On The Go Fun

Summer is here and with August right around the corner, I know a lot of families spend a lot of time traveling. August also ends up being the time of the year where (some) parents begin to panic about the lack of work their kids have been doing all summer and not being properly prepared for the upcoming school year. Traveling is a great time to practice the whole "make learning fun" concept by packing the right kinds of toys. It can be so easy to just occupy their time by giving them some kind of device, which is fine, but there are so many ways to keep kids entertained without having to be looking at a screen. Below, I share some of my favorite products out there that are easy to take along anywhere. They aren't bulky, heavy or take up a lot of space which is a crucial thing when you are traveling.

Car Seat Travel Tray-I haven't used this but wish I had had something like this for my daughter when she was younger. When she wasn't sleeping, she wanted to be drawing or playing on our long car rides and there was never an easy solution. This travel tray can be attached to your car seat (also can be used in a stroller or when out at a restaurant) over your child's lap and helps in keeping everything your child might need in their reach. This comes in especially handy if you are doing any kind of traveling without a spouse or someone who can be that person who can pick up dropped objects. This particular travel tray has sturdy walls and a raised front edge, has multiple storage areas and the waterproof tray is safe for your child to eat on. Be sure to stock your child's travel tray with their favorite art supplies, manipulative toys, stickers and anything else that will keep them entertained.

OOLY Play Again Reusable Sticker Sets-these are one of my favorite new discoveries of this year. OOLY never disappoints me so when I saw these reusable sticker sets a couple of months ago, I bought them all. Think Colorforms reinvented for kids today. Choose from four different sets: Dragon Racetrack, Space Critters, Mermaid Magic and Princess Garden. These incredibly well made sticker sets come with over 60 reusable stickers with a double-sided trifold scene board and can be stored in the sturdy case they come in. Great for throwing in a bag to keep your kids entertained while traveling. These sets are great for working on improving grasping skills, bilateral coordination, hand-eye coordination while encouraging creativity and imagination.

Teebee Play and Store Box-I have loved this storage box since I first saw it on Kickstarter years ago and my own daughter has used it when traveling to keep her Legos all in one place or keep her arts and crafts supplies from going all over the place. The box has a great design with two hinged lids that fold out to create play trays that can rest over your child's legs and a handle for kids to be able to carry from the car to anywhere else. There is also another tray that can be removed to fit on the front edge of the box. If you want to use it for Legos, it comes with a brick plate that you can place in one of the lids. The Teebee box can be used for whatever you want, especially those open-ended toys like action figures, Squigz, beads, etc..  The Teebee box is a great place to store products that will work on increasing grasp strength and manipulation skills while also encouraging creativity and imagination skills.

Squigz 2.0-I've been a fan of Squigz since they first came out years ago and not only use them at work all the time, I gift them to kids almost as much! These open-ended suction cup building toys are as much fun for the grownups as they are for the kids and are so great for working on a variety of developmental skills. Just like the original Squigz, you can push them together to build creations. When you pull them apart, you get the most satisfying Pop sound! The Squigz 2.0 have been updated so that they can not only stick to each other, but the new flat centers allow them to connect in more places. Not only do they stick to each other, they stick to a variety of surfaces (think car window, airplane trays or tables when eating out) making them a perfect on-the-go toy. Squigz work on improving fine motor skills such as grasp strength and manipulation skills, encourages spatial reasoning, creativity, imagination and visual motor and perceptual skills.

Feelings and Emotions Peg Doll Set-sometimes vacations can be challenging for the children I work with. Being away from their comfortable place and not following their familiar routines can cause anxiety for some kids and lead to some meltdowns. When a child is in mid-meltdown mode, they can lose the ability to express themselves. I am loving this peg doll set from Hope Learning Toys that can help children get through difficult times by being able to label and discuss how they are feeling at different times. This set comes with 5 peg dolls (sad, calm, angry, happy, worried) and birch discs with the feelings written on them and comes in a bag making it perfect for traveling.

Toy Story 4 Mini Potato Heads-this is one of my favorite new purchases of the summer and they are a huge hit with the kids I work with. First of all, whenever a huge movie comes out, I check out what kinds of toys are being sold as they always end up being really motivating for my kids. With Toy Story 4 being one of the biggest movies of the summer, I was so excited to see they had come out with these adorable set of mini Potato Heads. I have had a pretty large collection of the superhero themed mini Potato Heads and they are a huge hit in the gym. These are a really great on-the-go toy because they don't take up much space and easily thrown into a travel or diaper bag. They are great for working on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improves bilateral coordination, visual motor and perceptual skills and works on executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, motor planning, organizational, problem solving and sequencing skills. An added bonus is that there can be some great opportunities for pretend play with these adorable figures.

OOLY Chromoblends Travel Watercolor Palette-just because you are on the road, it doesn't mean your little artists can't keep creating. This awesome travel size watercolor set comes complete with 24 watercolors, two water brushes and a built in watercolor palette. The water brushes fill up so you don't have to worry about cups of water if you are in a restaurant or on a plane/in a car. I love how small the packaging is making it easy to throw into a beach or travel bag keeping your kids entertained without a screen when they need some down time.

