2019 Holiday Gift Guide-Social Emotional Toys

One of the most important shifts I have witnessed in my career as on occupational therapist is the increased focus and attention put into social emotional development in children as young as preschool. While always an important issue, there has been a lot of research done in the last few years that show that teaching social emotional intelligence at an early age help children become more successful as they get older. With this increased attention to social emotional learning, there has also been an uprise in the products available to young children that help facilitate a better understanding of feelings, emotions, empathy and self-awareness.
In this portion of my 2019 Holiday Gift Guide, I share some of the amazing products out there that can help children learn about feelings and emotions, learn about empathy and kindness while working on improving fine motor and manipulation skills, improves visual motor and visual perceptual skills and can build confidence and self-esteem. 



Build a Robot Emotional Developmental Toy-teaching kids about emotions can be difficult, especially in the moment when they are feeling big feelings. This educational robot toy not only works on helping children learn about emotions but helps with developing fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills. This robot comes with one body and four interchangeable heads with different emotions. Great to use with young children when talking about their feelings. I love how each of the heads is a different shape and offers a variety of tactile experiences.




Emojinks Emoji Card Games-I have been a big Spot It fan for years and years and now that I run a social skills group, I tend to try and find games that have some kind of social emotional learning component. So try and imagine how happy Emojinks makes me! Very similar to Spot It, Emojinks is a game of speed where you try and be the first to find the matching Emoji. The nice thing about this game is that there are two different levels, beginner and advanced, so you can use it will all members of your family. Another great thing, the game is compact and easy to take on-the-go for non-screen-time entertainment. Emojinks is perfect to help your children learn about feelings and emotions while also working on developing focus, attention, visual motor skills, visual perceptual skills and visual tracking skills, improves fine motor and manipulation skills and works on social skills such as being a good winner/loser, taking turns and being flexible.

Make A Face-I first learned about this social emotional toy from my friends at Norman and Jules in Park Slope and fell in love with it immediately. Make A Face is a beautiful wooden toy that helps children create hundreds of expressions. Kids can use this 9-piece set to not only work on learning about emotions, feelings and expressions but also work on developing fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills and improves hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills. This toy shows kids how a simple change in the eye or mouth positioning can change the way someone sees them and makes them think about what they are feeling. While this toy was originally created for free play, Moon Picnic has realized that they could do more with it and have created a set of free downloadable flash cards that can add to the importance of playing with this toy.




eeBoo Pretend Play Stickers-pretend play is critical for the development of a variety of social skills. Through cooperative pretend play, children learn how to take turns, share responsibility, creatively problem-solve, be flexible with friends and can encourage creativity and imagination skills. I discovered the eeBoo Pretend Play Stickers last year and thought how awesome it was that these reusable stickers could be used with cardboard boxes (and we know how many of these we accumulate over the holiday season) and instantly transform them into a kitchen, spaceship or a car. Each set comes with four giant sheets of reusable stickers that will turn a plain cardboard box into a prop for kids to spend hours playing with. Not only are these great for developing social skills, they are great for working on developing fine motor and grasping skills and improve visual motor and visual perceptual skills. 

Penny For Your Thoughts Games-this is an amazing game that includes 80 hand-illustrated cards that were designed to increase connection between kids and adults, encourage more positive ways to communicate feelings and teach social and emotional skills that lead to success at home, school and various environments with friends. Using the cards, kids identify how they are feeling, other people who may be involved and learn to problem solve on how to get through some really challenging situations and deal with big feelings. 

Silly Street-this game began as a Kickstarter project a few years ago and I was really excited about. Silly Street helps children with developing social and communication skills, encourages creativity and builds confidence and resilience all through play! As an occupational therapist, I love how they have also incorporated ways to work on developing fine motor and grasping skills and improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills. I also love that this is a multi-sensory game that gets kids up and moving and encourages them to get their sillies out while building confidence, creativity, empathy, flexibility and resilience.





