2018 Holiday Gift Guide-Children's Books

One of my favorite gifts to give is a good book. Unlike many gifts, it is something that can be used over and over again and when it is a truly special book, it can be held onto and saved for future generations. Over the years I have spent quite a bit of time building a library of books for the social skills group I lead at The Meeting House. Each of the books has some kind of social emotional lesson to teach children. Some of the major themes covered in the following books are labeling and identifying feelings, kindness and empathy, being brave and overcoming fears and perspective taking.  One of the things I have learned over the years is that children can have a difficult time talking about or recognizing their own social difficulties. By providing them with a story that has some kind of social theme, you provide them with a safe outlet to discuss things that may be tricky for them. I have been amazed over the last few years with my kids at The Meeting House how they have been able to talk about and problem solve a variety of social difficulties we all experience at some point. By taking away the personal part and focusing on a character, they feel less intimidated to talk about them around their peers. Below I share 25 of my favorite children's books that would be a great addition to any personal library or classroom.

Be Kind by Pat Zieltow Miller-When Tanisha spills grape juice all over her new dress, her classmate wants to make her feel better, wondering: What does it mean to be kind? From asking the new girl to play to standing up for someone being bullied, this moving story explores what kindness is, and how any act, big or small, can make a difference-or at least help a friend. 

The Color Monster: A Pop-Up Book of Feelings by Anna Llenas-we spend a lot of time teaching children about concepts such as colors, numbers and letters, but not enough time teaching them about feelings and emotions. This interactive pop-up book helps kids learn about emotions by matching them with a color and helps to open up the conversation about what feelings look like. 


After The Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again by Dan Santat-everyone knows that when Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. But what happened after? We learn about Humpty Dumpty, an avid bird watcher whose favorite place to be is high on the city wall-that is, until after his famous fall. Now terrified of heights, Humpty can no longer do many of the things he loves most. Will he find the courage to face his fear? This book teaches children about what happens when you face your fears and take chances. 

ish by Peter Reynolds-Ramon loved to draw. Anytime, anything and anywhere! Drawing is what Ramon does and what makes him feel good about himself. It is what makes him happy until his older brother makes a mean comment and he no longer can find the joy in drawing. Ramon can't draw without feeling sad and worried about what he is doing. Luckily for him, his younger sister the world differently and opens Ramon's eyes and makes him realize that things don't always have to be "just right". This is a great book for children who are always seeking perfection and need to know that "just right" is different for everyone and just because someone doesn't like what you are doing, it shouldn't stop you from finding joy from it.

The Book Of Mistakes by Corinna Luyken-one eye was bigger than the other. That was a mistake. The weird frog-cat-cow thing? It made an excellent bush. And the inky smudges....they look as if they were always meant to be leaves floating gently across the sky. As one artist incorporates accidental splotches, spots and mishapen things into her art, she transforms her piece in quirky and unexpected ways, taking readers on a journey through her process. Told in minimal and playful text, this story shows readers that even the biggest "mistakes" can be the source of great ideas...and at the end of the day, we are all works in progress. 


The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds-as art class ends, Vashti is sitting in her chair staring at a blank piece of paper feeling frustrated by not being able to complete her art assignment. Her teacher walks over and tells her to make a mark on the paper...any mark will do. She angrily makes a dot on her paper and then her teacher tells her to sign the paper. When she comes into class the following week, her picture is hanging above her teacher's desk which ignites her confidence and encourages her to try more. As her confidence continues to grow, so do her artistic abilities. This book is a good reminder to kids of all ages that sometimes you have to take a chance and step outside of your comfort zone in order to get better at something. 


The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires-a little girl and her assistant, her beloved dog, set out to make the most magnificent thing. But after spending a lot of time and energy on her project, the final product just isn't what she had imagined. Frustrated, she quits. Her assistant suggests a long way to cool off and as she calms down, she realizes what she has to do in order to succeed. This is a great story that teaches kids about perspective, not giving up even when feeling frustrated and helps them realize that there is no reason for things to be perfect all the time.  

Fair is Fair by Sonny Varela-"It's not fair!" This is something that parents and teachers hear all of the time when they think someone else, a sibling or classmate, is getting more than they are. Do special needs for one mean less love for another? This is the question explored in this short children's story of three zoo animals. They learn that being equally loved doesn't necessarily mean that they're treated the exact same. Rather, true love is expressed when each animal gets what they need. This is a perfect book for all families with siblings who think may think that things are never fair. 

Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry-when Stick rescues Stone from a scary situation with a Pinecone, the pair becomes fast and best friends. But when Stick gets stuck, can Stone return the favor? This simple book uses a nice rhyming text that makes it easy for children to follow and is a nice introduction to bullying, friendship and kindness. 