Lee Sticker Puzzles-these sticker puzzles will always be a favorite of mine and are so perfect for travel. They come in different sizes making them appropriate for a wide range of kids. Look through the Sticker Puzzle collections and you will find all kinds of books featuring some of your kids favorite television and movie characters. Kids create pictures by placing a numbered sticker on the right place in the numbered grid. These are great for working on improving hand-eye coordination, visual tracking, visual motor and perceptual skills, grasping and manipulation skills and encourages focus, attention and organizational skills. The best part is that each book has 8 puzzles and will take up almost no room in your bags. Sets range from 15-42 stickers.

Orb Factory Sticky Mosaics-another one of my all-time favorite things ever! I discovered the sticky mosaic sets years ago and they have been a staple in my OT tool box ever since. While I encourage you to look for these at your favorite local toy stores if you have that as an option, Amazon has a great collection for you to peruse if you don't. Whether your kid is into dinosaurs or princesses, there are so many great sets to choose from. They get to make a picture using the various stickers by matching colored sticker to the matching number on the picture.Once they have completed their picture, they can hang it up to display which makes a kid feel so confident!

Sticky Mosaics are a great way to work on developing fine motor and grasping skills, visual motor and perceptual skills, encourages bilateral coordination and executive functioning skill such as focus, attention, planning and organizational skills.

Kid Made Modern Beach Bash Jewelry Kit-I happen to have a kid who really loves to create anytime she can, especially accessories! I am kind of obsessed with all things Kid Made Modern. If you don't know about them, you need to! They have this amazing mission to inspire kids (and their grownups) to find and enjoy being creative. All of their products are designed to give kids the opportunity to realize their creative spark, use their imagination and express themselves by providing them with a variety of craft materials. While they provide them with ideas, they also encourage kids to use their imagination to come up with their own creation.
While there are so many jewelry kits to choose from, the Beach Bash Jewelry Kit is one of my favorites, especially for the summer. Each set comes with everything you need to make fun summer related accessories. The durable case comes complete with different colored hemp cords, shell pendants, seashells, wooden and acrylic beds and an instruction guide to motivate your little designer.
These kits are awesome for working on improving fine motor and manipulation skills, bilateral coordination, hand-eye coordination, visual motor skills, encourages creativity and imagination skills and works on improving focus, attention and organizational skills. Another great thing is that as kids complete their jewelry, their confidence and self-esteem rise!

Glow Friends Neon Colouring Set-sometimes my daughter is perfectly content with the coloring pages that you may get a children's menu on at restaurants but most of the time she wants more than a couple of crayons and whatever they give you to color.  This coloring set by Tiger Tribe is a perfect for throwing in your bag, whether you are going out to eat or about to hop in a car or a plane for a long trip.  Each set comes in a sturdy box with a magnetic top and contains 36 coloring pages, 2 storage drawers, 3 sheets of stickers and 3 double sided markers.  Great for working on improving graphomotor skills, visual motor and visual perceptual skills and encourages creativity.  

Take-Along Games-this set by Peaceable Kingdom is great for keeping kids entertained while in a car/plane, at a restaurant or those down times at the pool or beach.  The set comes with 4 games that use reusable stickers (think Colorforms): Tic-Tac-Toe, Four-in-a-Row, Memory Match-up and On-the-Go Bingo.  In addition to keeping kids entertained, these are great for working on improving grasp strength and manipulation skills, improves hand-eye coordination and visual motor and visual perceptual skills and works on executive functioning skills.   



These are just a handful of the awesome things out there that not only make learning fun, they are easy to take when you are on the go. I know there are a ton more out there so if you are looking for specific ideas for your children, let me know. If you have toys, games or activities that are hits with your kids for traveling, I'd love to hear from you. I am always a click away and love hearing from you all!

The Small Stuff-2017 Holiday Gift Edition

This is one of my favorite parts of my holiday guide year after year.  I love finding little treasures that will not only entertain kids but will work on improving a variety of developmental skills.  Personally, I find shopping for stocking stuffers more fun than anything because my daughter spends more time picking out her Santa gifts.  The things that she opens in her stocking are usually 100% a surprise and more often than not, the things she is most interested in since they are totally novel.

I am constantly on the lookout for little toys and gifts when exploring my neighborhood stores.  There are a lot of holiday gifts that can't be found at my local stores but I do my best to support y local small businesses when I can.  Many of the items listed below can be found at the following New York City/Brooklyn based stores:  Lion In The Sun, Pink Olive, Little Things, Norman & Jules, Lulu's Cut and Toys, Stationery and Toy World on the UWS, Mary Arnold Toys and West Side Kids.

Below, I share some of my favorite little gifts...little treasures that will bring joy to your children.  I tried to include things that I thought parents would enjoy playing with with their kids as well.  There is a whole lot of old school toys mixed in with some of the current fads.  The one thing they all have in common is that they will help develop essential skills without your kids really knowing it.


