Get That Body Moving!

I hope that this latest blog post finds you all healthy and staying sane. My daughter is just starting week two of her remote learning and we are all adjusting with our new "normal". We have set up our small apartment with three stations for school and work and so far, it's working. One thing I have noticed being cooped up inside for a majority of our day is how important it is to get up and moving throughout the day. For the first time in my daughter's school career, the majority of her work is done on a computer which means she is spending hours on end looking at a screen and I am realizing how important it is for her to get up and move around throughout the day. Seeing this firsthand has made me realize even more than I already know just how important body and brain breaks are crucial and have been encouraging my daughter to get up and move around, especially when she seems to be getting frustrated by something.

Look at how much active your child's brain is after just 20
minutes of physical movement! 

The importance of brain/body breaks can't be expressed enough. Here are a few of the many benefits of incorporating these breaks into your child's daily schedule while remote learning is taking place:
*improves cognitive skills as they complete these activities. Be sure to up the challenge for them as they become more successful with them.
*improves focus and attention which helps with the learning process. We must allow time for movement opportunities in order for our children to learn.
*movement has been proven to actually help "turn on" your brain.
*engaging in organized physical movement helps a child with being able to not only focus and attend but also helps with organizing your work.

Brain breaks are easy to build into your child's day, especially if they are following some kind of schedule. My daughter gets her daily schedule first thing in the morning and then writes it down on her dry erase board. We know when she will have Zoom meetings and know what assignments need to get done and know when it needs to be completed so we work around that and then think about where to add in some brain breaks. Like most things, what kinds of brain breaks work for children are individual. Below, I share some simple and fun brain breaks that you can do at home.

1. Dance Party-my daughter's go-to brain break is to have a dance party. We have music playing in our apartment all day long. It's something all of us love and helps us focus and attend. When it's time for her to get up and move, she is allowed to pick a song or two of her choice, typically Taylor Swift, put the volume up and just dance. If you have more than one child, put together a family dance party playlist that they can shuffle through during these dance parties.

2. Freeze Dance-during all of my remote therapy sessions, I start with a game of Freeze Dance. Sometimes I have them choose a song which is highly motivating to them to get them up and moving and helps them to get their bodies organized before we sit down and do our work in this non-traditional manner. During each of the freeze moments, I add in some kind of body awareness challenge. For example, I will say to them, "The next time the music stops, make your body a small shape." There are also a ton of really great video options on You Tube that my kids have really enjoyed.

3. Simon Says-this is an easy game to do, even in the smallest of spaces! I like Simon Says because it is always different and you can pick activities that are appropriate for each child. Jump up and down, touch your toes, touch various body parts, do jumping jacks, run in place, and so much more. This is a great activity to get your kids up and moving but also helps with improving body awareness, body strength, motor planning and coordination and improves executive functioning skills such as focus, attention and self-regulation.

4. What's Your Name Workout-I have been doing these workouts with my kids at the gym and they love it because it is personalized for them which makes it feel more special. I have included both the beginner's and extreme workout for you to take a look at. Change things up by having your kids spell out other family members or pet's names. If your kids are struggling with their spelling words, have them practice them by combining it with the these activities.





5. Alphabet Scavenger Hunt-this is also a great way to work on handwriting but the main goal is to get them up and moving around. Give your child a clipboard with a piece of paper with the letters of the alphabet written along the left hand side of the paper. Depending on how much time they have, highlight a certain number of letters and have them walk around their house or apartment and find objects that start with those letters and write them down. If you have siblings, they can compete against each other or work together to complete the scavenger hunt.

6. Play Charades-charades is a fun brain break activity that can be played with a child and a parent, with siblings or as a whole family. It not only gets kids up and moving around, it helps with developing body awareness. You can have kids come up with their own ideas (might be easier for your older children) or come up with a list as a family and throw them in a bowl and pick them out one at a time to act out. Definitely set a timer because it could go on forever and then lead to kids getting super frustrated. For those of you who prefer to have the work done for you, check out some of the great charades games out there: Charades for Kids, Pictures Charades and Kids On Stage.



7. Animal Walk-this is a really fun activity, especially for younger children and can be silly or serious. Come up with a list of animals and talk about how they move before you do this with your child. I am a big fan of using colorful visuals with kids so I encourage finding pictures of a bunch of animals, print them out and turn them over so they can't see the picture. Decide on how many animal walks you are going to do, pick that number of cards and place them somewhere the child can see them and start moving! Maybe find some fun animal-themed music (In The Jungle is a good one!) and have it playing in the background.





