Open-Ended Play and Sensory Materials Gift Guide

I say this a lot and you will read it throughout this post, but how I wish I knew what I know now about open-ended play when my now 11 year old daughter was younger....I would have done things so differently. While she is a truly creative kid, I think that had I encouraged more sensory and open-ended play to her at a young age, she may not be so hooked to her electronics! 

Open-ended play materials encourage children to be more independent and creative thinkers, help them make choices and really foster creativity and imagination. By definition, open-ended materials do not have a pre-determined use....kids are in charge of deciding what will do with these materials. For example, a block can be a person, car, rocket ship, etc.. Children who engage in more open-ended play tend to develop wonderful problem solving skills. Sensory play is critical for development as well. Sensory play supports language development, cognitive growth, fine and gross motor skills, problem solving skills, social interaction and so much more.

If you are interested in building up your child's open-ended play experiences, be sure to check out my gift guide below. I have tried to include things that can be played with as toddlers through childhood. 

1. Tegu Baby's First Magnetic Blocks-I've always loved all things Tegu and always include them on my gift guides. They are especially great for children who have motor coordination difficulties because the magnets inside the blocks allows them to be successful with building and putting structures together. Ideal for children 6 months and older but I have a feeling some of my bigger kids would love these two. The brightly colored set of magnetic square blocks come in appealing colors and are easy to wash. Perfect for working on hand-eye coordination, visual motor and visual perceptual skills, and encouraging fine-motor, grasping and manipulation skills for your little ones. 

2. Magna-Tiles Doodle Tiles-I am always looking for ways to make handwriting and drawing more fun and knew that my magenetic-tile loving kids would most definitely be motivated to practice graphomotor skills with these. My 11 year old daughter and her friend were even motivated enough by these to put their phones down for a while to test them out for me! This Magna-Tile and Crayola collaboration is so great and will encourage creativity and imagination skills while also working on developing fine motor, grasping, visual motor and visual perceptual skills and work on improving hand-eye coordination and bilateral coordination. Each set comes with 8 small square tiles, 2 large square tiles and 5 Crayola markers that easily wash off. Compatible with all other Magna-Tiles. 

3. Magna-Tiles Jungle Animals-another awesome new set from Magna-Tiles that again be used with any other Magna-Tiles in your collection. This 25-piece set includes colorful tiles with different jungle patterns on them and 5 of the most adorable magnetic animals that stick to the other pieces. These are great for encouraging creativity, imagination and language skills while also working on developing fine motor, grasping, visual motor and visual perceptual skills and work on improving hand-eye coordination and bilateral coordination. 

4. Silicone Pop Fidget Building Blocks-one of my speech therapy colleagues tipped me off on these and I am now obsessed. Think a fidget pop-toy that you get to build yourself! These incredibly well-built and sturdy building blocks come in a variety of colors and can be snapped or slipped together to make shapes, objects or to even practice learning how to make letters. Great for working on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improves hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills and works on motor planning and organizational skills. You can also work on sorting, matching and following patterns. A great on-the-go building material that will keep your kids entertained for a long time. 

5. Grapat Lola Building Toys-this beautiful open-ended building set is definitely what I would call an investment piece (a toy with a bigger price tag but that will last forever and has endless play and learning potential. This set comes with 72 pieces....36 colorful Lola dolls in various colors and sizes. Kids work on improving matching, sorting, stacking, problem solving and categorizing skills while also working on improving fine motor, grasping, manipulation and hand-eye coordination skills. Playing with open-ended play materials is also great for working on encouraging creativity, imagination skill and early storytelling skills. 

6. Grimm's Shapes and Colors Block Set-another investment toy that will last you forever. This brightly colored 70-piece set from Grimm's comes in a variety of geometric shapes and sizes. Kids can learn about shapes and colors through open-ended building and exploration. Introducing block building with kids at a young age is so beneficial and helps them develop life-long skills. It helps children develop language and vocabulary skills, encourages creativity, imagination and play skills and helps them learn about things such as early math skills, balance, motor planning, organization and problem solving skills. When building with siblings or peers, block building can teach children about turn taking, accepting other people's ideas and collaboration. 

7. Magic Color Changing Dough Jars-I saw these and thought about how much fun my kids at work would love to see these glittery white balls of play dough magically turn into a mystery color. I actually have ordered a bunch of these to give each of my kids this holiday season. I love how the simple act of manipulating the play dough works on increasing grasp strength and manipulation skills. Once they find out what color it is, they can build whatever they want. I always like to have tools such as a rolling pin, scissors, beads or whatever else I might have lying around to spark their creativity and imagination. 

8a. Build A Snowman Sensory Sand Bin-sensory bins are a great way to keep kids occupied as the weather gets colder and it gets dark earlier. I know so many parents are trying to limit the amount of screen time since 2020 and 2021 meant so much screen time for their kids. I am in love with this Snowman Sensory Bin from Young, Wild and Friedman and think it would be a great gift, especially for those little ones who might not get to actually experience snowy weather. This set comes with homemade moldable sensory sand and cloud sand, various snowman figurines, SNOW glitter letters and a bucket and shovel all stored in a sensory bin with a lid. What a fun way to work on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, encourage hand-eye and bilateral coordination, encourage sensory and tactile exploration and encourage imagination, creativity, language and play skills, right? If snow play might not be your kid's thing, be sure to check out the extensive collection on the Young, Wild and Friedman website. 
**If you are looking for a way to contain your child's sensory play or make it easy to move around your house, I can't encourage the Hope Learning Tray enough. I have one at work and at home and it's been so incredibly handy. I have referenced this amazing sensory tray in my Baby and Toddler Gift Guide so be sure to go and check that out for more information.