Moulin Roty Town and Country Transfers-I love when I find something that brings me back to my own childhood and this is definitely one of those things that sends me back in time. The Town and Country Transfers comes with over 30 pictures that you can put into the provided scene or put on your own blank canvas (they will show up on either black or white paper).  This is a great and affordable craft that will not only encourage creativity and imagination, it also works on improving fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, visual motor and perceptual skills and focus, attention, planning and organizational skills.

Slime Suckers-these were one of my greatest finds of the year.  Kids can work on improving grasp strength and manipulation skills while grossing out family and friends.  They simply squeeze the sucker and put into the slime and release the sucker and watch the slime disappear.  To get the slime out, they squeeze it again.


Zoo Sticks-these are always a favorite for kids.  They can use the chopsticks to eat or to pick up small objects.  I always have a few pairs with me at home and at work.  There are all kinds of different ones to choose from including farm animals, sea creatures and vehicles.  Kids can work on improving grasp strength, manipulation skills and visual motor/perceptual skills while using them.

Aaron's Thinking Putty- you can never go wrong with Aaron's Thinking Putty.  There are a ton of different ones to choose from.  I love their holiday themed options:  the Mini Holiday Collection and the Gelt Trio come in small tins making it great for throwing into a bag to entertain your kids when you are on the run.  Kids love when I hide little objects in the putty.  Great for working on improving grasp strength and manipulation skills.


Sidewalk Chalk Spray-chalk is always a great gift for kids of all ages.  Living in Brooklyn, you see some amazing chalk art on the sidewalks.  Some of my favorite times with my own daughter are warm spring and summer nights out on our sidewalk drawing with chalk.  This set of chalk spray comes with 4 colors; add some water, shake and let your kids start creating.  You can pair this gift with these chalk stencils.  This is not only great for encouraging imagination and creativity but also works on improving grasp strength and manipulation skills, hand-eye coordination and visual motor and perceptual activities.
**while we like to keep our sidewalk art up for as long as Mother Nature allows, some don't.  The Sidewalk Chalk Spray easily rinses away with a hose or a rain shower.  

Rainbow Twirler-sometimes, the simplest of toys can bring more joy than those that cost a lot.  This simple toy will keep kids entertained for hours and costs almost nothing.   Kids spin the toy and create all kinds of rainbow shapes.  It's a great way to work on improving hand-eye coordination, motor planning and organizational skills.


Memory Maze-I couldn't love this hand-held Simon Says game more!  Just like the original Simon Says, kids have to to follow the light pattern.  If you get all the way to 15 steps, you win.  This is great for working on improving hand-eye coordination, memory skills and executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, organization and memory.  Kids (and their grownups) of all ages will love this and most likely become obsessed with this game.

Mini Bop-It-who doesn't love Bop-It?  This is one of those games that I loved as a kid and so happy that it's still around.  This mini version of the game will be sure to keep your kids entertained while also working on improving hand-eye coordination, sequencing, focus, attention, motor planning and organizational skills.  If you have a child who has difficulty with following directions or may have auditory processing delays, this is a great toy for them.


Squiggle Wiggle Writer Pen-kids will love to write and draw with this vibrating pen.  As they write and draw, the vibrating pens turns their words and pictures into squiggly ones.  Each pen comes with 4 different colored inks that you can swap out.  Fun way to encourage kids to draw and write.

Super Duper Scented Gel Pens-I've spent a lot of time looking for the perfect gel pens and I have found them in this set by OOLY.  This set contains 24 mini gel pens in a durable case.  There are 12 glitter, 6 neon and 6 pastel pens and each has its own scent which is always fun for kids.  These are the brightest and most vibrant gel pens I have found.  The smaller size of the pen helps to encourage a proper grasp when holding it.  Kids will want to practice writing, draw or color if they have these pens!

Wikki Stix-I first discovered Wikki Stix when at a restaurant with kids years ago.  Instead of the usual crayons and activity menu, this place gave out little packs of Wikki Stix to entertain the kids.  At first I was confused and wondered how it would possibly keep them quiet for an entire meal, but then I was fighting with the kids to play with them and I quickly understood.  For those of you not in the know, Wikki Stix are basically different colored wax covered yarn that can be bent into different shapes.  They can be used for play and for learning.  Kids can practice making different shapes, letters or numbers by bending the Wikki Stix.  For younger kids, you can have them put the Wikki Stix on printed out shapes, letters or numbers and for younger kids you can provide them with a blank piece of paper and have them create them without a visual cue.  They are incredibly durable and can't be ripped or torn (you can cut them into smaller pieces if you need to).  Wikki Stix are great for working on improving fine motor skills, such as improving grasp strength and manipulation skills, encourages bilateral coordination skills.

Build Bonanza Lego Tape-I know for a fact that I'm not alone in having a kid who is obsessed with Legos.  While she loves building sets, she is also happy making her own creations.  We are now in love with our rolls of Lego compatible tape that can make any surface a place to create with Legos and other kinds of building blocks.  It's flexible, bendable and can be put on curved and corner surfaces.  It can be cut to whatever shape you want....I like the idea of writing your kids name with them.  Great for working on increasing grasp strength and manipulation skills, improves visual motor and perceptual skills, hand-eye coordination and encourages creativity and imagination.

