The Power of the Potato!

Who doesn't love Mr. Potato Head?! You can dress him up as you please, over and over again!
But, did you know, that what seems like play, is really a lot of work for a child?
Mr. Potato Head fosters imagination, ideation for putting parts to whole and even body awareness and a sense of self?

Mr. Potato Head is a timeless toy that has many therapeutic benefits!

The child must have an idea of where the body parts go in relation to the other parts.

The choice of different body parts allow for individuality, which may lead to improved self-esteem.

Accessorizing fosters creativity and also may help contribute to self-identity and self-esteem.

And, don't forget about the fine motor and visual motor coordination that it takes to assemble all of the parts into the holes!

We often use self-portraits in therapy, to gauge a child's body awareness and cognitive skills. Today, we started with a "before" portrait as shown below. We then spent about ten minutes with therapeutic interventions that provided the child with proprioceptive input, followed by playing with Mr. Potato Head.  The child was then asked to draw a picture of herself.  What a difference!

The child was asked to draw a picture of herself.

After therapeutic intervention and play, including Mr. Potato Head, this was her self-portrait. 

A Dozen Uses for Bean Bags

I don't know what we would do without bean bags in our clinic!  They serve several purposes, but we use them primarily to provide Heavy Work (get moving!)  and Deep Pressure Input (get calm and cozy!)!

Your kids will come up with all sorts of uses for these large bean bags, but here are a dozen uses to get you started!

1. pull them or push them across the floor 
2. throw them to a target
3. stack them to make the Leaning of Tower Pisa
4. challenge your balance by walking across a row of bean bags without "falling into the ocean"
5. strengthen your core and upper body by crawling across a row of bean bags
6. crab walk with one on your belly 
7. jump off the trampoline, sofa or bed into a pile of bean bags
8. pretend to be a turtle and crawl with it on your back
9. snuggle in while reading 
10. use as a boundary during circle time at school
11. get buried by a big tower of bags- each bag could be a different pizza or sundae topping
12. apply pressure through the bean bag- spread the mustard, ketchup and other toppings on the hot dog

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to all of our sweeties!
Here are some fun Valentine activities to spread the love (and work on those developmental skills)!

Sort conversation hearts by colors

Use salad tongs to pick up plastic conversation hearts that have hidden treasures in them:  marbles, coins, small candies, etc.

Make learning spelling words fun by placing the words of the week in the hearts!

Create a story starter!  Come up with a theme and place words pertaining to that theme in the hearts. After opening the hearts, place the words in order to form a sentence.

Next, have your valentine write a story using those words!

Match letters from the hearts to letters in your sweetie's name or spelling words.

After you've indulged in your chocolate, use the box to create a puzzle using foam pieces.  We used two different colors of brown to make milk and dark chocolate! 

Pizazz With Pom-Poms!

Add some pizazz to your coloring page with pom-poms!
Print out a free coloring worksheet from the internet.  We like to print off DLTK's free coloring pages, as they have great seasonal pages.  If you search Winter Bingo Dauber Coloring Pages, you'll find one like our snowman below.  Or, just print out a picture and allow the child's imagination to run free!

After coloring some details, place glue in the circles to place pom-poms or other round items such as cereal pieces, candies, marshmallows, etc. 

Make the most of the activity by using tongs to retrieve and place the pom-poms into the designated areas.

If tongs are too difficult, focus on using those first three fingers to pick up and place the  pom-poms.

Ta-da! We've perked up the page with pom-poms!

Find other great coloring pages at www.dltk-holidays.com

Michelle Yoder, OTR/L

Rainy Day Fun!

It's raining here in Charlotte and perhaps snow is on the way?! Your kids will need to get their wiggles out while the skies are grey!

Get out a roll of packaging bubbles for some large and small motor fun!
There is nothing more enticing than walking, skipping, hopping or crawling along the path of bubbles.  After they've gotten their wiggles out, sit down for some resistive finger work popping the bubbles.  Work on tool use by pounding them with a hammer.  Write letters in random order on the bubbles for letter identification or spelling.  I've even seen sight words written on individual bubbles.  Packing bubbles can be a great way to provide sensory input while enhancing learning!

They love the feel of the bubbles popping under their feet!  They will walk the path over and over, again.  Try crawling along it, too!

Just plain silly!

Pound and pop the letters of your name with a hammer!

Pop the letters of the alphabet in ABC order!

Write Now! Upper Case Handwriting Class

It's Twelve Days to Christmas!

As you finish your Christmas shopping we'd like to share our staff favorites to help expedite your shopping and make you feel good about  your gift giving!

Ms. Amy B. likes the Sneaky Squirrel Game as the tongs work on fine motor skills and it also fosters turn taking and matching.

Ms. Amy M. recommends the Tomy Pic 'n' Pop push toy.  The balls magically pop out and it's fun to pick them up.  It keeps them active and walking.

Ms Chrys believes every toddler needs a tricycle!  As they pedal, they work on bilateral integration, strengthening and motor planning.

Ms Courtney loves  Cat -N- The Hat I Can Do That! It's a great game for following multi-step directions and taking turns and the kids love it!

Ms. Elizabeth says that kids love to carry things around, so she recommends Leap Frog's Shapes and Sharing Picnic Basket.  Functional play skills are developed while kids work on putting in and pretend skills and matching.

Ms. Karen always recommends the Kettler Scooter due to it's durability and stable base.  The scooter is a great means for increasing leg strength, balance and coordination.  It's perfect for those children who are working towards riding a bike.  She also likes the Little Tykes Push and Ride as it is very stable and difficult to tip over.  This toy is great for the pre-walkers or new walkers to build strength ad endurance to prepare them for independent walking.

Ms. Keira thinks that Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head are an ideal gift because so many skills are addressed:  fine motor, body identification and awareness, cognition and language acquisition.  

Ms. Kristin loves the Design and Drill! Your child will challenge his or her visual motor, fine motor and motor planning skills all while feeling like big stuff using a "power tool"!

Ms. Lindsey has been recommending a scooter with a wide board and two wheels in the back. It is great for 2, 3 and 4 year olds, builds strength and the kids love it!

Ms. Lynn loves a jump rope!  Every child should have one to work on bilateral integration and motor planning skills!

Ms. Shelley digs the old-fashioned Duncan yo-yo, butterfly style! Its's simple, fun and you can take it wherever you go!

Ms. Sandi feels Rush Hour is a great game for older children because it makes you think and it's more interactive than something like Checkers or Chess. 

Ms. Michelle finds that all children from the ages of 3 to 8 love the I Can Pound Activity Block.  It fosters fine and visual motor development, bilateral motor coordination and enhances sensory development.

Be Merry!