8. Yoga-not only do our kids need to move around, they need opportunities to practice mindfulness. That is more important right now than ever before as so many kids are feeling confused and uncertain about what is going on. Yoga is the perfect activity to combine both of these things and there are so many fun videos out there, especially on You Tube (people swear by Cosmic Kids Yoga). I have been using the Super Duper Publications Yogarilla cards with my kids for years and I love them. I actually just purchased a new set since mine are stuck at work to use in my remote therapy sessions. At this point, I prefer the cards just because I feel like our kids need a break from screen time with this new school format. These cards are my favorite because the cards are large and the illustrations are great. On the back of each card, there are regular and adapted directions for children with different skill sets and other activities that can be done.

9. Balloon Games-since we are spending more time inside, I recommend balloon ball games instead of using a regular ball so you don't have to worry about something breaking or someone getting hurt. Just blowing up a balloon is a great activity for kids to help with calming them down and getting them to focus and attend. Here are a couple of balloon games you can have your children play or play with your children during these brain breaks.
*Balloon Toss-set up two spots for you and your child to stand on and tap the balloon back and forth to each other as many times as you can. Keep a tally to see how much better you are getting at it!
*Balloon Tennis-instead of using your hands, make a tennis racket out of a paper plate and stick and use that to toss the balloon back and forth to each other.
*Balloon Catch-try and find something at home that you can use to catch a balloon that is tossed at you. For example, a large funnel or a beach bucket.
*Balloon Head Volleyball-Instead of using your hands to tap the balloon back and forth to each other, use your head!

10. Hula Hoop Games-i'm thinking that now that the weather is getting nicer and my daughter needs more opportunities to move that body of hers, it will be time to get a new hula hoop. The most obvious use of a hula hoop is the traditional way but you can take that and make it more challenging for them. Have them try getting it around a certain number of times or a certain length of time. Keep track of how long they can go so they can see their progress. Here are two other ways to use a hula hoop:
*Hula Jump-stand with the hoop vertically in front of your body and then flip it down towards your feet, jump over it and bring it back behind you. See how many times you can go before having to take a break.
*Hoop Rolling-this was actually one of my daughter's favorite things to do here in Brooklyn. We are lucky enough to have a long sidewalk with not much foot traffic (even less now) where my daughter can see how far she can roll her hula hoop. She really likes to flick it so it comes back to her and one of her favorite things to do was to have contests with me or her dad.

Many of the activities I suggested are ones that can be played inside or in your backyard. Keeping in mind all of my New York City families and their limited space, I tried to suggest things that don't require a lot of space or equipment. Keep in mind that not only do kids need brain breaks, grownups need them too. I can say that I have been missing my morning routines, especially my commute. I am one of those strange people who loves that 45 minutes of walking, movement, etc. before I walk into the office. When your kids take brain breaks, do it with them! In order to keep healthy and sane, we need to make sure that we are keeping our bodies moving. Do you and your family have brain games that you have begun to incorporate into your daily routines? What are your family favorites? It would be great to hear what other brain games people are playing. I would love to hear from all of you and am only a click away.

Remote Therapy Tools

It's hard to believe how quickly things shifted for us as therapists, parents, teachers, etc. in such a short time. For kids, they may be feeling scared about how many things in their life have changed and as their grownups, it's our responsibility to offer them comfort and consistency. While I am preparing to move towards remote therapy sessions, I am trying to gather ideas and tools on how to make this as successful as possible. This is definitely going to be challenging, but I am looking forward to expanding my skills and helping parents through this time. One of the things I am doing is trying to think about what parents might have lying around their houses or what might still be easy to get. I know that stores are closed to foot traffic and browsing, but are still open for deliveries or curbside pickup. I urge parents to take advantage of these stores and the personalized care they can provide to you. For my New York City folks, check out places like Lulu's Cuts and Toys, Norman and Jules, Little Things Toy Store, Stationary and Toy World and Stoopher and Boots (follow on Instagram to see her awesome toys).


Here are more than 20 of my favorite and most commonly used therapy tools:

PopTubes-I think any therapeutic gym you go to will have a bag of these. Used for working on improving grasp strength and manipulation skills, encourages hand eye and bilateral coordination skills. One of our favorite activities to do at our gym is to set up our sorting bears and cups, have the kids stretch out the poptube and use it as a slide for the bears.







