This Game is Nut-Tastic!

I tend to have a hard time finding board games that are good for younger children.  As an occupational therapist, I am constantly on the hunt for a game that will work towards achieving goals but not be too complicated that they can't be successful without maximum support from a grownup.  When I was putting together my annual holiday toy list this year, I found a great board game that met my sometimes unrealistic expectations:  The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel game.


The goal of the game is quite simple so even your youngest of children can follow the directions.  Each player has a tree stump with five colored holes on it.  Whoever fills the tree stump up with all 5 of the different colored acorns first is the winner.  You may be attacked by a sneaky squirrel who steals one of your acorns or the wind  may blow your acorns off the tree stump and you have to begin again.

There are a lot of things to like about this game but lets just begin with the packaging.  It's a very sturdy box that can withstand the brute force of a wild 3-year old Quinn.  The best part about the box is that it is doubles as part of the game.  Open the box and turn it over and you will see a tree to hold all the acorns.

One of my favorite parts of the game is the adorable squirrel grabbers that you use to pick up the acorns.  The cuteness of this little guy can distract the user (in my case, many children who have grasp strength weakness and poor motor control) that they are working on getting stronger. Talk about sneaky!  Another way to work on strengthening is by using the spinner.  I encourage the kids I am working with to make sure they are only using their pointer and thumb when flicking the spinner.  This sounds easy but can be quite difficult for a child with fine motor delays.

Here are a few more occupational therapy goals that can be focused on when playing this game.

Matching-you can work on matching skills as you put the little acorns into the tree trunk.  Make sure that your kids are putting the acorns in the correct color hole.  If they aren't, stop the game until they do.

Color Recognition-this game is a great way to begin introducing young ones to some of the basic colors.  For those kids who know their colors already, this game is great for generalizing the skill in different mediums.

Social skills-it is never too early to begin teaching your child the social skills that are involved in game playing.  Turn taking, not cheating, cheering a friend on when they win, not bragging and not being a sore loser are a few of the social skills that can be focused on when playing this game.  Personally, I think it is very important that a child learns how to be a good loser.  Nobody wants to play games with a child who must always win or gets upset when they lose.

Visual tracking and visual motor skills-you can work on these skills in many different ways when playing this game.  For example, a child has to scan the "tree" with all the acorns to find the color that they spun.  They use visual motor skills when they take the acorn out of the "tree" with their squirrel grabbers and bring it into the correct hole in their tree-stump.

Focus/attention-playing games is a great way to increase a child's attention span and ability to focus.  It is important to encourage a child to to finish the game they are playing, even if they are having a hard time.  If you know your child has a hard time completing games, you may start the game by having them only have to put 3 acorns in and build up to them being able to play by putting all 5 acorns in.  As a child's attention and focus improve, you may want to add more distractions in their environment, such as music since this will eventually happen to them as they get older and are in school.

One of the best things about this game is that my husband and I have fun playing it with Quinn, which rarely happens with her games.  I also know that my 4 1/2 year old and 7 1/2 year old nieces love playing The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel game as well.  I love when I can find a game that is meant for typically developing children and can incorporate tons of occupational therapy goals.  While I may have talked about the therapeutic benefits of this game, it is a game that is intended for all children and not just those who may struggle with any of the things mentioned above.

If you are looking for this game, ask your local toy stores if they carry it or can order it for you.  I got mine at Barnes and Noble but try and shop small business before the big box guys if possible.   I want to see these hardworking and dedicated shop owners survive and do my part to ensure that.

I hope you and your sneaky ones enjoy this game as much as we are.  I am excited to try out some of Educational Insights other toys and products.  This is a company that is really invested in making really good games that will teach your child something new.  Do any of you readers have a favorite Educational Insights game I should get for Quinn's upcoming 3rd birthday?   I would love to hear from any of you with with your questions or comments.  I am just a click away and always happy to hear from you.

Endless fun learning your alphabet

Every once in a while I find out about a new app and have to share it with everyone.  Endless Alphabet is one of those apps.  I saw it on Cool Mom Pics about a month ago and immediately downloaded it to my phone.  It was love at first sight and as soon as I got home I put it on my iPad and introduced it to Quinn.  While she is not even 3 years old and doesn't know all her letters (we are working on it...I promise!), she has been hooked on the game ever since.