Lion In My Way-in this cooperative game by eeBoo, players work together to help the lion who is on a journey overcome hazards and barriers. By using a variety of objects, kids have to decide which one would be best to help the lion stay on his way. There are a tremendous amount of benefits from exposing children to cooperative games. First of all, by elimination the competition, the pressure of having to be the winner is taken away. These kinds of games also encourage kids to problem-solve together, accept ideas from others and be flexible in their thinking. Lastly, this game is great for encouraging communication skills with peers.


The Calm Mind Kit-I have been a fan of Rose and Rex for years and years so when I heard they were developing their very own product that worked on mindfulness and meditation, I was completely sold. This amazingly thought out kit was designed for children as young as 3 years old and can be used by grownups as well. The kit teaches techniques that can help people who are feeling anxious, have difficulty staying still and a variety of other common emotional struggles. This kit was thoughtfully created by childhood development and wellness experts to provide children with a variety of tools for emotional development and well-being that will help them learn now to focus, self-regulate and most importantly, build confidence and self-esteem. This well-crafted kit contains three handcrafted toys and a deck of beautifully illustrated Calm Mind Activity Cards that teach people how to use the tools provided. As an occupational therapist, I love how this kit helps children get into the right state of mind to work on more stressful or challenging activities by providing them with the tools. 


Feelings and Emotions Peg Doll Set-I love when a simple toy can help children develop a deeper understanding of their own emotions. This beautiful set of feeling peg dolls are perfect for pretend play while also helping children gain a better understanding of feelings and emotions. Included with the set are 5 birch discs with the feelings sad, calm, angry, happy and worried etched on them so kids can work on being able to match and discuss these emotions. These can be perfectly matched with the Hope Learning Toys The Friend Ship which is another beautiful homemade product that was developed to help children learn about their feelings. 






The Unworry Book-unfortunately, there are too many children who have a hard time talking about their feelings and anxieties. Having an outlet to express these feelings can be incredibly helpful for children (and their parents). The Unworry Book is filled with amazing activities for your anxious child. One of the most important things to do is allow children to express these feelings. This illustrated, write-in book is an unworry toolkit, for distracting you from any anxieties, calming you down, and providing a place to sort through your worries and thoughts. It includes a variety of activities, from things to write, color and design, to calm-down tactics and relaxation exercises.

Lets Talk! Conversation Starters-sometimes getting kids to talk about or express their feelings can be really difficult. I can't tell you how many times I have heard parents complain that they can't get their kids to talk to them about things that have to do with how they are feeling. This conversation starter kit from Lakeshore Learning is designed for children starting at age 5 but could easily be adapted for younger children. The box contains 50 open-ended questions that help parents and children talk about their feelings, ideas and so much more. Also great for working on conversation skills.

Guess It. Get It. Gumballs-this fun and engaging from Peaceable Kingdom teaches young children learn about feelings, develops empathy and encourages cooperation. Kids take turns spinning the spinner and then use the gumball-grabbing mirror to choose a matching color gumball. Look in the mirror and make the face that you think you might have grabbed. If you guess correctly, add the gumball to the scoreboard. If not, put it back in the gumball machine and try and remember what it is. In order for everyone to win, the players work together to collect a rainbow of gumballs before finding the stink face card. In addition to the social emotional learning that takes place, kids will also work on improving memory skills and improves visual motor skills. 

Putting together this gift guide was a particularly meaningful one for me. I run a social skills group for young children so I know how important having fun and motivating tools have helped them. All of these suggestions are ones that can easily be used in groups or at home. If you have any specific questions or are looking for something else, please reach out to me. I am only a click away and love hearing from you all. I would also love to hear from any of you if you have any wonderful tools that can be used to deepen children's social emotional intelligence. 

2019 Holiday Gift Guide-Game's On!

No matter how technologically advanced we get, there will always be a reason to have board games in your home. In my family, Rummikub and Boggle hold a special place during family game nights. To this day, countless hours are spent playing one of these games when a sister is in town to visit and the enjoyment I get from playing these games is hard to describe. In addition to the nice 1:1 time spend with my sister, I love how my brain is working and I feel 

There are a tremendous number of benefits of playing board games besides entertaining people. Here are just a few of the many benefits of board games:

1. Improving memory formation and cognitive skills- did you know that the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of the brain are responsible for complex though and memory development? 