Everybody's Welcome by Patricia Hegarty-poor Frog's pond has dried up and he has nowhere to live. Luckily, he meets friendly Mouse, who is just starting to build a new house. "Everybody's welcome, no matter who they are, "explains Mouse. "Wherever they may come from, whether near or far." As Frog and Mouse build a house together, they meet more animals without a place to live. Soon, they all join to build a big, beautiful home where everyone is welcome, safe and war. Children will learn about how important it is to always lend a helping hand to those in need no matter who they are. It also teaches them about community and how all kinds of people can not only live together, but work together to help each other. 

Courage by Bernard Waber-What is courage? Certainly it takes courage for a firefighter to rescue someone trapped in a burning building, but there are many other kinds of courage too. Everyday kinds that normal, ordinary people exhibit all the time, like "being the first to make up after an argument," or "going to bed without a nightlight." In this book, all acts of courage, both big and small, are celebrated and show that we are all heroes when we can overcome some of our fears. 

We Are All Wonders by RJ Palacio-so many people were moved by the book Wonder, a novel about a little boy named Auggie born with significant craniofacial differences. In this picture book, we hear more about Auggie and get a better understanding of every child's desire to belong and be seen for who you are and not what you look like. It's a beautiful and simple book that helps kids learn about empathy, kindness and accepting. 

The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade by Justin Roberts-hardly anyone noticed young Sally McCabe. She was the smallest girl in the smallest grade. But Sally notices everything-from the 27 keys on the janitor's ring to the bullying happening on the playground. One day, Sally has had enough and decides to make herself heard. And when she takes a chance and stands up to the bullies, she finds that one small girl CAN make a difference. This book is great for teaching kids that anyone can make a difference, no matter how big or small and how those acts of kindness can be contagious.

They All Saw A Cat by Brendan Wenzel-teaching children about perspective taking can be really challenging, but is also very important. This is a great book to teach children about perspective and how everyone may see or feel things differently. The cat walked through the world, with its whiskers, ears and paws....In this glorious celebration of observation, curiosity and imagination, kids learn about how perspective shapes what we see. 

Waiting by Kevin Henkes-five friends sit happily on a windowsill, waiting for something amazing to happen. The owl is waiting for the moon. The pig is waiting for the rain. The bear is waiting for the wind. The puppy is waiting for the snow. And the rabbit is just looking out the window because he likes to wait! What will happen? Will patience win in the end? Or someday will the friends stop waiting and do something unexpected. Waiting is a big, and oftentimes very difficult, part of being a kid....waiting in line, waiting to have a turn at something, waiting to grow up to do big kid things and waiting for something special to happen.

The Bad Seed by Jory John-this is a book about a bad seed....a really bad seed! How bad? Do you really want to know? He has a bad temper, bad manners and a bat attitude. He's been bad as long as he can remember. This seed cuts in line every time, stares at everybody and never listens. But what happens when one mischievous little seed changes his mind about himself and decides he want to change and be happy? This book is great for teaching kids that if you put in some effort and try new things, positive change can happen for anyone. 

Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein-It's time for the little red chicken's bedtime story-and a reminder from Papa to try not to interrupt. But the chicken can't help herself! Whether the tale is Hansel and Gretel or Little Red Riding Hood or even Chicken Little, she jumps into the story to try and save the characters from doing silly or dangerous things. When it is time for the little chicken to finally tell her story, will he be able to stay awake and keep from yawning/interrupting her? This is a great way to teach kids about interrupting and the effect it has on other people....even if they are doing it out of pure excitement.

The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson-there are many reasons for children to feel different. Maybe it's the way you look or talk, where you come from or maybe it is because you may have a harder time talking or walking. It's not easy to take the risks to join a group when nobody really knows you yet, but you know you have to do it. This book is a helpful reminder to children how we may all feel when you have to join a new group and that if you open up and share  some of your own stories, there just might be others that you can connect with. This is a story about being brave, especially when you feel like you might be alone.

Tough Guys: (have feelings too) by Keith Negley-a boldly illustrated picture book talking about how everyone gets sad-ninjas, wrestlers, knights, superheroes, everyone...even daddies have emotions! We live in a society where some kids, especially boys, believe that they have to act a certain way. It's incredibly important for all kids to know that feelings are a normal thing and that EVERYONE feels them, no matter how tough they may seem. This is an important book that shows all people are allowed to express their feelings no matter what gender expectations and social norms say. 

In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek-this is one of my favorite books about feelings. What I like about this is that it gives children a better idea of how feelings can physically feel to you. It is totally normal for kids to feel a certain way but it is also normal for those physical reactions to feelings can scare children at times. Happiness, sadness, bravery, anger, shyness....our hearts can feel so many feelings! Some makes us feel as light as a balloon, others as heavy as an elephant. 

Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig-meet Brian, the invisible boy. Nobody ever seems to notice him or think to include him in their group, game or birthday party...until, that is, a new kid comes to class. When Justin, the new boy arrives, Brian is the first to make him feel welcome. And when Brian and Justin team up to work on a class project together, Brian finds a way to shine. This story shows how small acts of kindness can help children feel included and allow them to flourish. 