Stickers-I use stickers for SO much. Kids love them as a reward at the end of a session, but I find them to be so useful for therapeutic activities. Here are a few things I use stickers for:
-find stickers of your children's favorite characters and put them on a piece of paper and have them write their names next to them (I make boxes for my early writers)
-draw lines and put stickers at the top of them and have kids practice cutting. Make curved or zigzag lines to increase the challenge


Bag of Beads-there are so many things you can do with a bag of beads! There are a variety of sizes of beads. Typically I recommend larger beads for smaller hands and smaller beads for bigger, stronger hands. Obviously stringing beads are great for working on developing fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills and improves hand eye and bilateral coordination. You can simply string beads or add some challenges by doing the following:
-make pattern cards and have kids follow them
-add a sensory component and hide the beads in a bucket of rice and have them dig through and find them
-when using smaller beads, like these alphabet beads from Norman and Jules, pick up all the beads you are going to use with kids chopsticks

Squeeze Popper Toys-these have been a huge favorite of mine for a while. Definitely check out your local toy stores for these as I have seen them everywhere! Kids really get a kick out it but don't realize that there are a ton of occupational therapy goals that can be worked on using them. Let them choose their favorite animal or food and then let them play. These are a perfect toy to work on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, increases grasp strength and encourages hand eye and bilateral coordination skills. Make a game out of this and set up a target (think something like a dart board) and see how many points you can get by aiming at different numbers or colors worth different points.



Fiskars Scissors-there are a lot of kids scissors out there but many of them are poorly made which could lead to kids getting really frustrated and giving up easily when you present them with cutting activities. The Blunt Tip (made in both left and right hand options) have been my go-to since I started as an occupational therapist. Some people thing I am crazy, but teaching preschoolers to learn how to cut in a safe and appropriate way is a very important thing to me. As a pediatric OT how many times I have seen kids walk into my sessions with chopped up bangs and wished that more schools taught kids the appropriate ways to use scissors in order to avoid this. I have a lot of great cutting activities and resources that I will be sharing with my families as I begin remote therapy. If you want to

Discovery Putty-Fun and Function's Discovery Putty is another one of my favorite and most recommended items when parents ask for activities to do at home. Theraputty is perfect for working on increasing grasp strength, improves fine motor, manipulation and grasping skills and encourages bilateral coordination skills. There are a bunch of different themes to choose from with different resistance depending on your child's hand strength. Kids have just as much fun finding the hidden objects as they do when I challenge them to hide them for whoever is going to use it next. Putty can also be used for other things. If you remove all the hidden objects, you can roll it into a snake and practice cutting it into pieces. You can also use putty to practice making letters, numbers and shapes.



Colored Paper-don't underestimate how helpful a good supply of colored paper can be. I like to use thicker card-stock weight paper because it doesn't tear so easily and I also find it is easier for kids to cut through if we are practicing cutting. I plan on having kids set up some easy obstacle courses during our remote sessions and will be using colored paper for this.



Legos-I have spent hours and hours scouring Pinterest and so excited to find that there are a million ways to incorporate them into my soon to be remote therapy sessions. My daughter had a thing for a long time with Legos so we have a massive amount of them lying around and it's amazing what you can do with them. We all know that Legos are a motivating hand strengthening tool, especially if you pick out the right set (we have a new Trolls set that we are going to tackle during our time at home) but there are so many other things you can do with them. Here are just a few things:
-practice making letters and numbers with Legos on a baseplate
-solve a secret code: using 26 different Lego pieces and a baseplate, assign a letter to each piece
-this 31 Day Spring Lego Calendar provides you with a whole bunch of other things you can do with your Legos

JaqJaq Reusable and Washable Paper-these are my new obsession and I can't think of a better time for us all to be trying to use less paper than now. Especially when doing handwriting or drawing apps, I always have kids practice when pen and paper immediately after practicing on the iPad. For example, when using LetterSchool, I have the kids practice the letter first on the iPad and then have them do hands on writing practice using this amazing product. You can use chalk, chalk markers, JaqJaq Butter Stix, or ooly Dustless Chalk Crayons. Easy to clean with a wet paper towel and can be used over and over again.




Wikki Stix-another classic, inexpensive and really versatile therapy tool that I have been using for years. I have been using these for as long as I can remember to and the kids love them and could be used for so many things. Wikki Stix are pieces of yarn dipped into a safe, non-toxic wax that can be manipulated for open-ended creating. One of my favorite things to do with Wikki Stix, other than making a pair of eye-glasses, is to have kids practice making shapes, letters and numbers. Make sure to have a pair of scissors handy so you can cut them into the smaller pieces. It's amazing to see how motivated kids are to practice these things when they have fun, sensory materials to engage in more challenging activities.


