Toy Tuesday: Spot It!

Hi again! It’s time for another Toy Tuesday! This week I’m sharing the game Spot it!. It’s a great little game to improve visual search skills, along with a variety of socialization skills.

Spot it! is a card game consisting of 55 cards, each decorated with 8 symbols (more than 50 different symbols in all). One—and only one—matching symbol exists between
any two cards. Out of the five mini-games you can play with these cards, the goal is always to be the fastest player to spot the matching symbol between two cards and call it out. The matching symbol will be the same shape and color; only the size may be different.

Spot it! can be played with multiple players, in a variety of locations, (on a swing, outside, etc.) and is easy to throw in a bag to carry! There’s even an App!

Check it out!
Amy

Link to the game Web site:
http://www.blueorangegames.com/spotit-tg.php

Link to the App:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/spot-it-dobble!/id441552267?mt=8

Mouthwash Fun

Hello there! Today I’m sharing an activity I learned from the first placed I worked as an OT. It’s a great activity, cheap, re-useable, and fun!

Supplies: ACT Mouthwash for kids (or any kind that has the capability of squeezing only a certain amount into the top), and a container.

Have the child squeeze the bottle to fill the top of the bottle with mouthwash. You can have the child use both hands, or just his dominant hand, depending on current strength and end goal. Talk to the child about grading the amount of force used to squeeze the bottle so there is no spillage. It’s fun to watch the level of the mouthwash change if too much is squeezed. This can teach the child how to control and grade their hand strength.

Next step is pour into a container. You can have them pour into a large container, small container, various containers, etc. depending on their goals. It’s a great activity to work towards the skill of being able to pour their own milk, juice, etc. You could even use dixie cups labeled with their name or phone number to work on sequencing.

Have the child do as many repetitions of this as possible to increase hand strength. Sometimes making a fill line, or using small containers to try to fill them up is some good motivation!

Once full, to put the fluid back in the bottle, all you do is turn it upside down and squeeze some more! The bottle will refill itself! It does take a little bit of work from the therapist at the end to get all of the liquid back into the bottle.

Other things to discuss during the activity could include: what is mouth wash used for, using mouth wash at home, counting the number of seconds the child can squeeze in a row, adding food coloring to the liquid to change the color, etc.

It helps that Sponge Bob is on the front too… 🙂

Have fun!
~Amy

Fine Motor Friday!

Hi guys! Jeez it feels like it’s been so long since I’ve posted. My week has been crazy, but I’m back and I have a new idea for Friday posts: Fine Motor Friday!

For the first one, I would like to share an idea from my awesome co-worker, yes…again! She needs to start her own blog!

Supplies: 1 pumpkin, lots of thumb tacks!

This is a fantastic idea and very appropriate for the fall! I absolutely love this!!!! What a great way to work on fine motor skills through resistive strengthening, sequencing, precision, and safety! She could even use colored thumb tacks to create patterns, a jack-o-lantern face, etc. WAHOO for fine motor skills and YAY for pumpkins!!

Happy fall!
~Amy

Occupational Therapist Prayer

I love this.. I’m thinking it needs to find its way onto a canvas for my office.. 🙂

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the gift of my profession.
Thank you for my education and training.
Thank you for the daily strength to address the challenges of disability and despair.
Thank you for the joy I feel in watching my clients progress toward independence.
Thank You for being my Advisor when I creatively solve a problem.
Thank You for the gift of Your Son Jesus Christ and my salvation.
Grant me the wisdom to understand my clients and fellow workers.
Grant me the patience to wait for Your healing of the whole person.
Grant me the opportunity to witness my love for You Through my lifestyle and my daily work.
Grant me the fellowship of other therapists that know and love You.
Grant me the humility to work as a team player with other professionals for the good of those we serve.
Grant me the peace that comes through knowing You during these turbulent times of change .
Cover me in the precious protective blood of Jesus on a daily basis.
In Christ Jesus I pray.
Amen.

Be blessed!
Amy

Reference:http://genjitsuni.blogspot.com/2009/06/occupational-therapists-prayer.html?m=1

Toy Tuesday: Happy Apple

Hi guys! So, I’ve started a new thing for the blog: Toy Tuesday. Every Tuesday I’m going to try to feature a different toy on a post. Try..that’s the key word there. I love so many toys, so it shouldn’t be difficult! For the very first Toy Tuesday, I chose to feature the Happy Apple. The Happy Apple is a Fisher Price toy from 1972. It is a six inch tall, plastic apple with a smiley face, that when bumped or touched, sways back and forth and sings a very sweet chime. It is a cheery toy, the chime is marvelous, and although it wobbles, it doesn’t fall over! This toy is especially great for babies and younger children. It does not require a high level of skill to activate, yet has a great interaction once activated. It’s uses are endless!

This toy has become quite a hot commodity at my office! A fun fact about this toy, it floats!

Be blessed!
Amy

Super Duper Handy Handouts & OTis

I absolutely love free, awesome, printables…yes, I said free! These handouts are great for brief education to parents, caregivers, and teachers. I keep a copy of the ones I use the most in clear sleeves in a binder. Then I can just send it through the copier when I want to give it to someone.

http://www.handyhandouts.com/search.aspx

Handy Handouts are a component of Super Duper Inc., a great place to purchase toys, games, and other learning materials.

http://www.superduperinc.com/

One of my favorite, and very unique, things off of this Web site is the Yogarilla Exercise and Activities Card Deck. OTis, the OT gorilla, teaches traditional and original yoga poses in an exciting way! 55 yoga poses, color-coded by starting positions, and 110 activities compile this colorfully illustrated card deck. Yoga has been shown to help children understand how their bodies and minds work together. The yoga poses (10 standing, 10 seated, 10 prone, 10 spine, and 10 hands and knees) help to improve fine and gross motor skills, sensory processing, attention, communication, and cognition. Also included are: 3 partner poses (two children work together in a pose) and 2 breathing poses (improve awareness of breath and breath support). Check it out! All I need to go with my cards is a stuffed toy Gorilla in an OT t-shirt!

http://www.superduperinc.com/products/view.aspx?pid=OTSC8609#.UGjxjo7R1FI

Hope you enjoy!
~Amy