Book of the Week-Stick and Stone

Unfortunately, one of the things kids have to deal with these days is bullying.  What was once something you typically saw more frequently with older children is now something that you see beginning way earlier these days.  In my career, I have noticed that cliques begin forming in preschool.  On many school visits, I have seen groups of children cluster together and witnessed the leaving other children out for one reason or another.

This weeks book recommendation is Stick and Stone written by Beth Ferry and illustrations by Tom Lichtenheld.  In this book, kids learn about kindness and the importance of being a good friend.  The main characters of the book are Stick and Stone...both felt lonely until they found each other after Stick steps in to defend Stone after Pinecone is making fun of him.  They quickly become best friends and end up protecting each other when they are both most in need of a good friend.

Stick and Stone is a simple book making it easy for even the youngest of children to understand.  I've used it with my group of kids at The Meeting House and they loved it and were really able to engage in meaningful conversations about friendship and even begin a simple conversation about bullying.  I think it's important to help young children not only learn about what it means to be a good friend but also be able to recognize when someone isn't being a good friend to you or your friends.

Below, you will find some questions you can ask your children and activities that you can do with them while reading Stick and Stone.

-ask your children what makes them a good friend.  Discuss qualities that make them a good friend and what they love about different friends of theirs.  If you are doing this in a group/classroom setting, keep a running list of these qualities for children to reference throughout the year.

-in addition to talking about what makes someone a good friend, it's equally important for children to recognize the opposite.  Since bullying is beginning at a younger age, it's important for kids to be able to know if they or other friends in their class are being bullies.  Talk about what kinds of things make someone a bully (and this conversation and the language you will use will be different for different aged kids).  Talk about what they should do if they feel like they are someone else is being bullied.  Most importantly, they should not keep quiet and they should talk to grownups.

-this book offers a lot of opportunities for role playing.  If you check out this link, the author and illustrator have put together an activity pack that includes some finger puppets.  You can go through a bunch of scenarios with the kids to help them problem solve difficult moments they may encounter in school, at the playground, etc..

-this summer, I learned about a beautiful initiative called The Kindness Rocks Project.  They have two simple goals: 
~Inspire others through randomly placed rocks along the way
~Recruit every person who stumbles upon it to join in the pursuit of inspiring others through random acts of kindness. 
Painting rocks and writing messages about friendship and kindness that were brought up in Stick and Stone is a craft to do after reading the book.  Kids can paint or draw using permanent or paint markers and then hide them in their neighborhood.

While it's hard to imagine that we have to worry about the idea of kids being bullied at such a young age, I think if we begin to teach children at a very young age about being a good friend and how NOT to be a bully, we may help avoid kids becoming bullies as they get older.  One of the things we can teach our children from this book that it might not be easy, sticking up for others like Stick did for Stone when Pinecone was being mean to him could lead to lifelong friendships!

If you have any other books that may address this subject in a child-friendly manner, I would love to hear about them!   I am only a click away and LOVE hearing from all of you!

Book of the Week-Be A Friend

This weeks book recommendation is one of my all time favorite children's books and one that I have previously blogged about.  I truly believe that this book should be in every preschool and early school age classroom.   Be A Friend by Salina Yoon is a beautiful book about what it means to be a friend...especially to someone who is different than you.  While many children can just roll with it, other children can become nervous or anxious by children who are not just like them. 

The basic premise of the book is simple:  Everyone Needs Someone.  In this case, that someone is a little boy named Dennis who doesn't speak but has a wild imagination and shares his thoughts and ideas through his actions.  Not many of the kids who are near him can be bothered by his behaviors but one day a little girl named Joy decides to take the brave step to get to know Dennis a bit more.  With time, they develop a beautiful friendship that relies on accepting and embracing someone who might be different.  In the end, the other children in Joy and Dennis' class saw what fun they had together and ended up joining in on their imaginative play.  There are so many wonderful lessons that this book teaches, most importantly that not everyone is the same and being different is okay.  Being a good friend means thinking outside of the box sometimes and learning something new from a friend. 

