Road Trip Fun!

I'm only a couple of days into summer vacation with my daughter and it's going really well.  I mean, the fact that we don't have to get woken up by an alarm in the morning is all kinds of magical.  And ice cream for dessert every night makes my girl happier than you could imagine.  I'm so looking forward to a summer with my girl.  This means lots of adventures and many of them require us getting into the car for long stretches of time.  While Quinn is a champion traveler, she is like all other kids and can get bored quickly and sick and tired of being strapped into her booster seat for hours on end.

Many of you will be traveling this summer as well, and whether you will be traveling by train, planes or automobiles, you will want to have a bag of tricks to keep your kids entertained.  Like many of you parents, I don't like to just give her an iPad for hours on end.  She also gets bored with it pretty quickly and wants to be entertained in different ways.  Entertaining a child in a car can be quite challenging but it can be used as an opportunity to work on some occupational therapy goals.   Below, you will find my top 10 activity/suggestions to help make this summer's traveling a little more entertaining for your kids and less stressful for you.

1.  AquaDoodle Travel Doodle Mat-I've been a fan of all things by Aqua Doodle for years.   I love the idea that you can use water to draw, color and create on a mat and that you can re-use it over and over again.  There is no mess at all other than a little wetness from water as you are filling up your pen.  Your kids can practice writing letters, draw pictures or play some tic-tac-toe/hangman with each other.  If you are willing to spend money and be a bit patient (these take about a month to get delivered), do a search for Tomy Aquadoodle mini mats on Amazon.  Instead of it being a blank canvas for kids to use their water marker on, they are little pictures where some of the images are blank that they can color in.  Once the water dries, the kids can use them again.

2.  Usbourne Sticker Books-my daughter is a huge fan of these books and has gone through several of them over the years.  There are a lot of different ones to choose from so you will be sure to find one that your son or daughter will enjoy.  Each book has a handful of characters that you have to dress up with stickers in a bunch of different scenes.  For example, there is one that focuses on school and you have to dress the 3 different characters for gym class, for art class, etc..  Not only are these great for improving fine motor skills, it is great for working on eye-hand coordination.  If you have a child who needs to work on language skills, you can have them tell a story about the pictures they have created.

3.  Boogie Board-the Boogie Board is an old favorite of mine; check out this post from the past that tells you all about the Boogie Board and all the occupational therapy benefits.  In summary, it is a portable LED writing tablet....think modern day Etch-A-Sketch.  Kids can draw, practice writing letters/numbers or play games with friends or siblings while in the car.  If you have kids who like to draw, but you don't really feel comfortable with them using markers or crayons in a car, this is a perfect option for them.  There is no mess to worry about!  The best part is that it is incredibly thin and lightweight, taking up almost no room in a travel bag.



4.  Water Wow Books-Melissa & Doug are known for so many things, but their collection of reusable coloring books are one my favorite.  They are especially great for younger children who aren't really into coloring yet.  All you do is fill the pen provided with water and let them color away.  As the water dries, the pictures lose their color and they can color them again.  This no mess activity can keep your kids entertained for hours!  Another great thing is that the books aren't limited to just pictures.  They have a great selection of books that help kids learn how to write letters and numbers.

5.  Crayola Color Wonder Books-you know you can't go wrong with Crayola!  Their line of Color Wonder Books are great for preschoolers who may not be quite ready to color with real markers (or any coloring tools) while in a moving vehicle.  Kids like that they can color their favorite characters in and parents love that the markers are 100% mess free so if your kid tries to color on themselves or the car, it won't matter.  To make coloring a little easier, I suggest getting your child a clipboard so they have a sturdy surface while coloring.

6.  Puffy Sticker Play Sets-these reusable puffy sticker sets are a great thing for long car (plane, train, etc.) rides.  Each set comes with over 50 reusable stickers and a two sided case to store your stickers when not in use.  The set is like a folder so you can easily keep all the stickers in one place when it isn't in use (and it will fit in perfectly in the pocket of a set in your car). Great for working on improving fine motor and manipulation skills, eye-hand coordination and visual perceptual skills.  Also great for encouraging creativity and pretend-play with kids.  If you want to work on improving language skills, you can have kids tell you a short story about the scene that they worked on once it is complete.

7.  Lee Sticker Puzzles-I have been a big fan of these sticker books by Lee Publications for a long time.  I was originally drawn to them because they were affordable, motivating and easy to carry around with me from my home-based and school-based sessions.  When I started  using them, I was excited about how many occupational therapy goals could be worked on when using them.  Great for working on improving fine motor and manipulation skills, eye-hand coordination and visual perceptual skills.  Also good for working on focus, attention and organization skills.  These sticker books are great for all ages as they have books that have only 8-piece puzzles and some that have as many as 45-pieces.

8.  Take 'N' Play Anywhere Games-sometimes kids need more than activity books to keep them occupied on those long car/plane/train rides, especially if you have kids who like to play together.  I love all these magnetic games by PlayMonster.  They offer a large assortment of magnetic games that are great for kids of all ages.  One of the best parts is that they games are small, don't take up a lot of room and all the pieces can be stored inside.  My favorites are the Hangman and Matching games.  Not only are these magnetic games great for passing some time, they are also great for working on improving fine motor skills such as grasp strength and in-hand manipulation skills, eye-hand coordination and focus and attentional skills.

9.  Orb Factory Sticky Mosaics-easily and hands down one of my absolute favorite therapeutic activity.  The Orb Factory Sticky mosaics are great for working on fine motor and grasping skills, eye-hand coordination and visual motor and perceptual skills.  Additionally, it's a fun and motivating way to work on improving focus, attention and organizational skills.  Kids love that they get to show off their completed project.  There are a variety of sets to choose from so if you have a kid who is into fairies or dinosaurs or pirates, you have plenty to choose from.  There are also smaller sets available for the younger crowd because you know that if a younger sibling sees their big doing something, they want to be doing it too.  These kits don't take up much room and easy to throw in a bag and take with you wherever you are going.