Hogwild Poppers-finding the right toy to work on hand strengthening can be tricky because kids who are weak are very good at avoiding those kinds of activities.  When it comes to doing it at home, it really has to be motivating and seem like a toy and not a therapy activity.  The Hog Wild Popper toys are perfect for this and definitely are more fun than work.  My unicorn obsessed daughter has been gifted more of these than I can count and loves them.  There are TONS of poppers to choose from ranging from animals to team mascots and all are just under $10.  The balls are foam so there is little risk for them hurting someone else or breaking anything in your house.
In addition to hand strengthening, they are great for working on improving bilateral coordination, hand eye coordination, motor planning and focus and attentional skills.  You can also combine working on improving visual and gross motor skills by setting up a target that kids aim towards and then having them wheelbarrow walk, run or do some kind of animal crawl to retrieve the ball.

Touch and Feel Forest Friends Puzzles -finding interlocking puzzles for younger kids can be challenging but this set by Mudpuppy is a great one. It comes with 4 3-piece interlocking puzzles and each one has a different textured piece that encourages sensory exploration.  The puzzles are made from durable materials that are perfect for those rough toddlers!  These are great for improving hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination, visual motor and perceptual skills and improves problem solving, focus, attention and organizational skills.

Puzzle Trio Stories-I love these mini puzzles from one of my favorite toy companies, Djeco.  This set contains 8 3-piece puzzles that when put together tell a story.  They are great for working on improving visual motor and perceptual skills, hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination and focus, attention, motor planning and organizational skills. If you have a child who has speech and language delays, they are a fun way to work on sequencing and storytelling skills.  You can make these more portable by throwing them in a ziploc bag.

Plus-Plus Tubes-one of my favorite open-ended manipulative toys out there.  They have a large selection of tubes which come with about 70 pieces and instructions for something you can make.  The tubes are great for throwing in a bag and taking on the go to keep your kids entertained while at a restaurant, in waiting rooms, etc..  I especially love their holiday themed tubes available right now like snowflakes, an elf and a Christmas Tree!  They are great for improving fine motor skills such as grasp strength and manipulation skills, improves visual motor and visual perceptual skills and encourages creativity and imagination.

Super Sonic Gyro Disc-I was so excited when I came across this toy in a little bookstore while on vacation this summer.  I remember playing with something similar to the gyro disc as a child and thought it would be a perfect addition to my occupational therapy tool box and a great toy for parents to have at home.
This simple and inexpensive toy (I picked mine up for under $5)  is great for working on improving bilateral coordination skills, increasing upper extremity strength, motor planning and organizational skills.  Kids are motivated by the spinning noise and how the LED lights light up once they get it going.  This can be tricky for the kids to get started so I sometimes offer hand-over-hand assistance until they feel like they have the hang of it.  For older kids, I add a challenge by having them do this activity while balancing on a balance board or a bosu ball.
Clip-On Doodle Pro-a great gift to keep your little ones entertained while on the go.  The Clip-On Doodle Pro is a magnetic drawing board that you can throw into a bag, attach to your child's backpack or keep in the car.  Encourages creativity and imagination while also working on improving visual motor and perceptual skills.

Sticker Puzzles-these make a great gift for kids of all ages.  These sticker puzzles by Lee Publications come in a variety of sizes and feature some of your children's favorite characters from movies and television shows.  They simply find the matching number on the grid; as they add the stickers, a picture comes to life.  Great for working on improving hand-eye coordination, visual motor and perceptual skills and works on increasing grasping and manipulation skills.
Mini Coloring Rolls-do you have a kid who loves to color?  Mudpuppy's Mini Coloring Rolls are perfect for them then.  They will enjoy 3 feet of coloring (there are a bunch of different ones to choose from based on your kid's interests) at home or on the go.  Each set comes with a box that you can use as storage and keeping the picture from getting torn or wrinkled when not being colored.  It also includes a few crayons but I always make sure to have a little baggie of gel pens or markers in my bag for my daughter.  This is a fun way to keep your kids entertained but will also work on improving visual motor and perceptual skills, hand-eye coordination, focus, attention and organizational skills.

Mini Pocket Pal Journals-in addition to always having markers or gel pens with me, I ALWAYS have some kind of notebook or drawing pad for my daughter to draw in when we are out and about (especially when we are going out to eat). She loves to draw, have us throw spelling words at her or to just write her own stories while we are sitting at the table.  For under $10 you can give your kid the gift of imagination and creativity.  For under $10, your kid can get a set of 8 books with some of their favorite creatures on the cover.  These are great for keeping your kids engaged during down time, encourage creativity and imagination, work on improving graphomotor skills and executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, organization and task management.