2. Stress Reducer-according to online research and surveys, there is a number of people who play games to unwind, relax and relieve stress. 

3. Encourage child development-board games help children develop their logic and reasoning skills, improve critical thinking and boost spatial reasoning. Increased focus and concentration are also linked to playing games. 

4. Improves developmental skills-playing board games help children develop a variety of fine motor and manipulation skills. Additionally, they can work on improving coordination, dexterity and grasp strength.

Below, I share a handful of games that I use at home and work, recommend to parents and think are just awesome. I have tried to share games that can be played as a family because I think it's so important to schedule time together because everyone has such busy and hectic lives. 



Mr. Mouth-I found this classic game a few weeks ago at Barnes and Noble and it has quickly become a favorite of so many of my kids. The goal of the game is pretty straight forward: the first player to feel all their flies to Mr. Mouth wins. 
Great for working on executive functioning skills such as focus and attention, improves hand-eye coordination, visual motor and visual perceptual skills and works on developing fine motor and manipulation skills and encourages executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, self-regulation, organization and self-monitoring.  




Morphy-this is one of my favorite games for the older kids on my caseload. The goal of the game is to collect the most number of discs by finding a disc with an attribute that is different. The game comes with 60 discs that have a color, pattern and a center circle hole that varies in size. Start with a green disc with stripes and a large center circle and you can move it to an orange disc with stripes and a large center circle or to a green disc with dots and a large center circle. Morphy is a fast-paced game that works on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills, visual discrimination, visual tracking, pattern recognition, sequencing and improves executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, organization and self-monitoring. 






Colorforms Silly Faces Game-this is a game recommendation for younger children (age 3 and up) who are learning about colors, shapes and parts of the face. It doesn't require any reading which is perfect for the little members of your family. Silly Faces can be played with 2-6 players as they compete to build their silly face first. Kids spin the spinner and choose a Colorforms piece that goes with the category and stick it on their silly face card. There are some unexpected moments in the game which works on being flexible and resilient: if you land on the swap space, they must switch their card with another player who may move ahead in the game. Also, there is an un-stick space where you lose one of your face pieces and to replace it with another one. In addition to learning about shapes, colors and parts of the face, kids can work on developing fine motor and grasping skills, improve hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills all while encouraging kids to have fun, be silly and think outside of the box. 



Boom Blast Stix-I was introduced to this game by one of my occupational therapy colleagues a few Christmas' ago on a Facebook post and I immediately bought it. Warning...this is not a game for those who are easily startled! The point of the game is to clip the triangle-shaped pieces together and carefully stack them on top of each other (the container you store the pieces in doubles as a game board) without making them become undone and causing all of the other pieces to explode. This simple game works on so many occupational therapy skills such as improving fine motor and manipulation skills, increases grasp strength, encourages executive functioning skills such as focus, attention and self-regulation. 





Head to Head Scramble Pop-one of my go-to favorite games from when I began practicing has been Perfection. I have to be honest with you all that I still get startled every time the timer runs out and the pieces pop out. One of the things I have always wanted to change about Perfection is that it could be more than a one person game. So when I saw that Fat Brain Toys had a two-person version of this shape matching game, I was hooked! Think fast, move fast and scramble like mad to match all the shapes into the board first and before time runs out. Whoever gets all of their pieces into the board first wins the game. This game is ideal for working on improving hand-eye coordination, visual motor, visual perceptual and visual tracking skills, works on matching and identifying shapes and encourages executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, motor organizational skills and self-regulation.