9. Bristle Blocks-each year I like to include some of the classic toys in my gift guides. I think that a toy that has been around as long as I have been must be doing something right! Bristle blocks are not only a wonderful building toy, they offer a sensory and tactile experience that no other blocks do. They are also pretty indestructible which is a real bonus for some of our rough and tumble kinda kids. Young children can work on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improve hand-eye, bilateral coordination and motor planning skills while playing with these blocks. As grown-ups, we can teach kids about shapes, colors, size, etc. while they play with these blocks.  

10. Roll and Bounce Tower-I will never not be mesmerized and fascinated by a marble run and have often wondered how to introduce this toy to little ones but was always so nervous about the safety risks because of the marbles. This set comes with 27 chunky track and tower pieces that can be mixed and matched to be a different path each time. Kids place the large ball into the starting point and watch it go through the tunnels while watching panels flip and spin. This toy is great for working on improving hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills, increases grasp strength, fine motor skills and manipulation skills and teaches kids about cause and effect. Since there are an infinite ways to put the tower together, kids won't get bored or feel like they are playing with the same toy over and over again. 

11. Stained Glass Jewel Mandala Loose Parts-while looking through Etsy I stumbled upon these beautiful blocks and thought they would be a beautiful addition to any child's toy room. This 15-block set comes in a variety of colors and are great for open-ended play and can be used with any other blocks. These blocks can be stacked, sorted by color and can be used to work on sequencing and following patterns. 

12. Design and Drill Toolbox-we have had a different version of this toy at my gym for years and it is a big hit amongst the kids. I chose this new drill set from Educational Insights this year because of the storage box which is always a selling point for me. In addition to the power drill, the screws and the board, this set also comes with a handful of other tools including a hammer, measuring tape and much more. Kids can make their own designs or can work on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills while copying the designs on the cards included with the set. This toy is also great for working on increasing grasp strength and manipulation skills, improves hand-eye and bilateral coordination and can be used to encourage creativity, imagination and expand play skills. 

13. Way To Play Road Pieces-I have loved these interchangeable road pieces since I first saw them a couple of years ago and recommend them to any of my families who have a little car lover in their life. This set of 40 interlocking pieces helps your little one create different routes and paths allowing your child to make his/her perfect path. The best part is that because they can design their own paths, they don't get bored and can change it up anytime they want. They are made of a soft, flexible rubber so you can create obstacles over other toys. Playing with these road pieces are great for working on improving fine motor and manipulation skills, improves bilateral and hand-eye coordination and encourages motor planning and organizational skills. Pair with your favorite cars and let your child's imagination take the steering wheel!

14. Rainbow Peg Dolls Sorting Set-I have a set of sorting dolls and with boxes and work and they have been one of the best purchases I have ever made. This set of 12 rainbow colored peg dolls comes with a cotton bag for storage that also doubles as a play with the numbers 1-12 in colors for kids to work on matching skills. Kids not only work on color and number recognition, they can work on developing counting skills. When not used for matching and sorting, they can be used during open-ended play which encourages creativity, imagination, play, organizational and language skills. 

15. Wooden Loose Parts Kit-I am in love with all of Hope Learning Toys products. This set of wooden loose parts comes with 6 3D shapes, 7 forest gnomes and 8 piece peg doll family. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I wish I knew more about open-ended play and the benefits of playing with loose parts when my daughter was younger. Not only is it great for working on grasping and manipulation skills, it encourages creativity and imagination skills, encourages play skills and is a great way to work on improving language and conversational skills. Loose parts can be used on their own, in sensory bins, with doll houses or any building toys you already might have at home. 

Once again, I have tried to link some of my favorite local toy stores whenever I could as I have always found it very important to support our local businesses but even more so now. Many of the items listed above are ones that I have seen in most toy stores I have visited all over the place. And since are all hearing about shipping nightmares and problems with supply chain, why not take out some of the stress and support your local stores where you don't have to worry about toys arriving on time. If you are shopping for family members who are not local, find out their local toy stores and see if you can shop from there. If you are in the NYC area, be sure to check out the following stores: Lulu's Cuts and Toys, Little Things Toy Store, Norman and Jules, Annie's Blue Ribbon General Store, West Side Kids, Stationary and Toy World, Mary Arnold Toys, Kidding Around Toys and Boomerang Toys. 

Again, if you are looking for specific open-ended or sensory toys for your kids or kids on your shopping list, please do not hesitate reaching out to me for suggestions. I have so many more thoughts on great gifts for the important kids in your life. I am only an email away at otmeghan@gmail.com and love to hear from and help in any way I can. 

2021 Stocking Stuffers and Small Stuff Guide

This is always one of my favorite gift guides to put together because I feel like we are always looking for small gifts for kids whether it be an add-on to a larger gift or to be used as a motivator or prize for a job well done. There are some gifts on here that make the list year after year (Thinking Putty, chopsticks, on-the-go craft kits) but most of these are new this year. There are so many clever gifts out there that can be used for therapeutic purposes without the kids even knowing. I tried to include gifts for various ages and many of these are appropriate for kids of all ages and are not age-specific. 

1. Magnetic Connect 4-saw this and thought it was a fun game to play on a fridge or some other kind of magnetic surface. The goal of the game is the same as the original but you can work on increasing grasp strength and manipulation skills while also working on improving executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, planning, problem solving and organizational skills. For you city dwellers, the added bonus is that you don't have to figure out where to store another bulky game with lots of pieces. 

2. Nee-Doh Dohjee-squishy balls are all the rage these days and these have been a huge hit with my friends at the gym. What I love about these are that they come with a mini nee-doh ball and an outside animal/creature covering that you can mix and match with other Dohjees you collect. Great for increasing grasp strength and manipulation skills, improves bilateral coordination and hand-eye coordination in addition to having a small little fidget that will help calm down during stressful times. 