These are just a handful of my favorite small gifts. I would love to hear from you all and hear about your favorite small gifts/stocking stuffers.  I am always a click away and am always happy to hear from my readers with their suggestions.

Let's Get Social

Social Emotional Toys
In the last couple of years, I have become more and more interested in finding products that help with social emotional learning.  I've had the great pleasure of being a part of The Meeting House, an amazing recreational based after school program in New York City for children with social difficulties, for the last 7 years.  During this time, I have learned first hand that while most children are born with an understanding of how to be kind and understanding, there are still many children who need more support and help in developing these skills.  Many of the kids I work with have a difficult time with processing both verbal and non-verbal social cues so we have to come up with alternative ways to teach them.  Below, you will find a handful of games and toys that will help develop social emotional skills in a fun, engaging and meaningful way.

Make A Face!- this amazing wooden puzzle-like product by Moon Picnic is a wonderful way to teach kids about feelings and emotions.  Not all children are able to talk about or recognize emotions and feelings.  I love how you can flip, turn or twist the 8 different pieces of the face to make a wide range of emotions.  You can use the booklet to copy the different faces or make your own.  This is a great way to help begin a conversation with children about different emotions and feelings, when they might feel this way and what they can do when they are feeling certain ways.  Bonus:  great for working on improving fine motor and visual motor and perceptual skills.

Magnutto Make A Mood-this is another great toy to help children gain a better understanding of emotions and feelings.  When you lift open the box (where you store the 133 different foam magnetic pieces) you find two faces...the top of the box is a magnetic board and kids can add all kinds of details to the two faces.  Pictures of different expressions, a list of emotions and a list of questions you can ask your kids while playing that will help them not only analyze emotions but how to react to them are included with the toy.  You can work on improving social skills by having kids work on the faces at the same time and encourage them to have conversations about what they created.

Eggspressions-these cute wooden eggs by Hape help younger children learn about feelings and emotions.  This set comes with 6 wooden eggs with different emotions.  Kids can use the eggs to help express how they are feeling when they can't really talk about it with others.  The set comes with a book that helps to show kids how to share their feelings.


Many Moods of Me Journal-as kids get older, their moods and feelings can get really confusing for them.  This 75-page journal by Klutz is a great gift for children (8 and older recommended) who need a place to keep track of how they are feeling.  This journal is not organized by the date, but instead organized by the following moods:  happy, sad, afraid, icky and angry.  Included with the book are a multi-color pen (each color represents a different mood) and a mood ring.  Also included are postcards that you can write and save for your future self!  Lots of opportunities to color, doodle and draw throughout the journal.  This is a great gift for those kids who have big feelings but don't want to talk about them with you.  And let's be honest, sometimes it's best for kids to be able to jot down their thoughts and feelings in a private way to be able to understand themselves better.

My Mood Memo-teaching kids at an early age to understand, recognize and deal with feelings and emotions can help them be more kind and empathetic people.  In this game by Plan Toys, kids look for the matching emotion tiles.  Each of the emotions is paired up with a color that represents that feeling and helps them to group them.
Kid can work on visual memory and visual motor skills, focus and attention and organizational skills while learning about feelings and emotions.  Depending on the age of the kids you are playing with, you can encourage them to talk about times they feel certain emotions and how they can deal with those feelings.

Friends and Neighbors: The Helping Game-in this cooperative game by Peaceable Kingdom, kids learn about empathy through matching problems with solutions.  Kids take turns pulling tokens out of the Helping Bag and see if the token they have chosen can help someone on the game board.  Kids have to work, think and discuss together to match up all the tokens.  The best part of this game is that nobody is a winner....you all work together to fill up your boards!

A Childhood Highlight

As many of you, I have a lot of childhood memories that make me smile.  Some of them exist in some form today, but very few are almost exactly like they were when we were growing up.  One of my favorite things while growing up was sitting in a doctor's office and looking through the Highlights Magazine.  It seemed to distract me from why I was in that doctor's office.  One of my absolute favorite parts of the magazine was the Hidden Pictures page.  I always felt like I had hit the jackpot when I got to look at it before someone else had circled all the hidden objects.

Fast forward a bunch of years and I am a grownup (for the most part) and I am asked by one of my goddaughters to support her magazine drive.  The first thing I ordered was the Highlights Magazine and have been getting it ever since for my daughter.  Quinn, who just turned 6, loves it and especially loves the Hidden Pictures page.  So a few weeks ago, when someone reached out to me and asked me to take a look at the new Hidden Pictures app, I jumped on it.  I am always looking for new apps, especially ones that are more appropriate for the older kids and this app definitely fits that description.  While they say that it's ideal for children ages 6-8, I think that it can be used with younger children who have strong visual skills, especially if an adult is playing it with them.