The Way I Feel by Janan Cain-feelings are neither good or bad....they just are. Kids need words to name their feelings and that can be really difficult for some kids. The Way I Feel uses bold, colorful and expressive images to go along with simple verses to help children connect the word and the emotion. While your child is being introduced to new words, you can take this opportunity to talk to kids about what makes them feel those emotions or how they might be able to notice these feelings in other people. 


The Way I Act by Steve Metzger-in this companion book to The Way I Feel, children learn that feelings come and go and that it is okay to feel all different kinds of feelings. The Way I Act looks at 13 different kinds of behaviors you may feel/see and provide tips on how you can maybe change the way you act in those situations. The pictures are fun and great for opening up conversation with kids on how it is normal to behave in certain ways but that we have the chance to redo moments and behave differently. 

Everyone by Christopher Silas Neal-in this book, children are invited to explore how we feel and also how other people feel things too. From the animals in the woods to the neighbors in their homes nearby, everyone has feelings and shares them in this whimsical story. Vivid, childlike art in a limited palette conveys a full spectrum of emotion. Young children easily frustrated by a popped balloon or overjoyed by a sky full of starts with relish this simple exploration of empathy. 

Can I Play Too by Mo Willems-Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can. Gerald worries so that Piggie doesn't have to. Gerald and Piggie are best friends. In Can I PLay Too:, Gerald and Piggie meet a new snake friend who want to join their game of catch but they are worried how they can include snake since you need arms to play catch. This book is great for showing kids that sometimes you have to be flexible and think outside of the box to include friends into an activity that you think should go a certain way. 


This is just a sampling of some of my favorite children's books that have a social emotional lesson to teach kids. If you are looking for a book with a specific theme, please don't hesitate reaching out to me. I have so many more book suggestions and am only a click away. If you have any books that you think should be added to my library, please share! I am always happy to have a new books to share with the kids I work with. 

I have intentionally left out links to these books. I make a point of purchasing my children's books from local bookstores. Do you know if you go into bookstores, they can special order any book you want and get it to you almost as fast as ordering online? Here are some of my go-to children's bookstores in New York City:

Stories Bookshop and Storytelling Lab-Park Slope, Brooklyn
Community Bookstore-Park Slope, Brooklyn
Greenlight Bookstore-Fort Greene, Brooklyn 
powerHouse on 8th-Park Slope, Brooklyn (there is also a second location in DUMBO)
Books Are Magic-Cobble Hill, Park Slope 
Bank Street Bookstore-multiple locations on the UWS of Manhattan
Books of Wonder-Union Square and UWS locations
Shakespeare and Co-UES and UWS locations

Bits and Pieces FTW!

I am sure we all have that website that just sucks you in and you can be hypnotized to buy just about anything.  For me, when I see an email or get a catalogue from Fat Brain Toys, I have to make a decision to look at the email and know that I will be spending money or just delete it immediately.  At the end of the summer, I got an email that I decided to open and I am so happy I did.  In it they featured The Offbits building toys and I was immediately obsessed.  It's easy for me to find toys and products for the younger kids on my caseload...the real challenge is finding things that will motivate my older kids who tend to give up or become bored faster.   When I read about The Offbits, I knew that my older kids were going to love them and that they would be a great way to work on a variety of their goals without it seeming like work.

The Offbits kits are made up of a variety of "bits and pieces" that you might find in the bottom of a junk drawer or in a tool box.  To clarify, each kit comes with various screws, nuts, bolts, springs, etc. that can be used to build robots, vehicles or whatever else your child's imagination can come up with.  Each kit comes with a book with instructions to build something specific but also provides challenges with the bits and pieces provided in the back of the book.  Once kids are confident in their building skills, you can provide them with a bunch of pieces and see what they con come up with.  Like I have already mentioned, there is no right or wrong which I find helps kids have more fun when building with the bits and pieces.  The greatest thing is seeing a child's confidence and self-esteem soar as they build something from nothing.  If your child does better with step-by-step instructions, you can check out The Offbits website and take a look at their challenge section.  Here they show off other people's creations and give picture step-by-step directions.  I'm a particular fan of the ones they have for the holidays including the adorable CupidBit below for Valentine's day (it also includes a printable set of wings).  

I have a 7 year old daughter and she has actually become my partner in crime in toy testing.  As she has gotten older, watching her play with different toys and products I pick up has given me an idea of how to better use them with the kids I work with who struggle with different things.  For example, if she is having difficulty for some reason, it gives me the opportunity to come up with ways to adapt it so my kids can be successful.  When my collection of The Offbits  arrived, she was immediately interested in playing and building with them.  I was psyched because I love it when she chooses to play, explore and build in place of watching tv or using the iPad.  What was even more fun was when my husband came home from work and sat down and joined in on the fun!  These have definitely turned into something our whole family enjoys.

One of the things I like the most about The Offbits kits are that while they come with specific instructions on what to build, they also encourage you to challenge yourself and make your own creation.  There is no right or wrong when it comes to playing with them.  It's about exploring the various pieces and creating something.  I have noticed that before my kids can build something on their own/without a visual template, they need to follow the visual directions first.  This gives them a foundation and understanding of what the different pieces do, how they fit together, etc..  The other thing I love about The Offbits kits is that they are small and easy to bring places to keep your kids busy.

