Drawing For Two

If you have read my blog, you will know that one of my favorite things is a good coloring or activity book.  I have a quite a collection at work and home and love to pull one out when I am beginning to feel a little stressed or overwhelmed by things.  Coloring and drawing happens to be one of the activities that my daughter and I love to do together.  In addition to it being a great way for us to relax and spend time with each other, I love that I get to sneak in some fine motor work with her.

There are many benefits of coloring and drawing.  From the perspective of an occupational therapist, I love that you can work on improving graphomotor and grasping skills during this activity.  It's also a great opportunity to work on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills including eye-hand coordination, tracking and several other things.  Coloring and drawing is also a wonderful way to work on developing executive functioning skills such as focus and attention, organizational skills and problem solving.

In addition to all of the skills above, drawing and coloring can also have a positive impact on a child's social emotional skills.  It can build confidence and self-esteem; the simple act of completing a complex picture or puzzle is an accomplishment for them to be proud of.  Coloring and activity books are also good for encouraging creativity and self-expression with kids.  There is no right or wrong when it comes to coloring which takes the pressure off of them.  I have spent a lot of time over the past 6 years learning about the importance of social emotional development and social skills through my work at The Meeting House.  So when I began to see coloring and activity books that were created for two, I quickly grabbed them.  I loved that in addition to working on fine motor and visual motor skills, kids are being encouraged to color, create and complete different puzzles with another person.

Here are a few of the great coloring and activity books out there that are made for two people.  Whether you want to color/draw with friends or your parents, there are some great books to choose from!

Tandem Activity Book- this activity book by Chronicle Books was created for kids to use together.  There are over 75 activities in this book that will get kids thinking, creating, drawing, writing and socializing with others.  Each side-by-side page has the same exact picture or activity for you to complete.  Kids will get to compare and contrast their finished products.  Whether it be drawing on the front of a postcard and then writing a letter on the back or drawing a picture of a gift you would want to receive in your mailbox, kids will have hours of fun completing this book and talking about what they drew.

Two Player Big Fun Book-as coloring and drawing become more popular with older kids, I have heard of play dates being centered around this activity.  For some kids, they are able to multi-task and color and socialize at the same time.  For others, they become so absorbed by the coloring that it ends up being a play date where two kids are just coloring side by side with no conversation.  The Two Player Big Fun Book is a perfect solution for this because it encourages kids to socialize while doing something they enjoy.  In this book, each child picks one side of the book.  There are mazes, connect the dots, word games and drawing/coloring activities that require collaboration and teamwork.

Color With Me: A Coloring Book to Share-another great coloring book that friends can color at the same time.  Each two page spread contains different pictures with similar themes.  This way each child gets to color and create their own image but not made to feel like they have to make the picture exactly the same thing.


Color With Mom:  A Coloring Book to Share-if you love coloring and you have a kid who loves to color, they often want to color in the same book that you are.  However, as great as the adult coloring books are, they are not created with young children in mind.  When I found the Color With Mom book at Barnes and Noble, I had to grab it for me and my daughter.  The great thing about this book is that there are similar pictures on each side-by-side page but one side has a more complicated image and the other is more kid-friendly.  My daughter has loved this because the she can be successful coloring in the same book as me.  I love it because there aren't tears because she is stressing out that the picture we are coloring is too hard for her and that it isn't perfect.  Great for bonding with your child.

Draw With Me, Dad!  Draw, Color and Connect with Your Child (A-Side-By-Side Book)-there are a lot of books out there for moms and kids to do together, but if you are like me, I have a husband who LOVES to create and draw with our daughter.  One of my favorite things about this activity book is that in addition to providing a platform for dads and kids to create together, it also includes tips on how to maximize your time together and lots of questions that you can ask while coloring.

Usborne Pencil & Paper Games-I am a huge fan of the Usborne activity books for a variety of reasons.  When I discovered the Pencil & Paper Games book, I was really excited.  Featuring a variety of simple games, this is a great book for two (or more) people to do together to pass time.  This portable activity book is filled with classic games like Hangman, Tic-Tac-Toe, The Dot Game and many others.  What I love about this book is that it is great for older kids who need to work on executive functioning, problem solving and reasoning skills.

Pirasta Coloring Pages-one of the coolest things I have seen, especially for older kids, are these giant coloring page posters by Pirasta. While they have smaller size posters (that are also super awesome), they have these giant posters that you can hang on a wall and a bunch of kids can color at the same time.  There are a bunch of different subjects to choose from but my personal favorite is the New York City one.  I have recommended these posters to tons of people and they are always a huge hit.  I actually used one last year with my TMH Juniors group and it was so fun to watch them all lying on the floor together working together to complete the poster.  These posters are great for working on improving fine motor skills, upper extremity strength (if you hang the poster on the wall) and visual motor/perceptual skills. You can even play a game of I Spy with these posters having kids challenge each other to find things that they spot when looking at the poster.

Do you have any great activity and coloring books that you have discovered that encourage kids to work together?  I would love to add to my collection!  I am always a click away and love hearing from you all.