Zoo Sticks-love, love, love these and I know that you can buy them at Stationary and Toy World and Lulus in Park Slope. Another one of my most favorite and most recommended tools for parents. These child-friendly chopsticks have different objects on the top that connect the sticks together. There are a variety of animals, car, etc. so if you find the right one, your kids will love using them. They are a great way to improve grasp strength and manipulation skills, encourages hand eye and bilateral coordination and can work on motor planning skills. Kids can eat with them or they can be used to pick up small objects in games. For example, I like to use them when playing Kerplunk or Tumbling Monkeys instead of them using their fingers to pull the sticks out. One of the kids favorite things to do is to use them to pick up these Squishy Animals.

Dry Erase Board-I have a feeling that this is going to come in really handy with my upcoming remote sessions. Whether it be to write out the session plan, practice letters or play games, I know my dry erase board is going to come in very handy and have asked parents to make sure they have one handy for their children. I'm looking forward to playing Tic-Tac-Toe, Hangman and other games with my kids using this! An added benefit of using a dry erase board is that if it is hung up on the wall, working on a vertical surface is great for working on improving upper body strength and encourages proper wrist positioning when writing.




Playdoh-I have to admit that I have never been a fan of traditional Play Doh, but the kids love it and it is an easy to find and inexpensive sensory material that can be used in a ton of different ways. Playing with playdoh is great for improving grasp strength and manipulation skills, improves hand eye and bilateral coordination and encourages creativity and imagination skills. Practice cutting by rolling the playdoh into a circle and cutting out pizza slices. Roll the playdoh into snakes and turn them into shapes, letters or numbers. Throw out challenges and have them create different things: face, snowman, cars, buildings, etc..
Since parents have a lot of time to fill during the day with their kids right now, homemade playdough is a fun thing to do with them. There are SO many recipes out there but I have tried this one and it is great.
If you are looking for something more natural, check out my post last week featuring the almost too beautiful to use Land of Dough.

Pegboard-pegboards are a pretty common toy that you will find in a therapeutic gym because they can be used in a bunch of different ways and work on a ton of goals. Great for increasing grasping and manipulation skills, improves visual motor and visual perceptual skills and encourages hand eye and bilateral coordination. The pegboard I have linked comes with two double sided boards for different challenges such as matching and sorting. Add a gross motor challenge by having them stand on a balance board forcing them to go from standing to pick up pegs and squatting to place them in the board.




Bubbles-these are probably something that most of us have lying around and if not, go to your local drug store and get a giant bottle of them. First of all, kids just love bubbles and if you blow them for them, they can get some energy out by running around to pop them (great visual motor activity!). If you find that your kid's starting to feeling dis-regulated or anxious, taking deep breaths and blowing bubbles can help calm them down. A fun (outdoor) art activity would be to place a large piece of paper on the sidewalk or driveway, fill a bunch of paper cups up with bubble mix and add some food coloring to them and then blow different colored bubbles to make a picture.

Rainbow Indoor Tunnel-I like to make reasonable recommendations to families when it comes to gross motor toy ideas because the families I work with tend to not have a lot of space. This tunnel is great because you can do a lot with it and then fold it up and put it under a bed or next to the couch. A tunnel is a great thing to have to add to an indoor obstacle course and can be used with kids of all ages....new crawlers to big kids who need to move around and release some of their energy. Also great for increasing upper extremity strength, motor planning and coordination. Give it more of a sensory experience by putting it over beanbags, couch cushions, etc. and then having kids crawl through.

Balance Board-I tend to add a balance board to some simple activities for my kids at work like completing simple puzzles or doing sorting activities. There are a bunch of different ones to choose from, from a low price point to more expensive. At the gym I work at we have the Alex Monkey Balance Board  which is small and doesn't take up much room. The balance board is great for strengthening balance skills, improves trunk control, strength and coordination skills. While they are standing on the board you can play a game of catch for added fun. For my daughter, I have the Wobbel Board which I got from Norman and Jules and just printed out the Wobbel Cards to add to our daily routine to get her up and moving around.




Zoom Ball-this is one of my all time favorite therapy tools and one of my most highly recommended gross motor toys on my annual gift guide. Safe to play indoors or outdoors and even though it is meant for two players, there are ways to set it up for a single child to play. Kids can work on improving upper extremity strength, motor planning and motor organization and encourages self-regulation, focus and attention. Make a game out of it by counting how many times they can pass it back and forth without messing up. I like to add a little challenge by having kids answer questions while we go back and forth. For example, name the days of the week in order every time you send it back, name different animals, colors, foods, etc..