10.  Clipboard/Lap Pillow-earlier, I mentioned that kids might have an easier time with some of the coloring and activity books if they had a sturdy surface to lean on.  A cheap clipboard from Staples or an office supply store is all you need and it's super easy to store in the pocket of a car seat.  Each kid should have their own and you can let each of them personalize it with stickers, markers, etc.. Another great option is a lap pillow but it takes up more room.  I like this one by Kikkerland because there is a space for you to put an iPad or tablet so kids can work on an incline surface.

So here are a few of the things that I use with my daughter and always recommend to families to pick up before a long trip.  It's so important that kids are kept occupied on long trips or else everyone will go crazy.  And let's be honest here....there is only so much kids music (if any) that us parents can tolerate on those long trips.  All of the activities and toys that I have recommended are also great for taking from the car to restaurant tables.

Do you have any wonderful on the go toys, books or activities that you rely on for long trips or recommend to your families?  I have a lot of long car trips coming up with my girl and am ready to add some new things to her backpack of tricks!  I love hearing from all of you and am just a click away!

Happy Summer to you all and may your travels be filled with happy memories!

Let's Play Princess Dress-up

Almost two years, I wrote a post about the Disney Magiclip Dolls that had become a favorite of mine at home and at work.  All this time later, they are still a huge hit amongst the kids I work with and my almost 6 year old daughter.  I'm happy to report that they have been used hundreds and hundreds of times (literally) and have stood up to the beating they have gotten.

A few weeks ago, while trying to kill some time between clients, I stopped into a little toy store in the city and discovered a new line of Disney Princess dolls by Hasbro that grabbed my attention.  They looked a lot like the Magiclip Dolls mentioned above, but as an OT, I noticed that there was a bit more to them that would help improve fine motor and manipulation skills.  These Disney Princess Little Kingdom dolls and accessories have become a favorite of my almost 6 year old daughter.  I'm sure I've mentioned it before here, while my daughter doesn't receive therapy, she does have some weakness in her hands and has a terrible pencil grip so I am always on the lookout for toys that will help her in that area. Since she adores all things princesses, I knew that these dolls would be perfect at hiding the fact that we were working on something that she doesn't like to work on with me.  These princesses are easy to play with and all the outfits are interchangeable amongst the dolls.  The skirts and the bottom of dresses kind of slip on and off and the tops get pushed into a little hole on their chests.

You can buy a big set of the dolls or get them individually.  Some of the sets come with pets or other kinds of things (Anna has a bike that my daughter loves!).  Additionally, you can buy castles or some kind of home for them which is great for working on play and language skills.  Each of the dolls are only 3" tall meaning they don't take up a lot of room!  Excellent news for parents and therapists on the go.  As already mentioned, the outfits and accessories for each of the dolls are interchangeable so each time kids play with them, they can make different outfits.  My daughter has loved swapping the outfits  or having them wear just part of the dress and making it into a skirt instead.  Once you get the hang of it, it becomes quite simple to remove and replace all the different parts of the outfits. My favorite part of the dolls is the itty bitty accessories that come with each of the sets that you can use to decorate the outfits.  This is the part that is great for working on improving fine motor and manipulation skills.  Remind kids to use their "pinchers" when picking up the small pieces and pushing them into place!

In addition to working on fine motor skills, the Disney Princess Little Kingdom work on improving bilateral coordination, eye-hand coordination, motor planning and executive functioning skills such as focus, attention and organizational skills.  The best part is that they are reasonably priced, especially when you think about the fact that you can use all the outfits and accessories with any doll.  I found a really good selection of them at State News on the Upper East Side of Manhattan but have also seen them at other local toy stores (I always like to support the mom and pop toy stores before going to Target or Amazon).

If you are on the lookout for an affordable, fun and portable toy (think restaurants, car/airplane rides, etc.), Disney Princess Little Kingdom dolls are the perfect thing.  If you have any questions, be sure to email me...I am only a click away and love hearing from you all!

Eye Spy the Difference

I'm always downloading new apps.  It's just something I love to do and expose the kids I work with to.  At least once a week, I go onto the App Store and see if anything wonderful catches my eye.  This past week, I discovered an awesome app, Toonia Differences.  It reminded me of this game that my sister Katie and I first started playing at a local bar ages and ages ago, Photo Hunt.  The point of the game was simple (yet totally stressful):  look at the same picture side by side and find what is different.  When it became available as an app, I spent countless hours playing it and got such satisfaction from beating a friend or a previous score.

Toonia Differences is the cutest "spot the difference" game for kids that I have seen.  Very much like the game I described above, the object of the game is to look at the side by side picture and notice the 8 things that are different.  Some are obvious at first glance and other are much trickier to spot.  I first tried this game with my daughter who turned 5 in March.  After explaining the rules of the game, she caught on quickly but required prompting from me to only touch one of the images that were different....her initial instinct was to hit the images on both pictures which caused her time to increase which then lead to frustration.  This game requires a child to really focus and attend to what is on the screen.  The app uses simple graphics and colors with quiet/organizing music playing in the background.  Since there are so many details in each picture, the differences can change over and over again so the kids don't get bored or memorize the things that are different.  Kids of all ages are loving this game and I really like that you can change your expectations for each child you are working with based on their level of functioning.  For younger kids, you may have to provide them with some subtle hints to get them to find the differences.  For the older kids, you can have the kids explain what they notice before touching the screen.  If you are working on handwriting skills, you can have them write down what they notice...make sure they go into detail and write full sentences!