This book not only tells a beautiful story about friendship, it has some of the most beautiful illustrations I have seen in a children's book.  Kids are drawn into the story because of the stories the pictures tell.

Below, you will find some questions and activities you can do with in conjunction with reading Be A Friend:
~sometimes kids need help identifying what characteristics make a good friend.  After you finish reading the book, you can talk about what made Joy a good friend to Dennis and then extend that conversation to have them think about things they have done that make them a good friend or what someone can do for them that shows them they are a good friend. 
~this is a great book to read to a classroom/group of kids in the beginning of the school year as everyone is getting to know each other.  After reading it to the group, you can come up with a list of things that makes them a good friend.  You can try and expand this by not only discussing characteristics that make them good friends but talk about things they can do that shows someone who might be different that they are a good friend. 
~for older children you can have a conversation about what kinds of things they have in common with their friends and also have them identify what makes them different than their friends.  Being able to recognize that it is normal to not always have the same interests as your friends....being different is normal and what makes us each unique.
~have the kids pretend to be mimes and have them act different things out.  You can start with having them mime different feelings and emotions and eventually move onto having them act out activities they like.  This could be a great way for kids to get to know each other better and discover what kinds of things they have in common with their friends.

When I find a book like Be A Friend, I feel like I have to share it with everyone.  I work with so many kids who feel different from their peers and I think it is important for them to know they are not alone.  I once heard that it's more important to have one good friend than to have lots of acquaintances and this book shows just that.

Be sure to check back next week to see what book I will be sharing with you all.  If you have any book suggestions, I would love to hear them!  I am only a click away and love hearing from you all.   

The Holiday Book Guide

In addition to being an occupational therapist, I also run a social skills group called The Meeting House Juniors.  We are a recreational based social skills program for children ages 4-7 years old who have a variety of social struggles.  While our number one goal is to make them feel more socially comfortable and prepare them for the increasingly more demanding social demands they may face as they get older, we also want them to enjoy coming.  This means that we have had to find fun ways to talk to them and work on social skills.

As I was trying to develop our curriculum this year, I decided that one of the most effective and fun ways would be to use picture books to teach our social skills lessons each week.  We used to end each session at TMH Juniors last year by reading a picture book and it the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much they looked forward to that time of the afternoon.  It also made me realize that younger children have a hard time being able to identify and recognise their own social deficits but with the right platform, they are able to recognize it in other people and the characters in books.  Using picture books in our group has been a great way to talk about different kinds of social emotional challenges that kids might face and can be a great way to brainstorm, problem solve and include parents in our process so that kids can be better prepared for a variety of challenging social situations.

Below, I share just a handful of the very extensive number of books that make up my personal and professional library.  What they all have in common is that they are beautifully written, have amazing illustrations and teach a life lesson that will help our children become more socially aware.


After The Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again) by Dan Salent
We all know about Humpty Dumpty but do we know about what happened after he was finally put back together?  This is the story about Humpty Dumpty overcoming his fear of heights after taking that great big fall and building up the courage to climb the wall again.  So many of the kids I work with have giant fears and those fears may get in the way of them trying new things or doing things that they were once comfortable doing.  As they follow Humpty Dumpty through the story, they learn that sometimes it's not easy and we still may be a bit scared, but if we are brave and show courage, we end up overcoming our fears and doing great things.

Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry and Tom Lichtentheld
In this children's book the main theme is about bullying and being a good friend.  Stick and Stone are both feeling alone and sad until Stick comes upon Stone being picked on by a pine cone.  They become fast friends and spend all of their time together until Stick is blown away during a storm.  Stone won't stop searching for his best friend and they are eventually reunited.

Fair Is Fair by Sonny Varela and Peter Mahr

What parent or teacher hasn't heard the words "It's not fair!".  Whether it be about not getting a special treat for dessert or going to bed earlier than their older sibling, kids are always worried about things not being fair and even.  In this book, three animals in the zoo (elephant, giraffe and a bunny) don't understand or think it's fair that one animal gets more than the other two.  Kids learn about fairness and just because someone may get something you want or more of something, it doesn't mean that you aren't equally loved.

