On The Go Fun

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

New Year, New Toys

One of the things that tends to happen to me during holiday shopping for my daughter and other kids is that I end up getting lots of new things for work.  This is the time of the year where I begin to get bored with all my toys and games at work.  If I am getting bored, I imagine the kids are getting bored too.  After the holidays, I always roll out some new toys, games and activities and the kids are totally excited to come into therapy to see what new things await them.  I love the idea of starting the new year off with fresh toys and ideas and the kids are more motivated and engaged in our sessions because of them.  I sometimes even ask kids to bring in some of their favorite gifts that they got to share with me.  Not only are they excited to tell me all about their new things, I get to learn about other great products out there that I might not have heard about before.

During my holiday shopping, I discovered lots of new products.  That's what happens when you are in and out of tons of stores and spending too much time searching online.  So, while shopping for all the little ones on list this year, I also picked up lots of stuff for work.  Here are the things that have been the biggest hits so far:

Mame Ohagki Rainbow Beans-I am a total sucker for almost any wooden toys.  There is no stopping me from buying almost any rainbow wooden toys I stumble upon.  The rainbow bean set  by Mame Ohagki is a beautiful toy that comes with a bunch of little rainbow colored wooden beans, a bowl and a set of wooden chopsticks.  While this can be used to encourage free play and creativity, it is also great for working on developing fine motor and manipulation skills, hand-eye coordination and bilateral coordination skills.  You can have kids work on sorting the different colored beans into piles or have them work on their counting skills.  By using the chopsticks, they are also working on increasing their grasp strength.
*for some of my younger kids, I have found that they have a hard time using the chopsticks provided.  I will provide them with a set of Zoo Sticks to make sure they have more success and don't end up getting frustrated by the task. 

Magic Moves Electronic Wand-getting kids up and moving around is important all the time, but it's especially important during the winter months when kids are not outside as much.  Let's face it, kids would rather be watching television or playing on some kind of electronical device so they need to be motivated to get up and workout.  The Magic Moves wand by Educational Insights promotes movement, gross motor skills and following directions.  Kids give the wand a shake and it will callout one of 90 different movements that the child then has to act out.  They may be asked to slither like a snake, fly like a bird, stomp like a bear and loads of other things.  This can be used 1:1 or with a group of kids.  Another similar product is the Magic Moves Jammin' Gym which is similar but instead of acting out movements, kids have to follow the directions to complete exercise movements (including some warm-up tasks).  One of the cool things about the Jammin' Gym wand is that if you go to their website you can print out 3 different posters that give you a visual to go along with the exercises.

Tobbly Wobbly-I was sold by this toy by Fat Brain Toys when I saw that they used one of my all time favorite toys, Squigz, on it to make an adorable little creature.  Think of this as a modern day Mr. Potato Head.  Tobbly Wobbly is an egg-shaped toy that comes with a 14 different Squigz and a two sheets of reusable stickers (everything can be conveniently stored inside the toy).  The Squigz can be turned into legs, arms, ears and even hair.  Kids can work on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills while also working on improving body awareness.  Additionally, kids are working on improving bilateral coordination skills, hand-eye coordination, imagination and creativity.  Sometimes, I have the kids draw a picture of their Tobbly Wobbly all completed, especially for those kids who are still having a hard time drawing a picture of a person.

Willy's Wiggly Web-when I was looking for cooperative games for my social skills group, I found this one by Peaceable Kingdom and felt like it was made for an occupational therapist.  In this cooperative game, kids work together to cut all the bugs free from the web before Willy the spider falls.  Kids not only get to work on cutting skills in a fun and creative way, they also work on improving hand-eye coordination, problems solving and organizational skills.  There are 3 levels of play so kids of all ages and skill levels can play whichever one that they will be successful.

Getting Ready to Write Gumball Grab-this is a great game by Lakeshore Learning that works on improving fine motor, visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  Additionally, kids can work on learning colors and counting skills.  The point of the game is quite simple:  be the first to fill your gumball machine by matching the colors.  I love how easily adaptable this game is based on the skill level of your child.  For example, if you have younger kids, you can remove the cards that have you take gumballs off of your mat and just use the ones that have the kids add gumballs.  If your kids are struggling using the grabbers that are provided with the game, Kids can use their fingers but make sure that you encourage them to use their "pinchers (thumb and pointer finger)" when they pick up the gumballs.

These are just a few of the new things that I have been playing with this first month back at work after the holidays.  The kids have been excited to test things out and I am happy to have some fresh things to do with the kids that have them motivated to participate in therapy.  Did your children receive anything wonderful this holiday season or did you find a gift while you were shopping that may be a good addition to my bag of tricks?  I love hearing about new toys, games and activities!  I am just a click away and am always excited to hear from you all.

Building Your Way To Fun

Sneak peak #3 to his year's holiday gift guide....building blocks and other manipulative toys.  These toys might be my favorite to play with at work and to give as gifts.  All the ones I have recommended are ones that you can find in local toy stores (support your local small businesses!!) and ones that should last you a really long time.  How many of you still have your alphabet blocks, lincoln logs or tinker toys from growing up?  I have chosen manipulative toys that should hold up like those have for so many of us.