This app works on the following occupational therapy goals:
Improve Visual Perceptual Skills-there are so many visual skills that can be worked on with this game.  Visual scanning, visual tracking, visual attention...I could go on and on.  The great thing about it is that the pictures are cute and the kids really like them. If you want to work on improving eye-hand coordination, you can have the child play the game while using a stylus.
Improve Language Skills-clearly, speech and language isn't my area of expertise, but I can't help but notice how much a speech therapist could work on improving language skills using this app.  For my older kids, I have been having them describe the differences in the pictures before they can touch the screen.  This sounds easy, but so many of my older kids struggle with this task...they recognize what is different, but putting it into words is tricky for them.
Improve Modulation/Regulation Skills-for so many of the kids that I have tried this game with, their instinct is to just start tapping away and hoping that they find the differences by luck.  They have needed prompting from me to be mindful and attentive to what they are looking at, making sure that they are really finding the images that are different.  I try not to focus on the fact that there is a timer tracking their work (and thankfully, very few of the kids I have played this with have noticed that) because once they realize that they were being timed, they became much more impulsive and less focused.
Improve Social Skills-this is an ideal app for improving social skills and can easily be done in a group of two or three kids.  You can work on taking turns finding the differences.  You can also have the kids work together to create stories about what is happening in the pictures.

Toonia Differences is available in the app store and the first 5 pictures are free.  There are a variety of sets available via in-app purchases for $2.99 or their super pack (45 pictures) for $6.99.  For the amount of time you can spend on this game and all the skills that can be focused on, I think it is totally worth splurging on the whole collection.

If you wanted to do something fun with your kids, you can make your own Spot the Difference game using your own pictures.  One thing you can do is take pictures of different places in a child's life.....their bedroom, their classroom, etc..  Take the pictures on different days so the environments look different.  Print the pictures out and put them side by side and see if they can find all the things that are different.  This could be a really fun project to do with a social skills group....have each kid bring in a few different sets of pictures from their house and put together a book.

Finding a good app is still one of my favorite things.  Sharing those finds with my readers is another one of my favorite things!  This is a great app that parents can do with their kids while being able to work on occupational therapy goals in a fun way.  Kids can play it with their friends or siblings.  Do you have any great new apps that you have discovered lately?  As the end of the school year approaches, I would love to be able to put together a list of fun and educational apps that parents can do with their children over the summer.  Please share your favorite apps with me...I'm just a click away and love hearing from you all.

Learning Can Be Fun!

One of the things that my colleagues know about me is that I love using the iPad during my therapy sessions.  I was an early lover of the iPad and what it could bring to a therapy session.  There were many times I felt really bad about my iPad causing a distraction to the other children and therapists around me.  As the years have gone by, many more of my colleagues are joining me and realizing that when used in conjunction with a ton of other therapy approaches, the iPad can be a tremendously motivating and useful.  What I love most about it is that you can combine the iPad with a ton of other occupational therapy goals and kill two birds with one stone.  Have a kid who needs to work on building upper extremity strength and is resistant to those activities?  Place them on the net swing and find a game for them to play; I guarantee you will get them to stay in that challenging position for much longer!  Do you have a child who needs to work on improving handwriting skills or grasping on a writing instrument?  Give them a stylus when doing handwriting apps so they are working on both letter writing and using a proper grip.

Recently, I have been asked to share my favorite iPad apps with my colleagues and the families I work with.  As more people begin to join the tablet world, they want to make sure that they have enough on their iPads to meet the needs of their children.  There are SO many great apps out there and sometimes it's so overwhelming looking through the app store that people get scared away.  While I have shared many of my favorite apps recently, I thought I would share this comprehensive list I created last week.  There are probably a million more apps out there (and please share your gems with me...I am ALWAYS looking for new ones), but I thought I would share my most recent list with you all.    There are a lot here but it's just a sampling of what is on my iPad and what I use during my sessions.

Little Bit Studio happens to have some of the most amazing and motivating apps that I know of.  Not only do the kids that I world with love them, I love to play them with the kids!  They all range in price from $1.00-3.99.  For some, that might seem like a bit of a steep price for an iPad app, but each game comes with about 15 mini games.  

 Bugs and Buttons-18 really fun games that work on a variety of academic skills.  Great game for working on fine motor, visual tracking, visual motor and critical thinking.  

 Bugs and Buttons 2-follow up game to Bugs and Buttons, another 18 games that work on pinching, counting and letter recognition.  

 Bugs and Numbers-another 18 games that make learning math loads of fun for preschool and school-age kids.  Number/shape identification, sequencing, tracking numbers and learning fractions are just a few of the math skills a child can work on when using this app.

 Bug Mazing-created for pre-school and school age children.  Great for working on reinforcing number, letter and shape recognition while working on fine motor and problem solving skills.  

Binary Labs has created a series of apps that are great for preschool and school age children.  What I love about this company is that they recognize the importance of how good fine motor skills can support handwriting and math skills down the line.

Dexteria-the first app I discovered by Binary Labs has been one of the apps I regularly recommend to other therapists and parents.  There are few apps that work on fine motor skills such as grasping, pinching and fine motor control like dexterity and control skills.  Great for older children or even adults who need to work on developing these skills.

Dexteria Jr-hand and finger exercises that develop fine motor skills for kids between the ages of 2 and 6.  The activities are fun and motivating so the kids don't realize they are working on skills!  Squish the Squash works on finger isolation/using your pointer finger while Pinch the Pepper works on developing grasping skills and improving finger strength.