The Color Monster by Anna Llenas
Teaching children about emotions and feelings is an important lesson that helps them not only understand their own feelings, but gives them perspective about other people and how they might be feeling.  The Color Monster is a beautifully illustrated popup book that helps children learn about emotions by matching it with a color.  Kids love this interactive book and it is a great way for parents and younger children to talk about feelings and what they can do when they are feeling certain ways.

Be A Friend by Salina Yoon
This is one of my favorite and most recommended books, especially for children who feel different.  Dennis is an ordinary little boy who likes to express himself through miming.  He doesn't use his words to try and connect with his peers and because of that, he feels alone.  That is until he meets a little girl named Joy who accepts him for who he is and a beautiful friendship develops because of her willingness to be open-minded.  As more children are being integrated into mainstream classrooms, this book is a must for parents and classrooms to help children develop an open mind for children who are different than them and to not be scared of them.

We Are All Wonders by R.J. Palacio
One of my all time favorite books was the young adult novel Wonder so I was thrilled when I discovered that they released a picture book for younger children.  This book is a wonderful way to introduce kids to the importance of empathy and kindness.  We Are All Wonders is old from the perspective of Auggie, a young boy who was born with a variety of facial differences that has required countless surgeries which has kept him out of school.  He talks about how even though he looks different than other children, he does ordinary things and is much more like his peers than they think and how he wants them to see him for who he is and not how he looks.

The Smallest Girl in the Grade by Justin Roberts
In this book, the theme is about speaking up and making yourself heard.  Sally is the littlest girl in her whole class and nobody seems to notice her.  The thing is is that she notices everything, especially the kids who are bullying and getting bullied.  One day, Sally decides she just can't take watching the mean kids any more and says something and makes herself heard by standing up to the bullies in her school.  We all know a kid (or many!) who need to be encouraged to use their voice and either stick up for themselves or for others.  This book is an important read, especially for kids who need to learn about the importance of speaking up and making themselves heard, even when they don't think anyone will listen to them.

Pete The Cat: I love My White Shoes by James Dean
One of the biggest lessons we can teach our children is how to differentiate between little and big problems.  For most kids, when a something happens to them, it is the biggest problem that they will ever face. Pete the Cat shows us how to make the best out of a problem by not getting upset and just moving on. Many of the Pete the Cat books teach a similar lesson and because of the sing-song way the book is written, the kids can really get into reading with you.  In addition to working on size of the problems, Pete the Cat books are great for teaching kids about the importance of being a flexible thinker, especially when things don't go the way  you want them to. 




The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

We all have children (either our own or ones that we work with) who are resistant to try new things, especially if they are fearful that they may not be as good as they would like to be at it.  In The Dot, children learn about the power of persistence and taking the a risk of trying something outside of their comfort zone.   Vashti is discouraged by an art project.  At the end of her class, all she has is a blank piece of paper; instead of being angry with her, her art teacher encourages her to just draw a dot and and sign her name on the paper.  When she arrives in the classroom next, she sees her picture hanging up for all to see.  That is all it took to encourage her to draw and paint more.  As her artistic abilities grow, so does her confidence and self-esteem.

Rude Cakes by Rowboat Watkins
One of the things that many parents, teachers and caregivers have to deal with is a child who is not always polite. In this book, kids can begin to learn about being polite and the importance of being kind to others with a tremendous amount of humor.  Rude cakes never say please or thank you, are known to take things that don't belong to them without asking.  He is known to be inconsiderate and ungrateful, bullies other sweets and disrespects his parents.  That is until he is taken to another land where Giant Cyclopses (who are silly but very polite) end up using rude cakes as a hat where he learns the importance of being kind and patient and is able to change his ways when he returns home.