Dirty Pig Card Game-I am a big fan of card games because they are portable and easy to take with you when you are on the go...like keeping kids entertained while at a restaurant or in a waiting room. This is an easy-to-lear game with the goal being to be the first player to dirty all your pigs. Each player begins with 3-5 clean pigs in front of them and three cards in their hands. Each turn a card is played. By playing a "Dirty Your Pig" card, one pig can be send into the mud. One of the pig cards is flipped over to show a dirty pig on the back. Rain cards clean all the pigs, even your own. Barn cards are used to protect your pigs from the rain and the lightening cards destroy the barns but lightening rod cards protect barns from lightening cards. Farmer cards are used to dirty someone else's pigs....he likes a clean pig! Pigs in a barn that are protected with a barn door are safe from the farmer. A pig in a barn, with a door and a lightening rod is completely protected! Great game to work on executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, working memory and organizational skills. 




Greedy Granny-this is a recommendation from my 11-year old niece who says . This non-battery operated game is a simple but hilarious game that will keep players engaged. The goal of the game is to swipe as many treats from Granny's tray without waking her up. Kids take turns taking a piece of food from the tray and then press the button all while hoping Granny won't wake up. The game is intended for kids as young as 4, but as my niece proves, fun enough to keep your older kids entertained as well. Great for working on social skills such as taking turns, being a good sport when winning and losing and can improve fine motor and manipulation skills. You can add a little challenge by having kids use tongs or kid's chopsticks to remove the treat from Granny's tray. 





What's In Ned's Head-this game has been around for ages and one of my all-time favorites to work on developing tactile recognition skills. Place the 16 silly objects in Ned's head, give it a good shake and then pass out a card face down to each player. All turn their cards over at the same time to see what object they have to find and quickly race to be the first person to find the correct object. In addition to the cards for the objects that come with the game, it includes 12 blank cards so you can add your own objects which is awesome because it keeps the game interesting and novel each time. In addition to working on tactile recognition skills, What's In Ned's Head can work on improving grasping and manipulation skills and encourages executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, organizational skills, improves frustration tolerance and works on self-regulation skills. 



Roller Coaster Challenge-this logic game is a huge hit with my older kids and great for working on developing executive functioning skills. Kids can build up to 40 different roller coasters ranging from beginner to super challenging. Kids pick a card and set up the posts and tracks according to each challenge. They then collect the remaining pieces (listed at the bottom of the card) and have to figure out where they all go in order to complete the roller coaster. Once the roller coaster is put together, they can test it out by running the car along the track. In addition to working on focus, attention, organizational skills, this game works on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improves visual-spatial skills, logic, creativity, problem solving and critical thinking. One of the greatest things I see when kids successfully create the roller coaster is that their confidence and self-esteem seam to soar and it encourages them to try the more difficult challenges. I also like to make this game a social opportunity for kids to work together and collaborate on the actual building of the roller coaster. 


Pop The Pig-this is not one of my favorite games but it is one that makes the kids at work SO happy and actually works on a variety of developmental skills so felt like it had to be included this year. While we play it at the gym with just one kid and match it with some kind of gross motor activity (obstacle coarse, climbing up the incline mat to collect the burgers, etc.) it is actually intended to be a multi-player game (a fan favorite with my kids at The Meeting House Juniors). Players take turns rolling the die, finding a burger of the same color, turning it over to see the number, feed the pig and then push down on his head the correct number of times. With each pump, his belly will grow bigger and bigger until he pops! Even though the point of the game is to not be the one to make his belly pop, the kids want to be the one to make it happen! Pop The Pig works on number and color recognition, counting skills, works on improving upper extremity strength, grasping and manipulation skills and encourages executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, organization and self-regulation. 

Yeti Forgetti-one of my favorite games a couple years ago was another Yeti game, Yeti In My Spaghetti, so when this game arrived in my monthly Sensory TheraPlay Box (I will talk about this amazing subscription box in a later gift guide)  a couple of months ago, I was super excited. This newest game from PlayMonster is another hit with my kiddos at work. One of my favorite things is that it is small and doesn't take up a lot of space which is great for on-the-go entertainment. Kids hide the yetis and snow crab under the igloos and move them around so nobody knows which is which. They then draw a card and what they say-guess where a certain yeti is, peek inside the igloo, reveal a location or mix them up again. Try and remember where the yetis are to collect cards but do all you can do not find the snow crab or else you will lose all the cards you have collected. The player who collects the most cards is the winner. This is a great game for working on improving executive functioning skills such as focus, sustained attention, working memory, flexibility and self/emotional regulation. 