Dexteria Dots-I have been on the hunt for good math games so was thrilled when I heard about this game.  Fun and intuitive game that work son teaching kids the concepts of addition, subtraction and relative size.  There are different levels so this game is good for children between the ages of 2 and 8.

Dextetia Dots 2-this is a great app that works on fine motor, visual motor and visual motor skills while doing math at the same time.  Helps to reinforce math concepts such as greater/less than/equal to from a conceptual standpoint for school age children 5-10 years of age.

Fizzbrain Apps is a mom and pop company that has dedicated themselves to creating a series of apps that will motivate children to learn.  My favorite ones are their series of Touch and Write apps which . In addition to these apps, they have many apps created for children on the autism spectrum.   

Touch and Write-kids can practice writing the letters of the alphabet using 16 different materials; my kids really love practicing writing with shaving cream or jello!  What I love about this handwriting app is that not only can you practice writing individual letters, but they give you the option of personalizing this for each child and making word lists so they can work on spelling at the same time.

Touch and Write Cursive-for older children who need help with learning cursive.  This app is the same as the original and offers you the opportunity to practice upper and lower case letters and full words.  

**with both of these apps, I suggest using a stylus so you can encourage a proper writing grasp.  I also like to have the children write the letters and words on paper after they have practiced on the iPad in order to generalize their skills.  

Highlights Hidden Pictures-just like the classic puzzles found in the Highlights and High Five Magazines, this app has over 50 puzzles to choose from.  You can change the level of difficulty by turning hints on and off.  Great for working on visual skills such as visual perception, visual tracking and visual organizational skills.  My school age children love this app.  Sometimes, I will have them use the iPad first and complete a puzzle and then give them a page in workbook after to work on generalizing the visual skills.

Whac-a-Mole-I was really excited to see that one of my favorite games to use with my kids was also an app.  There are over 50 levels of play with it getting more challenging as you beat them.  The object of the game it to earn as many coins as possible as you tap and swipe the moles out of your way.  This is a great app for older children who need to work on visual motor skills.  In addition to improving visual motor skills, you can work on executive functioning skills such as organization, focus and visual attention.  

MOMA Art Lab-wonderful app that works on improving creativity and art skills.  Intended for children ages 7 and older, this app allows children to explore how artists can use lines, shapes and colors to create artwork inspired by some of the artwork seen at MOMA.  I love to use this with small groups of older children and watch them work together to create a piece of art.
So many of the kids I work with have a difficult time doing a more abstract art project.  They can be successful with activities that have clear rules and expectations, but get frustrated by more open-ended art activities. This can be a great app to show them that they can be successful and expand their imagination.  If you want to take it to the next level, have materials available for them to make a real life project that resembles what they have just practiced on the iPad.

Pinch Peeps-fast paced and fun app that works on improving fine motor, visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  Pinch and drag together similar peeps in order to score as many points as possible.  The faster you go, the more points you get.  I love using this with my older kids who need a fun way to work on improving executive functioning skills such as organization, focus and attention and following directions.  As an added requirement, I have my older kids tell me the rules and steps of this game before they can play the game.

Faces iMake ABC-looking for something fun and different to work on teaching your little ones their letters?  Faces iMake ABC is just for you then!  This is an interactive game that works on letter recognition and learning the sounds of each of the letters.  What I love about this is there is a puzzle for each letter of the alphabet which works on visual skills, such as tracking, eye hand coordination and perceptual skills.  The kids I work with love how they use every day objects like buttons and different foods to turn them into pictures.
If I have a child who is working on learning how to write the letters, I will let them put the puzzle together first and then they have to practice writing the letter after.  For those who need encouragement for handwriting, I find this to be motivating.
There is a second piece to this game that is more appropriate for older children.  For each letter, the child is asked to find the 5 objects in a field of about a dozen pictures that start with the letter.  This works on improving organizational skills, focus and attention.  

Dipdap-do you have a child who has a really time with drawing?  This is a really fun app that can work on improving drawing skills in a unique way.  Dipdap is a cute character and your job is to help him through 16 different adventures by completing pictures.  In each of the 16 pictures, an object is missing that your child has to draw.  For example, Dipdap is in a car but the whole outside is missing.
For kids who shy away from drawing because they have difficulty with it, I find this to be a non-threatening drawing app that they can be successful with.  I like to talk through it with them before they start drawing; for some kids the planning part is more difficult than the actual drawing part.
As I like to do with the handwriting apps I use, immediately after a child draws on the iPad, I like to get them to practice drawing a picture on paper that they can take home and show off to their people.
Don't forget to have a child use a stylus of your choice when doing this drawing app.  I think it's tremendously important for a child to always be encouraged to use a proper grasp when drawing so find the one that your child is most comfortable with and let them draw away!

Letterschool-one of my favorite handwriting apps out there.  The more important thing is that it also happens to be the favorite of my of the kids I work with as well.  Not only will your child work on letter (upper and lowercase) and number recognition, they will also be learning the sounds that go with each letter.  For each letter, there are three different choices....tap (this helps a child learn where each part of the letter starts) and watch the lines get drawn; drag (drag the arrow from the starting point to the end point) and draw on the chalkboard.  Once the letter is complete for each game, the letter comes to life....racecars zoom, flowers bloom and a train moves along the tracks are just a few of the fun things that your child is rewarded with after they have completed the letter.
I love that you can change the mode so if you are doing the Handwriting Without Tears program with a child, you can use this app along with it.  For my kids, they know that when they use Letterschool, they will have to practice writing the letter either on a chalkboard or a piece of paper.