So far, I am a big fan of the Hidden Pictures app.  More importantly, the kids are really enjoying it. The pictures are colorful, bold and and great at encouraging conversation (for my speech therapy friends).  It's a great app to work on a variety of occupational therapy skills without the kids feeling like they are "working".  It's more of a game to find all the different objects hidden throughout the pictures and at the same time, the kids are working on improving visual skills (visual motor, visual perceptual and visual tracking).  If you want to try and work on graphomotor skills, you can have the kids use a stylus (I've been using the Cosmonaut lately and love it) when using the app.  You can also have the kids write out the objects on a piece of paper as they find them to work on improving their handwriting skills.  One more thing I like to do is after the kids complete a puzzle on the iPad, I have them do another one in this great Hidden Pictures puzzle book that I have.  There are a bunch of these workbooks out there but I like this one because they have a bunch of black and white pictures that you have to take a handful of stickers and put them on top of the object when they find them.  This adds a greater challenge for those kids who are doing really well with the app.

Unlike the older version of the app, the updated one acts more like a subscription plan.  You sign up and each month a new set of puzzle packs are available.  When you first download the app, there are already 60+ puzzles!  You unlock puzzles as you complete others and there are even special items in the puzzles that need to be collected.  One of the things I like is how there are different modes to choose from so you increase or decrease the level of difficulty/challenge for each kid you work with.  The three modes of play to choose from are:
Free Play-find the hidden objects in whichever order and in however long it takes you
Timed-find all the hidden objects before the timer runs out
Directed-you find the hidden objects in a the order in which they are listed

Oftentimes, parents ask me for app recommendations that would be good for the whole family.  If you are looking for an app that would be good to facilitate social skills and collaboration with a sibling or a friend, this is a great one.  While it can be played  individually, it's also perfect for working as a team to find all the hidden objects.  The kids can take turns finding something or you can have them find one and then they have to give a hint to their friend in order to find the object that they found.  This is great for working on improving language and organizational skills for those kids you know who struggle with these things.

As I have been getting to know the app, I have to admit that I have been sucked into playing  it all by myself for long periods of time.  It brings me back to my childhood in the best possible way.  It's been fun to play this at work and at home and makes me happy that something this simple still brings hours of entertainment to kids today.  If you are on the lookout for a new app for your little ones, I highly recommend Hidden Pictures.  It's not only something that will help strengthen your child's visual skills, it's an app that you won't mind playing with your children.  If you have any questions or want to know more about the Hidden Pictures app, I am always a click away and love hearing from you all!

Let's Get Social!

The holiday season has always been my favorite but since moving to New York City and having a child of my own, it's become even more special.  When you work with kids, the holidays take on a whole different meaning.  If you read my blog, you will know that I take gifts for the holiday seriously.  VERY seriously.

All of the gifts that I included on my Holiday and Tween Gift Guides this year have been kid tested and therapist approved.  All of them are fun....I mean what is the point of giving a gift that a child won't have fun with.  Since I am an occupational therapist, I made sure there was an educational or developmental skill that could be worked on with them.  Finding gifts that children will be happy about is important. But finding ones that will be fun and work on developing age appropriate skills is equally important to me.

In the latter half of my career, I have had the great opportunity to be part of an amazing organization called The Meeting House.  In short, TMH is a recreational based (afterschool and weekend) program for school age children who have social difficulties.  It might be that they become overstimulated in larger crowds or that they may get anxious talking in front of their peers.  Or maybe it is that they have language difficulties that cause them to have difficulty being successful with their peers in social situations.  Whatever it is that brings them to TMH, we welcome them with open arms and give them a safe, supportive and accepting place to learn new social skills and become more confident in social situations.

Being part of TMH has been the inspiration for me to look at toys and think about not only the fine motor, visual motor/perceptual or sensory aspect of toys but the social benefits that toys can give. Parents are always looking for activities that they can have on hand at home to encourage their children to play together as well.  So many of the kids I work with are more comfortable playing on their own and resist playing with someone else, even if it is their brother or sister.  As children get older and rely more on technology, they are losing social skills.  Something as simple as looking a person in the eye when talking to them is something that can be challenging for many kids these days.  Having a back and forth conversation and answering questions can also be really difficult for many of the kids I work with.  Having the right toys, games, etc. at home is important to encourage and practice these critical social skills.

Below, you will find my 10 top gifts that will promote social skills. They are all included in my regular gift guides but I talk a bit more about the social aspect of each toy instead of the occupational therapy aspect.

1.  Polaroid Camera-as many of us know, kids are most likely spending more time with their phones than they are with anything else these days.  One of the things they like to do with their phones is take pictures.  Probably  more so than any generation of kids, tweens don't know a time where they couldn't see a picture immediately after taking it.  Polaroid Cameras are (kind of) immediate but also require a little bit of patience, focus and attention.  They require your kids to connect with their environment and make conscious decisions about what they will take pictures of since they won't be able to erase it.  I've been using a Polaroid camera with my kids at work and they love it and doing even mind having to wait to see the picture.  Both Polaroid and Fujifilm make instant cameras that come in a variety of fun, bright, bold colors. I love the idea of kids working together to think about what they will take pictures of.  Not only is it fun to see all the different pictures that are taken, but it is a great way for kids to engage in conversation.    