Emojinks-I have been a big Spot It fan for years and years and now that I run a social skills group, I tend to try and find games that have some kind of social emotional learning component. So try and imagine how happy Emojinks makes me! Very similar to Spot It, Emojinks is a game of speed where you try and be the first to find the matching Emoji. The nice thing about this game is that there are two different levels, beginner and advanced, so you can use it will all members of your family. Another great thing, the game is compact and easy to take on-the-go for non-screen-time entertainment. Emojinks is perfect to help your children learn about feelings and emotions while also working on developing focus, attention, visual motor skills, visual perceptual skills and visual tracking skills, improves fine motor and manipulation skills and works on social skills such as being a good winner/loser, taking turns and being flexible.

Friends and Neighbors: The Helping Game-Peaceable Kingdom has a variety of beautifully made games and are known for their cooperative games (meaning you need to work together and not strive for being the winner). Friends and Neighbors works on developing a better understanding of emotions and feelings in young children (recommended for children starting at 3 years of age) and encourages empathy. Kids will learn to read emotions and problem solve how to help a variety of people in different situations. Teaching our kids how to not only understand their own feelings and emotions but also recognize how others might feel is a truly important life lesson. In addition to being able to better understand feelings and emotions, Friends and Neighbors works on improving fine motor and manipulation skills, improves hand-eye coordination and encourages social emotional development. 

Heads Talk Tails Walk Card Game-this silly game of sounds and movement was recommended by NYC speech therapist, Jacki Barredo. Players try to match hidden head tiles to the correct body tiles. If they can't make a match, they have to try walk and talk like the mismatched tiles. Great for kids 3 and up and works on developing critical skills such as visual perception skills, reasoning skills, bilateral coordination and while encouraging gross motor development. 






Cauldron Quest-another fabulous recommendation from Jacki Barredo. This cooperative game is geared towards older children. The object of the game is to get the three correct ingredients into the cauldron before all six of the paths are blocked. The evil wizard has cast a spell to destroy the kingdom and you have the power to create a potion to break the spell but the kids must work together. The quest is to find the three correct ingredients hidden under the potion bottles and move them up the paths and into the cauldron before the wizards blocks all of the paths. I love cooperative games because kids must work together to achieve a common goal and not compete against each other. Some other social-emotional skills that can be worked on are making decisions together and being open to other people's ideas and recommendations. Also great for working on developing executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, working memory and problem solving. 

Thumbs Up-I just recently pulled this game out of my closet and so excited to be using it again at work. Thumbs Up is a fast-paced game where kids try to be the first to stack colored rings in the right sequence on their thumb. The game comes with colored rings and challenge cards. Each card has 4-7 pictures with numbers and colors and all the players race to be the first to stack the rings in the correct order. Whoever is the first to stack their rings collects the card; the player with the most cards at the end is the winner. This is a great game for on-the-go play because it can be thrown right into a bag. Thumbs Up is great for working on developing fine motor and grasping skills, finger isolation, improves hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination, visual motor and visual perceptual skills and encourages focus, attention, motor planning and organizational skills. 





Googly Eyes-this is another recommendation from my niece, Lila and one that I know is a favorite of so many people. This family game is one that involves drawing while wearing zany, vision-altering google eye glasses. Your team tries to guess what you are drawing which results in some hysterics from all players. There are three different sets of lenses for the glasses ranging from a mild to pretty crazy alteration in your vision. Googly Eyes is great for working on improving graphomotor skills and encourages focus and attentional skills. 




I tried to cover a variety of different games on this post for kids of all ages and ones that could be good for families to play together. In a day and age where kids are spending more and more time in front of some kind of electronic device, I love that there are so many game options out there that can keep kids entertained while also working on developing a variety of skills. If you would like any other recommendations for games to work on specific skills, I have plenty more out there to share with you. I would also love to hear from any of you if you have games that are a huge hit with your kids or at work. I am only a click away and love hearing from all of you. 