Let's Get Along Books-this is a series I found that works on more specific social difficulties.  These short and engaging books focus on raising awareness for positive behaviors.  In this box set, kids will be introduced to a handful of students from Miss Clayton's classroom.  The illustrations are fun and the stories are easy for preschoolers (these are really targeted towards younger children/preschool age) to follow.  These are great books for any classroom setting as the issues that they focus on (being kind, sharing, working together and calming down) are things that come up all the time for children in all classrooms and schools!

So these are just a handful of the dozens and dozens of books that I recommend this holiday season.  I'm always adding to my book collection so if you have any books that you love or would recommend, please share them with me.  I know that my readers will also appreciate hearing any suggestions you might have.  If you have a child who has other social difficulties and would like some recommendations on books that might be good for your child, please don't hesitate reaching out to me....I am always a click away and LOVE being able to share my recommendations with everyone.

A Book Worth Reading

I'm sure many of you have had this experience before:  you walk into a bookstore with something in mind and you are drawn to another book (or 5) for whatever reason.  This happens to me a lot lately.  In addition to my work as an occupational therapist, I run a social skills group for The Meeting House.  The group is made up of children 5-8 years of age with a variety of social delays.  During the beginning of the weekly group, we have free choice and one of the very popular choices is reading books.  It's been so fun to find books that help children learn about feelings, emotions and other aspects of social emotional learning. 

Last week, I saw drawn to the beautiful cover of the book Be A Friend by Salina Yoon.  I was brought close to tears reading the story in Barnes and Noble and have shared it with just about every person I have run into since.  The story and illustrations are so incredibly beautiful and teach such an important lesson:  it's okay to be different.  

The basic premise of the book is simple:  Everyone Needs Someone.  In this case, that someone is a little boy named Dennis who doesn't speak but has a wild imagination and shares his thoughts and ideas through his actions.  Not many of the kids who are near him can be bothered by his behaviors but one day a little girl named Joy decides to take the brave step to get to know Dennis a bit more.  With time, they develop a beautiful friendship that relies on accepting and embracing someone who might be different.  In the end, the other children in Joy and Dennis' class saw what fun they had together and ended up joining in on their imaginative play.  

If you work with children, have a children or know anybody with children, I highly recommend this book being part of their library.  Sometimes children learn lessons better through stories and this story will be such an opportunity to have conversations with your children about accepting and understanding how every child is different.  Just because they may look, act or talk differently, it doesn't mean that you can't be their friend.  

I have several books about friendship for kids, but I have a special love for Be A Friend.  If you have a child who feels different from others, be sure to get this for them and read it to them again and again.  

Rainbow Brights!

If you have a young girl or know any young girls (or young boys for that matter), I am pretty certain you have heard of the latest craze, The Rainbow Loom.  Thanks to my goddaughter, I learned about the Rainbow Loom in April before it was virtually impossible to find in the stores.  Meghan was wearing the bracelets and showing me her whole setup.  Once she started making one for me, I was sold.  I went home immediately and bought two looms; one for work and one to keep at home for any younger visitors to play with.  Since bringing it to the gym, it has been a huge hit.

If you don't know about the Rainbow Loom, let me tell you about it because it is truly a perfect addition to any occupational therapist's bag of tricks, especially if you work with school age children. Basically, the Rainbow Loom (pictured at the left) is a set to make friendship bracelets.  Using a plastic loom, a hook and a bunch of brightly colored rubber bands, you make an awesome bracelet out of small colored rubber bands.  You place the rubber bands on the loom and then use a hook to weave the rubber bands into a colorful bracelet.  I encourage the kids to use their pinchers (fine pincer grasp) to place the rubber bands onto the pegs.  You have to follow a pattern so this is great for visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  I encourage the children I work with to choose a pattern and follow it from beginning to end to work on planning and organization skills in addition to the aforementioned visual skills.  If you have a child who needs to work on visual skills, this is a great craft activity for them.

