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. 

The Best of January

It's been a bit rough getting back into the swing of things at work. January is historically a tricky month because of all the paperwork that is required as children get ready for the upcoming school year. I know that sounds crazy since that is months and months away but that is the way in NYC. All of that to say that blogging has been put on the backburner and I'm ready to focus on it again.

Starting this month, I will be doing a monthly blog (along with more regular posts in February) with a wrap-up of some of my favorite things I discovered each month. This will include games, craft sets, activity books, story books and a variety of other things that were a hit with the kids at work. I will end each of these posts with a picture book recommendation that will focus on some kind of social emotional topic. Over the last couple of years, I have spent more time than I can count trying to curate a collection of books that will help children have a better understanding of a variety of social difficulties that they may face. I have found that even if children are having similar social difficulties, they can't quite talk about it or problem solve when it is about them. But when you read a book and a character is struggling with something, they seem to find it easier to talk about.

I am really excited to share some of the products I discovered this month with all of you.

Learn To Write Stencils-a little while ago, my local toy store, Norman and Jules, shared a picture of these stencils on their Instagram page and I became obsessed. I have found finding good stencils can be really tricky and often times frustrating for kids. If they are too flimsy, they are hard for the kids to use. This set of 15 wooden stencils comes with a variety of simple lines that are all used in developing the letters of the alphabet or numbers and can encourage open-ended drawing. One of the things I like to do with them is have the kids look at them and think about what they look like. For example, there is one that looks like waves, another that looks like mountains and another that looks like the top of a castle.  My daughter, who is almost 9 years old, tested these out for me and I loved seeing how these simple lines helped to encourage her creative drawing process. I gave her a set of gel pens, some stickers and blank paper and let her run with her ideas. Learn To Write Stencils are also great for working on developing grasping skills, hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination and visual motor and visual perceptual skills. They encourage creativity and imagination skills which helps with the development of self-esteem and confidence.

Grapat Nins Carla Wooden Figures Game-over the last few months, I have been adding more open-ended toys to my therapy sessions. I am a sucker for nice wooden toys and am pretty much can't not buy something if there's a rainbow them to it. This set of rainbow dolls is of my new favorites and I have loved watching my kids play with them. As you can see from the picture, the set comes with 6 colored peg dolls with matching discs and rings. I love how many occupational therapy skills can be worked on while also encouraging open-ended play in children. Some of the skills that can be worked on are color identification, sorting, categorizing, improving hand-eye coordination and grasping and manipulation skills. These are also great for improving focus, attention and self-regulation because you need to concentrate and take your time while stacking the rings and discs. I have found these are great to combine with some of my gross motor activities when at the gym. For example, I will have them sort and stack while lying prone in the net swing so we are adding a strengthening component to a fun fine motor activity.

Pencil Nose Game-I discovered this game at another local New York City toy store when looking for a game to entertain our New Year's Eve guests. In this hilarious game, people wear a pair of glasses with a marker attached and have to draw a pictures listed on the cards they pick while being timed. They keep drawing as many as they can to rack up the most points. This game is definitely geared towards older children but could probably be adapted for younger children. For example, you could have the kids come up with a list of simple objects that they think they could draw and pick from those instead of the ones provided. One of the things I like about this is that it encourages kids to be silly and do something differently than typically expected. So many of the kids I work with, especially those older ones, struggle with being perfect or doing things just so so I like that this makes them step outside of their comfort zone and be silly.

OOLY DIY Eraser Kit-I love a good art kit and am pretty much obsessed with all of the art products from OOLY. This simple kit comes with 12 blocks of dough that can be molded into things to create erasers. There are several kinds of DIY Eraser Kits out there, but I really like this one because it is completely open-ended and encourages creativity and imagination skills. There are three simple steps in order to make your erasers:
1. Come up with what you want to make. This requires thinking about colors, size, etc.. Using their fingers, they mold the dough into what they would like to create.
2. Bake it for a short amount of time.
3. Erase!
In addition to encouraging creativity and imagination, it is great for working on improving fine motor skills such as grasping and in-hand manipulation skills. If you want to work on bilateral coordination with kids, provide the kids with a variety of safe tools (knife, fork, rolling pin, etc.) to use.
If you want to make an eraser to put on top of a pencil, you can stick a hole in the bottom before baking it.

