With the holidays fast approaching, many parents are looking for developmentally appropriate toys to give their children. There are many excellent products on the market now that are not only fun, but also help children explore, learn, and master a variety of skills. Here are a few suggestions, broken down by area of development. Keep [...]
Brrrrr….fall is finally here! And with daylight savings time making it dark earlier, kids are definitely spending more time indoors these days. However, that doesn’t mean that children (with and without sensory integration issues) can’t still have fun in their own homes! Here are some ideas for incorporating tactile play at home. Have your child [...]
As the weather gets colder, we will all be putting on more layers of clothing. If you have children (or even just one little person), you know that the added time of dressing in boots, coats, hats, and mittens can make it even more stressful trying to get out of the house! As children age, [...]
With the holidays fast approaching, many parents are looking for developmentally appropriate toys to give their children. There are many excellent products on the market now that are not only fun, but also help children explore, learn, and master a variety of skills. Here are a few suggestions, broken down by area of development. Keep [...]
Brrrrr….fall is finally here! And with daylight savings time making it dark earlier, kids are definitely spending more time indoors these days. However, that doesn’t mean that children (with and without sensory integration issues) can’t still have fun in their own homes! Here are some ideas for incorporating tactile play at home. Have your child [...]
As the weather gets colder, we will all be putting on more layers of clothing. If you have children (or even just one little person), you know that the added time of dressing in boots, coats, hats, and mittens can make it even more stressful trying to get out of the house! As children age, [...]
“On the third Wednesday of each September, we celebrate the American Occupational Therapy Association’s National School Backpack Awareness Day™! Join AOTA and occupational therapy practitioners, educators, and students across the country on September 21st as we help others Live Life To Its Fullest by avoiding the pain and injury that can come from heavy backpacks [...]
If your child has the summer off from Occupational Therapy, or if you just think he/she could use a little work-out for those growing muscles….here are two of my favortie ways to improve grasp and hand strength. (Improved hand strength can translate to improved handwriting, better endurance while writing and cutting, and better fine motor and self-care [...]
I was walking through my neighborhood today, and saw a group of kids decorating my sidewalk with chalk. What a fun way to practice letter formation, draw people and other representational figures, and copy shapes and designs. I know that I still find it fun myself to see a creation emerge where there was only [...]
As the school year is ending, kids are celebrating! Meanwhile, parents and teachers are naturally concerned about the academic impact of having over 10 weeks off from school. Many children clearly do regress in their skills over the summer, particularly in the area of writing. With our highly technical society, and the popularity of [...]
Summer is the perfect time for kids to work on improving their overall coordination, gross motor skills, and body awareness. So many of the things that children naturally do in summer are excellent “OT activities” to help a child challenge his body, increase his confidence, and have lots of fun. We don’t always think of [...]
As a new parent to a 13-month old boy, I busy myself reading child development books and checking online resources, to assure myself that he is meeting his developmental milestones each month. While we are playing and having fun, I am assessing his emerging gross and fine motor skills, listening to his burgeoning language, and [...]