L'Escapadou has created two wonderful handwriting apps...one for print and one for cursive...that my kids love to play with.
Writing Wizard/Cursive Writing Wizard-practice writing all the upper and lowercase letters and numbers while tracing them using animated stickers and sound effects.  Once the tracing is complete, they can interact with the letters.
The game is customizable and you can play around with the settings to make it best for your child.  There are two modes:  free and 5 Stars mode.  In the 5 Star mode, the focus is on learning the letter by tracing it 5 times.  Once it's successfully traced 5 times, the child earns a star that is then displayed on the home screen with all of the letters.
Don't forget to use a stylus when using this app with your kids.  Also, anytime possible, have them practice writing on paper or a chalkboard immediately after completing it on the iPad.  

Pepi Play has a series of apps that are ideal for preschoolers that work on fine motor, visual motor/perceptual and other academic skills.  My own daughter can play these games for hours and they are often the go to apps when my children at work have earned iPad choice!  

Pepi Tree-in this educational game, children get to explore a variety of tree-dwelling animals and learn about some of their habits.  They get to learn about where they live, what they eat and what different animals look like.  There are six separate games in this app and each one works on some kind of occupational therapy goal.  My kids really love feeding the caterpillars different foods and watching them turn into beautiful butterflies.  I like the owl who uses his night vision to find all of the other animals who are also away at night.  Highly motivating app that works on improving visual motor, visual tracking, fine motor, bilateral coordination and focus/attentional skills.

Wallykazam!  Letter and Word Magic-this preschool literacy app is a big hit amongst my preschoolers and younger school age children.  For kids who are struggling with reading, I find that they are more motivated to work on this skill when some of their favorite characters are involved.  The goal of the game is to help Wally and all his friends in a variety of adventures.  There are several games built into this app that work on phonemic awareness, letter recognition and letter-sound associations.  Additionally, your child can learn how to write letters by tracing them in the stars.  It is highly interactive and keeps even the most frustrated early learner motivated and engaged.  For some of my older children, I have them trace the letters using a stylus so we can work on proper grasp on writing instruments.  If you have children who are struggling with handwriting as well, this is a good game to use in conjunction with handwriting activities.  After they have traced the letter in the sky, have them write it on paper or on a chalkboard.

Super Stretch-while I am not one who does yoga personally, I recognize and appreciate the therapeutic benefits of it and have used it often in my sessions.  Not only is it great for working on overall body strength, it also works on motor planning, focus/attentional skills and breath control.  Whether you do it individually or in a small group, I have found that my kids love following Super Stretch on his adventures.  I like that you can pick and choose which poses you want to work on so it can work on individual goals for each child.  I have used this in my social skills group many times and I love how the kids look at each other to figure out how to get themselves in the different poses.  If you have a child who has modulation and focus/attention difficulties, you can use this app in the beginning of your sessions to work on grounding them and getting them ready for their session.

I know this is a lot of information...perhaps too much!  I also know that this is just a small sampling of the amazing apps out there that can be used to motivate and encourage children to learn a variety of skills.  I feel like it is highly important for me to repeat that it's important to use the iPad as an addition to your regular therapy sessions and not let it replace the hands on, multi-sensory experiences you offer in your work environment.  For some of my kids, the iPad is used as a reward for doing all of their other work.  For others, it is used as a side-by-side activity when working on handwriting.

If you have any outstanding apps that you would like to share, please let me know!  I am always excited to learn about new apps out there and use them during my sessions.  I also know that many of my readers would be excited to hear what you have to say as well.  As always, I am just a click away!

Giggly for Tiggly

Last month, I was fortunate enough to be able to take a quick run through the NY Toy Show at The Javitz Center.  To say I was completely overwhelmed and overexcited is an understatement!  I could have spent hours and hours looking at all the toys and figuring out which one of my kids would benefit from what.  One of the coolest things I saw was an interactive iPad toy called Tiggly.  I was fortunate enough to be able to talk to someone from the company and was so impressed with what they showed me.

A little bit about Tiggly.  They are a team of PhDs, MBAs, parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts who want to help parents introduce their children to the digital world in an easy and educational way.  What they ended up creating was an interactive tablet toy that works with learning apps.  They believe that there learning can be fun and more powerful for some when children are given the opportunity to combine digital and physical play.   With Tiggly, children are given the opportunity to explore geometric shapes (circle, square, triangle and star) and work on spatial relations by manipulating physical shapes while interacting with the creations they make on the iPad.

The Tiggly Shapes and the apps are designed for children between the ages of 18 month and 4 years.  I have used them in my office for some of my older children who may have more language and cognitive delays and they have had great success with them.  The shapes have a soft plastic cover and silicone touch points that allow them to be recognized by the iPad apps.  They are well made and durable objects that can withstand the damage a tough toddler can cause but gentle enough that they won't damage your iPad screens.  I really like the size of them as they can work on improving grasp strength and manipulation skills for younger children in a fun way.

As of right now, there are three apps available in the App Store.  All are free for download and can be used without the shapes but are much more fun and engaging with them.  Below you will find a brief description of each and some of the goals that can be worked on when using them.

Tiggly Safari-while using the 4 Tiggly shapes, this game is designed to help facilitate a child's spatial cognition development.  In the first level, children match shapes with what they see on the screen and create simple animals out of single shapes.  As the children master that level, the challenge increases and they are asked to create more complex animals while combining different shapes.  Sometimes it is combining the same shapes in a single screen but as it gets more complex, they combine shapes to make animals.  For a real challenge, the shapes will begin to move around the screen so you have to track where they go and match the shapes.  Sounds easy, but it can be difficult for some of my kids.  

*great for working on shape recognition, matching and improving eye-hand coordination.  For children who are younger, you can begin to introduce new animals and encourage language skills.  