LetterSchool Spelling Words App!-LetterSchool is my most used and most frequently recommended handwriting app so when I saw that they had developed a spelling app, I immediately downloaded it. It has quickly become a new favorite of mine and the kids. I find this to be perfect for my pre-kindergarten or kindergarten students who are just beginning to learn how read. Much like LetterSchool, this interactive game provides multiple opportunities for children to learn how to spell and read a variety of words. Kids learn how to read and spell hundreds of words that are grouped together by their ending sounds. They have to listen to the word and then drag the correct letter to complete the word. Once completed, each letter is spelled out while being matched up with fun animations and sounds. For each group of words, there are three levels of game, each becoming more challenging. I like to add a hands-on step by having the kids practice writing out the words either on paper, Boogie Board or dry erase board once they have completed each group of words.
The first five groups of words are free but I think that this app is one that is worth every cent!

The Snurtch by Sean Ferrell-this children's book was new to me but came highly recommended to me by one of the awesome staff at Stories Bookshop and Storytelling Lab, my go-to for all of my children's books for my social skills group, The Meetinghouse Juniors. Our social skills curriculum the last few weeks has been focused on Thinking vs. Saying when  talking to people. We are all guilty of saying things out loud that we think are innocent but may come out the wrong way and actually upset others. The Snurtch is one of the books we have read to help explain this concept to children. The gist of the story is that Ruthie, the main character, has big feelings and will say or do things that hurt the feelings of her teachers and peers. She says it isn't her but is the Snurtch....this monster who makes her do all of these terrible things. This book brought up great conversations with our group about whether or not the Snurtch was a real thing or Sophie's way of dealing with things when they are challenging. It was great to hear the kids talk about how Sophie could have done or said something differently that didn't make her friends feel sad. It was a perfect book to read before launching into our activity about Thinking vs. Saying.

These are my favorite things for January 2019. I am really looking forward to putting these together each month. I am working on some other fun things this year that I think you'll all love and find helpful. If there are things you are looking for, let me know. I love hearing from you all and am just a click away!

2018 Holiday Gift Guide-Gross Motor Toys

When people think of occupational therapy, they probably think of fine motor and sensory processing skills. While that is often the main focus of the work we do, there is also a lot of opportunities to work on gross motor skills as well. Below, I share ten of my favorite gross motor toys, games and activity sets that make developing body strength, improving motor planning and organizational skills and improving balance and coordination fun.

Calm Mind Kit-this is one of my favorite new items to my whole gift guide this year. I have been a huge fan of Rose & Rex for years so when I heard they were developing their very own product that would work on mindfulness and mediation, I was immediately sold. This beautiful set was designed for children as young as 3 years old and can be used through the ages. Created by childhood development and wellness experts, it provides children with a variety of tools that encourage emotional development and improves their overall well-being making them more able to focus, self-regulate and to have improved confidence and self-esteem. Each kit contains three handmade toys and a set of Calm Mind Activity cards that provide instruction on how to use the toys for different meditative, movement and breathing exercises.
One of the best things about any purchase made from Rose & Rex is that for each toy you buy, toys will be given to a child in need. For example, for each Calm Mind Kit purchased, 8 toys will be given in turn.

Gel Floor Tiles-these are a big hit with all the kids at my sensory gym and I love how they can be used for a lot of different things. First things first, they are a huge motivator to get kids to jump, leap, hop and other gross motor activities. These colorful tiles are filled with gel so when they are being stepped or crawled on the gel moves all around. We have used them in a variety of ways but my favorite has been to set it up like a simplified Twister game where kids have to listen to and follow the verbal directions given to them. This is great for working on increasing motor planning and organizational skills, focus and attention and following multi-step directions. Also a motivating way to work on increasing gross-motor skills.