Sidewalk Chalk-we are all pretty fortunate that the weather is getting warmer and that we can spend some time safely outdoors. I am feeling very grateful for our little Brooklyn front yard and have been encouraging my own daughter to go out and draw and write messages of hope to those who are out for some social distance walks. Practice letters, play games, make hopscotch boards, draw pictures or make draw a picture on a fence or wall if you have it. This kind of drawing is great for working on building those upper body muscles

Hopscotch Board-keeping our kids moving, especially those of us in New York City who are more limited by our smaller living quarters, is going to be crucial. But space and storage is also limited so we don't want big and bulky things. I am a big fan of a hopscotch rug as it can be used in a bunch of different ways and doesn't take up any space. And if you are outside of the city and have a driveway, you can use sidewalk chalk and draw your own! Check out this article from Parents that teaches you how to play hopscotch and even provides some variations so you don't get bored!

Craft Box-crafting is going to become really popular during this time. I have always had a big collection of crafting materials for my daughter and in the office. I was inspired by Lizzie Assa from The Workspace for Children years ago and have started to encourage open-ended crafting with not only my own child, but with the kids I work with and my kids in The Meeting House Juniors group. Guys...I highly recommend following Lizzie on Instagram for some amazing ideas...like really can't recommend enough! The Arts and Crafts Supply Library from Kid Made Modern would be a great thing for you to have at home. It comes with fuzzy sticks, wooden pieces, pom poms, wooden and plastic beads, googly eyes, glue, scissors and SO much more in a sturdy case so you don't have to worry about making a mess.

Writing Journal-this could be a great time for your older children to start journaling. My 10 year old daughter received a blank journal for her birthday and when all of this started, she decided to keep a Corona Virus Journal. At the end of each day she writes about what she did and rates her day. Giving children an outlet to talk about this time, share their feelings and vent is a really important thing, especially if they don't want to talk to you about it.

 Preparing for remote therapy has been a really interesting and exhausting thing but it has also been very helpful in me feeling ready to start working with kids in this new format. I hope that this list of materials is helpful for all of you whether you are parents, teachers or therapists. I would love to hear from you guys on what materials and toys are most important to you. I am always a click away and love hearing from you all. I think one of the most important things is that we all help each other during this crazy time and look forward to reading about other peoples ideas and experiences.

What's App 2020 Quarantine Edition

During this crazy time, many of my families have reached out to me for tips on keeping their kids stimulated and their brains working. Over the years, I have found that there are some amazing apps out there that motivate our kids and I am going to share some of my favorites. Many of these have been on lists I have compiled in the past but many are new. I have also included some mindfulness and movement apps because while we are spending a lot more time inside right now, moving around and keeping active is critical to a child's ability to learn.

LetterSchool-not sure when I started using this handwriting app, but it is used multiple times per week. When I first discovered this app, it focused on learning upper and lowercase letters and numbers. In the past few years, they have added many other learning components such as shapes/pictures, cursive, sight words and more. I love how motivating and engaging this app is. Kids learn how to write letters through a 3-step process. As they finish each step, they get to watch the letter come to life in a really fun way.
Tap-tap the dots and watch the lines come to life to create the letters. The letter won't come to life unless you hit them at the right place and in the right order
Trace-now that you know where to start your letters, you will now trace/drag lines at the dots to form letters.
Write-this is a chance for your child to practice writing the letter they have practiced with fewer prompts. The chalkboard portion of this app is a great last step to learning how to write letters, numbers or shapes.

Avokiddo Thinkrolls-this is easily one of my favorite apps for the older children on my caseload and is great for working on developing executive functioning skills. At this point, there are several to choose from but I am partial to the original two and the most recent one, Space. I think it's important to say as much as I love this app, kids ask to play it all the time. The purpose of the game is to move your chosen character/Thinkroll through a variety of obstacles in brightly patterned mazes. As they move through the chapters, they are introduced to new objects with unique physical properties that they have to problem solve in order to move through the maze. For example, there may a balloon in their way; by looking at the maze, they see they can move the balloon over so it goes up in the air and pops via spikes on the ceiling. Each of the apps provides something unique, but all help the children work on problem solving, organizational skills, sequencing all while teaching them about science. Here are links to all four of the Thinkrolls games:
Thinkrolls
Thinkrolls 2
Thinkrolls Space
Thinkrolls: Kings and Queens