Increase Grasp Strength/Improve Manipulation Skills-the bits and pieces provided are really small (which is why these are geared towards kids 6 and older) which is great for working on improving manipulation skills; I encourage the kids to pick up the pieces using their "pinchers".  There are mini screwdrivers and wrenches included with each set which provided kids which makes the kids really work those little muscles in their hands.  In order to complete their creations, kids are required to screw nuts and bolts together, screw tiny screws tight and push springs into places.  All of this helps to improve overall grasp strength which is important for being able to write for long periods of times, manipulate buttons/snaps/fasteners and lots of other things.

Improve Bilateral Coordination-so many of the kids I work with will only use their dominant hand for activities.  They require constant reminders from me to use two hands because it isn't something that comes naturally to them.  When building with The Offbits kits, it's virtually impossible to only use one hand in order to put your robots, vehicles or whatever you are making together.  One hand must hold a screw while turning a nut onto it or hold the creation while using the screwdriver or wrench.  The nice thing about this is that kids figure this out pretty quickly on their own because they just won't have success building if they don't use two hands.

Improve Visual Motor/Perceptual Skills-as I have already mentioned, each kit comes with step-by-step directions in order to build a robot or vehicle.  Often times, the kids I work with don't like to work on things that challenge them and many have difficulty with visual motor and perceptual activities.  The Offbits provide many opportutnies to work on this skill in a fun and motivating way.  Some of the visual skills that can be worked on are:  visual tracking-to follow the instructions; visual scanning-to find the bits and pieces needed for each step; visual figure ground-to locate the right piece in a pile of pieces for each step; visual discrimination-to find the right size and color piece in a busy working field.

Improve Executive Functioning Skills-as kids get older, finding fun ways to work on improving executive functioning skills gets more and more challenging.  The Offbits provides so many opportunities to work on this.  Some of the executive functioning skills that can be worked on are: initiation by figuring out what the first step of the activity is...what pieces they need first, etc.; planning what the goal of the activity is and setting a goal; organization-this is something many of my kids struggle with.  With The Offbits, I sometimes have the kids organize themselves by sorting the different bits and pieces into piles so that it is easier for them to grab what they need for each step.  I also talk to them about looking at and following the directions so they can be successful; emotional control-one of the things I have to work on with my older kids is being able to not get too frustrated during challenging activities.  Sometimes this means providing them with challenging activities so they can come up with strategies to work through the challenges.  Many of my kids refuse to ask for help, which is a great strategy during challenging tasks.

Improves Social Skills-while kids can build The Offbits sets on their own, it can be a great activity for kids to do together.  They can come up with a game plan before they begin to build and work together to either follow the visual instructions or come up with their own creation.  It may mean sharing the materials, being able to compromise about a plan and patiently wait for your turn when necessary.  Once the kids build and create, you can have them act out different scenarios (you can collaborate with children's team members to see if there are certain social things they struggle with that they can act out through their Offbit robots).

As you can see, The Offbits can be used to work on so many occupational therapy goals.  I love when I can find something that parents can do at home with their kids.  Even better, this is something that you can do with your children and all have fun.  Oftentimes, I suggest parents have their kids do some kind of "warm-up" activity with kids before they begin their homework to warm up their hands.  This could be a great way to get your kids organized and warm up their hands for their homework.

If you have ever used The Offbits or have something similar you like to play and build with, I would love to hear about them.  I am always a click away and love hearing from you all.

One Bead at a Time

When my daughter was coming up with her list for Santa Claus last year, she kept this arts and crafts kit she had seen at Toys R Us.  She couldn't tell me much about it but said they had all kinds of beads that you could spray together to make animals and other things.  She was so excited but I had no idea what she was talking about.  When she unwrapped her Beados machine from her babysitter, I though she might explode with happiness.  I, on the other hand, was scared at first and just imaged these little beads spilling and going all over the place.  I also didn't see how Quinn would be able to complete this particular art activity without me helping her for almost the whole thing.  There were some tears (by both of us at one point), but once we successfully finished our first Beado project, we felt really good and excited to make more.  As an occupational therapist, I couldn't help but thinking about how great this particular product would be for some of the kids I work with.

For those of you who haven't heard of them, Beados and Aquabeads are small, colorful beads that stick together when sprayed with water.  They are two different brands of a pretty similar product but do exactly the same thing.  Each kit comes with several templates, a work palette, hundreds of different colored beads and a pen/wand that you use to put the beads into place.  My daughter has this work station kind of thing that comes with a base, a storage spot on the top for all the beads and a special pen that helps put the colored beads into the correct place.  There are tons of different sets out there including magical creatures, foods and sea creatures.  I am a big fan of the Alpha Set by Aquabeads which I have used at work with a bunch of my kids already.  My goal is to have my kids help me make the whole alphabet and then attach magnets or velcro to them and have kids work on letter recognition and practicing spelling words and other kinds of fun alphabet games.  