3. Silicone Bracelets With Charms Set-fun set of plastic bracelets that kids can personalize with a variety of charms (you must buy both separately). I am actually planning on ordering a bunch of these for the kids to make as a holiday gift from me this year. Great for working on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills and also works on improving bilateral coordination and hand-eye coordination. I like that you can easily swap the charms out of your bracelet so if the child's interests change or they want to coordinate with the outfit of the day, they can. 

4. Tiny Ice Cream Kit-my sister bought my daughter the tiny baking kit and it was a huge hit with her and her friends. The kit comes with all the mini-sized tools you will need and an instruction book with 15 different tiny ice cream ideas. A great gift for an older kid (definitely suggest 8 or older like recommended on the packaging) who has decent frustration tolerance. This adorable set works on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills and is a fabulous way to encourage executive functioning skills such as focus, attention and organizational skills. In the end, they have some adorable and tasty creations to show off. 

5. Busy Ideas for Bored Kids (Outside Edition)-after the last crazy 20 months, I am finding that so many kids don't really know what to do when they aren't on a device or being told exactly what to do. I am trying to encourage my own daughter to get outdoors as much as possible while the weather is still nice but oftentimes she will say she is bored or doesn't know what she should do. This deck of cards will help children choose fun activities to do outside with their peers. Hopefully they will use the cards as suggestions and add their own adventures to the suggested activities. 

6. Whatchamadrawit Game-this fast-paced drawing game encourages creativity, imagination and thinking outside the box. All you need is a paper, writing instruments and your imagination. This can definitely be played during family game night and I think the more players, the better! Before each round a judge is chosen....a card is picked and everyone has 60-seconds to draw what is on the card and the judge will pick his/her favorite and the winner gets the card. The person with the most cards at the end is the winner. Such a fun way to work on improving drawing and graphomotor skills and working on kids, especially those more rigid ones, to think outside the box and have fun. 

7. DIY Air Dry Clay Kit-I love using clay with my kids at work because it's such a great way to work on improving grasp strength and fine motor and manipulation skills but they often get upset when their creations get ruined. I have avoided using the oven bake clay since I don't have an oven to bake it at work and when I try and bring it home to cook, I end up ruining it. So I am loving this air dry clay from Ooly and how easy it is for kids to manipulate. Kids can make a creation (or practice making letters, numbers, shapes, etc.) and by the time they return the following week it's dry and ready to take home. 

8. On-The-Go Play Again Sticker and Game Set-reusable stickers can be a hit or a major miss but these sets from Ooly are an all-time favorite. There are three different sets to choose from: Daring Dinos, Sunshine Garden and Workin' Wheels and each set features a simple board game, a match and learn game, tic tac toe and a scene board where kids can use the stickers to use their imagination and create their own picture. These are so awesome for developing fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improves hand-eye coordination works on developing focus, attention, organizational and problem solving skills. The best part is that everything is easily stored within in the packaging so it's easy to take on the go to keep kids entertained while traveling. 

9. Dimple Pops-I love when a toy fad ends up actually being therapeutic and fidget toys have made a really big comeback since Covid. I'm not gonna lie....when I was doing a majority of my sessions remotely, I found myself needing something to keep my hands busy so I started using a fidget to help me focus. When I first saw all these pop-toys, I was instantly obsessed. I love that they have expanded and have kids of all ages in mind. What young kids don't realize is that while they are playing with this new fad toy, they are working on developing fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, visual motor skills and so much more. These Dimple Pops are really great for the little hands who are working on finger isolation. 

10. Loopy Looper-this is a fidget toy for older kids (or grown-ups) and the fun thing about this particular one is that there are four different options with different challenges. 

Edge: Place your marble inside and find the perfect speed to keep it sticking to the rail.
Flow: Spin as slowly as you like to, taking time to feel the marble flow around the loop. Helps with focus, concentration and getting creative juices flowing.
Hoop: relax with a simple spin around the loop or launch into a quick-fire challenge by trying to land the ball inside the hoop! 
Jump: this Loopy Looper requires skillful spinning to get the marble through the gap. Once the child figures out the method, they can keep going as fast as they can. 

These are great for developing fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improve hand-eye coordination and encourages concentration, focus and a sense of calm. 

11. Mega Construx Pokéman-it's funny how Pokéman are still a thing today after all these years. I'm loving these construction sets that work on developing fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, increased grasp strength, improves focus, attention, planning and organizational skills. There are 6 different characters to choose from or you can collect them all. 

12. Crazy Aarons Thinking Putty-I love everything about this putty but most love that the founder hires adults with special needs and trains them to have meaningful jobs. There is a giant variety of colors, styles and even some that smell! Putty is a great way to work on increasing grasp strength and manipulation skills and is also a great fidget for those moments when your child may have to return to remote learning. I like to hide small beads, coins or little animals in the putty to make it more motivating for tired little hands. 

13. Light Saber Chopsticks-couldn't resist adding these when I stumbled upon them. One of my go-to activities I give parents to do at home to work on improving grasp and manipulation skills is to use child-friendly chopsticks while eating. I still have a lot of older kids who need to work on this skill but want nothing to do with the babyish chopsticks. How much are older kids going to love these light saber/Star Wars inspired chopsticks?!?

14. Speks Geode Magnetic Sets-I picked these up on a whim a few months ago not realizing they would be a huge hit and now I am not sure who loves them more...me or the kids! Think Magnatiles on a much smaller scale. Great for on the go fun while also working on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills. There is no right or wrong way to play with them and you can collect all the sets to create larger projects. 