My Top 10 OT Tools

For those of you who aren't occupational therapists, you may not realize that April is Occupational Therapy Month.  It began in 1980 and was scheduled to coincide with the AOTA Conference and Expo.  I feel beyond fortunate to work in a field where there are so many dedicated professionals with the common goal of making life better and happier for people.

I thought it would be fun to make this week's post focus on my top 10 tools for my sessions.  While my closet and storage boxes are overflowing, there are a handful of things that I consistently use with kids of all ages and skill levels almost every single day.  The thing that is common amongst all of the items listed below are that they can be used at home with kids.  They are tools that a parent can have that will help us therapist's carry over some of the work that I do during my sessions.  They are things that don't take up a ton of space and don't require the knowledge of an occupational therapist to use.  Most of them are things that can be picked up in local toy stores or on Amazon.com.  Lastly, they are all affordable and things that can be modified depending on a child's age and skill level.

1.  Discovery Putty-for years, I was hiding objects and coins in therapy putty.  It served the purpose to help build strength in those little hands, but it got old and boring and the kids would lose interest quickly.  When I heard about Discovery Putty by Fun and Function, I quickly became obsessed and it became a fan favorite of all my kids.  Kids who used to avoid this activity now ask to find the animals, treats, vehicles or school supplies hidden in varying resistance of putty.

2.  Zoo Sticks-where shall I begin with my love for Zoo Sticks by Hog Wild Toys???  I began using them to pick up these squishy plastic animals to work on improving fine motor skills and grasp strength.  I now use them for pretty much anything I can....whether it is to pick up the pieces of fruit from a game like Hi Ho Cherry O or to pick up M&Ms to work on sorting by color, Zoo Sticks are a great, versatile and affordable tool to have at home.  I often suggest parents pick a few sets of these up to have eat dinner with.  It's an easy way to work on improving eye-hand coordination, grasp strength, visual motor skills and independence for feeding.  Plus, they are super fun and cool looking!

3. Stylus for an iPad-there are a ton of different kinds of stylus' to choose from these days.  And like most things, when there are so many to choose from, it becomes too difficult and we just opt to avoid. If you are going to use an iPad to help facilitate skills, especially handwriting skills, I always suggest using a stylus as it is  I have 3 that I recommend to parents these days:
iCreate Crayon Stylus-looks and feels like one of those fat Crayola crayons.  Good for promoting an appropriate grasp on a writing instrument.  Kids like to use it because it looks like something they are used to using
Kikkerland Retro Stylus Pen-light weight and provides a 2 in 1 writing option.  Kids can practice using an appropriate grip on an iPad and a piece of paper using the same writing instrument.
Cosmonaut-I've been through a lot of different stylus pens but right now, this is my absolute favorite. There is a lot to love about this $25 stylus....the width of the stylus makes it good for encouraging an appropriate tripod grasp.  The weight of it is good for encouraging a child to use the appropriate amount of pressure when writing with it.  Lastly, it is a very well made and durable stylus so it is able to a beating from a lot of use from kids.

4.  Orb Factory Sticky Mosaics-I discovered these years ago and now always have a couple of sets in the office to work on with kids.  The idea is very simple:  kids have to match different colored stickers to the number that it goes with to make a colorful picture.  It's a great craft to work on improving fine motor, visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  They are super motivating and fun activity to do with children of all ages.  Over the years, the selection has grown making it easy to find a set that will make your kid excited to complete.

5.  Spot It Games-I'm a big fan of games that are not only fun for kids to play, but easily adapted for all different ages and skill sets.  Spot It, by Blue Orange Games, is one of those kind of games.  There are a variety of ways to play this game, but the basic gist of it is that you have to find matching objects between cards.  Each card has an equal number of objects and even when you don't think it is at all possible, there is always one matching object.  Great for working on a variety of visual skills, focus and attention and social skills.  One of the best things about this game is that it is small, lightweight and easy to take with you.

6.  Crayola Triangular Crayons-these days, there are so many different brands of crayons to choose from that you can easily get confused.  I am a traditionalist when it comes to crayons and stick to Crayola...you know they are good quality and offer the best colors!  For my little ones, those beginning to color and draw, it's important that the crayons are wider making it easier for them to hold. I also encourage parents to get the triangle shaped crayons for two reasons:  it encourages a tripod-like grasp and they won't constantly roll off a table!  Another little trick:  break the crayons into two or three small pieces to encourage kids to use a non-fisted grasp when holding them.

7.  ZoomBall-the zoomball has been one of my favorite gross motor/upper body strengthening tools from the very beginning of my career.  Kids feel so good about themselves when they finally figure out how to get the ball going back and forth with a partner.  This is a good toy to have at home since it doesn't take up a lot of space.  Parents often ask what they can buy or do at home to work on strengthening and this is one of my top suggestions.  It's great for a kid to play with with their parents or siblings.  If you want to add a challenge, you can play a word game while playing:  think of a category (sport, food, color, etc.) and every time you send the ball back to your partner, you have to call off something in that category.