Total disclosure because it wouldn't be cool of me to not share some important facts about this product.   First of all, there are a lot of tiny pieces...lots and lots of little water beads that you need in order to complete all the patterns.  If they spill, you will be stepping on them for days to come. I highly recommend that you do this at a table with good lighting.  If you have younger children, it might be best to do this with your older kids while they are doing something else because your help will likely be needed.  Secondly, you (as a parent) need to have a lot of patience as your child is completing them.  Your kid will end up getting frustrated or annoyed because it is highly likely that they will end up messing up their design before it's completed.  It may take several attempts before you figure out the best way to complete this activity.  

With all those warnings above, there are a lot more benefits to using Aquabeads or Beados and I have been using them a ton with the older kids on my caseload.  I have found that motivating my older kids to work on things that challenge them becomes increasingly more difficult and they become very good at avoiding them.  Another thing that I have found is that if there is some kind of really cool thing to take home with them and the end of a session, it makes them more excited to work harder and work through those challenges.

Here are a few occupational therapy skills that can be worked on when using Aquabeads or Beados:

Improve Fine Motor Skills-as soon as I started playing with Aquabeads and Beados with my daughter, I thought about how great it would be for those kids who need to work on improving their hand skills.  While they are definitely tricky, they are great for working on developing fine motor skills such as grasping skills.  You can use the special pen that it comes with (it's about the size of a regular pen or pencil) and encourage the children to hold it in a tripod grasp.  If you want to really challenge a kid, you can have them use their pincer grasp to pick up the small beads and place them into the palette.  For an even bigger challenge, have them pick up a few at a time and make them hold them in their palm and translate them to their fingertips as they place them in the palette.  

Improve Visual Skills-there are so many different visual skills that can be worked on while playing with Aquabeads and Beados.  First of all, you have to be able to visually track between the beads and the palette with the template under it.  You need to be able to recognize what color bead you need (some of the colors are similar) and place it where it goes.  This is also a great way to work on improving visual motor integration/eye-hand coordination.  

Improve Executive Functioning Skills-finding fun and motivating activities for my older kids can be challenging, especially for those who present with difficulties with executive functioning skills.  Aquabeads and Beados are great for working on so many of the key executive functioning skills.  For example, if you have a child who has a difficult time with planning and prioritizing, you can talk to them about how they want to complete their picture.  Do they want to place the beads into the palette row by row or complete one color at a time?  Do they want to place the beads in from top to bottom or from left to right?  Make the child come up with a game plan and then have them evaluate how they did once they complete it.  Another great executive functioning skill that can be worked on is practicing how to control impulses.  So many of the kids I work with move quickly, not thinking about how those actions will effect his/her work.  Kids will learn quickly that if they move too fast, they will mess up their work and have to start over again.  When I do this with kids, I talk to them about how important it is to keep their bodies calm and in check.  These are also great for working on improving a child's attention and focus.  Depending on a child's attention span, I give them different templates to choose from.  I want them to be able to complete the project in one sitting and if it is too big, some kids won't have the attention or ability to sit still long enough for them to be successful.  I always want to set my kids up to be successful, especially with new activities, so making sure we set reasonable goals makes it more likely they will be successful.  

Improve Confidence and Self Esteem-while it is likely that your child may become frustrated during this activity, it is also highly likely that they will be so proud of their completed project that it will make them forget about how frustrated they got.  I actually just did this the other day with a little girl who had tried doing it a few days before.  Her mother said that she got so frustrated when she messed up that she ended up in tears and threw away the project.  We ended up talking about what had happened the other day and she decided she really wanted to try it and wouldn't get upset.  We came up with a plan, talked about how she needed to keep her body calm and not move too quickly and that if anything got messed up, we would fix it and move on.  We worked for a long time and when she finished it, she literally squealed with joy over her completed Shopkin Beado.  She also couldn't stop talking about how she didn't get frustrated and that she kept her body calm so it didn't get messed up while she was working on it.  

Improve Social Skills-this is one of those activities that can be done independently or with a group.  If you have a couple of super-crafty kids that you work with, you can easily have them complete a project together.  With my daughter and her friends, they take turns placing the beads into place.  They have to compromise who will go first, how many beads they get to put in, etc..  I love the language it encourages, especially if you make one of the sets with characters (we are a big fan of the Shopkins, Frozen and Hello Kitty sets).   Once they are completed, they can act out scenes and make up stories together.

Like I have mentioned, Aquabeads and Beados are not for everyone and I am very careful about who I would give them as a gift to.  If you are a crafty and patient person and love spending time with your kids doing these kinds of activities, then I highly recommend them.  If you have a child who has fine motor difficulties and resists working with you at home, then this could be a fun way to get them to do work without them realizing that they are working!  I'll admit, I find myself totally wrapped up in an Aquabeads or Beados project with my daughter and love seeing the beads come together to make something fun.