15. Kids Made Modern Unicorn, Shark, Mermaid and Cosmic Necklace Kits-cute little on the go necklace making sets from an incredible company. I've been a huge fan of the quality of the materials that come in each of their kits. These necklace sets come complete with a charm, cord for stringing, 40 various beads and comes in a cute little tin storage case that can be used later as a trinket box or even use it to turn into a homemade ornament once your little crafter completes their necklace. 

16. Scribble Scrubble Pets-another fun little toy that will encourage even the most resistant writers pick up a marker and start coloring. My kids have loved coloring, designing and playing with these but they truly love scrubbing them clean and doing it over and over again. These are great for introducing younger children to coloring but also works on encouraging bilateral and hand-eye coordination, imagination and creativity skills and early writing skills. You can also work on improving tactile sensitivity by having them use soap or shaving cream on the scrub brush when scrubbing them clean. 

17. Mini Jenga Game-couldn't resist adding this to the list when I stumbled upon it. Jenga never fails to entertain kids and now you can take it on the go. Jenga is great for working on hand-eye coordination, focus, planning and organizational skills. If you want to add a fun little twist to the game, you can turn this into an ice-breaker game by writing questions on each block. 

18. Secret Decoder Ring-cute and simple way to encourage kids to work on handwriting in a fun way. Leave your kids messages that they have to decode using this ring. Each letter has a number that it coordinates with. Want your kids to do a chore? Write the message out in numbers and have your kids solve the mystery. Not only is this a fun way to work on handwriting, by twisting the ring you are working on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills. 

19. Exploding Hand Soap-do you have kids who are resistant to hand washing? Try motivating them with these water bead like soap balls. They use the little spoon shaped like a hand to take one of the jar and then pop the bead that's filled with soap. Once the color disappears, they know they have washed long enough and can rinse. Love that we can add a little bit of sensory fun to a pretty boring but necessary task. 

20. Peanut Crayons-a great first set of crayons for little hands. These peanut-shaped crayons are a perfect size for early drawers and super well made so there is no fear of them breaking during use. The unique shape of these crayons makes it easier for little hands to grasp for greater ease with coloring. Made from all natural and non-toxic beanwax so parents don't have to worry if they accidently end up in the mouth. 

21. All of Us Crayons-inclusivity is a very important thing, especially in schools. This set of 8 crayons represents all colors of skin and encourages children to see the beauty of all colors and shades of skin. They are a perfect size to encourage a more proper grasp for little hands. Just a fun fact about these crayons: they made it onto Oprah's Favorite Things guide this year!

22. Uno Flip-this is one of my favorite new games this year and my older kids are loving it as well. I mean, who doesn't love Uno? This two-sided Uno game offers the traditional game of Uno with a special card that makes you flip the whole game over for a more competitive side of play with new challenges. Uno has always been a go-to game for me to work on developing executive functioning skills for my kids because it's a fun way to work on focus, attention, organization, planning and problem solving skills. 

23. Water Beads-when I pull these out for my kids, they are so excited! Loving this linked set that comes with thousands of water beads in various sizes. Water bead play is a wonderful way to encourage sensory play and exploration with little mess for grownups to clean up. I always give my kids cups, spoons and other toys to use when playing to encourage bilateral coordination, hand-eye coordination and focus and attentional skills. Sometimes I like to hide little plastic animals in the water beads and have them go on a hunt to save them which is always a big hit. 

24. Eraser Puzzles-these come highly recommended by my 11 year old daughter and her bestie. I love when a gift is not only practical but can also be used to reach developmental goals. Kids can work on problem solving, hand eye coordination, bilateral coordination and improves fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills. Each eraser has 5 pieces and you can mix and match. Be sure to check out your local toy stores to see what kinds of eraser puzzles they have....I have picked up the cutest animal and food eraser puzzles over the years for goody bags and prizes for my kids at work. 

25. Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza Card Game-not sure if you have noticed but I happen to have a thing for card games, especially ones that will engage the whole family. My speech therapist colleague Jacki Barredo  suggested this game to me and I have been sharing it since. This game sounds more complicated than it actually and can be enjoyed by the whole family. The deck is split evenly between 2-8 players. Each person takes a turn flipping a card face-up on a pile in the middle while saying the words "Taco", "Cat", "Goat", "Cheese", "Pizza" in that order. If the card in the middle happens to match the word being spoken, the players race to slap the deck...whoever is the last to slap the deck must take the whole pile and add to their set of cards. The person who gets rid of all of their cards first is the winner. 

26. Mini Twister Game-this is truly a dream recommendation for an occupational therapist! Twister has always been a favorite of mine because it works on so many developmental goals and this mini version makes me so happy. Such a fun way to work on improving fine motor and manipulation skills, finger isolation skills, motor planning and executive functioning skills such as focus, attention and problem solving skills. 

27. Animal ABC Stickable Foam Bath Shapes-I've always encouraged parents to make bath-time as meaningful as possible. Whether it be using shaving cream on the wall to practice drawing or writing letters, I believe that kids learn best at a young age through hands-on, sensory based play which is why bath time is a perfect time for early learning. Loving these extra adorable foam animal alphabet stickers that come with a mesh bag for easy storage. A perfect opportunity to not only learn letters, these are great for working on improving fine motor and grasping skills and to expand language skills and learning letter sounds. 

28. Unplugged Play: Grade School Edition-I'm constantly hearing that my 11 year old daughter is bored and doesn't know what to do (even though she has enough to keep her entertained for days on end) if she isn't allowed to be on her phone. I do think that after almost 20 months of everyone relying on technology, kids really are struggling making choices about what to do during their downtime. Since most kids don't want to be told what to do, I am loving the idea of giving them a book like that that has tons of choices for them to make. There are a variety of activities such as indoors vs. outdoors, solo play vs. playing with a friend/sibling but the common factor is that they don't require any technology. Be sure to check out the preschool edition for your younger kids. 