Blocks and manipulative toys are great for so many reasons.  First of all, they stimulate creative and imaginative play.  They also encourage social interaction and cooperative play when used in group settings.  As far os occupational therapy skills, they can be used to work on a million things including bilateral coordination, eye-hand coordination, visual motor and visual perceptual skills, focus and attention and fine motor skills such as hand strength and increasing in-hand manipulation skills.  I love that these toys can be used in a therapeutic setting and then brought into the home so families can have fun with their kids while working on the skills that we are focusing on during our sessions.  Check out my list below and have fun building and creating!

Tegu Blocks-these blocks are one of my absolute favorite gifts to give kids.  I have had these in my own home since my daughter could sit up and play with toys.  These wooden blocks have a magnet inside so they can stick to each other.  They come in a variety of shapes and colors and now there are sets available where you can build cars and robots.  I love that any age child can be successful when using the blocks.  Great for working on improving fine motor skills, bilateral coordination, problem solving and imaginative play.  Can be played with independently or in a group.  If you are in Park Slope, check out the toy store Norman & Jules who has the best selection of Tegu Blocks in NYC!  During the summer, they have an outdoor space with a giant board to allow kids to make some of the coolest Tegu Block designs!

MagnaTiles-these have been on my list year after year.  These plastic tiles have magnets build into them so they can stick together to build 2-D and 3-D creations.  They are great for working on improving fine motor skills, bilateral coordination and visual motor and perceptual skills.  They come in a variety of shapes and colors so you can work on color and shape recognition when using them.  Additionally, Magna-Tiles help promote imaginative play and creativity.  Children can play with them independently or in small groups to work on encouraging teamwork and compromise.  Magna-Tiles are pricey but they will last you forever since they are so durable and well made.  I have had the same set of Magna-Tiles in my office for at least 6 years and they look as new as they did when I first bought them and they have literally been used by hundreds of kids.
Ogobild Bits- I discovered this Brooklyn-based company last holiday season when I saw them at one of the many amazing holiday markets all over the city.  If you have kids who love building, but you have enough Lego sets, this is a great gift for them!  There are small and large sets and each comes with a bunch of suggested items to build.  Great for working on building a child's imagination skills while building the muscles of the hands!  I have used them in my social skills group both with preschoolers and school age kids and they had an absolute blast.  Ideal for working on building grasp Ogobild with Animate Studio kits which are great for your older kids who may be interested in learning more about stop motion animation moviemaking.
strength and manipulation skills, bilateral coordination, eye-hand coordination and visual motor and perceptual skills.  These are super durable building toys that you will have for years and years to come.  OgoSports keeps expanding this line and have a bunch of new ones this year, including two
LaQ- I discovered this awesome manipulative building set this summer after a trip to The Bronx Zoo.  For the Lego lovers, this is another great toy.  These are actually flat shapes that snap together to make a ton of different shapes.  For tons of different patterns to make cars, animals, people, etc. using these different shaped blocks, clink here.  My kids love them and I don't see them getting too frustrated when it gets difficult to follow the directions.  Better suited for the older kids I work with (often too difficult for the preschoolers, especially those with fine motor difficulties).
Lego Duplo Read and Build- Legos seem to be another one of those toys that never get old.  When I discovered the Lego Duplo Read and Build Sets, I was so excited.  These sets are perfect for those smaller hands
that have difficulty with the small size Legos.  The accompanying instructions are great because they give very clear visuals on how to build the different objects (jungle and farm animals, bugs/caterpillar, a fairy tale and a car set) in the book.  This requires a child to organize their work, plan what they are doing and follow visual directions.  Great for working on improving grasp strength and bilateral coordination skills, visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  I love that kids have to follow along with the story while building the different objects which works on focus and attentional skills.
Pencil Grip Popbeads-I love these small popbeads!  They are great for working on increasing grasp strength and bilateral coordination skills.  These popbeads are bright in color and the kids love them.  For younger kids working on identifying colors, you can use these to work on that.  Also great for working on visual perceptual skills such as matching and sequencing.
Squigz/Squigz Benders/pipSquigz-these manipulative toys by Fat Brain Toys will bring hours of fun to your little ones!  Actually, you will love playing with them as much as your kids do!  These suction cup connecting toys will stick to each other and to almost any surface.  Use them in the bathtub or on your child's high chair.  You can push them together and pull them apart to make wonderful creations to stimulate your children's imagination skills.  The kids get a real kick out of the sound that they make when they pop apart!  They are also great for working on hand strengthening, bilateral coordination and eye hand coordination. Check out the different sets available to see which is best for your little one.
Hugs Links-these well made linking toys are great for kids as young as 3 months and as old as 3 years.  What you work on while playing with them at different ages is different, but they are versatile and well made.  B.Toys created a set of 24 colorful links that click together to build a rattle for the younger ones or a chain for the older ones.  Great for developing bilateral coordination, fine motor skills and upper extremity strength.

So, here are some of my favorite manipulative toys perfect for gift giving this year.  Not only are they great for working on a ton of occupational therapy goals, they are all well built and durable toys that should withstand the wear and tear over the years.

If you have any recommendations that should be added to this list, please email me.  I love hearing from you and appreciate people sharing new toys and ideas with me.  I am just a click away and hope to hear from you!