Finger Looming Good

Two summers ago, the must have toy for everyone was The Rainbow Loom.  It would sell out in stores before they even had a chance to placed on the shelves.  You would go to the beach or the pool and see gaggles of kids gathered around their looms chatting, sharing their ideas and bracelets.  It was such a phenomenon.  I wrote about it in depth in this post here (which happens to be the most viewed post of mine) which still gets hits even two years later.  While Rainbow Loom isn't as popular as it was two summers ago, I find that kids still like making them, particularly my 6-8 year old kids.

The other day, I had time to kill between clients and walked into Learning Express and saw a handful of new items. One of the things that caught my eye was the Finger Loom.  Made by the creators of the original Rainbow Loom, this kit requires no hook and bracelets are made using just your fingers.  Even though I knew how great it would be for me to have in my bag of tricks at work, I immediately thought of my 5 year old daughter.  When the Rainbow Loom craze was going on, she was a sassy 3 year old who wanted to do everything her 5 and 7 year old cousins were doing.  She was so frustrated and sad when she couldn't do it but has been asking to learn ever since.  We have tried the bigger loom, but she would give up pretty quickly.  Yesterday, I was spending the day at the beach with just her and figured this would be a fun thing to bring out and show her.  At first, she wanted me to do it for her, but I insisted she at least give it a try.  When she first started, I agreed that we could take turns making the bracelet but after just a couple of times, she took the loom and the bands and took over the bracelet making.

There are a lot of things I like about this particular loom, especially for younger kids.  While I take out the original loom quite a bit at work, I find that for my kids who lack coordination, the big size can be awkward for them to hold onto and they require more help.  I also love that this doesn't require a hook to complete the bracelet.  This allows kids to get the hang of the process of making the bracelet without worrying about manipulating the hook, especially if they are holding it the right way.  Since there are only 4 pegs, there is less for them to be distracted by and they can keep their focus on just the bands and not the rest of the loom.  For so many of my kids, this will be a great way to introduce them to Rainbow Loom bracelet making and get them motivated to be challenged and try the bigger ones once they have master the Finger Loom.

Like the original Rainbow Loom, the Finger Loom has a tremendous amount of therapeutic benefits. Some of the skills that can be worked on using the Finger Loom are:
Improve Fine Motor Skills-this bracelet maker might be small, but it it is a great way to work on improving grasping skills and in-hand manipulation skills.  From picking the bands out of the pile, to placing them on the loom to using your fingers to pull the bands off the pegs, there an endless number of skills that can be addressed.  The best part is that the kids are so engaged and motivated by the bracelet making, that they don't realize that they are actually doing work!
Improve Bilateral Coordination Skills-this is a great tool to work on improving bilateral coordination skills (the use of two hands in a coordinated manner). It is nearly impossible to be successful making a bracelet without using both hands.  My 5 year old daughter tried it and realized quickly that she needed both hands because I wasn't going to hold onto the loom for her while she made her bracelet.  Once I prompted her to hold the loom with her non-dominant hand and to do all the fine motor work with her dominant hand, she become more independent and successful.
Improve Focus and Attention/Improve Executive Functioning Skills-like the original loom, the Finger Loom is great for working on building executive functioning skills.  If you want to work on working memory, you can give a child the directions and have them either write them down or repeat them back to you or another friend.  If you want to work on organizational skills, you can have the child you are working with pick out a pattern that they must follow and get out all of the bands that they will need to complete the bracelet out before beginning.  I like to have older kids work on these more challenging activities in a room with some distractions present in order to work on being able to build their focus and ability to attend and complete tasks in a more typical environment.  It seems silly, but if they can do something like making a bracelet with distractions present, they will be more likely to complete classroom assignments.

As we head into the end of July, I know many families are getting ready to go on family vacations and are always looking for things to keep their kids occupied on long drives, dinners out or time at the beach or by the pool.  The Finger Loom is a perfect thing to pack as it is light, small and takes up very little room in a bag.  It is also very reasonably priced (you can get a party pack of 9 looms for $16 on Amazon!) so you can pick one up for all the kids and/or guests who might enjoy them.  So in addition to being a great occupational therapy tool, it can be an activity that can keep a group of kids engaged with each other and develop social skills (sharing the bands, making bracelets for each other, etc.).

Happy Looming!

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!

It's All About Teamwork

As a therapist, I wear many hats.  I do all the 1:1 private practice stuff at two sensory gyms in NYC (Heads Up and SAGE).  I am a co-founder of the most amazing after school program, The Meeting House, for school age children with social special needs.  And I run smaller social skills groups with a speech therapist I have had the joy of working alongside for years now.  Professionally, I can't think of a luckier therapist than me.

With all of those different hats I wear, the toys, supplies and equipment I need varies from setting to setting so my eyes are ALWAYS open for new and fun things that would be appropriate for each place.  Yesterday, while walking around the UWS trying to kill some time between clients, I found myself in Stoopher and Boots, a super cute kids store that carries not only adorable clothes but also a great selection of toys.  I'm super excited for the new game I picked up and think that many of you will love it as well, especially you parents of multiple children or therapists/educators who tend to see groups of kids.  Stack Up by Peaceable Kingdom is a perfect game for preschoolers.  It is great across the pediatric disciplines as it covers goals for occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physical therapy and educational goals!  I can't think of many other games in my very large and overstuffed closet that do that.

