow through with a purchase from these links YKOT will receive a percentage of the sale. PS: Don't forget to keep the cardboard box and inserts inside as they can be just as valuable as the item itself!!! Don't forget that I also design and create my very own printables, e-books and resources! These items will continue to be sold from the YKOT shop ($AUS) and on Teacher Pay Teachers ($US). With Christmas just a month away, now is the perfect time to start looking for those items that may help your child's develop and also make learning fun! Happy shopping! 
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 Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote products I love and recommend. I receive a commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. Kindergartners get little time to play. Why does it matter? This was the title of a recent article that I shared on the YKOT Facebook Page. Read the article here. The concern is the downward pressure with preschools and day care centres feeling like they need to do “school readiness” or even “kindergarten type work” which is very academic and developmentally inappropriate. Parents often are led by child care educators and are impressed by the "school readiness" offered. I have seen it many times over in the places where I visit. 3 and 4 years olds become frustrated that they have to form letters. The educators become frustrated that they children aren't doing what they are told. I become frustrated! Before I get myself into hot water; I will say that this not the case for all child care centres and all preschools... But the downward pressure is real. Occupational therapists believe that there are fundamental skills a child needs BEFORE they start writing. These pre-writing skills include the development of the whole child from postural control, gross motor skills, sensory modulation, strength, body awareness, fine motor and cognitive skills. The preschool years are important for learning through play and developing connections. Connections with their parents, siblings, friends and others in their life. The development of these skills will assist a child with their school readiness and yes this includes dynamic control of a pencil and the visual spatial skills needed to form letters and numbers. As an occupational therapist I encourage the development of pre-writing lines and shapes through drawing.  Drawing is a wonderful early childhood experience that is a simple as providing a blank sheet of paper and drawing tool. So many children I see are not provided with the opportunities to experiment and make mistakes. They go from scribbling to writing letters without the important in-between steps of working things out, drawing around shapes (like plates and fingers) and decorating cardboard boxes. Pre-writing generally occurs in a developmental sequence. It begins with scribble and then imitating lines (horizontal, vertical, circle). Further pre-writing lines include diagonal lines, a triangle, a square and cross shapes. Have a look at my fluency patterns for more ideas ---> FLEUNCY PATTERNS. Modelling is a wonderful way to show children how to experiment with lines and shapes. Children learn through participation how lines can be orientated in different ways to achieve different outcomes. They learn that with some control they can depict things from their every day experiences. You don't need to be an artist. Simple lines and shapes is the perfect place to start. Take your child's lead as to their interest. Do they like trains - draw a few rectangles for carriages and circles for wheels; encourage them to draw lines and shapes to decorate them or draw straight lines for train tracks. Do they like rainbows and unicorns - experiment with different colours to fill a page with a large rainbow. Not sure where to start? I have created a printable resource that includes "draw with me" pages of some simple images and 30 pages to "finish the drawing". The full "DRAWING PRE"-WRITING LINES AND SHAPES" printable set encourages your child to experiment with lines and shapes to complete differently themed pages. The themes include drawing snake patterns, a gallery wall, hats, ice cream and more. There are 25 themed pages with an additional 5 seasonal themed pages. You may show your child how to draw certain lines and patterns. Encourage them to experiment with size (draw something wider, draw it longer, draw it smaller), experiment with colour and experiment with different drawing implements. Whilst your child may enjoy colouring these pages, this was not the intention. Colouring encourages pencil control, however drawing lines and shapes will encourage visual spatial awareness which is beneficial for future writing. "Drawing Pre-writing Lines and Shapes" provides opportunities to trace, draw and experiment. Do encourage your child to go beyond tracing and colouring… and to experiment with drawing! It may be purchased from the YKOT shop or via Teachers Pay Teachers.  Do you enjoy drawing with your child? What is your favourite thing to draw together?   Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia. She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning. Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete). Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT. Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog Cindy is a member of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team. They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK. The information on this site is general in nature. 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. You may also like:
 Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote products I love and recommend. I receive a commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. My Facebook newsfeed was (and continues to be) full of them. Viral video after viral video. Advertisements are selling them. OT group members can't stop showing theirs. They certainly have been the buzz of the last few years! I'm talking about "sensory paths" seen in school hallways. No idea what I'm talking about? Have a look at these awesome examples:
Why the popularity? Was it to pretty up school hallways to impress parents? Was it a gimmick to sell a new product? Let's start with the name. "Sensory Path" provides some clues as to the reasons occupational therapists and teachers like this idea so much. To be truly accurate, the paths created were "sensory motor paths". Occupational therapists get excited to see students moving. Opportunities for both proprioceptive and vestibular input for children have reduced with the reduction in school recess and lunch breaks. With more accessible technology (at school and home) and reduced "play time", children are not getting the natural movement opportunities that they would have experienced in play. Children are expected to sit longer at their desks in classrooms (yes this is a generalization) so that teachers can address the curriculum. Some teachers are great at incorporating movement and brain breaks in the classroom to help students with concentration and attention. Teachers know that students need opportunities to release energy and move. This is especially true for sensory seeking children who may fidget in the classroom, stand up at inappropriate times, have difficulty sitting on the floor or are generally disruptive. Read more about how brain breaks can help with concentration HERE. "Sensory paths" encourage students to jump, spin, hop, balance, frog jump, skip, crawl, perform push ups, bear walk and perform other large body movements. These movements provide an opportunity for proprioceptive (feedback to the skin, muscles and joints through weight bearing and pressure) and vestibular (movement forward/backward/around) sensory input. These activities can have a calming affect for some children and can also help some children to be more alert. These paths are a series of lines or pictures for children to move along. Children may walk toe to toe along a zig zag line. They may jump from one spot to another. They may follow the curved path or place their hands on hand prints. They may walk sideways. These all encourage visual coordination with parts of the body (eye/hand or eye/foot). It encourages spatial and body awareness as they navigate through the different aspects of the path. Many of these paths incorporate the alphabet or numbers to encourage identification, order and learning. Counting and simple mathematics have also been incorporated into many paths. The "hallway" concept makes use of potentially unused spaces in schools. There is no restriction with the weather and can easily the movement can easily be incorporated into transitions between rooms (eg. moving between the classroom and the library).  A new take on an old concept! Occupational therapists and physiotherapists (physical therapists if you are in the US) have been incorporating these concepts for years! You can too! These are low-cost options. Some are temporary so you can change the layouts and set it up wherever you might be. You don't have to stick to hallways! Here are some easy ways to DIY your own sensory motor path.
 Watch some of my OT kids in action with this video! Email subscribers will need to click on this link to see the video via Youtube or click back to the Your Kids OT website/blog to find it online. Have you created your own sensory motor pathway? I would love to see yours! Tag me on IG @yourkidsot with #yourkidsot. Would a sensor motor pathway work in your school hall? Could you make one at home? 
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 Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote products I love and recommend. I receive a commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. Inner thigh muscles? That's an unusual subject to have in the heading of this blog! When we consider core strength and stability, most people usually jump straight to the abdomen, pelvis and back as areas to develop. These are important but did you know that the inner thigh muscles (adductors) are seen as the "pedestal" for the spine to rest upon? The five muscles of the inner thigh work to pull the legs across the midline (the imaginary line dividing our bodies into left and right). Read more about inner thigh muscles here and here. As adults, we can jump on the adductor machine at the gym and work on our inner thigh muscles. We can stand on one leg and move our leg in and out. We can lunge and do all sorts of things to help our inner thigh muscles. How do we make exercises fun for kids? PLAY! We find ways to make exercise novel and fun! Here are three fun ways we can work on strengthening inner thigh muscles and build core stability with lots of variations for each one too. 1. Ball between the knees. Place a ball between your child's knees whilst they are standing. Ask them to walk, waddle or jump squeezing the ball with their knees but not too much otherwise the ball will pop out. Some children may have difficulty moving with the ball so one step back is simply to stand with the ball between their knees and hold it there for a few seconds.