Tiggly Stamp-this app is all about being creative and encourage open-ended play.  Using the Tiggly shapes, a child can build seasonal scenes on their iPad.   Depending on the background and the shape that you use, different objects and animals are created.  You have the option of moving them all around the screen and changing them up.  It's great for creativity and expanding your play skills.  

For my speech therapist friends, this app is perfect for you because you can use the video/camera recorder to save the stories they tell about the scenes they have made.  For parents who aren't able to come to therapy sessions, you can record the stories and then send them to them so they can have some conversation about what they did during their session that day.

*great for working on shape recognition, language skills and visual motor/perceptual skills.  

 Tiggly Draw-while I love each of the Tiggly apps, I am a particularly fond of this one.  As an occupational therapist, I am constantly looking for ways to work on building body awareness and work on drawing skills in a fun and motivating way.  For some of the kids I work with, learning how to draw a person is an important and crazy difficult skill.  Kids who have decreased body awareness have a much more difficult time drawing a person than a typically developing child.  It can also be very frustrating for that child so you have to come up with fun ways to work on it.  I have used this app so that kids place a couple of shapes on the iPad and then have to add body and face parts.  We talk about what body parts they added, what they help us do and then have them try and draw a picture themselves.
*improve body awareness, improve grasping skills (after using the  Tiggly Draw app, have the child draw a picture using paper and crayons) and improve language skills (talk about the body parts you add and what they do).

In addition to the goals addressed above, Tiggly shapes can be used to work on the following occupational therapy goals:

Improve Bilateral Coordination Skills-for some of my kids, I will have them sit on the platform swing while playing the game.  They have to hold the iPad with one hand and use the other hand to grab and hold the shapes.  For some kids, working with two hands can be difficult and tiring.  If motivated enough, they won't tire as easily because they will be so engaged with what they are doing that they don't notice they are working so hard!

Encourage Crossing Midline-I like to place the Tiggly shapes on the opposite side of a child's body so they have to cross midline to find the matching shapes.  Sometimes I have to gently hold one hand down or use verbal prompts to remind them not to switch hands but once they are in a routine, they do it more independently.  If you look at the picture to the right, you will see how you can set up a working environment to encourage crossing midline during this activity.

Improve Upper Extremity Strength-I have used the shapes and apps while my kids lie in the net swing or barrel to work on increasing upper extremity and neck strength.  When they are engaged and focused on the iPad (and these games are super interactive and engaging), they forget that they are in the swing and can get them to remain in that challenging position for longer periods of time.
Improve Social Skills-I am excited to try the Tiggly Draw and Tiggly Stamp apps in a small group setting to work on improving pragmatic language, turn taking and being a flexible friend.  The great thing about these two apps is that children can work in small groups and take turns placing the shapes onto the iPad.  With Tiggly Draw, the kids can take turns putting different body parts on the shapes.  This may require one friend to be flexible and deal with a friend making a choice that they didn't have in mind or expect.  Tiggly Stamp can be an opportunity to work on friends telling a story together.  I think it would be really fun for the kids to come up with a story together and be able to listen to it together and then problem solve on what they might change or do differently.

If you read my blog, you will know that I talk about apps and iPads quite often.  While I feel like it is an awesome motivator for many of my kids, it is not my end all and be all as far as therapy goes.  One of the many things I like about the Tiggly shapes and apps is that they can be used in conjunction with other therapeutic modalities.  For example, I talked about how you can use the Tiggly Draw app to work on expanding drawing skills.  By using the Tiggly Stamp, a child can work visual motor and perceptual skills along with improving language skills.

If you read my blog you will also know that I love to support small companies and businesses.   Tiggly is a new company but I think that it's got some big things happening and think it will be a really big deal soon.  I know for a fact that they have some big things happening that will be launched soon.  Things that will be great for older kids and make our kids be better thinkers and problem solvers.

For my fellow Park Slopers who are interested in buying these, you don't have to go very far to get them yourselves.  Norman and Jules carry them in store and online.  For those of you who are not in my hood, check out this listing to see where the most convenient place to purchase them is.  Try and buy them from a local small business as they count on us for their business!

Have you used the Tiggly shapes and apps yet?  What do you think of them and what are some of the occupational therapy goals that you address when using them?  I am always a click away and would love to hear from you about how you are using Tiggly and what your kids (work or personal) think of them.

Once Upon A Time

With just 3 days before Christmas (how in the world did that happen?), I am sure there are many of you still on the lookout for last minute gifts.  If you have a child on your list who loves creative play and listening to stories, this gift I am about to write about was made for them.

Yesterday, Quinn received one of the most adorable gifts from her bestie Liv and it has immediately become one of her favorites.  Storytime Toys has designed three toy house and story sets for your preschooler (young school age children will love these as well).  Quinn got the Three Little Pigs story but I ran out this morning and purchased the Hansel and Gretel set as well for her to open on Christmas morning.   She insisted on putting together the Three Little Pigs set as soon as we got home and played with it for hours.  The image below shows all three of the sets: Three Little Pigs, Hansel and Gretel  and Goldilocks and The Three Bears.

There are a ton of things to love about these sets, both for kids and their grownups.  For the kids, they are colorful and easy to manipulate.  Once they get the hang of putting the pieces together, they should be able to put them together on their own, or with just a little help from their big people.  They can follow the story provided in the book or they can make up their own stories.  For adults, each of the Storytime Toys sets is made of super durable materials that will take the abuse that your child(ren) are sure to give it.  They come with a sturdy box that you can store all the pieces in after your little storytellers are finished playing.  This is a bonus for all families who have more toys than they know what to do with, but an even bigger bonus to people like me who live in tiny apartments with WAY too much stuff.  Quinn was asking for a giant dollhouse from Santa this year, but we just don't have the square footage in our place for such a thing yet.  This is a great compromise for our household (especially since Quinn is a giant fan of fairytales).