8.  Usborne Drawing Books-learning how to draw can be a challenging thing for kids.  And when something is challenging, kids will avoid it.  For me as a therapist, helping a child gain confidence with drawing is an important thing.  Drawing is a critical skill in young children as it is their first way of telling stories.  Usborne has a wonderful drawing book that teaches children how to draw everything animals to hot air balloons in easy to follow steps.  Kids will begin to see how you can draw so many different things by joining simple shapes together.  At the same time, their confidence will grow!

9.  Kumon Workbooks-it can be incredibly overwhelming walking into a bookstore trying to find the best workbooks for kids these days.  There are so many choices making it difficult to know which ones to get.  For years, I have been using and suggesting the Kumon workbooks.  My favorites are the cutting, coloring and pasting books for the younger kids but I really do love all of the books.  The pictures are always motivating and the paper is often thicker than most of the workbooks I have tried out in the past.  This is especially important for cutting....the thicker the paper is, the easier it is for children to have success with cutting.  Personally, I have a 6 year old daughter who asks for her cutting books at least once a week!

10.  Fiskar's Scissors-when kids are learning how to cut, it's really important to provide them with a good pair of scissors.  Ones that are the correct size, easy to open and close and cut through paper with little difficulty.  I can't tell you how many times I have walked into classrooms and had a teacher tell me that so many kids can't cut and they can't figure out why.  When I look at their scissors, they are often too big and the blades are full of glue and stickiness making it impossible for the kids to cut with ease.  Whenever anyone asks me for a scissor recommendation, I suggest Fiskar's children's scissors.  They never disappoint!

It was a lot of fun to put this list together and hope it will help some of you parents out.  It can be hard knowing what kinds of things you need at home to help your children be successful and oftentimes you think that you have to rely on the therapeutic catalouges where everything is much more expensive.  It's important to me to educate parents that more often than not, you can just adapt toys or tools for your children who may need more support.  If you have any questions or want some advice on other tools you can use at home, please feel free to email me.  I am a click away and love hearing from you all!

Thinking Inside and Outside The Lines

This may be my favorite section of my whole guide because one of my favorite things to do is color.

 I can spend hours coloring and my daughter has found a love of this as well.  We will sit side by side sharing our pens, markers and crayons talking about what we are coloring and helping each other out every once in a while.

Did you know that coloring is not only great for kids but has been found to have many benefits for adults as well?  This article from Huffington Post last year talks about how coloring can decrease stress in adults which makes it a great thing for parents and kids to do together. Not only is it fun, it's a great way to bond and talk about things.  Coloring is a fabulous way to work on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills in a non-stressful way.  When you are coloring with your child, you shouldn't tell them what to do (for example, what colors to use) or make them stay in the lines.  When there are specific instructions, have them read them to you and make sure they understand what is being asked of them.  Encourage independence, success, creativity and imagination as much as you can.

There are SO many great coloring and activity books out there right now.  So many that it can make it really difficult to choose sometimes.  There are also tons of different tools out there for coloring.  Some people like to color/draw with crayons and pencils, while others would much rather color with markers.  There is no right or wrong....it's whatever works best for you.  I have shared some of my picks below.  Ones that have been kid tested and therapist approved!

Usborne The Big Book of Things to Find and Colour- another great activity book by Usborne. This one is packed with tons of fun pictures.  Each page has directions for things to find and color in. For example, there is a page filled with fairies and you have to find all the ones holding wands and color them in a certain color, find the one with wings and color them in, etc. This highly motivating activity book works on improving visual motor and visual scanning skills, focus and attention, grasping skills and planning and organizational skills.

The Super Book For Superheroes-this activity book is the perfect gift for your superhero loving artist.  It is filled with ideas, drawing, coloring and activities that encourage kids to be creative and use their imagination.  Kids will learn how to draw villains, create superheroes, secret hideouts, costumes and gadgets they will need to save the world!  For older children, you can have them write out their thoughts and write stories so you can work on improving handwriting skills at the same time.  Kids will have fun working on improving graphomotor, visual motor and perceptual skills, storytelling, focus, attention and organizational skills.

Happy Snacks Color-In'Book-my daughter is really into Shopkins right now so when I saw this adorable coloring book, I had to get it.  The pictures are so cute and engaging.  I love how while we are coloring, we are talking about what we see and whether we like that food or not.  My little girl is a bit of a "by the books" kinda kid, so I've used this book as a way to encourage her to think outside of the box and be more creative.  There is no reason the mushrooms on the pizza can't be purple or the marshmallows in the hot chocolate can't be green.  At the same time, we are working on improving visual motor/perceptual skills, eye-hand coordination, focus and attention and improving her grasping skills.  Once your picture is complete, they are easy to tear out and display for others to see!
The Usbourne Book of Drawing, Doodling and Colouring-I am a huge fan of almost every single Usbourne book I have every purchased.  They are colorful, engaging and educational.  This particular book is a favorite of mine because it combines the best part of many of their books into one big collection.  This book allows a child to color and create things.  It allows them to work on improving their drawing skills.  It gives them step by step instructions in a very easy to follow visual friendly manner that allows kids who feel like they aren't artists be really good artists!  There are pictures to fill in and make your own and give you instructions to follow in order to complete pictures.  Great for working on improving fine motor skills, such as improving grasping patterns, improving visual motor/perceptual skills, eye-hand coordination and executive functioning skills.