29. Boon Bath Time Pipes-going back to my love of making bath time as meaningful as possible, how cool are these suction cup pipes??? This 5 piece set can be used individually or can be connected to build a chain. Each shape has a unique feature which encourages sensory exploration, hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination, cause and effect and so much more. These don't only have to be used during bath time....you can add them to a sensory bin with a variety of materials such as rice, beans, water beads and so much more. 

30. Twee Chalk-I love that there are some things that are ageless and timeless but also love that some of those things have become more advanced and exciting. I am totally obsessed with all of the gorgeous chalk creations from Twee (a Philadelphia based woman run company....woot woot). While my 11 year old daughter pretends to not care about these these things, she still get's excited when I buy a set of Twee chalk and insists I do not bring them to work. Living in Brooklyn and having a lot of sidewalk space so we have spent countless hours doing chalk drawing. Sidewalk chalk drawing is great for encouraging creativity and imagination skills and works on increasing upper extremity and hand strength. I encourage parents to have kids practice writing letters, numbers and shapes. 

I have tried once again to link some of my favorite local toy stores whenever I could as I have always found it very important to support our local businesses but even more so now. Many of the items listed above are ones that I have seen in most toy stores I have visited all over the place. And since are all hearing about shipping nightmares and problems with supply chain, why not take out some of the stress and support your local stores where you don't have to worry about toys arriving on time. If you are shopping for family members who are not local, find out their local toy stores and see if you can shop from there. If you are in the NYC area, be sure to check out the following stores: Lulu's Cuts and Toys, Little Things Toy Store, Norman and Jules, Annie's Blue Ribbon General Store, West Side Kids, Stationary and Toy World, Mary Arnold Toys, Kidding Around Toys and Boomerang Toys. 

If you are looking for specific ideas for your kids or kids on your shopping list, please do not hesitate reaching out to me for suggestions. I have so many more thoughts on great gifts for the important toddlers in your life. I am only an email away at otmeghan@gmail.com and love to hear from and help in any way I can. 

Cooking With Kids

One of the most challenging things at this point is filling up our days. Especially for those of us who live in the city with lack of outdoor space, keeping our kids busy and limiting the amount of time watching television or on some kind of screen becomes incredibly stressful. So many of the parents on my caseload are looking for easy, fun and non-screen time activities for children so this week I am going to talk about baking with kids. As soon as my daughter was old enough, I started including her in baking with me. It started with her simply just watching me at work as I baked and her involvement increased as she got older. Today, at 10 years old, she loves to bake. Actually, to make up for the fact that she wasn't going to be with her cousin for Easter, my sister and I had our girls pick out a recipe and the FaceTimed the entire time. It was adorable and made them feel connected on a day that they just love to be together.

Baking with children is not only a great way to connect with your children but has so many developmental benefits built right into it. At this crazy time, I think the most helpful thing I can do for parents is provide them with activities that don't seem like therapy or work. While I know baking isn't for everyone, I am going to outline the benefits and provide a bunch of baking activities that you can do with your children.

There are so many benefits of cooking with children including:

*improves fine motor and manipulation skills. Measuring ingredients, rolling out dough, using cookie cutters and decorating your baked goods will lead to improved fine motor and manipulation skills. 

*improves visual skills such as improved hand-eye coordination, visual motor skills and visual tracking. 

*encourages language development. Use this time to not only label ingredients, but talk about the ingredients. Have them describe how they feel. For example, put out a little plate with some of the ingredients and have them feel them and talk about the textures. Are they soft? Are they rough? 

*encourages executive functioning skills. Baking with children is a great way to naturally work on things such as improving attention, focus, organization, sequencing and working memory. For some kids, it might be helpful to print out pictures of the steps and have them put them in order before actually starting baking. 

*for older children, baking can be a really motivating way to work on math skills. For younger children, you can introduce the concepts of more and less while measuring out ingredients. For example, put the measuring cups out with the ingredients in them and ask what you will use more of. My 10 year old is working on fractions right now and when she begins to get really frustrated, I bring out our measure cups as a visual.
*boosts confidence and self-esteem. It really is so much fun to see kids light up as they see their completed baked good come out of the oven. Even more exciting is when they get peoples reactions when they eat them.

I am going to share some cooking activities that you can do with your children. It's important to find activities that will encourage independence for children while also working cooperatively with their siblings or parents. If you are cooking with more than one child, set clear expectations and responsibilities from the get-go to limit arguing during the actual activity. Below you will find several baking and cooking activities. Some requiring cooking, others might not. There are not just food cooking ideas, but also sensory materials like play dough or colored rice and noodles.

Food

Play and Freeze Ice Cream Ball Ice Cream Maker-this was actually recommended to me by one of my occupational therapist colleagues and couldn't love it more. With kids not getting as much physical activity as they are used to, I love that you can combine some gross motor work while making ice cream. Kids can make make ice-cream in about 30 minutes using just a few ingredients by rolling the ball back and forth to each other. Check out this link from L.L. Bean with a bunch of different recipes you can try using this ice cream maker.

English Muffin/Bagel Pizzas-I remember making these as a child with my parents and sisters. This is a great activity because it doesn't require a lot of ingredients and most are things you can easily get even during a pandemic! You will need english muffins or bagels, sauce, shredded mozzarella and any toppings you might want to add. To add some depth to this activity, give your child a pad of paper with a list of everyone’s names on it and write the kinds of pizza available and have him check off what everyone wants. Another fun thing to do is use ingredients to make silly faces. For example, use a pepper to make a mouth or olives or pepperoni to make eyes. 