In addition to all of the pieces for the houses, including people and accessories, each set comes with a book with the story included.  This is a great way to work on improving focus and attentional skills and play skills in children who may struggle with that.  This is a toy that I think every single one of my speech therapy friends should have for their offices.  One of my favorite things about each book is that they with a couple of DIY activities related to the set.  For example, in the Three Little Pigs set, there are instructions to make mud puddles and picture frames to hang on the walls of the pigs houses.  I am sure that there are a bunch of other ideas that you can come up with on your own to go along with each of the stories.

In addition to what has been mentioned already, the following occupational therapy goals can be worked on when playing with the Storytime Toys toy house and story sets:
Improve Fine Motor Skills-putting the pieces of each of the houses together helps to work on improving both increasing grasp strength and in-hand manipulation skills.  There are some small pieces that need to be together which is great for encouraging children to use a fine pincer grasp during play.  I will be sure to remind the kids to use a fine pincer grasp when pulling the pieces apart after they are all done playing.
Improve Bilateral Coordination Skills-in order to put these sets together, you will need to use both hands at the same time.  You may need to remind your child to hold one piece stable while putting the other pieces into place.
Improve Visual Motor/Perceptual Skills-each set comes disassembled.  Putting them together is a great way to work on improving visual motor and visual motor skills.  The kits don't come with step by step instructions, but by looking at the picture on the box, it is easy to figure out how to put them together.  For your younger kids, they may need more assistance with this but be sure to try and get them to problem solve and figure it out on their own before doing it for them.  This could also be a great way to work on building a child's frustration tolerance when presented with more challenging activities.
Improve Language Skills-like I have already mentioned, this toy set is perfect for all my speech therapist friends.  It is a great way to work on expanding a child's language and vocabulary skills.  The Three Little Pigs set is also great for working on breath control because you can have the kids work on blowing the houses down while following the story.  I am sure I am missing at least a million other speech and language goals that can be worked on with these sets.  Maybe if any of you out there reading this are speech therapists and want to comment on what goals you work on while using these sets, please message me and I will add any and all suggestions.
Improve Social Skills-this is a great way for children to play together.  Not only can they put the sets together as a team, they can then act out the story after it is all put together.  I am excited to try this with one of my preschool social skills groups.  I love the idea of having them work together to put the whole thing together, but then to act out the story as a group.  I am already trying to brainstorm the fine motor or arts and craft project that can be done at the end so they can take it home and be able to tell their parents what they worked on during group.

I am already trying to think about all the kids I can get these sets for.  I am thinking how nice these would be for some of my friends who have an older child and a preschooler....they older sibling could be the one to read the story and help the child put the houses together.  A great activity to encourage play skills at home especially for those parents who worry about their kids relying on electronics and television too much.

So if any of you are still trying to figure out what to get that special little one in your life, I think this would be a perfect gift.  I have seen them in two stores so far, Little Things in Park Slope, Brooklyn and Tinker Toys in Woodstock, NY.  If you go to this link here, you will find a list of all the stores that sell them.  I know how convenient it is to buy things from Amazon, but remember what a difference each of your purchases make to all these independent toy stores.

If you have any of these sets and want to share some craft activities to go along with them, please share them with us.  I love hearing from each of you and have gotten such great suggestions that I am able to use both at work and at home.  I am always a click away and check my email all the time!

Three Cheers for Lazoo!

When I first began this blog, I wrote about my favorite coloring books.  Included in that were a series of  activity books by Lazoo.  They were a staple in my therapy closet then and still are now.  So how excited was I when I discovered they now had a series of apps for the iPad?  So far there are 4 of them and 3 of them are free which is always a bonus.

I just downloaded these but already am in love with them.  More importantly, my 3 1/2 year old daughter loves them.  They all keep her attention and engaged (which isn't so easy since she is a kid that likes to be on the go ALL THE TIME).  I can't wait to test them out with my kids at work next week.

I'm going to attempt to briefly review each of them here.

Lazoo Zoo

It's snack time at the zoo and all these animals are hungry and wanting to be fed!  There are 11 different animals to feed and fun things happen to them depending on what you feed them.  For example, the giraffes spots will change depending on what you feed him or the ape whose hairstyle changes when you have fed him too much.  For my speech therapist friends, there are lots of opportunities here to work on expanding language with kids and work on story telling.


Magic Stickers

I have the activity book of this and LOVE it!  I love the book version of this because you can work on fine motor skills and creative skills at the same time.  Makes kids think outside of the box and can really encourage a lot of language from them at the same time.  For me the problem always has been that once you complete the page, that's it.  So the fact that there is an app for this makes me so happy.  There are 8 different backgrounds that you can decorate with over 50 stickers to choose from.  There are suggested stickers for each background but you can use whichever one you want to.  You can decorate a piece of broccoli or a loaf of bread any way you want and then you can make it come to life.  Bonus feature to this app....you can create your own stickers!

Let's Color
What's better than have a coloring book where the pages come to life?  I can't think of anything much better!  The app comes with 18 different pages and there are additional ones you can purchase.  
For many of the younger kids I work with, they struggle with figuring out where to start a picture.  Sometimes I will give them ideas based on their interests but this can still be difficult for them.  I like that the picture gives you a starting point to jump off from.  And there are no wrongs here which is always important.  For example, there is a picture of a little boy playing a trumpet and the app reads "What COULD come out of a trumpet?".  The child can choose from different colors and "writing instruments" and go crazy.  For some of my more unorganized kids, I may have them talk me through what they are thinking about drawing, how they will draw it, etc. in order to get them more organized and focused on their drawing.  Once the child is happy with their picture, they press go and their picture comes to life.  One of the things I like about this app is that once the picture is done, you have the option of saving it and emailing it to the child's parents.  Great way for a parent to know what they were doing in therapy but also a great way for children who may have language issues to talk about their picture and tell a story.