The Dollhouse Book-I am madly in love with this activity book by Rock and Pebble that I just found when at my local toy store, Norman and Jules.  The Dollhouse Book is a drawing book shaped like a half of a house.  When you open it, you will find 30 blank pages that can be turned into your child's dream dollhouse. Through drawing, coloring, painting or using stickers, kids can make 15 different rooms.  This is great for working on improving imagination and creativity skills as kids are encouraged to make each room different.  For kids who have a hard time with coming up with ideas, you can spend some time looking at pictures of different rooms of houses and have them talk about what they will draw.  This book is great for working on improving fine motor and grasping skills, improving visual motor and perceptual skills and executive functioning skills, such as focus, attention and organization.
Once Upon A Doodle-in this activity book, kids get to create and complete fairy tale pictures. What I

like most about this book is that while there is a lot of room to be as creative and imaginative as you want, there are certain rules that need to be followed to complete the pictures.  For example, there is a page with a bunch of horses in a field.  Your child's job is to turn all those horses into magical unicorns.  Whether it be turning those horses into unicorns or drawing a long, stringy beard on Rumplestiltskin, kids will have fun coloring and drawing while working on improving fine motor, visual motor and perceptual skills, focus/attention and organizational skills.  It's fun to introduce kids to new fairy tales and work on building storytelling skills by having them tell you what's happening in the pictures they have completed.
Usbourne Sticker Books-my daughter is obsessed with these sticker books and can be entertained by them for hours on end.  There are several to choose from and you can often find them in most book stores.  I love them because they are great for working on developing fine motor skills, bilateral coordination, eye-hand coordination and visual motor and perceptual skills.  Also great for working on expanding language skills.  There are a lot of different sticker books (sports, princesses, castles and doll houses to name a few) to choose from so you will be sure to find one that is just right for your child.

Doodle Lit:  Coloring on the Classics-from the creators of the amazing BabyLit board books comes this fabulous and beautiful activity book.  Doodle Lit introduces kids to classic literature such as Pride & Prejudice, Romeo & Juliet, Alice in Wonderland and many, many more.  The book is chock-full of activities, including decorating the teapot for Alice's tea party and Jane Austen paper dolls.  There's so much more than just coloring in this book and can be a great book for your older children.  While learning about classic characters in literature, children are working on improving imagination and creativity skills, eye-hand coordination, visual motor and visual perceptual skills and improving fine-motor and grasping skills.
Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book-this beautiful and interactive coloring book, illustrated by Johanna Basford, is something that you will want to do with your children.  I have spent countless hours working on this book (and others from Johanna Basford) with my daughter by my side.  It's more than just a coloring book...adorable garden creatures are hidden throughout the pages, making it great for working on improving visual perceptual skills.  Additionally, it's great for working on building speech and language skills as you and your child talk about what you see on each page.
Scented Gel Pens-I am a total sucker for good coloring tools and these happen to be my favorite right now.  More importantly, my little girl (who ironically has a terrible pencil grip) loves them!  This particular set is great because the pens are smaller and encourage a more appropriate grip.  Even if you have decreased grasp strength, you can use these and be successful because they are smooth and easy to use.  An added bonus is that they smell really good so kids get excited to use them.

Chalkola Markers-I was lucky enough for this product to have found me before I published this years gift guide.  I've been searching for something like these for a while and they happened to drop in my lap.  For many of the kids I work with, I suggest that parents find a wall in their house that they can put up some chalkboard or white erase paper on a free wall to work on graphomotor skills.  However, finding the write writing instruments to use on these surfaces has been tricky.  Dry erase markers are great but for so many of the kids I work with, they drag their hand along their work and erase their work before finishing.  These chalk markers are great because they go on as smoothly as they come off.  When I took them out at my gym recently and had the kids write on our mirror, they were so excited.  I had one little boy (who has always been resistant to handwriting activities) ask to write his name four different time in as many colors.  The nice thing about these chalk markers is that once they are started, they are easy to use so if you have a kid with decreased grasp strength, they can still be successful.  I happened to work on a large wall mirror with my friends which is great for building up upper extremity strength and shoulder stability.  When working in this upright position, kids are also more likely to prop their wrists up correctly which puts them in a more appropriate grasping pattern.  Besides practicing shapes, letters and numbers, you can play games like Tic-Tac-Toe, Hangman or the dot game.
Crayola Pip Squeaks-all of the Pip Squeak line is pretty awesome but the markers are a staple in my gym and I recommend them to all parents.  There are two different kids of Pipsqueak markers....regular and skinnies.  I love them both and tell parents to try both to see what their child
does better with.  One of the things I work on the most with the kids I work with is getting them to hold a writing instrument in a correct way.  One thing I have learned is that the smaller the writing instrument, the more likely a child is to hold it correctly.  Some people ask why I recommend markers over crayons or colored pencils and the answer is simple:  if you have a child with decreased grasp strength, they will fine more success when using markers over any other writing instrument because the amount of pressure they need to use on markers is not as much as crayons or pencils.
Crayons and Pencils-it's hard to know which crayons and colored pencils are the best.  It's really a personal preference and you may choose different coloring tools for different activities.