Endless Learning Academy-another engaging, motivating, interactive and fun educational app that provides comprehensive early learning preparation for children between ages 2 and 6 years old. Through thousands of interactive learning activities, children will learn their letters and numbers, how to read, vocabulary, phonics, spelling, counting, sequences and so much more. I have been obsessed with the Endless Alphabet game for years and it is nice to have all of the games in one place. The kids on my caseload have learned how to identify letters, learn their sounds, practice matching letters and so much more with just the Endless Alphabet Game. This app from Originator is one of those apps that requires an annual subscription but I think it is totally worth it considering you can use it for so many kids at different levels of learning.

Math Tango-another great app from Originator that helps learning math interactive and fun! This app is targeted at children between the ages of 5 and 10 years old and focuses on learning addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Kids will progress through dozens of math lessons as they earn monsters and robots, complete missions and build fun worlds. There are over 500 math games with over 40 levels of play. Once they conquer the structured levels, they have the option of practicing their math skills through free play mode.

Sago Mini World-Sago Mini apps have been a long time favorite of mine to use with my littlest friends. This is definitely worth the subscription fee. There are 30 mini games for the kids to play that encourage open-ended play and critical thinking skills. Some of the skills that can be worked on with the mini games are color recognition, painting and storytelling skills, develop numeracy (counting, 1:1 correspondence, etc.), improve hand-eye coordination, visual motor and visual perceptual skills, encourage fine motor and manipulation skills and so much more.



Bugs and Buttons-this is an app that I have loved for years but wasn't available for a while because of the operating system on my iPad. Little Bit Studio has recently updated the app and I am so excited to introduce this game to a whole new batch of kids. I love how engaging and interactive the 18 educational games are and how they were on a variety of developmental skills. Some of the developmental skills that can be worked on are improving fine motor and manipulation skills, improves hand-eye coordination, visual motor and visual perceptual skills, number and letter recognition and SO much more. Other games from  Little Bit Studio are:
Bugs and Bubbles
Bugs and Buttons 2
Bugs and Numbers 

Toca Boca Pet Doctor-this app is still one of the most requested by my kids at the gym after years and years on my iPad. Kids get to help take care of 15 different animals who are sick or injured. Once they are all taken care of, they get to feed them their favorite foods. The bunny rabbit has booboos and needs bandaids so kids have to find the matching bandaid for each booboo. The dog has fleas so you have to catch them and put them in a jar. This game is great for working on developing fine motor and grasping skills, improves visual motor and visual perceptual skills and works on improving focus, attention and other executive functioning skills.

Little Fox Animal Doctor-another one of my favorite educational apps. And again, more importantly, a huge favorite with the kids that I work with. This game takes place in a magical doctor's office in a treehouse in the woods and lets children help 7 different adorable animals dealing with over 20 different ailments and injuries. There are so many great things about this game but I really like how it is different each time because you never know why each of the animals is waiting to see the doctor. In addition to being great for working on improving fine motor, visual motor, visual perceptual and executive functioning skills, it also works on improving speech and language skills. Before you start to take care of each pet, you have to watch a short video which explains why they are at the doctors office. I use this an opportunity for kids to tell a story. The other great thing about this app is that there are visual instructions they have to follow so they work on improving organizational and sequencing skills at the same time.

Pepi Doctor-this app by PepiPlay is another that has been on my must have app list since I discovered it years ago.  In this app, kids get to play the doctor to three different patients (Amber, Eva and Milo).  Each one of the kids has the same 5 ailments that need to be taken care of: a cold, a toothache, earache, broken bone and clean up cuts from a fall.  Each ailment requires them to complete several tasks in order for their patients to feel better.  Some of the tasks are putting the bone back together, brushing teeth, putting bandaids on scrapes and many, many more.  This app is great for improving visual motor and perceptual skills, hand-eye coordination, focus, attention and organizational skills.  It's also a great app to work on improving language skills.


Atomic Puzzles-puzzles are a huge part of my therapy sessions as they are great for working on so many different developmental skills. Our closet at Heads Up is filled with all kinds of puzzles but there isn't enough room to store as many as we would like, especially the larger interlocking puzzles our older kids use. Atomic Puzzles from one of my favorite app creators, Little Bit Studios, not only comes with almost 100 puzzles (3D/Live puzzles that come to life once completed, 2D puzzles with animated endings and mystery puzzles) but offers you the chance to make your own puzzles from your collection of pictures which can be so motivating and exciting for kids. This is a great app for working on improving visual motor and perceptual skills, focus and attention, organizational skills and working through frustration tolerance.