Here is the original set.  Perfect for throwing in a bag
for those of you who do lots of home care or running from
school to school

Each set (pictured at the right) comes with the original Rainbow Loom pattern.  As of right now, that is the only one I have used with my kids at work.  However, if you have a child who has mastered the original bracelet pattern and is ready for more of a challenge, You Tube has step-by-step videos for tons of other patterns.  You can also check out the Rainbow Loom website for some links to other videos.  As a child becomes more of a master, you can start seeing how independent they can become learning new patterns by watching the videos.  I guarantee that if a child who has struggled with these types of activities can figure out the different patterns on their own, their confidence and self-esteem will improve by leaps and bounds.  It may even motivate them to try other activities that have been challenging for them in the past.

In addition to what I have already mentioned, The Rainbow Loom can work on the following occupational therapy goals:

This child is using great bilateral coordination
for the completion of her bracelet

Improve Bilateral Coordination Skills-this is a great activity to focus on bilateral coordination skills in a fun and motivating way.  So much of this activity requires the use of two hands.  From putting the rubber bands on the loom, to stabilizing the loom with one hand while the other holds the hook to removing the completed bracelet from the loom with one hand while holding the loom still with the other.  So many ways to address this OT goal in a sneaky way (love tricking the kids into working on goals)!
Improve Grasping Skills-if you have a child who struggles with pencil grasp, this is another way you can work on encouraging a proper grip.  If you look at the picture below, you will see that you should hold the Rainbow Loom hook with a tripod like grasp.  I work with so many children who avoid working on handwriting activities and most of the time it is because their grasp on a writing instrument causes them so much difficulty with the task.  Using the Rainbow Loom can be a sneaky way to work on improving a pencil grasp without the child even knowing it!

Check out the tripod grasp being used in this picture.
This is the grasp that is expected when holding a writing instrument

Improve Focus and Attention-if you are trying to work on increasing a child's attention span and ability to focus, this is a perfect activity for them.  It is crucial that a child has good attention and focus when completing their bracelets because there are a lot of steps to completing each bracelet.  If you take your eyes away and lose focus on where you are, there is a chance you will have to start from the beginning again.  I try and help keep the children I work with who have decreased frustration tolerance by calling their attention to where they are and what the next step is.  Sometimes, having children talk through the next step, they are more successful.  As each child becomes more confident with their looming skills, you can decrease the amount of assistance you give them.  If you look at the picture above, you will see a child deep in concentration....something I strive to see in the kids I work with.  

Do you have a child who needs to work on his/her organizational
skills?  The Rainbow Loom kit above is a great way to
encourage a child to keep their supplies neat and organized.  

 Improve Organizational Skills-for children who lack organzational skills, this is a fun way to work on that.  Instead of having them just pick through the rubber bands while making the bracelet, I have them take out all their supplies first.  If they are following a pattern, they have to figure out how many of each color they need and put them in piles.  When they begin actually making the bracelet, they aren't wasting time digging through all the rubber bands.
Improve Self-Esteem and Confidence-I can still remember making friendship bracelets when I was younger.  I can remember struggling learning how to get it just right and feeling frustrated when it didn't come out perfectly.  But then, I finally got it and finished that bracelet and gave it to a friend and felt so good about myself.  Since this is an activity that is a bit of a fad right now, all the kids want to do it and do it well.  Being able to take their looms and make bracelets alongside their friends will help the kids I work with feel better about themselves and much more confident in his/her skills.  And in the end, if I have helped make a kid I work with feel better about themselves, then I have done what I truly set out to do.

Improves Social Skills-as some of you know, the Rainbow Loom is a craze right now.  I know my almost 8 year old niece and her friends have made hundreds of them this summer at her camp.  They sit together and share their materials, help each other out when they need it and exchange completed bracelets.  I just gave Julia her very own Rainbow Loom Deluxe kit and she is beside herself.  She is on vacation now, but know that she can't wait to show it off to her friends and make more bracelets with them.  This is such a great social activity for kids that doesn't involve electronics and/or screen time which I find to be such a welcome thing for school age kids.

