What's App 2020 Quarantine Edition

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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



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

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



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

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

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

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



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


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

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

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

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

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

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

Tiggly...Take 2

Several months ago, I blogged about Tiggly Shapes and the associated apps.  I am happy to say that even after months of use, I am still as happy with them as can be.  More importantly, the kids who I work with are still happy and motivated by them.  For those of you unfamiliar with Tiggly Shapes, it is an interactive iPad app that allows you to use actual geometric shapes to enhance shape recognition and creativity.  For many of my kids, it has been a motivating to work on visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  I have been able to use the Tiggly apps in conjunction with other therapeutic activities to make sure that they are generalizing the concepts of shapes .

Just a couple of days ago, I was invited to test out Tiggly's newest product.  I was excited for many reasons but mostly because I have been searching for good early math apps to begin working on this with  my daughter.  Quinn is most definitely my hardest client and gives me more trouble than anyone else when I want to work on anything to get her prepared for school.  So when I told her about Tiggly Counts, I was thrilled to see how excited she was to learn about math.

Both of us were very excited when the box arrived on Saturday and wanted to get started immediately.  In short, Tiggly Counts is a iPad math toy created for children 3 and older that will begin teaching children about counting, number sense and math skills.  Using 5 counting rods (inspired by the cuisenaire rods typically used in Montessori schools), a child is able to interact with 3 different math apps and learn early math skills like counting and addition.   It can be adapted to work for a child's skill level.

Below you will find a description of each of each of the apps and what they will teach your child:

Tiggly Adventure:  cute little Tiggly is on an adventure to deliver apples to his grandmother.  You will need to use your counting toys to build bridges, ladders and much more in order to help him get to her.  Tiggly Addventure introduces children to number-line concepts while improving their number sense and counting skills.

Tiggly Cardtoons:  I love this app and have used it with some of my younger and more involved children.  It's simple yet totally interactive and easy to use so even those younger/more involved children can use it independently.  You place any one of the 5 counting rods on the iPad screen and the same number of dots will show up.  After you touch each dot, they start to move around and you have to catch them and place them in circles.  Once all of them are in place, two pieces of cardboard turn into a variety of things.  A juggling owl, a hungry shark or a truck filled with snakes are just a few of the fun things your child can create.
*great for working on visual motor, visual perceptual and visual tracking skills
*encourage a child to use their pointer finger when playing with the dots.  For those who need to work on grasping skills, you can use a stylus with this game.
*for early learners, a fun way to work on counting skills like one to one matching

Tiggly Chef: this has definitely been the favorite in my house and with the few kids I have tried it with.  Using the counting toys, you help the chef create some of the most fabulous and silly dishes!   Your job is to add the exact number of the ingredients the chef asks for.  You can use the exact counting rod (this is what I have been doing with my daughter) or you can use several counting blocks to add up to the correct number.  There are different levels and with each one comes different challenges.  This helps keep it fresh and exciting for older children.

In addition to all of the skills mentioned above, Tiggly Counts can work on improving focus and attentional skills and improving frustration tolerance.  When working with older children, you can focus on improving executive functioning skills such as organizational skills.  For my speech therapist colleagues, there are tons of opportunities to work on language skills when using all of the apps.

As I am getting to know the new apps, I have only used Tiggly Counts 1:1 with the kids but look forward to trying this with a small group of kids to work on social skills at the same time.  I think that all of the apps lend themselves to working as a team or in a small group.  For example, each child can take a turn putting ingredients in while playing Tiggly Chef.  Math can be a frustrating thing for many kids and watching and working with their peers is almost always more beneficial than it being led by a grownup.

Tiggly Counts is available for pre-order until October 21st.  If you order before then, there is a 25% discount and free shipping.  For any of my therapist/educator colleagues who use the iPad with kids, this is a great addition (no pun intended) to your bag of tricks.  I have already tested it out with some of my kids and it's been a huge success.  I have even gotten my kids to lie in the net swing while playing with it so we have been able to work on building upper body strength at the same time.  For educators and parents, this is a highly motivating system to work on math skills.  If you have a hard time getting your kids to sit down and do work with you, I guarantee this is something your children will not only enjoy but will ask to play!