Toonia Differences-I love a good spot the differences game, especially for children who need to work on improving visual skills. Toonia Differences is a fun and motivating educational game where kids have to race the clock to spot the differences between two pictures. Kids have to visually track and focus carefully to noticed the 8 things that are different. It can be a flower is a different color, a character is facing a different direction or a change in the animals in pictures. There are dozens and dozens of puzzles to choose from with a variety of themes. In addition to working on improving visual skills, Toonia Differences works on improving executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, organizational skills and changing attentional skills.

Peg+ Cat Tree Problem-another great app from PBS Kids based on the adorable cartoon, Peg + Cat. This math app is intended for kids 3-6 years old and teaches them early math and problem solving skills. There are 50 levels to play and 10 worlds for them to explore. The activities become more challenging as they move through the games. If you have kids who are eager to learn early math schools, this is a great game for them. Also, I think that kids are way more motivated to learn more challenging skills from some of their favorite characters.

Trilo Spelling-when my daughter was finishing up kindergarten and preparing for first grade, I started to really panic about her reading skills.  I knew developmentally she was where she was supposed to be but living in NYC, academic expectations are higher.  I had spent a lot of time looking for the right app and each time I thought I had found it, she didn't like it.  So when we found this one, we were both thrilled!  In Trilo Spelling, there are five levels of spelling and reading fundamentals with each level introducing kids to a different letter blends.  Within each level, there are three different games/challenges they can play.  The graphics and monsters within the app are fun and friendly, motivating children to want to learn how to spell.  In addition to learning how to spell, children can work on improving executive functioning skills, hand eye coordination, visual motor and visual perceptual skills.

Dexteria Junior-this is a great app for working on developing fine motor and grasping skills with your little ones.  What I love about this app is that the creators worked with occupational therapists to make it.  Perfect for preschoolers and getting them ready for school.  There are three different games:
Squish the Squash-encourages children to use their pointer finger to squish squashes.  There are 15 levels for the kids to work through.
Pinch the Pepper-encourages children to use their thumb and pointer fingers to pinch the peppers.  Great for developing a fine pincer grasp which is important for the developing proper pencil grips later on.  There are 10 levels that become increasingly more challenging.
Trace and Erase-kids can learn how to draw various lines and shapes.  They first trace the lines and then use an eraser after.  Once they finish erasing the lines, they can take a silly selfie of themselves which my kids love.  I have my kids use a stylus with this particular game to encourage proper grasp patterns when holding a writing instrument.
In addition to what I have already mentioned, this game is great for working on hand-eye coordination, visual tracking, focus, attention and planning and organizational skills.



Social Emotional/Mindfulness/Movement Apps
I think that we are all looking for tools to help our children get through this crazy time. Making sure our kids get opportunities for movement, mindfulness and social emotional learning on a daily basis will be very important, not only for them but for all the grownupsThere has never been a more critical time to spend time focusing on social emotional learning. Here are some great apps, some recommended to me by colleague, Dr. Chelsea Deng, from Milestones Psychology.

Super Stretch Yoga-I've used this one over the years and the kids really enjoy it and are able to follow along with it pretty independently. Move, play and breathe as Super Stretch introduces you to his friends and their yoga poses. Using storytelling, animation and video examples, kids move through 12 yoga poses and earn a star after each one. Yoga is a great way to help kids work on build overall body strength and motor planning, encourages healthy habits and is a quick and easy way to help them to be able to focus and attend to other tasks.



GoNoodle Kids-this app is intended for classroom use and offers a tremendous resource of brain and body breaks during the school day. Now that your children will be working/learning from home and the amount of time we should spend outside is drastically limited, it's important for not only them, but you as their grownups, to have these scheduled breaks. I highly encourage parents to engage in some of these movement activities as they are working from home.

Daniel Tiger's Grr-iffic Feelings-Daniel the Tiger is a big hit with many of my younger children and I have been a fan of the PBS Kids apps I have used in the past. Right now, kids are surely feeling a lot of feelings and emotions but may not be able to express that effectively and this app is perfect to help them. There are four games:
Trolley Game-drive the trolley to discovered more than a dozen mini-games about feelings
Sing-Along-choose from 18 of your favorite Daniel Tiger songs, each one fully animated
Drawing Easel-use paints, crayons, stickers and more to express yourself
Feelings Photo Booth-take pictures of yourself that show lots of different feelings. Daniel will help you pose!
Kids can work on developing fine motor, graphomotor, visual motor, visual perceptual and hand-eye coordination skills while learning all about feelings and emotions.