The reasons to love this game are, well, endless.  And the occupational therapy and speech therapy goals that can be addressed using this game are, again, endless.  Because there are so many great things about Endless Alphabet, I am going to make this easy and make a list for you all.  Before getting to that list, let me tell you about the game.  There is a word or words for each letter of the alphabet.  You choose the word and a bunch of really cute monsters come knock the letters out of their spots.  Your job is to put all the letters back into the correct place.

A.)  Letter Recognition-motivating way to work on introducing letters (and their sounds) to early learners.  Every time you pick a letter, it will tell you the sound it makes.  As you place it into the correct place in the word, it will repeat the name of the letter.
B.)  Matching (Visual Motor and Visual Perceptual skills)-this game is great for working on matching and visual motor skills.
C.)  Visual Tracking-a child has to look at the whole iPad screen and look (track) to find the letters to go in the correct spot.  Once they find them, they have to make sure that they are dragging them into the correct space.
D.)  Grasping-I tend to have my kids at work use a stylus when using this app.  This way we can not only work on the aforementioned goals, we can also work on encouraging a proper grasp.
E.)  Sequencing-for the older children, I not only encourage, I demand that they put the letters back in in the proper order.  That way they can begin to learn how to spell the words they are working on.  This also helps with improving organization skills, which so many of the kids I work with lack.

F.)  Increase attention/focus-if you are working on improving a child's attention and focus, you can set goals like you have to complete 7 words before being able to move onto the next activity.
G.)  Improve graphomotor skills-for my older kids who are also working on handwriting goals, I will have them write the words they have just "fixed".  For those who struggle with handwriting, being able to play a game and possibly learn a new word and then writing that word is much more fun for them.


H.)  Learn phonics-every time you pick up a letter, they make the sound that the letter makes.  Quinn loves this part of the game and has already started pointing to letters and telling us the sound it makes. Proof that if you make something fun your child can learn skills much faster.

I.)  Add new words to your child's vocabulary-while there are many familiar words in the Endless Alphabet library, there are also many new words for your child to learn.  After you complete putting all the letters into the correct spot, there is a short video that defines the word in a very entertaining way.  

J.)  This app is FREE-endless hours of alphabet fun for free.  Endless hours of alphabet learning for free.  Did I mention this app is free?

K.)  New words added weekly-you would think that for that large price-tag you would only get a few words.  Nope.  There is at least one word for each letter and new words and monsters are added weekly.  It is important to agree to the push notifications for this app so you can be alerted of the weekly updates. 

  

After a few minutes of playing this (not my daughter, not the kids I work with, ME!), I reached out to my speech therapy friends with iPads and told them that they had to download this game immediately.  I could see all the benefits for me as an occupational therapist, but knew that my speech friends would be addicted to it.  I was totally right.  Here is what speech therapist and my good friend Jacki Barredo had to say about Endless Alphabet:

Endless Alphabet is a speech therapist's dream! It's a great way for kids to practice listening to and producing individual speech sounds, while increasing their vocabulary skills.  It also incorporates sound-letter recognition skills, matching skills, and spelling skills.  And it really holds the kids' attention!  The videos which depict each word are funny and engaging, too.  Speech therapists will love how easily Endless Alphabet can be modified and navigated through to set up each child for success.

Parents, OTs, and other teaching professionals will love this app, too!
 #brilliant :)

This app has already brought hours of learning and enjoyment to not only the kids I work with, but also to my almost 3 year old daughter.  I know that my 4 1/2 and 7 1/2 year old nieces are loving this game as well which proves that this is a game that can be used for children of all ages.  It's no secret that I am a fan of the iPad in therapy, but if it can be used at home with all children, I love it even more.  I think this game is a brilliantly designed game and motivating for children of all ages and abilities which makes it a complete winner in my book, or really on my iPad.  

I would love to hear what you all think of this app.  Do you have a favorite word (mine are Juggle and Gargantuan)?   Shoot me an email or share your comments with the readers if you have any questions or comments about Endless Alphabet.  As always, I am just a click away and love to hear from my readers.  If you have specific questions for Jacki regarding speech and language skills and/or goals, let me know and I will get your questions to her.  

Hoping you and your lovies have endless fun with Endless Alphabet!

It's All in the Wrist

One of my many occupational therapy jobs is that I am a founding member of The Meeting House, an after school program for school age children with social special needs.  It's a recreational based program that focuses on fun, friendship and community but at the same time provides children who struggle socially with tools and skills that will help them be better friends at school, at home and any other place where they need to be social.  As the occupational therapist, I am there to provide my expertise but not provide 1:1 therapy.  The therapeutic aspect of the program is embedded and my job is to provide suggestions and insight to help the children succeed in this setting.   It's a fantastic program and we have some of New York City's most amazing kids attending the program.  If you are in the area, you should definitely come and visit us.  Contact me if you are interested in learning more about The Meeting House.