As an occupational therapist, I tend to use ones that are in the shape of a triangle because they help to Crayola's My First Crayons are a great and affordable option for your little artists and can be found in most drug stores, local toy stores and big box stores like Target.  A little tip...the smaller the crayon is, the more likely a child is to hold it in a more appropriate grasp.  For older children, P'Kolino carries amazing products.  My personal favorite is the Hexagon Shaped Colored Pencils.  Unlike most colored pencils, these are 100% color so you can use the whole pencil and there is no pencil sharpener required (honestly, where is a pencil sharpener when you really need it??).  Another nice thing about these colored pencils is that they are pretty durable and don't break easily, which is a nice feature for those kids who tend to use too much pressure when engaged in graphomotor tasks.
promote a tripod like grasp.

I could go on and give you all dozens of more options, but if you are anything like me, the more choices I find myself presented with, the more confused I get.  Do any of you have a fabulous coloring or activity book that you love?  I would love to tell Santa about them for my daughter if you have any we shouldn't love without!  I am always a click away and I love hearing from you with your ideas and suggestions.

Screen Free Summer Fun

Last week, I blogged about a bunch of apps that would be good for kids to use during the summer.  I know, and totally respect, that technology and screen time aren't for everyone (you can see that post here).  There are too many kids who get sucked into the games and have a hard time pulling themselves away from an iPad so sometimes it's just easier for those kids to not use it at all.  I know that there are some kids who just do better with more hands on activities for learning.  This post will focus on activities, games and toys that can be used this summer to help kids work on maintaining what they worked on during the school year in therapy and school.

Many of the things I will suggest below are ones that I have written about before but are ones that I think would be great for the summer.  I have tried to find things that don't take up a lot of room for those of you who will be traveling and don't want to bring things that are heavy or take up a lot of room.  The most important thing is that everything I suggest has been kid tested and approved.

Orb Factory Sticky Mosaics-one of my absolute favorite activities to do with my kids at work.  These are also one of the first things I recommend to parents who are looking for an easy but therapeutic art activity to do with their children at home.  When I first discovered Sticky Mosaics, there were only a few sets to choose from.  Now you can find dozens and dozens to choose from which means there is a set that will be right for whatever your child is interested in.  I stumbled upon this awesome Dragon set which was a HUGE hit amongst my older boys more interested in scary and more "boy" like things.  The goal of each mosaic is to match the different colored square and gem stickers to the the number associated with it.  There are different kinds of sets for younger/toddler kids which require the kids to match larger stickers that are varying colors and shapes.  No matter what set your child chooses, this is great for working on developing fine-motor skills, increasing grasp strength, improving bilateral coordination, focus/attention and eye-hand coordination.  Each set typically comes with 4 or 5 different pictures to complete and plenty of stickers to complete them.  For those of you who will be traveling, take all the pieces and throw them in a ziploc bag.  The box it comes in takes up a lot of space and could be annoying to travel with.  Take that away and you have a very lightweight activity that won't take up space in a travel bag and will occupy your kids for hours!

Boogie Board-the Boogie Board has been around for a while but it's only been in the last year or so

that it has become a staple not only at my office but in my work and personal bag.  This lightweight writing tablet is perfect for keeping kids busy while in the car, plane or at the beach/pool.  They can practice writing letters, draw pictures or play games against their friends (Hangman, Tic-Tac-Toe or the Dot game). Like I have already mentioned, the Boogie Board is lightweight and takes up very little room in a bag making it a perfect thing to pack.  I encourage parents to use the Boogie Board in conjunction with an iPad if they are working on handwriting apps; first they can practice the letter on the iPad and then practice using the Boogie Board.  If you are concerned about how much paper your kids waste when playing games, this is perfect because no paper is required!  Some people have mentioned that the stylus that comes with the board is a bit too thin for their kids.  If this is the case for your kids, there are a lot of pencil grips that can fit right onto the stylus which will make using it easier for those little hands.

Uno Dare-I just found this new version of the classic game Uno the other day.  I have loved Uno forever and always have a full set in my bag of tricks for work.  Uno is great for working on so many things:  color and number recognition, eye-hand coordination, focus, attention, social skills, executive functioning and several other things.  One of the things I like most about Uno is that it can easily be adapted to suite the level of different children.  For example, when I am just teaching a child how to play, I remove all of the extra cards and focus on mastering the concept of matching the numbers or colors.  As kids become more comfortable, I slowly introduce the extra cards.  I find that kids, especially those who may have some learning difficulties, end up being more successful when you play it this way.  So, back to Uno Dare.  The game is essentially the same but they have added a more physical/gross motor aspect to the game.  On the wild and choose 2 cards are put down, opponents have the option of taking the number of cards or doing a dare.  They get kids up and moving around which I have found really helps with focus and attention.  Some of the dares are jumping like a bunny rabbit until your next turn, holding a card against the wall with your nose until your next turn or having to try and blow just one card off the top of the deck.  It's fun to watch the kids get into the dares that are provided.  I am excited to try this with one of my social skills groups and have them come up with their own dares for their friends!