2. Games-kids may outgrow certain kinds of toys, but good games will last through the ages.   I was actually in Target last week and noticed that they have a whole display of the classic board games in their original packaging.  They call it the Retro Series and they feature some of the best games ever...Sorry!, Clue, Twister, CandyLand and Scrabble.  I'm tempted to get a couple just because I like the old school packaging!

Having a good collection of board games is important for all houses.  While so many kids are more inclined to spend their free time on an iPad or hooked up to some kind of game system (there is nothing wrong with that and there are a ton of benefits to children playing video games), I think it is important for playdates and hangouts be less about technology and more about real face-to-face interactions.  Depending on what games you choose, your child can work on improving their fine motor, visual motor/perceptual and executive functioning skills (focus, attention, organization, sequencing, etc.).  Some of the other social skills that can be worked on playing board games are learning how to take turns, how to be a good winner and loser and practicing conversation skills.  Here are just a few of the great games out there to consider this holiday season:

*Jenga

*Pictionary

*Connect 4 (I'm a big fan of Connect 4 Launchers)

*Trouble

*Uno (I also really like Uno Dare because there is an added gross motor component built in)

*Apples to Apples

*Spot It

*Thumbs Up
*HedBanz
*What's In Ned's Head
*Tenzi

3.  Large Coloring Pictures by Pirasta-I am in love with these giant coloring pages that are actually created right in my beloved Brooklyn.  This is a great group activity (we are actually in the process of completing the New York City Big Apple one with our kids at The Meeting House).  Be sure to check out the Pirasta website to see their entire collection!  While I love the posters, I am also a big fan of the coloring sheets that they have.  If you look at the picture to the left, you will see my own daughter and niece completely engaged and focused on completing one of these coloring pages together.  They had to compromise on who was going to color what, share their materials and be able to be okay with the other person using colors that they may not have chosen.  In the end, they were just happy that they got to do this together.  With the holidays and all those family and friends gatherings coming up, these are the perfect thing to stock up on!  If you are in the Park Slope, be sure to check out Lion in the Sun for their extensive collection of Pirasta products.  

4. Zoom Ball-this is a great gross motor activity that works on bilateral coordination, motor planning and upper body strengthening.  A perfect activity to work on social skills, particularly team-work and cooperative play.  One of the things I like to work on while using a zoom ball is conversation skills.  Sometimes what  I ask kids to do is to have them ask a question before sending the ball back to their friend; before their friend can send it back, they have to answer the question.  Depending on the kids you are working with, you can come up with social goals using the Zoom Ball.  Whether it be conversational skills, or just being good at working as a team, the Zoom Ball is a wonderfully affordable and motivating tool!

5. Dueling Stomp Rocket-Stomp Rockets are one of the most underrated gross motor toys but bring

hours and hours of fun. Not only is it great for encouraging gross motor skills, stomp rockets can be used to encourage motor planning, focus/attention and social skills. The Dueling Stomp Rocket is as awesome as the original but has a lot of great social features since there are two pads to jump on.  Just like the original stomp rocket, you stomp on the launch pad and send the rockets flying.  With this double one, you can have a competition to see whose goes further and who can run faster to catch/or pick theirs up. If you have larger groups, you can do relay races.  There are lots of fun social activities that can be done and it is great for children of all ages when using the stomp rocket!  

6. OgoSport Discs-I love this sports game.  They call it a hand trampoline for all different kinds of balls.  Great for working on improving focus/attention, motor planning, organizational skills and upper body strengthening.  Additionally, a great activity to encourage teamwork and cooperative play amongst kids.

7. And Then I Wrote A Story/And Then...Story Starters Set 1-these cards can be a great social activity if you  have kids who love to tell stories or act things out. The Story Starters set comes with 20 beautifully illustrated cards and the beginning of a story.  It's up to your child to decide how the story will end.  They can write their stories in the And Then I Wrote A Story notebook.  But if you happen to work in groups, you can give each of the kids an opportunity to add to the story.  You can use the story starter card and then go around and let each child add a sentence or two to the story.  Be sure to have someone write it down or record it for them so they can hear it aftewards!

8.  MagnaTiles-Building toys are always great to have for playdates and I especially love MagnaTiles because they are easy to use and don't require a lot of work/strength in order to use them.  In addition to working on visual motor and perceptual skills, eye-hand coordination and bilateral coordination, MagnaTiles are a great social tool.  Kids have to work together to come up with a plan to decide what to make.  They need to be able to share materials, take turns and help each other out as they are building.  They also require children to be flexible and maybe build something that they don't want to in order to make their friends happy.

9.  Orb Factory Sticky Mosaics-I'm a huge fan of the Sticky Mosaic brand and have been gifting these and using them in therapy sessions for years and years.  They are a motivating and simple craft activity that works on so many fine motor, visual and executive functioning skills. Sticky Mosaics are picture templates with numbers all over the picture.  Each number has a colored sticker or gem that it coordinates with.  Kids have to take the stickers and put them on the squares in order to make a really colorful picture.  While they can be done individually, they are also a great activity to do with a friend or in a small group.  It's a great way to teach kids how when you work together, things can get finished quicker.  It's also a great way to teach kids about coming up with a plan together.  For example, they should figure out if they want to work on the same color/number or each take their own.