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream

Due to the major heat wave we are experiencing here on the east coast, I figured I would try keeping with the summer theme and feature a cool app that has been bringing my daughter and many of the kids I work with great joy these hot days.  Wombi Ice Cream is a fun and creative app that allows children to make ice cream cones and ice cream sundeas for their customers.  While there is plenty of opportunity for a child to be creative with the app, there is also lots of great educational aspects to this game that enables them to work on improving a variety of skills, including, but not limited to, memory and focus and attentional skills.

Wombi has successfully created a game that is cute and colorful so it easily catches the eyes of the kids as they work.  Some may not like this, but there are no words used so a child is forced to rely on visual cues when playing this game.  Since I work with so many children who often forget to look at visual and social cues enough, I think this is a great addition to the game.  I encourage children to look at the faces of the customers as they are ordering and receiving their ice cream.  If they delivered a satisfactory order to their customer I point out how they are they smiling.  When they make an order that isn't what their customer ask for, I point out that they have an unhappy face and that they won't take the ice cream from them.  It's could be a great chance to work on making a child more aware of how their actions have an impact on others.  Even though it is just a game, a child can work on this important social/life skill in a fun and un-stressful manner.

A character comes comes up to the window of your ice cream truck and places their order.  It starts off easy with one or two requests and gradually increases the demands.  In the beginning, a child is asked to create ice cream sundaes or cones using a couple of specific ingredients.  As they play on, they will soon be asked to not only include ingredients, but also to make sure they leave out other ingredients that their customer does not want.  A great chance to work on memory skills; however, if your child has a hard time remembering, they can scroll between the order window and the ice cream page to ensure they make the correct order.

In addition to what I have already mentioned above, here are some of the other occupational therapy goals that can be targeted:
Improve Visual Memory Skills-while there is some free play involved, there are also many opportunities for children to have to remember what their customers asked for on their cones or sundaes.  I love that it gets more challenging with increased play and that they may need to also remember what NOT to put on their customers order.  This really requires a child to think back to what they saw and not just throw together something.  If they don't make what their customer asks for, they will not get paid!
Improve Focus and Attentional Skills-in addition to visual memory, a child is required to maintain his/her focus and attention on the game in order to correctly complete their customer's order.  It is important that they pay attention to the details of their customers order and remember to put them all on the ice cream or else they will have an unsatisfied customer.
Improve Modulation and Regulation-a child is required to regulate their speed when placing the ingredients onto their order.  If they move too quickly, the ingredients will fall to the ground.
Improve Organization Skills-I love to work on improving a child's ability to organize their thoughts and work with this app.  For children who lack organization, I often have them start with the cone, add the requested ice cream flavor(s) and then put the toppings on.  I like to have them start from the bottom and move their way up.  Sometimes, I won't let the children move onto the toppings until they are certain that the ice cream and cone are exactly what the customer has requested.  This can be frustrating for children, but an important skill that will be useful in so many areas of their lives.
Improve Memory Skills- I love that while you can be creative and choose your own ingredients, there are also opportunities to work on sharpening ones memory skills.  The longer you play the game, the challenge increases.  When your customer comes to the window to order, they may ask you to use specific ingredients.  If you don't use them in your ice cream creation, they won't pay for it and will walk way unhappy.
Improve Social Skills-while this app can easily be done indpendently, I enjoy using it in the social context as well with my little kids.  You can work on taking turns adding ingredients to your ice cream to improve team work.  This is also a great opportunity to work on children working on accepting things not going their way; they need to be flexible if their friend chooses to choose orange flavor ice cream even if they wanted vanilla.  This can also be a great opportunity to work on improving language and conversational skills between friends by having children ask each other questions such as their favorite ice cream flavors, what they like on their ice cream and many others.

This is a great game for your preschooler and can be done successfully independently.  While I use it at work socially, children can do it by themselves at home and parents can rest assured that they will be learning some important skills that will be helpful when they are in school.

I would love to hear from any of my readers if they have found other ways to use this game in social ways during their sessions.  Do you have suggestions to share with my readers?  I am just a click away and would love to hear from you all.