Thumbs Up-I'm always excited to see new games by Blue Orange Games.  I was in an Upper East Fantastic Kids Toys,  and one of the employees there suggested I try out Thumbs Up.  It's become a fast favorite of mine and every kid that I have used it with at work.  Like all the other games/activities I have written about, I have included this on a summer list because of how light and easy it is to travel with. Take it out of the box, throw it in a ziploc bag and you can throw it in a travel bag...it could be a great game for a plane ride or family game nights when on vacation.   Thumbs Up is a fast-paced game that works on improving visual skills such as visual motor, visual perceptual, visual tracking and visual attention.  It can also work on improving color and number recognition.  The game consists of 4 different colored rings and a stack of cards; the cards all have fun pictures with numbers and colors.  The point of the game is simple:  each player is given 8 rings (2 of each color), the cards are placed in the middle of the group and each player takes a card.  The first person to correctly put their rings on their thumb in the order wins that round.  The first person to get 5 cards is the winner of the game.  For a game to be a true winner for me, it's important that it be easily adaptable for kids of different ages and cognitive levels.  Thumbs Up is great because you can sift through the cards and finds one that will be appropriate for younger children.

Discovery Putty-Fun and Function now has 4 different putty sets for you to choose from.  I happen to have all four at the gym I work at which makes it fun for the kids as they get to do something new and different every session.  Their job is to find all the animals, sweet treats, vehicles or school supplies hidden in the putty.  While doing this, they are working on building up their fine motor skills, especially grasping skills and hand strength.  Once they have found all of the objects, they can hide them for the next person to try and find them.  Unlike regular theraputty, kids are more motivated by the kid-friendly colors and objects hidden inside.  I love how much conversation can be had while finding the objects.  For children who are also working on language skills, be sure to ask them about each found object, what it does, how it is used, how it tastes, etc..  Like many of the other things already written about, the containers of putty are lightweight and won't take up much room in a bag.

Usborne Activity Books-while I find it is important to rest and relax over the summer, I also think it Lots of Things to Find and Color and it is still my favorite.  Each page is filled with a new adventure...it might be a page filled with fairies or an ocean filled with fish.  On each page, there are several rules for the kids to follow.  For example, on that page of fairies, you have to spot all the fairies with a wand and color them a certain color.  Another great one is the Usborne Big Color by Numbers Book.  This is better suited for older kids and requires that kids recognize their numbers.  There is a lot of coloring to do on each page so it requires attention, focus and coloring endurance.  The completed pictures are really fun and the kids truly feel like they have accomplished something once they have completed it.  For kids who are struggling to learn how to draw, I have found that the Usborne Big Drawing Book to be really motivating and successful.  A child is taught how to draw animals, objects and people step-by-step in a visual and easy to follow way.  I will have the kids practice the steps first on a Boogie Board and once they feel confident, have them draw in the book.  They are encouraged to add their own details, color them in the way they want to and really make the picture their own.
These are just 3 of the dozens and dozens of activity books by Usborne.  Next time you are in Barnes and Noble, or any bookstore for that matter, look through their selection and find the book that's right for your kid.  Any of their books are perfect for keeping your kids entertained and learning on long car/plane rides.  They will keep meals out from being a dreaded experience for you all!  Most import
is important for the kids I work with to spend some time focusing on the skills that we worked on so hard all year long.  I don't want kids to be drilled with flash cards or asked to spend time every day doing boring workbooks...that's not what summer should be about.  What I would like is for kids to spend some time working on fine motor, handwriting and drawing skills in a fun way.  There are so many great activity books out there....spend some time at a local bookstore or a Barnes and Noble and you will easily get lost in all of your options.  I discovered the magic of Usborne books a couple of years ago when on the hunt for something new and different to get my kids motivated to color.  The first book I discovered was the

Magnetic-Go Hangman-when traveling with older kids, it's important to have lots to entertain them.  From my personal experience, no matter how complicated or mature those kids are, it doesn't take a crazy amount of energy to entertain them.  Hangman is one of those classic games that can keep even the most high maintenance of kids entertained.  I was killing time the other day between clients and found this fantastic magnetic hangman game.  I've already played it with a few of my kids and it's great.  The kid I happened to play this Hangman game with is someone who has a difficult time with coming up with an idea....she needed a lot of support to come up with words and organize her work in order for us to play this game.  If playing this game with a typically developing child, the sky is the limit....you can explain the rules of Hangman and run with it.  What I have found to be helpful for the kids I work with is that you (the therapist/grownup) start the game off by being the person to choose the word that the kid has to guess.  Give them a clue about what your word is....for example, you say something like "This is something I like to eat" or "this is something you play on in the playground". I have actually used a Boogie Board and have the kids write their word on that so they can refer to it as their opponent is guessing letters so they can easily figure out if a letter is in the word and where it goes.  This game is recommended for kids ages 5 and older but really should be for kids who are reading and writing.  I have a pretty smart 5 year old but she wouldn't be able to play this game successfully.  The best thing about this game is that it's compact, lightweight and won't take up space.  It doesn't need to be turned off during takeoff and landing.  It's great for problem solving, improving social skills, visual motor/perceptual skills and literacy skills.