Breath, Think, Do With Sesame-this fabulous app from Sesame Street's in Communities program is a great way to teach kids strategies on how to calm down, identify their feelings and work through their problem. Big feelings are totally normal but they can also makes kids feel scared. Kids will laugh and learn as they help a Sesame Street monster friend calm down through a variety of relatable situations: putting on shoes, saying goodbye to parents/caregivers, fixing a knocked down block tower, waiting in line or going to sleep. They play an active role in helping them choose what strategy would be best for the monster and then get to see the plan in action through a little video. 

Headspace for Kids-this subscription based app may be a really good investment, especially if your child is feeling overly anxious or worried right now. For professionals, the app is now free through the end of the year for anyone all public health providers! Headspace for Kids focuses on the following areas: Calm, Focus, Kindness, Sleep and Wake Up. For each area, there are three age groups to choose from (5 and under, 6-8 years and 9-12 years). Kids can practice breathing exercises, visualizations even try some focus-based mediation. Quirky cartoons engage kids while the calming voice of the co-founder of the app offers guidance throughout. 



Stop, Breathe, Think-here is another great app for younger children that works on self-regulation and teaches them about feelings and 
emotions and appropriate mediation strategies to help them work through different situations. Kids pick a mission to find a guided mindfulness activity based on how they are feeling right now (they can choose up to three emojis to express how they are feeling). Missions are between two and seven minutes and made up of expressive narration, sometimes with quiet background music and simple animations. Missions  demonstrated by different characters will lead you through mindful movements. 


Balloonamils-I've been using this app for a while with my younger kids, particularly when they have a whole lot of energy or when they might be feeling anxious. Kids blow into the microphone of the iPhone and watch a variety of balloon animals come to life. One the balloon is fully inflated (about 3 deep breathes), they shake the phone a couple of times and they watch the animal come to life. Once done, they can interact with the animal and see what kinds of tricks they can do. When they are done with that animal, they tap it a few times and he will pop. Not only great for helping kids to calm down but helps with hand-eye coordination, improves visual motor and visual perceptual skills and encourages grasping and manipulation skills. 

iPad Use Tips
I know and understand that there are many parents who have been resistant in using iPads/screens for learning but if used the right way, it is an incredibly effective and motivating tool. Below, I share some tips when using an iPad. 

JaqJaq Reusable and Erasable Paper-especially when doing handwriting or drawing apps, I always have kids practice with pen and paper immediately after practicing on the iPad. For example, when using LetterSchool, I have the kids practice the letter first and then have them write it again using "pen" and paper. In an effort to limit wasting of paper, I have recently begun using this amazing product. I like to use the ooly Dustless Chalk Crayons because they clean up quickly and easily and I have found that even my kids who have very weak hands have great success with these. 

Cosmonaut Stylus-for a variety of reasons, kids spend more time on tablets these days.  As with all things, as long as you don't overdo it, working on the iPad can provide a lot of benefits.  One of the things I recommend to all parents is that if they are going to let their kids use an iPad or other kind of tablet, be sure to have them use a stylus as much as possible to help develop fine motor and grasping skills.  I think this is especially important if your child is doing any kind of handwriting or drawing apps.  There are a lot of different stylus' to choose from but the Cosmonaut is my favorite.  It is a little pricier than some of the other ones made for children but it is far more durable.  I have had mine for several years and it still looks brand new.  The barrel of the stylus is thicker which encourages a tripod-like grasp when holding it.

Work Vertically-when possible, I have my kids use the iPad by propping it up so it is vertical (lean it against an easel). Working on a vertical surfaces is important for the following reasons:
-when you prop up the iPad on a vertical surface, it is in a better position and height which promotes visual attention
-improves hand-eye coordination
-encourages proper wrist positioning which helps with appropriate grasping on writing instruments
-strengthens shoulder, arm and and hand muscles

I have tried to include a variety of learning apps that will motivate your little ones and also tried really hard to choose ones that parents would have fun doing with their kids. This list is just a small sampling of the apps that I use so if parents are looking for certain apps, please do not hesitate reaching out to me. Also, I am always looking for new apps to use with the kids on my caseload so if you have any recommendations, please be sure to pass them along. I am always a click away and love hearing from all of you.