10.  Puzzles-Jigsaw puzzles are a great social activity.  It's one of my go-to activities when I am working with a pair or group of kids.  You can choose your puzzle based on group interests and skill level.  For example, if you have a group of children who love vehicles, get a transportation based puzzle.  Choose the number of pieces based on the children's ages, skill level and what they will be able to complete in the time that you have set aside for the activity.  What I like most about it is that there is a very simple end goal: you need to take all those pieces and put them together.  It requires focus and attention, staying in the group and helping your friends out.  It requires teamwork and being patient with your peers.  At the end, once the puzzle is completed, the kids can feel really good about completing the puzzle as a group.  Plus, working together makes something like this easier to finish in less time.  Some of my favorite puzzles are made by Eeboo.  They tend to be made out of thicker paper and can handle the wear and tear of being used over and over again.

So here are my picks for toys, games, crafts, etc. that work on social skills.  While there are literally dozens and dozens of other ones I could have included, I chose these because I have seen the success in person with the kids I work with and the groups I run.  The OT in me also chose them because I knew that there were also fine motor, gross motor, visual motor or executive functioning skills that could also be worked on while using them.

Parents, therapists, teachers....do you have a particular game or activity that you love to use to promote social skills?  I am always on the lookout for new and motivating products and am sure that my readers would also love to hear your ideas.   I am always a click away and love hearing from you!

Let's Put the Pieces Together

One of the things that I have the most difficult time finding are good puzzles for my preschoolers.  They have mastered inset puzzles but still struggle with large interlocking puzzles.  I know from experience that the character puzzles are always a hit with the kids I work with but most of them are 24 pieces or larger and they don't have the attention span or frustration tolerance for those puzzles.  It's hard to foster independence in kids if they need a lot of assistance from a grownup in order to complete a task.  I truly believe that in order for kids to be successful, they need to be

A few months ago, one of my colleagues was cleaning out the toys in her home and brought in this box of puzzles.  I disregarded them for a while but then opened the box and since then, there hasn't been a day that I haven't used them. Considering my love for all things Eeboo, I am surprised I had any doubt that these wouldn't be as amazing as all of their other products.  There are two different sets to choose from:  Once Upon A Time (Fairy Tales) and Life On Earth (a variety of animals).  These puzzles are amazing and a huge bargain...each set contains 6 different puzzles for less than $15!  They are well made and durable which is great since kids can be pretty hard on their toys!  These are especially good for a therapeutic setting where things are being used over and over again throughout the day.  

Obviously, puzzles are great for improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  For parents of typically developing children, I think it is easy to forget how difficult simple puzzles can be for children.  It can be beyond challenging to imagine what a pile of puzzles pieces are supposed to end up being.  One of the things I love most about the Life On Earth puzzle is that each of the 4 borders are a different color which really helps a child visualize the completed puzzle a bit more.  I like to have the kids choose a color to begin with and put those 3 together, then choose a second color and continue that until they have put it all together.  This is a really nice feature and I have seen kids who have struggled tremendously with puzzles have much more success because of it.  

For those of you who are regulars on my blog, you will know that I try and work on more than one thing on a time during my sessions with kids.  Puzzles are great for pairing with gross motor/motor planning activities.  One of my favorite things to do is to create some kind of obstacle course where the children start off by grabbing a piece of a puzzle and end with putting the puzzle together one piece at a time.  I try to include a jumping and climbing activity as often as possible because I find that this tends to help with organizing a child's body and brain, making them more organized and focused.  For those kids who need to work on building upper body strength, I have them lie on their belly on the floor or put them in the net swing and complete the puzzle that way.  

Additional skills that can be worked on when using these puzzles are:

Improve Bilateral Coordination Skills-puzzles are great for working on bilateral coordination.  In order to put pieces together, a child has to hold one piece still while putting the other piece into place. 

Improve Organizational Skills-one of my favorite things about these puzzles is that they have borders and different colored backs that help children organize their work.  If you are working on improving organizational skills, you can make the first step of the activity to sort the puzzles into piles based on their colors.  

Improve Social Skills-I love using these puzzles when I am working with a group of two kids and having them work together to complete them.  I like watching them interact on where pieces should go.  While the pictures seem simple, they are bright and colorful and can really encourage conversation when they are completed.  

With the holidays just around the corner, these puzzles are a perfect gift for any preschooler.  Or they could be a great gift to provide a classroom or any kind of toy drive.  Not only are you giving someone an educational gift, you are giving them a high quality product that is build to last for a long time.  

Speaking of the holidays, I am busy working on my 2014 holiday guide!  It's hard to believe that this time of the year is already here and that we have to be thinking of this.  Please keep checking back for what I hope will be a helpful guide for you all.  I know how hard it is to know what to get kids for the holidays, especially those who may have special needs.

If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate contacting me.  I am just a click away and love hearing from you all.