Squiggles
This activity book by Lazoo is still one of my favorites.  The concept is so simple but can foster such creative thinking, especially in many of the kids I work with who struggle with that important piece of being a kid.  There are 8 pictures with scenes that you need to complete by adding a squiggly line to bring them to life.  For example, there is a page with a bunny asking you to draw squiggly clouds so it can rain and water her flowers.  You can begin by tracing the clouds already shown and then the kids can make their own.  They can use whatever color they want and whichever tool they want (chalk, crayon or a ketchup bottle to name a few!).  There is a picture with a bunch of cars and you have to draw the exhaust coming out of the pipes.  Once you are satisfied with your picture, hit play and watch your picture come to life.  The squiggly rain clouds start raining and the flowers start to bloom.  The cars race back and forth on the screen.

I can't really choose my favorite app because each one offers something so unique and different from the others.  What I do know is that each one is motivating and encourages creativity and imagination skills.  For many of the kids I work with, this is something difficult to bring into our therapy sessions so it is always nice to find something that can do that in a motivating and fun way.  I also like each of the apps make a child think outside of the box.  They make them look at the pictures and see something different than what it is.  For example, they tell you to look at a head of broccoli and imagine as a tree and fill it up with birds, flowers, etc..  I am sure many of you can relate to this:  many of the kids I work with are creatures of habit, routine and can be too literal at times.  It is so difficult for them to have a different perspective about things and this is a fun way for them to begin to look at things a little differently.

These apps can also work on the following occupational therapy goals:

Improve Eye-Hand Coordination-fun way to work in improving eye-hand coordination for those little ones who struggle with this skill.  In the Lazoo Zoo app, there is a series of foods for a child to choose from and they have to pick that out and then drag it to the animal.  They need to make sure they are putting the food in the right place or else it won't do what it is supposed to.
Improve Visual Motor/Perceptual Skills-these apps are chock full of ways to work on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  A child must visually scan the screen in order to pick out the stickers/writing tools/colors.  They must visually track when dragging the stickers over to the animals in the Zoo app.  They need to maintain their visual focus on the objects they are coloring in and you can require that they need to remain in the lines or they will have to try it again.  You can work on tracing skills by having them trace some of the images already on the screen.  I am sure there are many, many more that I am leaving out but I think you get the picture.
Improves Graphomotor Skills-each of the apps can focus on improving handwriting, drawing and other graphomotor skills.  You can require children to include certain shapes and lines in their pictures before they are allowed to do free drawing.  For your older kids, you can ask them to write some letters in the picture as well.

Improve Fine Motor Skills-I plan on having my kids do this at times with the iCreate crayon stylus to work on improving their fine motor and grasping skills at the same time.  For my younger kids, who avoid handwriting activities, I can get them to do so much of the same stuff on the iPad but with much less complaining.  The rule for them though is that if they don't use the stylus, they don't get to play the iPad.  For those kids who have difficulty with isolating fingers for fine motor work, the rule can be that they are only allowed to use their pointer finger to drag stickers over, draw lines or color in the pictures.  This sounds easy, but I can't even begin to count the number of times I have to remind kids to only use their pointer finger when using the iPad!
Improve Attention and Focus Skills-each of these apps require a different kind of attention and focus.  It may be important to set boundaries and guidelines with the child you are working with prior to them beginning.  For example, I can envision many of my kids just wanting to draw one line here or there and then making it come to life.  Or they may get bored with what they are doing and ask to move onto another page.  Sometimes what works best for me with any handwriting or drawing app is to say that they need to spend a specific number of time on their drawing before doing something different.  I also like to require that they use a certain number of colors and shapes (this clearly depends on the child's individual goals).  I like to see how long they can do things independently but if I see their attention starting to go, I will try and guide them in order to complete it entirely.  Not only is it important for a child to follow through on what they start, it is a real confidence and self-esteem booster.
Improve Bilateral Coordination-when my kids use the iPad, I make sure that I can always see two hands.  One hand has to be on the iPad doing the work and the other must be holding the iPad in order to keep it from moving around.  Way too often, I see the kids using the iPad zoning out with one hand just hanging down doing nothing.  These are often the kids who need to be reminded to keep both hands up on the desk when participating in handwriting or drawing activities.
Increase Upper Extremity Strength-I can't wait to test this out with my kids on the net swing!  So many of my kids complain after just seconds of lying prone on the net swing.  However, when I place the iPad in front of them, the complaining decreases significantly.  These apps are motivating enough that I believe it will keep the kid's attention and they won't even realize they are getting tired on the swing.
Improve Social Skills-while these apps are great to do 1:1, they can also be used in small groups.  I find that kids tend to take suggestions and ideas better from their peers at times.  Or that they are more willing to try something new and different if they see a friend doing it.  Other social skills that can be addressed are turn taking, improving frustration tolerance (a friend may want to put a different sticker on that broccoli tree and you need to let it happen) and flexibility (a child may have an idea of what the final picture should like but they have to be flexibly and allow their friends to add whatever they want to the picture).

I hope that you all enjoy these apps as much as I am already.  I can see them becoming a presence in so many of my therapy sessions.  I would love to hear what you think about these apps and how the kids you work with are liking them.  I am always a click away and love getting feedback and suggestions from you all.