When the kids first come in after school, they have the choice of doing homework or hanging out and playing games with their friends.  It's a time for them to relax after a busy and sometimes stressful day at school.  I think it is one of the most important parts of our afternoon and am on a constant search for fun, but simple, games that they can be independent with.  I can spend hours a week scouring toy stores looking for such games.  A few months ago, I was on the hunt for games that would be good for our kids and found the perfect game:  Tenzi.

Tenzi is a 2-4 person dice game (more if you have children partner up with each other).  The rules are simple and everyone can play with little support from grown-ups.  Each child or team gets 10 dice.  One of the players shouts out a number and everyone rolls their dice until they have 10 of the same number.  It's really as simple as that and the kids have a great time.  While it seems like it could get competitive, I have yet to see that amongst our group of kids.  Because it is so fast paced, it's really more about having fun and less about being the winner.  When the first person rolls 10, they are encouraged to help a peer out.  I love watching the kids play this game; there is so much laughing and cheering friends on.  A truly perfect game to encourage social skills at The Meeting House.

This is not only a great game for improving social skills, it's also perfect for using with my kids at my private practice.  Because it is usually is me and one child at the gym, I can focus more on occupational therapy goals.  I tend to have my kids play this game while lying on a net swing or lying prone on a bolster to work on increasing upper extremity and neck strength.

Here are a few of the many goals that can be worked on playing Tenzi.

*Improve visual tracking skills-a child has to carefully scan the playing space to look for the number of dots on each dice
*Increase grasp/hand strength-by having the child use just one hand (I usually encourage the child to use the hand that they write with) to pick up the dice, you can work on improving the hand muscles which is important for handwriting, cutting and other school related skills
*Improve wrist control-rolling dice is a great way to work on improving wrist control and strength.  You would be surprised how difficult something as simple (to us) as rolling dice can be for children with fine motor difficulties and strength issues.
*Improve attentional/focus skills-a child has to pay close attention to the number of dots on the dice.  If they are not paying attention, they might keep picking up dice that already have the desired number.
*Improve modulation/regulation skills-a child has to not be impulsive when rolling the dice and not just pick up the dice again before finding the desired number.  In the thick of the game and out of pure excitement, I have had to remind the kids I work with to not pick up a dice that is not theirs.
*Improve organizational skills-a child has to organize their dice in a way that they don't constantly pick up the dice that already have the desired number.  I talk to my kids about having a place to roll the dice and having a place to put the dice that have already got the correct number.  This can be VERY difficult for the children I see who have impulse control issues.

While I have played this game mostly with the school age children on my caseload, I have been thinking about ways to make this work for the younger children.  I think I am going to try using only 5 dice and help my children work on counting and 1:1 correspondence while counting.

I really do enjoy this game and think you will all love it too.  As always, check out your local toy stores to see if they carry this game (I found mine at Little Things Toy Store in Park Slope).  I always feel better buying local even if it means spending a little more than from online stores.

 I would love to hear if you have any other suggestions/adaptations for younger children.  Remember, I am only a click away and would love to hear from you all.

They Did it Again-Bugs and Bubbles

Months back, I wrote this blog about Bugs and Buttons.  Recently, I discovered another great app from Little Bit Studio, creators of Bugs and Buttons.  Bugs and Bubbles is another fantastic app that is already one of Quinn's favorites.  Best part?  18+ games for only $2.99!  This app is colorful, motivating and will engage your child for hours on end.  Because there are so many games, they won't get bored quickly.  My favorite games so far are Whack'em, Pinch Garden and Follow Me.

Whack'em:

Similar to the arcade game, Wack A Mole.  Bubbles come out of a blower and you have to pop them before they float off into space.  You have to beware of the ones that have bees inside them and not pop those.  I like that it starts off with just one bubble and then moves up to five bubbles at once.  Great for visual tracking, grasp development and focus/attention.

Pinch Garden:

A fun way to work on developing pinching and grasping skills.  Watch the flowers grow and when you see a bubble come out of it, pinch it and pop it.  I find pinch and grasp skills difficult to work on at times (the children get bored with the manipulative toys we work with) so when I find a game like this that has a pinching/grasping component, I am all over it.  An iPad can motivate the most unmotivated child!  