Learning Can Be Fun!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More Than Just Statistics

In addition to being a full-time occupational therapist and mother, I am also proud to be a founding member of The Meeting House, a recreational based after school program for school age children with social special needs.  It's an amazing place that provides a place for some of New York City's most awesome kids who have a tremendous social motivation but need the support of professionals in order to be successful in social situations.  In addition to our after school program, we offer a monthly weekend event which provides opportunities for our children to generalize the skills that we teach during the week.  It also gives them a chance to go to some of the coolest kid's spots in New York.  We have been to a lot of really great places in the last year and a half, including Our November event was at the Museum of Mathematics near Madison Square Park.

Now, I know what you are thinking...how could a math museum be fun?  I was wondering the same thing but had heard such great things from friends and colleagues who had been there in the past.  I am so glad we gave this museum a chance because it was really great and our kids had the best time.  They didn't want to leave when our event was over, which is pretty telling.

As we enter the colder months, I know there are a lot of people who are looking for things to keep their kids busy outside of the house.  I can't say enough about this place and guarantee that you will have just as much fun at this hands on museum as your kids will.  You can spend hours here without being bored and there is plenty of different exhibits to keep children of all ages occupied.  One of the things I like best was the size of the museum.  It is only two floors so manageable and if you have an older, more independent child, you can let them explore on their own a bit or with a friend while you hang with the younger ones.

There are so many great exhibits at the Museum of Mathematics and the best part is that each and every one is interactive and hands on.  Even better, this is a perfect place to work on a zillion occupational therapy goals without the children even realizing they are working!  If you have read my other posts, you will know how much I love hidden therapy.

There are over 30 exhibits at the museum.   Each of them is unique but all are fun.  Here are a few of my favorite exhibits and what kind of therapeutic  

Coaster Rollers:  Glide on a rounded triangle down a track on rollers that are not ball but acorns and other lumpy shapes.  Great for working on upper extremity strength and bilateral coordination.  If on with a friend, they need to work together to get all the way to the end of the track.

Tessellation Station:  create tiling patterns called tessellations using unusual magnetic shapes.  Pictured to the right, you can see some of the cool creations kids can make using the different shaped magnets.  Works on increasing upper extremity strength (since it is on a raised surface), visual perceptual skills (having to fit the magnets together), color recognition and improves creativity.  I loved this so much that I had to buy the monkey magnets pictured to use in my private practice and at home.  I was psyched when I walked into the museum gift shop and saw these for sale.  They are a bit pricey, but they are incredibly well made and unlike anything else I have ever seen.

Square Wheeled Trike:  take a smooth ride on square wheels.  This was definitely the highlight for the kids at The Meeting House.  It's one of the first things you see when you walk into the museum and clearly gets kids attention because who has ever seen a bike with square wheels?  This exhibit works on improving overall body strength and motor planning.  There are two sized bikes so even your little ones can enjoy this cool activity.

The Human Tree:  strike a pose and see your body replicated as the trunk, branches, and sub-branches of a tree made of you. Move around and watch as the tree morphs producing a surprising array of effects.  Great for working on motor planning, improving upper extremity strength bilateral coordination.  Our kids at TMH did this in groups of two and each child had an opportunity to be the leader and their friend would have to do the same movement that their friend did.

I am excited to go back to the Museum of Mathematics with my own daughter who will be 4 years old in March.  While she may not understand all the math elements, she will be able to participate and interact with all the exhibits.  I have already recommended this place to many of the parents I work with and they have truly loved it.  If you are in NYC and need something to do with your kids, I highly recommend you check this place out.  While there, be sure to check out their amazing gift shop.  I could have spent hours and a whole lot of money in there.  They do have an online store with many of the items they have created, including these tessellation monkey magnets.

Have you been to the Museum of Mathematics?  I would love to hear what your favorite exhibit was.  I am only a click away and love hearing from you all.