Stack Up is a cooperative game that focuses on having all the players work towards the same goal as opposed to being first or the winner.  The object of cooperative games is that you focus on working together and not as individuals.  Nobody is made to feel left out or made to feel as though they didn't do a good job.  The point of the game is that in order for you to win, you need to be part of a group and play with your friends, not against them.  Cooperative games have becoming increasingly popular since I began working in schools about 10 years ago.  I love them because I find that for some of the kids on my caseload, they spend so much time working 1:1 with grownups that they lose out on opportunities to play with their peers outside of the classroom and may present with difficulties playing games appropriately.  I am lucky enough to work in an office with other occupational therapists and speech therapists.  If the kids are appropriate for one another, we will put aside some time to play a game together; this is great for all those involved.  For parents who want to encourage their children to play together more peacefully, this game is perfect!  Sometimes parents tell me they have a hard time letting their kids play games together because it leads to so much fighting and upset when somebody loses.  This could be a good solution to the sibling game-playing blues.

In addition to what I already talked about, here are a few more goals that can be worked on while playing Stack Up:

Improve Eye-Hand Coordination-this is a fun way to work on eye-hand coordination without the kids even realizing they are working on it!  My favorite kind of activity...one that can be super fun but help reach some of those occupational goals.  A child requires eye-hand coordination to put the stick in the hole of the block and then they need to carefully look at where the block goes and how to stack it on top of the other without it toppling over.  Sounds easy but when you have kids do it at the same time, it can be quite tricky for them.
Improve Frustration Tolerance-cooperative games are a good way for kids to work on improving their frustration tolerance.  Not just towards an activity, but in regards to working with another child. This is such an important skill for kids to develop but not always an easy one to work on.  Children who have good frustration tolerance will most likely play better with their friends.  

Improve Color Recognition/Matching Skills-another great aspect about this game is that you can use it for younger children who are still in the early stages of learning their colors.  As you spin the spinner, you land on 1 of 4 colors; you can use this as an opportunity to not only learn colors but to work on matching and sorting colors.  For younger children who aren't quite ready to play the game, you can use the opposite side of the board and have them sort colors onto the right colored square.
Improve Social Skills-I find it is very difficult to teach a child the importance of team work and not always having to be the winner.  So many of the children I work with think that if they win, they are the best.  I love that the concept behind this game, and all cooperative games, is that the way to win is by working together and making decisions as a group, not just on your own.  There are a lot of collaborative games out there but many are geared towards older children and, oftentimes, don't always hold the interest of the kids.  I love that this is easy to understand and even easier to adapt for whatever the group of children are able to handle.  This game is also good for encouraging conversation amongst friends which many of my kids need to work on.
Improve Motor Planning-depending on how you play the game, you can add a physical component to the game.  If you land on a challenge when you spin, you pick up a card with some kind of physical challenge (the whole group should perform this).  For example, my favorite challenge is to do a jumping jack and freeze in a legs open position.  The kids found this to be really funny and we were able to work on a skill that is sometimes hard for them.  Other challenges include standing on one foot, giving a friend a high five and holding it for 5 seconds or making silly faces.  All of these things may sound easy to you but for children with motor planning difficulties, it can be quite challenging and they may avoid trying it.  This game motivates the kids to try it in a really fun way.

I am really excited about trying this game out with the kids signed up for my social skills group in the fall.  I am also anxious to check out a few more of the games that Peaceable Kingdom has created.  The other cooperative games they have on their website look like they will be a lot of fun as well. In addition to more cooperative games, they have regular board games, card games and sticker sets.  I'm impressed not only with the quality of the product but with the thought that has been put into creating the game.  I am sure their other games and products will prove to be equally as wonderful.

Do any of you have cooperative games that you can recommend to me and my readers?  I would love to start the fall with a few new games to use during my sessions at the gym and also for my social skills groups.  Please share your ideas with us all!  While this game is targeted towards the younger kids, I also work with older children both in my private practice and at The Meeting House and would love a few more games for that population.

As always, I love hearing from my readers and am just a click away.  Looking forward to hearing your ideas and suggestions for other fun and motivating cooperative games.

Building Just Got More Fun!

Recently, I took a trip to the Bronx Zoo with my family to check out their new Dinosaur Safari.  While we were annoyingly shut out of the actual safari part, we were still able to participate in a variety of fun arts and crafts activities that they have set up in conjunction with the exhibit.  As a therapist, I am always on the lookout for new toys that will motivate my kids to be challenged when working with me.  When I walked into the area, my eyes immediately went to the dry erase board filled with the cutest homemade zoo animals and dinosaurs made out of LaQ construction toys.  I had never seen them before but spent some time playing with them at the zoo and went right home to order them for my office.  I won't lie...my husband and 3 year old daughter spent hours creating this weekend.  They didn't follow a pattern but used their imagination to build creatures from Quinn's mind.  They had so much fun playing and telling stories to each other based on what they had built.  While daddy did most of the work, Quinn still got to be an active participant by pulling some of the pieces apart and finding the pieces that daddy needed.