Spot It Games-I've been a fan of the Spot It games by Blue Orange Games forever.  Truth be told, I love any game that can be played quickly, with few rules and guarantees a lot of fun.  Added bonus with all of the Spot It games are that they come in a cute little tin and take up almost no room at all in your bag.  You can't go wrong with any of the Spot It games.  My princess loving 5 year old really loves the Frozen and Princess Sofia editions that came out earlier this year but if have a sports loving kinda kid, there are lots to choose from as well.  There are several ways to play Spot It but whatever way you choose to play, you will work on improving visual motor/perceptual skills, eye-hand coordination, focus and attentional skills and social/pragmatic skills.  There are several ways to play the game and I tend to encourage the kids I work with to decide on the rules they want to play by before starting play.  Great to play in a group of two or as a whole family which makes it perfect to take on summer vacations.

OgoDisc -I include the OgoDisc on my Holiday Gift Guide each year.  It's a great outdoor game (and indoor if you have the right space).  We use it at The Meeting House and at Head's Up (the therapeutic gym I work at in New York City) with some of our older kids to work on gross motor, sensory motor and executive functioning skills.  Additionally, it's great for working on improving social skills, especially being a good sport, playing by the rules and sometimes, being part of a team.  OgoSport describes the OgoDisc is a hand trampoline that can be used to throw, catch and bounce balls back and forth.  They have several sizes and versions (with or without handles) but the point of the game is very simple:  see how many times you can catch and bounce the ball back to one or more people before it hits the ground.  One of my favorite things about this set is that it is lightweight and has a great grip for even the littlest of hands to easily grab onto it.  I have found that when I introduce this game to some of my kids, it's best to have them practice by themselves and see how many times they can (gently) hit the ball up and down without it falling to the ground; this gives them a sense of what is expected, how hard they need to hit it, the importance of keeping their eyes on the ball, etc.. As they get better and more comfortable, you can have them play with other kids.  This is a great family game.....perfect for taking on camping trips and vacations.  My daughter loves playing with us and I love watching her confidence grow as she gets better at catching and hitting the ball.

There is a lot here to keep you and your kiddos busy this summer that gets them away from an iPad, video games or any other screen.  Everything here has been kid-tested and therapist approved and can be perfect for taking on vacations.  I love that they will not only work on improving a ton of occupational therapy skills, but can help with improving social skills and encourage families to play together.  While I don't want kids to lose any of the skills that they worked so hard on all year, I also want to make sure that they get a chance to have fun, rest and have fun with their friends and family.  I have tried to suggest things that I thought could accomplish all of those things!

Do you have any games/toys that you love using at work or with your family?  I would love to hear from you about your family favorites, especially those that are great for traveling and taking on a long car/plane tripe.  I am always a click away and love hearing from you all!

Happy Summer to you all!  May it be filled with tons of opportunities to create some amazing memories.

So Much To Color...So Little Time!

I know we live in a technological world.  I am part of that techno world and love using my iPad in my work world because it is motivating and exciting and can do a whole lot in helping many of my kids meet some of their occupational therapy goals.  With that said, there is little that makes me as happy as finding an awesome coloring/activity book.  While there are a ton of wonderful coloring apps available for the iPad, nothing will ever take the place of using crayons or markers to make a beautiful picture.  I have a work closet full of them and a shelf at home dedicated to coloring books that I do with my own daughter.  When I find a good coloring/activity book, I buy many of them and encourage friends, family and colleagues to do the same.

When I find a good coloring book, I get giddy.  I wish I could say it was because I am only thinking about how much the kids at work (or my kid at home) will love it.  In reality, I am thinking about me and how much fun I will have watching the kids interact with the coloring books.  And maybe I am thinking about how much fun I will have looking through the book and doing some coloring of my own in some of my free time (hah...what is that?!!??).

I am fortunate to live in a city that is overflowing with awesome stores.  More fortunate that so many of those stores are targeted towards my love of children, toys and having fun.  Recently, I have found myself obsessed with two coloring/activity books and feel like anyone who works or has children should have them.  Not only are they super fun, they both have educational and therapeutic value that will make them a perfect addition to your work/home collection of toys.

Lots of Things to Find and Color by Usborne Activities

I can't get enough of this book.  More importantly, my kids at work seem to be enjoying it as much as me!  When I first saw this book at West Side Kids, I thought my daughter Quinn and I would have fun with it.  When I opened it up and saw looked through each and every page, I realized that not only was it great for my kid, it would be great for so many of my kids at work.  This is not your ordinary coloring book.  While there are plenty of opportunities to work on improving your coloring skills, there is so much more here.  Each page has a different picture or theme and are perfect for boys or girls.  Maybe it is a spread of fairies or cars, maybe it is a bunch of yummy looking food or an under the sea scene.  Whatever it is, they are adorable!  Each page has specific instructions for a child to follow such as finding all the fairies holding wands and coloring them a certain color or look at a picture of a food item, find its match and color it the same color.   If you look at the picture below, you will see that not only does it give you specific instructions on what to look for and color, it also leaves a part of the page free for you to fill in with your own pictures.  So not only is this good for working on improving coloring skills, it is also great for improving a child's drawing and creativity skills.  I love that once the kids are done following the directions, they can then be free to do what they want with the rest of the images that are not colored.  I have noticed that my kids are excited to do what they need to so then they can be free to use whatever colors they want to!