Rainbow Fruit Kabobs-a variety of cut up fruits in different colors and wooden skewers. Talk about the colors and what order the colors are in a rainbow and have them put the fruit on the wooden skewers in the correct order. This is a great baking activity to do with younger children who you might not feel comfortable with them using mixers and other baking equipment. There are a lot of kid-safe baking tools that you can give your kids to use so the can cut the fruit up. I love this activity because it's a great way to work on developing fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills while also working on hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills. Best part is that the end result is a healthy treat for you and your kids to enjoy. 

Rice Krispie Treats-I have always found that making rice krispie treats is another kid friendly baking activity where you can adapt the activity based on your child's age. For younger kids, you can melt the butter and marshmallows and just have them add the cereal and stir but for older and more responsible kids, have them do that (in the microwave or stovetop). You can make this more of a hands-on/sensory experience by having him roll them into balls instead of putting them in a baking pan. You can also change things up by using different kinds of cereal to add color or have them use cookie cutters to make different shapes once they are cooled down. 

M&M Energy Bites-this is another simple non-baking activity that kids can be really involved in. Mix together 1 cup rolled outs, 1/2 cup of peanut butter, 1/2 cup M&Ms, 1/3 cup of honey and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Stirring the ingredients with is a great way to work on increasing upper extremity strength and encourages bilateral coordination skills. Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to grab a spoonful, place in hand and roll into a ball. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies-you can make them from scratch or use slice and bake ones. No matter which method you use, making chocolate chip cookies are a delicious way to work on fine motor skills. If you make fresh, let your kids add all the ingredients (break the eggs into a bowl for him) and stir as much as he can. When I was baking with my daughter when she was younger, I would put all of the ingredients in bowls and then would tell her which one to add. If you use the slice-and-bake cookies, give your kid a safe knife and help them cut the dough into chunks and then allow them to roll them into balls before placing on the cookie sheet. 

Sensory Materials

Homemade PlayDoh-play doh is another sensory material that kids LOVE. I love this recipe from Mothercould and love that it can last up to 6 months if stored in a good container. There are so many benefits of playing with play dough such as increasing grasp strength, improves grasping and manipulation skills and encourages hand-eye coordination and bilateral coordination skills. Roll play dough into long snakes and practice making shapes, letters or numbers. Use a rolling pin and roll play dough flat and use your favorite cookie cutters.

Dye Rice/Noodles-another great sensory experience and kids can be part of the whole experiences of making it. Kids will love watching the plain rice or pasta go from plain to brightly colored sensory materials.  For each color, you need 1 cup of white rice/baby pasta, 1 tablespoon vinegar and desired amount of food coloring. Have kids help you by pouring the rice and vinegar into little Tupperwares and squeezing a few drops of food coloring. Close the lid and then have them shake the Tupperwares until the rice/noodles are all covered. If you make some of each color, you can pour them into a much bigger Tupperware and hide little characters or animals in it and and have him dig through using their hands or spoons or scoopers to rescue them. Another fun activity is to dye penne or rigatoni noodles and have kids make necklaces out of them. 

Homemade Flubber/Thick Slime-so many of the kids I work with love sensory exploration and there are so many great recipes out there. Flubber/thick slime is a very popular sensory material at my gym and doesn't require a lot of ingredients. You’ll need 1 cup of Elmer’s White Glue, 1/2 cup room temperature water, 1/2 cup liquid starch and glitter or food coloring (optional). Click here for directions. Once made, you can hide little objects in them like beads to work on increasing grasp strength and improving grasping and manipulation skills. 

Salt Clay-this is another simple activity that can be done with kids of all ages and uses only 3 ingredients: salt, flour and water. If you want, you can add a few drops of food coloring to the dough. One of the things I like about using salt clay is that you can adapt how you use it making things either more simple or more challenging depending on the age of your child. Kids can use cookie cutters to make creations or they can use their imagination and make whatever they want to create. Once they are done making their creation, they can use markers or paint to decorate them if you didn't add color earlier. 

One of the things I think is really important is to not expect perfection when cooking/baking with kids. This should be a fun experience and making mistakes is to be expected when engaged in this kind of activity with children. The other thing to try and let go of is to not get worked up if a mess is made. Unless someone is going to get hurt, don't worry about ingredients on the counters, floors or even on themselves. Wait until the activity is complete and hand out cleaning up responsibilities to each person who participated. Remember, the most important thing is to have fun because even though this is a crazy time, there are so many opportunities to make fabulous memories with your children. 

Have you been baking/cooking with your kids during this crazy time? What are your favorite recipes for baking, cooking or sensory materials? I would love to hear from you and am always a click away. I'm sure I am not the only one who would be interested in hearing about other recipes to keep kids busy these days. 

Remote Therapy Tools

It's hard to believe how quickly things shifted for us as therapists, parents, teachers, etc. in such a short time. For kids, they may be feeling scared about how many things in their life have changed and as their grownups, it's our responsibility to offer them comfort and consistency. While I am preparing to move towards remote therapy sessions, I am trying to gather ideas and tools on how to make this as successful as possible. This is definitely going to be challenging, but I am looking forward to expanding my skills and helping parents through this time. One of the things I am doing is trying to think about what parents might have lying around their houses or what might still be easy to get. I know that stores are closed to foot traffic and browsing, but are still open for deliveries or curbside pickup. I urge parents to take advantage of these stores and the personalized care they can provide to you. For my New York City folks, check out places like Lulu's Cuts and Toys, Norman and Jules, Little Things Toy Store, Stationary and Toy World and Stoopher and Boots (follow on Instagram to see her awesome toys).


Here are more than 20 of my favorite and most commonly used therapy tools:

PopTubes-I think any therapeutic gym you go to will have a bag of these. Used for working on improving grasp strength and manipulation skills, encourages hand eye and bilateral coordination skills. One of our favorite activities to do at our gym is to set up our sorting bears and cups, have the kids stretch out the poptube and use it as a slide for the bears.