Follow Me:

This is a cute game that works on teaching letters.  There is a foggy window and a bug will fly to form each letter.  Once you trace the letter, the fog disappears.  They only do one part of the letter at a time and seems to follow the Handwriting Without Tears format.  If you are using this app on the iPad and working on pencil grip, be sure to use a stylus.  

I hope you enjoy this game as much as Quinn and I have been!!  Would love to hear from you all about your favorite game on this app and why.  Honestly, I think this these apps are some of the best out there.  And it isn't just because of all the games you get at such a low price.  If you have any questions or comments, I am just a click away!  Now go download this game and pop away!

Square by Square a Mosaic is Made

For the last several years, I have compiled a holiday toy suggestion list for the families I work work with; this is my 2012 Holiday list.  I am going to try and go through and highlight some of my all time favorite toys that make the list year after year.  The first one will be the Orb Factory Sticky Mosaics.

I discovered the Sticky Mosaics about 4 years ago when I was looking for new toys and ideas for some of the older girls I worked with.  I wanted a long term project that didn't involve coloring.  I stumbled upon the mosaic sets and have probably spent hundreds on them since.  They are brilliant and I still kick myself that I didn't think of it myself.  At this point, there are a variety of collections so you will easily find one that your child will love and be motivated by to work hard to complete.  They are colorful and some even have gem-like stickers to complete the mosaics which the kids love!  I have to admit, I am a big fan of some of their most recent additions to the Orb Factory family such as the room decor collection (jewelry boxes, picture frames, etc.).

What I love most about this toy is how many OT goals can be focused on with these mosaics.  First and foremost, it is a perfect activity to work on with children who have immature grasping skills.  The size of the mosaic tiles are just right to encourage a fine pincer grasp which many children with hand weakness don't have.  For some of my children who lack bilateral coordination, I will stick the stickers on the back of their hands so they have to pull the stickers off with the opposite hand.  For children struggling with learning numbers and colors, you can use this activity to work on those skills as well.  All the squares have a number on it and you have to match the correct color with the numbers.  My favorite thing is that after weeks of working on the mosaic (I typically see children one time per week so this can take several weeks to finish; if you are working on it at home, it most likely will not take as long) and the picture is finally complete, the look of pride and excitement on the child's face is priceless.  This ends up being ideal to work on improving a child's self-esteem and confidence.  Other OT goals are:
*Improving visual motor/eye-hand coordination skills
*Improving sequencing skills-give the child a number or color pattern to work on when putting the stickers on
*Improve upper extremity strength by putting the templates up on a vertical surface (easel or tape to the wall) and have your child have to reach up to put the pieces on; when at my sensory gym, I will have a child lie prone on a net swing and work on the mosaics.
*Improve focus and attention.  For some children, challenging activities lead to a significantly decreased attention span to said activities.  I will sometimes give my children a time challenge and say they have to put as many as they can on the template in a given amount of time.  I increase the amount of time with each visit.
*Improves social skills.  There are a few oversized mosaic collections that I have used at The Meeting House; you can put the larger kits out and tell a group of children to complete it together.  Assign a color/number to each child and make sure they work out any conflicts themselves.  

Over the last few years, Orb Factory has expended their products to include products not only appropriate for boys, but also collections for toddlers or children with more significant fine motor delays.

Instead of matching the little squares to a number, a child is expected to match the colors and shapes.  The tiles are slightly larger so this is perfect for children with smaller and possibly weaker finger muscles.  I have begun to work on one of the toddler sets with my almost 3 year old daughter and she loves it.  While she has no fine motor delays, she does need some help in building her focus and attention to activities that do not involve an iPad or television.  I know she will be very proud to show off her completed project when it is all finished!

I hope that you found this blog helpful and if you are looking for a reasonably priced and battery free gift, you should definitely check these mosaics out.  While you can find plenty of collections online, be sure to check out your local toy and book stores to see if they carry them first.  I know I always feel better about supporting small businesses when I can.  If you have any questions or would like to share any ideas or products with me, I am a click away and would love to hear from you!

The Writing is on the pad...the iPad

I am always looking for great handwriting apps.  One of the things I work on with most of my children is handwriting and encouraging them that it can be fun.  With the introduction of the iPad to my professional (and personal) life, I have been able to motivate some of the kids who struggle most with handwriting by using the iPad.  I have a bunch of them on my iPad and iPhone.  Have even begun to use them with my almost 3 year old daughter, Quinn.  She is already eager to learn because of the super cool apps out there.  LetterSchool is definitely one of my go-to apps.  I use this in conjunction with the Handwriting Without Tears program and have found that my kids at work are more motivated and excited about learning how to write their letters and alphabet.