Wobbel Board-I had been coveting this beauty for a long time after following someone on Instagram. I've been using it at home with my daughter (because she won't let me take it to work) and it's been so fun to see how she uses it. When I purchased it, I imagined I would bring it to work and use it as a balance board with the kids. At home, it is being used not only as a balance board, but also as a prop in some of her imaginative play. The Wobbel Board is great for working on improving overall strength, trunk control, motor planning and organizational skills.

Stomp Rocket-this is one of those toys that makes my list each year and one of those things that kids love no matter how old they are. It's a simple toy that can help with the development of so many gross motor skills, especially jumping and overall strengthening. Their line has expanded over the years so be sure to check out the link. I like the Dueling Rockets set because it helps kids learn how to jump with two feet at the same time, but they are all great and keep kids entertained for hours. I am kinda excited to check out their newest product, Stomp Rocket Stunt Planes. Kids can work on building endurance (by running to collect the rockets), hand-eye coordination (trying to catch the stomp rockets as they fall down) and motor planning skills when using any of the stomp rocket sets.

Rody Horse-the physical therapists I work with recommend the Rody Horse for a lot of our younger kids (they recommend for kids 2-4 years old but depending on the size of a child, they can be used as young as 1 years old). Similar to the hippity-hop ball, kids bounce up and down on Rody. These are great for working on developing balance, coordination and motor planning skills. Also great for working on increasing core strength and trunk control.

Kick Scooter-living in NYC, parents are always looking for ways to get to places quicker. Once kids outgrow the stroller, they want a faster way to get to place from place so I always recommend a scooter. There are a lot of them out there but I personally love the children's scooters from Micro Kickboard. They are lightweight and the two wheels up front make it a bit easier for kids to maneuver. Scooters are great for working on developing bilateral coordination, motor planning, focus and attention, organizational skills and visual motor and perceptual skills. I also recommend having kids who may have sensory processing difficulties ride their scooters to school to help "wake up their bodies" before getting into the classroom.

Move Your Body Fun Deck-parents often ask me for simple activities they can do with their children at home. Super Duper has a whole series of activity cards that I highly recommend and use at the gym. In the past years, I have recommended (and still do) the Yogorilla cards. This year I thought I would switch things up a bit and find something a little different Move Your Body Fun Deck has 59 illustrated cards that help your child improve their body strength, balance, coordination, motor planning and motor organizational skills. I like this set because the activities are simple and can be done as a whole family. They are easy enough to include in a sensory diet at home or in school that won't require equipment. Some of the activities are to stand on one foot like a flamingo, do a long jump or to do a log roll.

Door Pong-I am loving this game for older kids and it is especially a great thing for kids who live in the city. It is essentially ping-pong without the table. Attach the clamp to the top of any doorway and then turn the dial to adjust the length of the string for your kid. The goal of it the game it to see how many times you can hit the ball back and forth to each other without missing. Door Pong is a fun way to improve hand-eye coordination, executive functioning skills such as focus, attention and organizational skills, increase upper extremity strength and encourages cooperative play.

Handee Band-I wrote about these in depth a few months ago and feel like they definitely deserve a shout out on this years gift-guide. Parents are always looking for ways to get their kids moving or exercising at home. As kids get older, it's important that they can be more independent and take more control of their physical well-being. The Handee Band, created by a California based occupational therapist, was designed with that exact thing in mind. The Handee Band Exercise Kit comes with 1 6 pound resistance Handee Band (you can order extras if you want more for your family), a book with 15 illustrated exercises with easy to follow 5-step directions, Handee Band Spinner Board and a dry erase Handee Checklist for children to keep track of their progress. Using the Handee Band will be a fun and motivating way for children to work on building body strength and will improve bilateral coordination, motor planning and motor organization, hand-eye coordination, balance and coordination skills.

Zoom Ball-this will always be a huge favorite of mine. First of all, it's super affordable and can be used with our without another person. The second thing I like about it is that it can be used in a variety of ways to work on a bunch of different skills. The goal of the Zoom Ball is to fly the ball back and forth by opening and closing your arms. This is amazing for working on increasing upper extremity strength, bilateral coordination, motor planning, organizational skills and focus and attention. I try and throw in some kind of language aspect when using the zoom ball at work. For example, I have them list the months of the year or name a color every time they open their arms. If you don't have someone to do the zoom ball with, you can attach the second set of handles to someplace higher and the kids can shoot the ball up and it will drop down on it's own.