How many of you have memories of making friendship bracelets growing up?  I can clearly remember going to the craft store with my mom and sisters and picking out tons of embroidery thread and spending hours and hours with my clipboard creating bracelets.  It wasn't easy and I had to start over again time and time again, but the satisfaction I felt when I completed a bracelet was awesome.  It made me feel so proud to create something and then be able to give it to a friend or family member.   I am loving watching that satisfaction and pride in the children I am working with.  What I really love is that this is an activity that is the rage amongst so many young (6-10 years old) kids this summer.  So when a child I work with, who typically struggles being able to do things like their peers, masters this, I know they feel good and are more likely to try this with their peers.  Way too often, I see children I work with avoid to do activities that they really want to do because they are afraid to not be as good as their friends.  I love watching them practice and then master something like the Rainbow Loom and then go out and do it alongside their friends.  Not only makes them feel proud, but it makes them feel like they are part of their peer group which is something that many of the children I work with typically struggle with.

If you are wondering where you can pick up a Rainbow Loom kit for your kids, I suggest checking out local toy stores first and seeing if they carry them.  My love of supporting small businesses is no secret.   I know that Stoopher and Boots on the Upper West Side in Manhattan carries them (and the accessories).  The educational store Learning Express carries them as well.  If you have no luck there, check out Amazon.com and see what you can find there.  This is where I found the Rainbow Loom Deluxe kit for my niece Julia's 8th birthday and am pretty certain I have not given her a gift that has made her this happy in all 8 years of her life!

I am excited to hear about your experiences with the Rainbow Loom with your kids.  Do you have a pattern that you have introduced to the kids you work with that has been easier for them than others?  Have you come up with ways to adapt the activity for children?  I would love to hear from all of you about your experiences with the Rainbow Loom.  As always, I am just a click away and really do love hearing from my readers.  

  

Collage Fun for Little Hands

I am constantly on the lookout for arts and craft projects that I can do with my preschoolers at work.  Something that can be worked on over a few sessions but not so many sessions that they lose interest in the project.  A few weeks ago while looking for a birthday present, I found this really cute set of animal collages by Djeco (be sure to check out their website.  It's totally cute and interactive!).  The Djeco Collages for Little Ones has already become a favorite with some of my littles at the gym and can't wait to try it out at home with my 3 year old daughter who has recently become quite interested in arts and crafts.

This kit comes with 4 animal collages and all the materials needed in order to complete them.  For those of you who like organization, this set is perfect because the materials come in separate envelopes.  This is great for the kids too as it limits the number of pieces and materials that they have to sort through which will ensure success.  Everything you need is in the kit including glue.  Take a look at the picture below and you can see how the kit works.

There are 4 animals in each kit.  They are all SUPER cute!  When I was doing this at work, the little girl had a really hard time picking out which one she wanted to do.  There is a blank animal board, an envelope filled with all the pieces for each collage and an instruction booklet with step by step directions.  Depending on the goals you are working on with each child, you can adapt the expectations for completion.  For example, you may be working on increasing a child's level of independence so you would just hand them the kit and see what they can do before you have to help them.  You may also be working on getting a child to ask for help when they are challenged by an activity.  You can purposely leave out some of the materials needed in order to complete the collage which will encourage them to ask you for help.  And when they finish the collage, the look of pride is amazing. One of the kids I was working on this with could barely wait for her mom to come pick her up so she could show the finished product to her.

Before

Middle

Completed

Here are the occupational therapy goals that can be worked on:
Improve Visual Motor/Perceptual Skills-the set comes with an instruction booklet that gives step by step directions on where all the pieces go.  I like to have the kids take out all the pieces and place them on the working surface in order for them to work on visual scanning and organizational skills.  As they turn to each page, I have them take all the pieces needed for that particular page and put them to the side.

Improve Fine Motor Skills-many of the pieces are tiny and require good fine motor control and using good grasping skills.  I try and encourage the kids to use their "pinchers" (thumb and pointer finger) when picking up the pieces.  This is a great activity to work on improving fine motor control; when putting the pieces in their place on the collage, you have to have good control so it is in the right place.