 2. Butterfly Wings Whilst sitting on the floor, ask your child to place the soles of their feet together and hold them with their hands. Their legs and are making "butterfly wings" which can move towards the floor with a little bit or pressure from your child's hands or elbows to "flap". Encourage your child to take a deep breath in and out.
 3. Squat to stand elevators! Squats are a wonderful exercise for kids of all ages (adult kids included). Make it fun for kids by making them "elevators". Get your child to deliver items from the floor to a table by squatting down to reach the item and lifting them onto a table.
 Strengthening your child's inner thigh muscles will help them to become more aware of these muscles. I'm not too concerned about isolating just the inner thigh muscles and I expect that they will usually tighten their abdominals and bottom muscles at the same time during these activities. This all works towards stronger postural and core stability. The inner thigh muscles (adductors) are connected to the pelvis. An extra bonus to working on these muscles is that this also helps the pelvis to be stable which is needed for toiletting. It is very difficult to help kids to work on "pelvic floor muscles" like adults do; however working on surrounding muscles can often help children to be more aware of their "bottoms". Don't forget to check out the new book "The Toilet Training Book" which is available NOW with special launch prices for both hard copy and e-copy editions. Read more about "The Toilet Training Book" HERE. What are your favourite ways to work on core stability with kids? Have you considered inner thigh muscles too? 
 Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote products I love and recommend. I receive a commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. Today is the day! The Toilet Training Book is now available! Throughout our years of practice as paediatric therapists, we’ve talked with tons of parents who have been trying for weeks, months, and even years to help their kids get toilet trained. It can be an uphill battle for many families, one that can often result in frustration and even heartbreak. That’s why we felt so strongly about creating this resource. We wanted to share all of our best tips, strategies, and information about toileting and toilet training in one place so parents, teachers, therapists, and others would have it at their fingertips when they need it.  We believe that The Toilet Training Book contains the single most important secret to toileting and toilet training for kids - knowledge and information that helps you meet kids right where they are developmentally to create a positive toilet training experience. The Toilet Training Book includes the following sections and chapters: Toilet Training Support and Tips
Special Toileting Guides for:
Equipment List The Printable Pack
 Who is The Toileting Book for? The Toileting Book is the perfect resource for:
Can I print pages of the book and share with the families I work with? There is a section at the end of the book that we encourage professionals to print and share with parents and caregivers. In fact, these pages are now available in one easy-to-print document along with the book when you purchase your ebook now! When you purchase the book, you may share these pages with the families and caregivers you work with. However, we require each professional to purchase their own copy of The Toileting Book. You may not share the entirety of the book with colleagues. Limited-Time Offer! For one week only, we’ll be offering The Toilet Training Book at a discounted price PLUS a downloadable, easy-to-print pack of toileting and toilet training resources from the book! Those who purchase the hard copy, email your receipt to functionalskillsforkids@gmail.com HARD COPY AVAILABLE ---> Click here to purchase on Amazon. EBOOK VERSION ---> Click here to purchase the E-book version. EU/UK RESIDENTS ---> Click here to purchase your E-book version. Thank you so much for your excitement and enthusiasm about this resource that finally allows parents, therapists, and other professionals to meet kids exactly where they are developmentally to support toilet training success! If you’re not sure where to start with potty training, if you’re overwhelmed by the process, if it’s your first time toilet training a child, or if you work on toileting with kids with special needs - this will be an invaluable resource for you! Don’t miss the limited-time discount on The Toilet Training Book! Grab your copy today! CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO ON YOU TUBE! (EMAIL subscribers will not be able to see this email within their email). 
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AuthorHi, 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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AuthorHi, 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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