In addition to the aforementioned toys, there are a bunch of great family board/big body games that encourage gross motor development. Some of them are Twister, Seek-a-Boo, Sturdy Birdy: The Game of Balance, I Got This, Giant Wooden Tower Stacking Game and Crocodile Hop Floor Game.

Gross motor skills are crucial for children of all ages. Not only is it important for keeping kids physically active and healthy, it provides opportunities for building confidence and self-esteem. Additionally, research shows that encouraging free movement can give children the space to develop a more keen level of self-awareness, learn non-verbal ways of communicating with family and peers and help in developing improved body and safety awareness.

What are your favorite family or work based gross-motor games? I'm sure that my readers would love to hear about your favorites just as much as I would. I am always a click away and love hearing from you all.

2018 Holiday Gift Guide-Open Ended Toy Edition

I can't believe the time to work on my gift guide is already here! With Hanukkah less than a month away and Christmas just about 6 weeks away, it's time to start thinking gifts. My first installment of this year's gift guide will focus on open-ended toys. This is something that I have been trying to incorporate into both my private occupational therapy practice and during the hang-out time for my kids in The Meeting House Juniors program.

I wish I had known more about the importance of open-ended play when my daughter was younger because there are so many benefits. Here are five benefits of open-ended play opportunities for children:
1. Provides opportunities for kids of all ages to explore ideas and concept such as mathematics and science. Additionally, it helps with improving problem solving skills and increased language development.
2. It provides kids with a stress-free play environment where kids don't have to worry about doing things perfectly all the time
3. Open-ended play helps kids develop both social and emotional intelligence.
4. It provides kids with the chance to teach themselves things since they aren't being told how to play with these kinds of toys.
5. It helps in developing confidence and increased self-esteem in children.

The toys recommended below would actually be considered investment pieces. They are things that will cost more money but will last forever. I actually have a handful of these from when my daughter was younger (she is now 8 1/2 years old) and they are still in rotation when she plays. When I have to buy a gift for a special family member or friend, these are some of my go-to's.

Squigz-since I discovered these a few years ago, this line of toys from Fat Brain Toys has evolved and they keep getting better. Be sure to check out the full line of Squigz that I have linked to see what is best for your child. I've been using the original Squigz with my  kids for years and one of the things I love about them is that they still look brand new. They are really well made and can take a beating from being used by dozens and dozens of kids. These open-ended suction cup toys stick to each other and onto a variety of surfaces (I've used them on mirrors, in the bathtub and windows). Squigz are great for developing fine motor and grasping skills, encourages bilateral coordination, hand-eye coordination all while letting kids use their imagination to create structures.

Magna-Tiles-a long time favorite of mine and one of my favorite gifts to give. These are definitely worth every penny spent and will last a lifetime. And let me say one thing...I have ordered generic magnetic tiles before and they just don't hold up the same way the original Magna-Tiles do. I have had the same set for years and years and they have been used by hundreds of kids, been dunked in water and been used to build some pretty awesome structures on the sidewalks of Brooklyn and have held up beautifully. Magna-Tiles are great for encouraging creativity and imagination skills and also for working on developing visual motor and visual perceptual skills, improving hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination, focus, attention and organizational skills. These are also great to encourage social skills by having kids build things together. Also, Magna-Tiles are a great gift for children who have disabilities that inhibit their motor skills. Because of the magnets, the blocks stick together with less effort and allow kids to be more successful which also encourages learning.