Stickers-I use stickers for SO much. Kids love them as a reward at the end of a session, but I find them to be so useful for therapeutic activities. Here are a few things I use stickers for:
-find stickers of your children's favorite characters and put them on a piece of paper and have them write their names next to them (I make boxes for my early writers)
-draw lines and put stickers at the top of them and have kids practice cutting. Make curved or zigzag lines to increase the challenge


Bag of Beads-there are so many things you can do with a bag of beads! There are a variety of sizes of beads. Typically I recommend larger beads for smaller hands and smaller beads for bigger, stronger hands. Obviously stringing beads are great for working on developing fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills and improves hand eye and bilateral coordination. You can simply string beads or add some challenges by doing the following:
-make pattern cards and have kids follow them
-add a sensory component and hide the beads in a bucket of rice and have them dig through and find them
-when using smaller beads, like these alphabet beads from Norman and Jules, pick up all the beads you are going to use with kids chopsticks

Squeeze Popper Toys-these have been a huge favorite of mine for a while. Definitely check out your local toy stores for these as I have seen them everywhere! Kids really get a kick out it but don't realize that there are a ton of occupational therapy goals that can be worked on using them. Let them choose their favorite animal or food and then let them play. These are a perfect toy to work on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, increases grasp strength and encourages hand eye and bilateral coordination skills. Make a game out of this and set up a target (think something like a dart board) and see how many points you can get by aiming at different numbers or colors worth different points.



Fiskars Scissors-there are a lot of kids scissors out there but many of them are poorly made which could lead to kids getting really frustrated and giving up easily when you present them with cutting activities. The Blunt Tip (made in both left and right hand options) have been my go-to since I started as an occupational therapist. Some people thing I am crazy, but teaching preschoolers to learn how to cut in a safe and appropriate way is a very important thing to me. As a pediatric OT how many times I have seen kids walk into my sessions with chopped up bangs and wished that more schools taught kids the appropriate ways to use scissors in order to avoid this. I have a lot of great cutting activities and resources that I will be sharing with my families as I begin remote therapy. If you want to

Discovery Putty-Fun and Function's Discovery Putty is another one of my favorite and most recommended items when parents ask for activities to do at home. Theraputty is perfect for working on increasing grasp strength, improves fine motor, manipulation and grasping skills and encourages bilateral coordination skills. There are a bunch of different themes to choose from with different resistance depending on your child's hand strength. Kids have just as much fun finding the hidden objects as they do when I challenge them to hide them for whoever is going to use it next. Putty can also be used for other things. If you remove all the hidden objects, you can roll it into a snake and practice cutting it into pieces. You can also use putty to practice making letters, numbers and shapes.



Colored Paper-don't underestimate how helpful a good supply of colored paper can be. I like to use thicker card-stock weight paper because it doesn't tear so easily and I also find it is easier for kids to cut through if we are practicing cutting. I plan on having kids set up some easy obstacle courses during our remote sessions and will be using colored paper for this.



Legos-I have spent hours and hours scouring Pinterest and so excited to find that there are a million ways to incorporate them into my soon to be remote therapy sessions. My daughter had a thing for a long time with Legos so we have a massive amount of them lying around and it's amazing what you can do with them. We all know that Legos are a motivating hand strengthening tool, especially if you pick out the right set (we have a new Trolls set that we are going to tackle during our time at home) but there are so many other things you can do with them. Here are just a few things:
-practice making letters and numbers with Legos on a baseplate
-solve a secret code: using 26 different Lego pieces and a baseplate, assign a letter to each piece
-this 31 Day Spring Lego Calendar provides you with a whole bunch of other things you can do with your Legos

JaqJaq Reusable and Washable Paper-these are my new obsession and I can't think of a better time for us all to be trying to use less paper than now. Especially when doing handwriting or drawing apps, I always have kids practice when pen and paper immediately after practicing on the iPad. For example, when using LetterSchool, I have the kids practice the letter first on the iPad and then have them do hands on writing practice using this amazing product. You can use chalk, chalk markers, JaqJaq Butter Stix, or ooly Dustless Chalk Crayons. Easy to clean with a wet paper towel and can be used over and over again.




Wikki Stix-another classic, inexpensive and really versatile therapy tool that I have been using for years. I have been using these for as long as I can remember to and the kids love them and could be used for so many things. Wikki Stix are pieces of yarn dipped into a safe, non-toxic wax that can be manipulated for open-ended creating. One of my favorite things to do with Wikki Stix, other than making a pair of eye-glasses, is to have kids practice making shapes, letters and numbers. Make sure to have a pair of scissors handy so you can cut them into the smaller pieces. It's amazing to see how motivated kids are to practice these things when they have fun, sensory materials to engage in more challenging activities.


Zoo Sticks-love, love, love these and I know that you can buy them at Stationary and Toy World and Lulus in Park Slope. Another one of my most favorite and most recommended tools for parents. These child-friendly chopsticks have different objects on the top that connect the sticks together. There are a variety of animals, car, etc. so if you find the right one, your kids will love using them. They are a great way to improve grasp strength and manipulation skills, encourages hand eye and bilateral coordination and can work on motor planning skills. Kids can eat with them or they can be used to pick up small objects in games. For example, I like to use them when playing Kerplunk or Tumbling Monkeys instead of them using their fingers to pull the sticks out. One of the kids favorite things to do is to use them to pick up these Squishy Animals.

Dry Erase Board-I have a feeling that this is going to come in really handy with my upcoming remote sessions. Whether it be to write out the session plan, practice letters or play games, I know my dry erase board is going to come in very handy and have asked parents to make sure they have one handy for their children. I'm looking forward to playing Tic-Tac-Toe, Hangman and other games with my kids using this! An added benefit of using a dry erase board is that if it is hung up on the wall, working on a vertical surface is great for working on improving upper body strength and encourages proper wrist positioning when writing.