Today, during one of my home sessions, I was talking to an 8 year old who his struggling with handwriting and has recently been introduced to cursive.  She is one of the most awesome and hardest working girls I know and I want to find ways to make her feel better about her handwriting.  As we were practicing writing, I decided to do a search for fun and motivating iPad apps that featured cursive handwriting.  I am so excited about what i stumbled upon.  Fizzbrain Apps has a series of handwriting apps that will be sure to excite and motive your child.  I have already downloaded the Touch and Write and Cursive Touch and Write apps on my iPad.  And I can't wait to start using them at work.

There are a lot of great features of this app and I am still learning them all.  One of the things I really like is that it follows the Handwriting Without Tears way of writing so I will be able to use this in conjunction with the workbooks I use.  One of the things my kids love is that you can choose from over a dozen different materials to write with such as shaving cream, green jello and ketchup!

Another great feature is that you can change the level of difficulty depending on your child's skill level. For beginners, there is are cupcakes throughout the letter you are practicing that you have to drag a monster too.  Once you have mastered that level, you can choose to just drag the monster through the letter without the cupcakes as a visual cue.  If you don't draw the lines in the correct order, you have to keep trying.  The picture below shows the monster being dragged using chocolate frosting and having to follow the cupcakes as a visual cue.  

One of the last features I really love is that you can work on writing words as well.  There is an option so you can add words that you want to work on.  Great for children who need practice with their spelling lists.  Could also add your name (as seen above) and maybe the names of your friends or family members.  I love the idea of being able to personalize the app to your child's needs and/or interests.  

I can't wait to spend more time exploring this app with my children at work.  There is nothing like watching a child begin to master and feel more confident with their handwriting.  Children have so much on their plates in school these days.  So many expectations and they are constantly comparing themselves to other children and recognize their struggles or how things come easily for other children. My goal with finding these apps is to have fun while helping to develop a sense of mastery with skills.  As a therapist, I try and "hide" the work aspect of things and focus on the fun.  Chances are they will master and generalize the skills much easier and faster if i do it that way.  

For those of you with younger children who aren't working on letters yet, they have created a shapes version of this app.  Check out Shapes Touch and Write for you little ones.  It is never too early to start working on developing good graphomotor skills.  I am definitely going to begin using it with my almost 3 year old daughter Quinn.  

Do any of you have any great handwriting apps that you can share with me?  Would love to hear of any others out there or if you too have had success with either of these Fizzbrain writing apps.  As always, I am just a click away and would love to hear from you and answer any questions you might have.

EZ as 1, 2, 3

This is mainly a toy blog, but as an occupational therapist, I spend a lot of time helping children in becoming more independent.  Not only in play, but in their self-care skills.  Children who are able to independently get dressed will be more confident and become less reliant on grownups to do things for them.  As a parent, I love that my almost 3 year old daughter insists on dressing and undressing herself. Things may be on backwards and her legs may end up in the wrong holes in her underpants, but she is proud of herself.

A couple of years ago, I read about EZ Sox and began to tell everyone I know who has children about them.  They are not only adorable, but they are brilliantly designed.  They are a pair of cotton socks that have two loops on the top.  A child can easily grab onto them and stretch the sock to get them over their toes.  There are a variety of patterns, but I love the animal prints because it gives children a clear visual as to where the top and the bottom are.  I also think that

The first thing a child has to do when they come to my gym is to take off their shoes and socks.  Since many of them have a goal of being able to independently remove them, this is a great opportunity to work on it every time they come visit me.  In the last couple of years, when I see a child struggling with socks, which is quite often, I share EZ Sox with them and they are always so happy with them.  For many of my children who have decreased grasp strength, just putting socks on can be very challenging and frustrating.  Not only are these socks cute, they are stretchy enough that children with fine motor difficulties can quickly get the hang of them.  And when a child is able to master putting their socks on without help, they are often more eager to start working on the more difficult dressing/undressing skills like buttons, snaps and zippers.

These socks are not just for children who have fine motor difficulties.  They are great for toddlers who are just beginning to learn how to dress and undress themselves.  My 7 year old niece still uses them just because they are so cute!

If you have any questions about this or anything else, remember I am just an email away.