LaQ construction toys are a great way to work on improving grasp strength and fine motor skills.  There are 7 different shaped pieces/connectors.  With those 7 pieces, what one can build is just endless.  The pieces are small and require a child to use a pincer grasp to push the pieces together.  For kids who struggle with grasping skills, this is a fun way to work on improving that without them even knowing it.  And if they are fans of construction toys, they will be asking to play with these all the time.  Unlike Legos, LaQ blocks are thin so you can really only use two fingers on each hand to push them together (for therapists/educators who do a lot of homecare, they are small and light enough that you can throw them in your work bag and bring them from place to place without being weighed down).  The pieces are colorful and they make this awesome snapping sound when they are pushed together.  For some kids, it is great to have some kind of sound to know that they have successfully gotten the pieces together and should move onto the next step.  

There are a variety of sets to choose from including dinosaurs and food.  While each set comes with a book full of patterns, you can check out their website for many more great ideas.  The nice thing is is that there are 3 different levels of patterns so there should be something for everyone to choose from.  I like the patterns on the website a little better than the books that come with the sets because they break down the steps with more clarity.  

In addition to what I have already spoken about, there are several other OT goals that can be addressed using LaQ construction blocks:
Improve Organization and Sorting Skills-there are 7 different shaped pieces in all LaQ sets.  They may come in a variety of primary and pastel colors, but these 7 shapes can make thousands and thousands of designs and patterns.  Many of the kids I work with need help organizing their work and on each of the patterns provided, there is a grid provided telling you how many of each shape and color you need.  I like to have my kids sort these out before they begin to put their creations together.
Improve Bilateral Coordination Skills-for those of you who work with school age children who continue to struggle with bilateral coordination, this is a great activity to work on encouraging that skill. There is no way that a child can be successful with this toy if they don't use two hands.  They will need to hold pieces in both hands in order to put complete the patterns and be successful in creating a final product.
Improve Visual Motor/Perceptual Skills-while there is room for a child to be totally creative, there are hundreds of patterns to choose from.  When I was at the Bronx Zoo, there were mostly zoo animal and dinosaur patterns out for kids to create but through my google searches, I have found all different kinds of patterns.  I bought this set more geared towards girls that includes a head band and jewelry box, to name just a few.  Once you pick a pattern, it really requires you to visually attend to what you are doing in order to follow the patterns so the pattern comes out the way it is supposed to.
Improve Frustration Tolerance-this is a challenging activity.  It requires a child to have an enormous amount of patience, which many of the kids that I work with lack.  It may require them to not only accept but ask for help from a friend or a grown-up.  Asking for help can be a frustrating thing for a child who wants to believe that he/she can do things all on their own.  They would rather figure it out on their own which often leads to them giving up.  Encourage kids to ask for help and talk to them about how everyone sometimes needs help and that it is okay.

How awesome are these LaQ creations?

Improve Focus/Attention Skills-this is an activity that requires a child to really focus on what they are doing.  They need to focus on what pieces they are taking and focus on following the directions/patterns.  If their attention strays, they may have to take apart the whole project and start again from the beginning.  If I know a child has difficulty with attending, especially to new and more challenging activities, I like to set a timer for them.  They know before even beginning that they will be required to focus for x amount of time and just knowing that sometimes keeps a child's focus and attention on what it needs to be on.
Improve Confidence and Self-Esteem Skills-I have always noticed how completing long term Lego projects often bring out a tremendous amount of pride in a child.  I have bought Lego sets for my kids who have fine motor delays and decreased self-esteem and confidence and worked on these sets for weeks or months at a time.  When they finish the project and can show it off to their parents or caregivers, they are beyond proud.  This is a similar activity and from what I have seen so far, when a child finishes their creation, whether it is from their imagination or from a pattern, they are beaming with pride.

Improve Social Skills-while a child could be happy doing this completely on their own, it is also a great activity to do with a friend.  This is a perfect activity to do in a small group to work on turn taking, problem solving and working on pragmatic skills like asking and accepting help from a peer.  For many of the kids that I work with, the idea of completing a project like this with the help of another is a difficult concept.  As children get older, they will be required to participate in group projects at school and will have to learn to be flexible and work as a partner and not an individual.  This is a great activity to do in order to prepare your child for working as part of a team with friends and classmates.

More awesome LaQ creations at the Bronx Zoo

I can't say enough about how great these manipulative toys are.  My only regret is I didn't know about them earlier in the year because I had many kids on my caseload who would have loved them and we would have been able to work on so many skills without them even realizing it.

I would love to hear from you guys about how you are using these at home or at work.  Do you have any creations you want to share with us?  I am just a click away and would love to hear from you.