As the heat wave continues on the east coast, I hope you are all finding ways to stay cool and enjoy the warm summer days.  If you are looking for something fun to do with your younger ones, definitely check out Wombi Ice Cream.  I guarantee your child will have lots of fun and will forget about how hot it is outside!

Bugs and Buttons, Oh My!

***UPDATE***

I discovered another great app from Little Bit Studio, creators of Bugs and Buttons.  Bugs and Bubbles is another fantastic app that is already one of Quinn's favorites.  Best part?  18+ games for only $2.99!  This app is colorful, motivating and will engage your child for hours on end.  Because there are so many games, they won't get bored quickly.  My favorite games so far are Whack'em, Pinch Garden and Follow Me.

Whack'em:

Similar to the arcade game, Wack A Mole.  Bubbles come out of a blower and you have to pop them before they float off into space.  You have to beware of the ones that have bees inside them and not pop those.  I like that it starts off with just one bubble and then moves up to five bubbles at once.  Great for visual tracking, grasp development and focus/attention.

Pinch Garden:

A fun way to work on developing pinching and grasping skills.  Watch the flowers grow and when you see a bubble come out of it, pinch it and pop it.  I find pinch and grasp skills difficult to work on at times (the children get bored with the manipulative toys we work with) so when I find a game like this that has a pinching/grasping component, I am all over it.  An iPad can motivate the most unmotivated child!  

Follow Me:

This is a cute game that works on teaching letters.  There is a foggy window and a bug will fly to form each letter.  Once you trace the letter, the fog disappears.  They only do one part of the letter at a time and seems to follow the Handwriting Without Tears format.  If you are using this app on the iPad and working on pencil grip, be sure to use a stylus.  

I hope you enjoy this game as much as Quinn and I have been!!  Would love to hear from you all about your favorite game on this app and why.  I am just a click away!  

I am constantly on the lookout for new apps for the iPad that will motivate me, I mean the children, I work with.  It's overwhelming to sift through the thousands and thousands of apps out there and when I find a good one, I want to share it!

When creating my 2012 Gift Guide, I included an app recommended by Jacqueline Barredo, my speech therapist colleague.  Bugs and Buttons is worth the $2.99 price tag!  Not only does my 2 1/2 year old daughter love it, the children I see for occupational therapy (ranging from ages 4 to 7 years old) have all loved it and found mini games perfect for the goals that we were addressing.  Fair warning though, if you are afraid of bugs at all, this might not be your kind of game! The bugs look so realistic and I've found myself jump away from the screen at times at bugs coming at me!

Regardless, I've shared a few of my favorite mini games and the goals that they work on:

Pinch and Grab

One of my favorite mini games, Pinch and Grab, works on encouraging a fine pincer grasp.  Without a proper fine pincer grasp, a child has a difficult time developing an appropriate grasp when using writing instruments.  As you can see in the picture below, a child will eventually have to sort the bugs, cans and papers into the right containers so this will also work on sorting and organizational skills.   

Connect Dots

This is great to work on number recognition, sequencing, motor planning and organizational skills.  It also works on visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  You're encouraged to connect the dots to make a variety of animals and then watch the bugs parade around the completed picture.  I encourage children to use just their pointer finger to work on finger isolation and pointing skills. 

Tic-Tac-Toe

I have always thought this game is great for so many reasons, but let me share two of them.  First of all, it's a great social game and once children have mastered it, they can be completely independent.  Secondly, this is a great game for improving executive functioning, motor planning, sequencing and organizational skills.  When I play this game with my children, I encourage them to take their time and not rush into making a decision.  

These are just three of the 18 games on the Bugs and Buttons app for the iPhone, iPad and iTouch.  I highly encourage you to buy this game for your preschooler to school age child.  If you have any questions on what goals are addressed with each mini game and what would be most appropriate for your child, remember I am just a click away.  Also, please share your favorite mini games with us in the comment section of this post.  As always, I am happy to answer any questions you might have about this app or any other apps and toys that I have recommended.