Wooden Building Blocks-I can still remember the hours and hours of fun I had with my sisters building with our blocks years ago. It's so nice that all these years later, I can go into any classroom and see a bookshelf filled with classic blocks and see kids swarming around them. With that in mind, I go back to my comment about investment pieces. A good set of wooden blocks will last you forever so it's worth spending more for a good quality set. This set by Guidecraft has 84 different pieces of varying sizes and shapes and are amazing in quality. Building with blocks has so many benefits (read this article that lists them all) including encouraging creativity, imagination and increasing confidence and self-esteem. It is also great for for working on problem solving and organizational skills, increasing upper extremity strength and bilateral coordination skills. Additionally, building blocks are a perfect toy to work on improving social skills, such as taking turns, being flexible about ideas and working with a team to build something.

Plus-Plus Blocks-I first fell in love with Plus-Plus blocks because of their fun colors and the how they were a perfect portable fine-motor tool. The more I played with them with my daughter, the more I realized how wonderful they were for developing fine motor and grasping skills. We have had countless hours of fun making all kinds of creations with our Plus-Plus blocks. We even used them to practice making letters, numbers and shapes when she was younger. In addition to working on fine motor skills, Plus-Plus blocks help to develop bilateral coordination, hand-eye coordination, visual motor and perceptual skills while encouraging creativity and imagination. One of the things I love most about Plus-Plus blocks is that they are a great on-the-go activity and can easily be kept in a backpack or purse to keep your kids entertained while waiting at appointments, while out to dinner or in the car/airplane without the use of technology.

Winter Themed Loose Parts Set-you can't go wrong with anything from the Hope Learning Toys shop on Etsy. All of the products are amazing and encourage learning with sensory play experiences in mind. The Winter Loose Parts Box is one of my favorites and would make a perfect gift for your little one. Each set comes with a 6-piece stackable tree and dowel, a jar of homemade play dough, 4-piece snowman family, glass beads, mini pine cones and so much more. This set will not only encourage creativity and imagination skills, it will work on developing fine motor, visual motor and perceptual skills while providing opportunities to work on increasing focus, attention and organizational skills.

Joinks-this is another great open-ended toy that helps in developing fine motor and grasping skills. The set comes with a variety of wooden dowels, silicone connectors with up to 5 prongs and suction cup connectors that help make your creation stick to different surfaces. Joints are great for individual or group play and encourages creativity, imagination skills, problem solving and organizational skills. Additionally, they work on improving visual motor and perceptual skills, hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination and increases grasp strength and manipulation skills.

Tegu Magnetic Blocks-I fell in love with Tegu blocks the minute I saw them years ago and have a pretty sweet collection of them that daughter still uses to this day. Like Magna-Tiles, these magnetic blocks are great for children who may have difficulty with manipulating other kinds of building blocks due to physical disabilities. The set I have linked is a good first set and comes with 42 pieces in various shapes and sizes but there are so many other sets to check out here. Tegu blocks encourage creativity and imagination skills while also working on developing grasping skills, hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination, visual motor and visual perceptual skills.
Rainbow Family Peg Doll Sorter-this is something I bought on a whim a few months ago and have been pleasantly surprised at how much use they have gotten at work. It is a simple toy with endless possibilities. The set consists of 6 rainbow colored boxes which house 4 matching peg dolls in 4 sizes. I have used this to work on skills such as color identification, sorting and matching but I have been so excited to see how the kids all have their own way of playing and interacting with the dolls. Some kids have organized their sorting all of one color at a time and placing them in the box in size order which shows some pretty awesome executive functioning skills.

Way To Play Highway Play Set-this is one of my new favorite toys of the season and definitely worth splurging on if you have a kid who loves to build and play with cars/vehicles. They have also been a huge hit with all my kids at work. Kids can make their own roads by connecting the segments. These can be used on any surface and used indoors or outdoors. These are great for encouraging creativity and imagination, works on developing bilateral coordination skills, improves hand-eye coordination, visual motor and visual perceptual skills and helps with increasing grasping skills. It's also a great activity to encourage social skills by having kids work together to build their roads.

Areaware Blockitecture Big City-this block set is a perfect compliment to the Way To Play Highway Play Set. Once the kids build their road, they can use these blocks to build a whole city around the road. They not only helps them develop hand-eye coordination, visual motor and perceptual skills, it helps with developing planning and reasoning skills. As with all kinds of other building blocks, these will help with social and emotional growth by having kids work together to create their city, taking turns adding things to the city and being flexible when their friends are adding things they may not want.