Improve Bilateral Coordination-I find this is a good activity to practice bilateral coordination.  This can be done when putting the glue on the pieces and holding the board down to place the collage pieces on.

Improve Attention and Focus-this is a fun way to work on improving a child's ability to focus and attend to a task.  You can set a timer and have them work on it for a certain number of time or tell them they need to get through a certain number of steps.  Good attention/focus is important when putting the pieces on the board in the correct place.

Improve Social Skills-this is a great activity to do with a group of 2 children.  You can work on taking turns putting pieces onto the board.  Instead of having a grownup assist, you can encourage the kids to ask each other for help.  When working with other children, it will will also work on them becoming more flexible and doing things that they may not want to but have to because their friends want to.

Improve Creativity-while there are templates to follow, you can also work on improving creativity and thinking out of the box by giving kids the materials they need and asking them to create their own animal.

While you can easily find the set online, I recommend checking out your local toy stores and seeing if they carry it.  I think it is always best to support small businesses when possible.  I know that in my neighborhood of Park Slope Little Things Toy Store sells many of the Djeco products.

I hope you and your littles have fun with this arts and crafts set.  It's a great set for so many reasons, but I love that you can really adapt it so you can work on a ton of occupational therapy and speech therapy goals.  I would love to hear from you and learn about any other adaptations or modifications you would make when working with your kids.  I am always a click away and love hearing your feedback and suggestions.

Question from a Reader

What do you think of magformers? Owen played with some at a store on his birthday so we bought some for Christmas. They are pricy, made in China, and you need to buy multiple sets for them to work best.  Looking for your professional input .  
Julie L.  mother of 4 year old Own

When I decided to start this blog, I had hoped that I would be able to answer specific questions for my readers.  I was excited when a friend of me from high school contacted me with the question above.  I hope that this is just the first of many questions I will be asked.  



I am actually a big fan of Magformers and toys similar to them, such as MagnaTiles.  As Julie points out, they are pricey and in order to maximize your building experience, you should have at least 2-3 sets.  However, they are very well made and if treated well, should last forever.  They are the kind of toy I imagine can be passed onto your children's children and will bring as much enjoyment to them as they did to your own child.  A child can play with them independently or with friends or their grownups.  I have known children to play with them for hours on end, creating stories and adventures which is always so much fun to see in this age of technology.  

Magformers and MagnaTiles are a wonderful toy that allows a child to use their imaginations when building with them.  The sky is the limit when playing with them and can also work on so many occupational therapy goals at the same time.  My favorite kind of toy....one that can help a child achieve their goals but encourage fun, teamwork and creativity. 





Here are just a few of the goals that could be focused on when using these toys.  

*Color, shape and size recognition-great way to practice and generalize skills that you are teaching a child outside of "play"
*Bilateral coordination-encourage a child to use two hands when putting the pieces together
*Work on patterning and sequencing-have a child copy patterns, either colors or shapes.  Fun way to work on a skill that may be more challenging for a child
*Improve attention and ability to focus, decrease frustration tolerance-see how long your child can attend to the task; if it seems like this is proving to be a challenge to them, help them come up with strategies in order to be more successful and to become less frustrated
*Improve visual motor and visual perceptual skills-have your child try and copy designs you give them.  Both MagnaTiles and Magformers (check out their showroom) have great links that can give you and your child a bunch of ideas.  As they get better at completing the designs, increase the challenge
*Improve social skills and ability to work with a friend-often times children have a lot of difficulty giving up "control" when building with these kinds of toys.  Encourage children to work on a creation together and then being able to share that with a group.  You may be required to offer more assistance in the beginning but once the children realize how much better and bigger their designs can be when working together, the more fun they will have and less support will be required.  

While you might be able to find some "deals" on Amazon, I suggest checking out your local toy stores and supporting small businesses when possible.  I have seen them at many of the smaller local toy stores that I like to shop in both in Brooklyn and Manhattan.  

Thank you Julie for your question and hope that I can answer many more in the near future.  Please remember, I am just a click away and love answering questions, talking about toys and learning about toys that you may have discovered as well.