Playdoh-I have to admit that I have never been a fan of traditional Play Doh, but the kids love it and it is an easy to find and inexpensive sensory material that can be used in a ton of different ways. Playing with playdoh is great for improving grasp strength and manipulation skills, improves hand eye and bilateral coordination and encourages creativity and imagination skills. Practice cutting by rolling the playdoh into a circle and cutting out pizza slices. Roll the playdoh into snakes and turn them into shapes, letters or numbers. Throw out challenges and have them create different things: face, snowman, cars, buildings, etc..
Since parents have a lot of time to fill during the day with their kids right now, homemade playdough is a fun thing to do with them. There are SO many recipes out there but I have tried this one and it is great.
If you are looking for something more natural, check out my post last week featuring the almost too beautiful to use Land of Dough.

Pegboard-pegboards are a pretty common toy that you will find in a therapeutic gym because they can be used in a bunch of different ways and work on a ton of goals. Great for increasing grasping and manipulation skills, improves visual motor and visual perceptual skills and encourages hand eye and bilateral coordination. The pegboard I have linked comes with two double sided boards for different challenges such as matching and sorting. Add a gross motor challenge by having them stand on a balance board forcing them to go from standing to pick up pegs and squatting to place them in the board.




Bubbles-these are probably something that most of us have lying around and if not, go to your local drug store and get a giant bottle of them. First of all, kids just love bubbles and if you blow them for them, they can get some energy out by running around to pop them (great visual motor activity!). If you find that your kid's starting to feeling dis-regulated or anxious, taking deep breaths and blowing bubbles can help calm them down. A fun (outdoor) art activity would be to place a large piece of paper on the sidewalk or driveway, fill a bunch of paper cups up with bubble mix and add some food coloring to them and then blow different colored bubbles to make a picture.

Rainbow Indoor Tunnel-I like to make reasonable recommendations to families when it comes to gross motor toy ideas because the families I work with tend to not have a lot of space. This tunnel is great because you can do a lot with it and then fold it up and put it under a bed or next to the couch. A tunnel is a great thing to have to add to an indoor obstacle course and can be used with kids of all ages....new crawlers to big kids who need to move around and release some of their energy. Also great for increasing upper extremity strength, motor planning and coordination. Give it more of a sensory experience by putting it over beanbags, couch cushions, etc. and then having kids crawl through.

Balance Board-I tend to add a balance board to some simple activities for my kids at work like completing simple puzzles or doing sorting activities. There are a bunch of different ones to choose from, from a low price point to more expensive. At the gym I work at we have the Alex Monkey Balance Board  which is small and doesn't take up much room. The balance board is great for strengthening balance skills, improves trunk control, strength and coordination skills. While they are standing on the board you can play a game of catch for added fun. For my daughter, I have the Wobbel Board which I got from Norman and Jules and just printed out the Wobbel Cards to add to our daily routine to get her up and moving around.




Zoom Ball-this is one of my all time favorite therapy tools and one of my most highly recommended gross motor toys on my annual gift guide. Safe to play indoors or outdoors and even though it is meant for two players, there are ways to set it up for a single child to play. Kids can work on improving upper extremity strength, motor planning and motor organization and encourages self-regulation, focus and attention. Make a game out of it by counting how many times they can pass it back and forth without messing up. I like to add a little challenge by having kids answer questions while we go back and forth. For example, name the days of the week in order every time you send it back, name different animals, colors, foods, etc..


Sidewalk Chalk-we are all pretty fortunate that the weather is getting warmer and that we can spend some time safely outdoors. I am feeling very grateful for our little Brooklyn front yard and have been encouraging my own daughter to go out and draw and write messages of hope to those who are out for some social distance walks. Practice letters, play games, make hopscotch boards, draw pictures or make draw a picture on a fence or wall if you have it. This kind of drawing is great for working on building those upper body muscles

Hopscotch Board-keeping our kids moving, especially those of us in New York City who are more limited by our smaller living quarters, is going to be crucial. But space and storage is also limited so we don't want big and bulky things. I am a big fan of a hopscotch rug as it can be used in a bunch of different ways and doesn't take up any space. And if you are outside of the city and have a driveway, you can use sidewalk chalk and draw your own! Check out this article from Parents that teaches you how to play hopscotch and even provides some variations so you don't get bored!

Craft Box-crafting is going to become really popular during this time. I have always had a big collection of crafting materials for my daughter and in the office. I was inspired by Lizzie Assa from The Workspace for Children years ago and have started to encourage open-ended crafting with not only my own child, but with the kids I work with and my kids in The Meeting House Juniors group. Guys...I highly recommend following Lizzie on Instagram for some amazing ideas...like really can't recommend enough! The Arts and Crafts Supply Library from Kid Made Modern would be a great thing for you to have at home. It comes with fuzzy sticks, wooden pieces, pom poms, wooden and plastic beads, googly eyes, glue, scissors and SO much more in a sturdy case so you don't have to worry about making a mess.

Writing Journal-this could be a great time for your older children to start journaling. My 10 year old daughter received a blank journal for her birthday and when all of this started, she decided to keep a Corona Virus Journal. At the end of each day she writes about what she did and rates her day. Giving children an outlet to talk about this time, share their feelings and vent is a really important thing, especially if they don't want to talk to you about it.

 Preparing for remote therapy has been a really interesting and exhausting thing but it has also been very helpful in me feeling ready to start working with kids in this new format. I hope that this list of materials is helpful for all of you whether you are parents, teachers or therapists. I would love to hear from you guys on what materials and toys are most important to you. I am always a click away and love hearing from you all. I think one of the most important things is that we all help each other during this crazy time and look forward to reading about other peoples ideas and experiences.