Does  your family have a favorite open-ended toy? It's always fun to hear from families and therapists what kind of open-ended materials they use to encourage creativity in children.

Be sure to keep checking back for the rest of my 2018 Gift Guides. If you are looking for something specific for your child(ren), please let me know. I am always a click away and love hearing from everyone.

Meet Rose and Rex!

One of the things I worked very hard on this year while putting my together my 2016 Holiday Gift Guide was to try and link to as many small and independent toy stores as possible.  In the days leading up to Hanukkah and Christmas, I am going to be inviting some of the owners of the toy-stores that I linked to and having them tell us their top 5 holiday picks for a particular group of children.  Today, I would like to introduce you to Allie Klein, the founder of the New York City based online toy store, Rose and Rex.  Allie earned a dual M.S.ED degree in Early Childhood and Childhood Education from Bank Street College of Education.  While in graduate school, she studied the importance of play on early childhood development.  Her work helped her to create Rose and Rex, an online toy boutique that has a tremendous selection of hand-picked toys and products.  All toys were chosen with the following goals in mind:

*promote imaginative play and creativity 

*create empathetic thinkers

*encourage problem solving

I asked Allie to share her top 5 picks this holiday season for babies.  

**If you purchase any item from Rose and Rex, a portion of the sales will be donated to one of two organizations, Second Chance Toys or One Percent For The Planet**

Floating Shape Bath Blocks:  Made from all-natural, plant-based rubber, this bright set of eco-friendly shapes goes from play room floor to bathtub for endless floating fun.  A baby toy that grows along with a child, these blocks are perfect for helping ease into bath-time, learn new shapes and bring the sensory experience of water play into block building.  Whether on dry land or catching a wave, your little one will be mastering spatial awareness and getting acquainted with scientific principles-but to them it will just feel like stacking and splashing.
*OT skills that can be worked on while playing with the bath blocks are improving bilateral coordination and hand-eye coordination. 

Eco Ice Cream Rattles: We all scream for ice cream!  Here's the scoop-baby's first type of play is sensory play, which helps your little one start to understand the world and contributes to their cognitive and physical growth.  From touch to sound, stimulate baby's developing senses with the charming three-piece set of ice cream cone rattles, lovingly hand-crocheted with soft organic bamboo yarn.  As kids get older and no longer need the rattle, they can be encouraged to increase free play and imagination skills when playing with them.

*OT skills that can be worked on while playing with the rattles are hand eye coordination, encourages cause and effect and grasping skills.  

Whale Push Toy:   Under the sea!  Timeless, eco-friendly and handcrafted, this Whale push toy is a special children's gift.  Perfect for little hands as a child pushes the whale around their latest block creation, pretends to swim or makes up a story with the whale as the start they are exercising essential physical and cognitive skills while having fun.  Made from high-quality wood, this toy will grow with your baby.

*OT skills that can be worked on while playing with the whale are improving hand-eye coordination, grasping skills.  As kids get older and more mobile, you can add a string to the whale and they can take their whale for a walk.  

Sunglass Teether: Cool shades for cool babies.  Nurture baby's budding senses with this stylish, eco-friendly and all natural teether.  Hand crafted out of solid, rock-hard maple, this teether is naturally antibacterial, safe from chemicals and toxins and is non-splintering.  

*OT skills that can be worked on while playing with the sunglass teether are improving grasping and coordination skills, hand-eye coordination and bilateral coordination  

Watermelon Rattle: We're wild for watermelon, so this sweet hand-knit watermelon rattle has us totally charmed.  Stimulate baby's developing senses and introduce your little cutie to their first type of play-sensory play!  From touch to sound, sensory experiences help babies understand the world around them and help to cultivate their cognitive and physical development.  Ratte, smile, repeat!

A big thank you to Allie this post and her wonderful ideas.  Be sure to check out the entire line of products at Rose and Rex for any of your last minute holiday gifts.