This particular coloring book is great for working on visual perceptual skills and improving focus and attention.  I love that a child has to look for specific items; they are required to scan the pages to find what they need to.  For some of my kids, this is a tremendous challenge and I have to give them specific instructions on how to look for the picture by starting at the top and using their finger to help guide them.  This also requires a child to look at details; many of my kids will rush through and begin to just color anything that looks like what they are supposed to be looking for just to be finished.


This book is great for preschoolers and younger school age children.  With that said, some of the older kids on my caseload love it as well.  Okay, let me honest here.  I LOVE it and love doing it alongside my kids at work.  I find that coloring can help my children slow down and become more focused and attentive to other tabletop activities.  For many of my children who struggle with handwriting, I will start off with a coloring activity as a warm up.  It's great to do something fun and something they can be successful with prior to something that is more challenging.

The Colouring Book by Herve Tullet

My friends at Norman & Jules have a great selection of books and when they stock a coloring book, I rush up to pick it up.  They don't mess around with their toys and the same can be said about their coloring book choices.  They tend to have coloring books that you don't see at a lot of other toy stores.  I love how they think outside of the box when they pick something out for their customers.

This is a great coloring book for the older children on my caseload.  Like the book mentioned above, it's more than just a coloring book.  Many of the pages have special instructions for you to follow.  For example, there is a page with a bunch of numbers on it and it asks you to color in only the even or odd numbers (which is why this is more appropriate for older children).  There are pages that ask you to follow particular patterns or others that ask you to look for a certain shape/picture and color them all in the same color.  

All of the activity books by Herve Tullet are great.  I especially like to use them for my kids who have more difficulty with being creative or have a hard time thinking outside of the box.  His books are funky and sophisticated and make my kids really think about what they want to do and how they want their picture to look.  I like to look through the books before working with a child and figuring out what page(s) would be best for each child based on the goals I have with them.  The variety in pictures and activities makes it great for finding something that will motivate a child you are working with and allow them to be successful.  To me, it is most important to push my kids to do things outside of their comfort zone but also make sure that they will be successful so their self-esteem and confidence is not compromised.

In general, all coloring books are a great tool for occupational therapy and meeting fine-motor and visual motor/perceptual goals.  The books mentioned above are just 2 of the many that are out there. They can work on so much including:

Improve Grasping Skills-many of the kids on my caseload need to work on improving their grasping skills when holding a writing instrument.  Sometimes they need to be really motivated to work on this.  I find when I get the right coloring or activity books, the kids I work with are more likely to want to spend time working on something that is challenging for them.  I like to make sure that I have plenty of options available when it comes to writing instruments.  I like to use broken crayons that are only a few inches to try and encourage the kids to use a tripod-like grasp.  Sometimes I will use rock crayons; they are the perfect size for our little ones who are using more immature grasping patterns on writing instruments.
For my daughter's fourth birthday party (with a unicorn theme), I discovered this great Etsy shop.  Scribblers Crayons is the brain child of Randi, a mom who makes a bunch of fantastic shaped crayons. If you are looking for ways to motivate your child to color, take a look at her page and see if there any of her designs would make your child more excited about coloring.  I like the star and the heart shaped ones the best!
Improve Visual Motor Skills-coloring/activity books are obviously great for working on visual skills.  Whether it be improving eye-hand coordination when coloring in the lines or using visual scanning to find the hidden things on the page, these books can be a fun way to work on a skill that may cause a child frustration.
Improve Modulation/Regulation-coloring is a great activity to do when you want to work on modulation/regulation.  Many of my kids will scribble furiously only have paying attention to the boundaries of what they are coloring.  I like to challenge my kids to try and slowly color and remain in the lines as much as possible. This sounds easy, but for many of the kids I work with, it takes a lot to slow down and do this with accuracy.
Improve Executive Functioning/Organizational Skills-some of the pages in both books are tricky and require a child to be organized in their work.  It may require them to read through all the instructions before doing their work.  For my older children who might be working on improving homework organization, I will have them read through all the instructions and gather all the supplies that they need before beginning.  This can be critical for some children to be independent and successful with the task at hand.  
Improve Focus/Attentional Skills-I love a coloring book that doubles as an activity book.  For many of the kids I work with, it's a struggle to get them to just color and they do better when there are things to do.  I like being able to tell the kids that they have to do a certain number of things before they can switch tasks.  This keeps them focused and helps them to understand what is expected of them.

I know that there are hundreds of great coloring and activity books out there.  I haven't blogged about these kind of books in a while but if you check out this blog post here, you will see that these books are still amazing.  As a matter of fact, I still use and recommend them to my clients. Honestly, once a good activity book, always a good activity book (this is mostly relevant to books that are not created for a particular movie or character).  Do you have have any great books that you can share with me and my readers?  I am always on the lookout for good books to have both at home for my daughter and for work purposes.   Please share your favorites with all of us!  I am always a click away and love hearing from you all with your ideas!