The news was just released that little ones in my province will be home for quite some time! So I thought this the absolute perfect time to share some Quiet Time Kids Activities that use materials you already have at home. Now, we homeschool, so this news doesn't hold quite the same weight to us
Discover over 45 vestibular activities that can calm, regulate, and improve attention in your child. Plus, get vestibular exercises for...
Try these fun and educational activities for kids. Make a volcano, a tornado, glitter jars (like snow globes), giant bubbles, dry ice bubbles, and more.
Homemade Bubble Solution: After making some 3D printed custom bubble wands, I figured I should try making my own homemade bubble solution. There are a lot of recipes out there and most are pretty similar. Despite the various ratios I was trying with the popular ingredients, …
Super Soft 2-Ingredient Play Dough made with Johnson's® Baby Lotion #JohnsonsBeautyHack
Kids will love creating a Play Dough Volcano! It's a great science experiment for preschoolers or kids of all ages. Great way to use up old play dough too!
Soft as a Cloud Playdough…using only 2 ingredients. This is the softest Playdough you will ever use…only TWO ingredients!
101 sensory play activities for kids with autism to help strengthen the brain’s neural pathways by stimulating the 5 senses to facilitate learning!
Summer nights have never been more fun for the entire family with these fun glow in the dark games for kids of all ages. Stay up just a little later to
Engineering activities for kids that will get their brains and bodies moving! Grab a free engineering challenge printable for even more STEM fun.
Work on upper body and core strength, sensory input, motor planning, visual perceptual skills, fine motor skills In the tin: 54 activity cards, table of contents card, introduction card Ages 4+ Another great tool brought to you by Super Duper. This set includes a full 54 activities to do with a scooter board. Use one a week and you have enough activities to last for a whole year at your fingertips. Cards are brightly colored, kid-friendly, and laminated. One activity per card. The Introduction card gives tips for scooter board safety, tips for size of scooter board, and tips for using the cards. The Table of Contents card divides the activities into three categories: Supine (back) activities - 10 total activities Prone (tummy) activities - 27 total activities Sitting and Kneeling activities - 17 total activities Below is an example of front and back of a supine activity: Each card has a colored border which tells the category it is in (green is supine). Each card is also numbered in the top right hand corner, although the numbers do not indicate a grade in difficulty. The back of each activity card (as seen above) includes Therapeutic benefits - Well thought out, OT friendly terminology. Set up/materials needed - Can often be adapted to things you have on hand. Directions (for child) - Can be read right from the card. Tips (for adult) - Helpful ideas for grading or adapting the activity. Three of the cards show games for two or three kids. Nineteen of the cards show an adult working with the child, either pushing, pulling, throwing, or rolling a ball. The remainder of the cards (32) are activities for a single child. Supplies needed include a hula or smaller hoop, rope or exercise tubing, clothes pins, buckets, bean bags, bottles and small hoops, empty boxes, whistle type toy, small plastic cones, balloon, streamer, therapy ball, lightweight small ball, large beads, dowel, washcloths. There are thirteen activities that picture a simple ramp. Fun activities and a quick and easy reference for planning therapy sessions. Try this: Show the card to the child to add a visual aid when explaining the activity. Be prepared for a couple different activities and let the child choose the one that appeals to him that day. Use for sensory input before proceeding to fine motor activities. If you are interested in purchasing this item or just want more information, click on the image below.
Best Toddler Activities at Home - Fun and engaging toddler activities for 18 to 24 Month olds (over 20 ideas to choose from).
Want to know how to make oobleck? This oobleck recipe is made from cornstarch and water. It is a perfect tie in for the Dr. Seuss book, too!
An epic collection of Sensory Play Activities for kids with Autism. If you're looking for sensory activities for kids with ASD or Sensory Processing
If you're looking for free printables for teaching at home, at school, or online, you've hit the TREASURE TROVE of freebies from This Reading Mama!
Most of the time I LOVE my job, and one of my all-time favorites is when I am able to help kids overcome oral defensiveness. It is so extremely satisfying when kids are able to eat and enjoy healthy foods that were previously off the table, so to speak. Who are these kids and why is eating difficult for them? There are so many answers to this question. I have worked with children with sensory processing disorder, autism, ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. These kids might show only mild symptoms of the conditions above, but end up having difficulty eating ordinary healthy foods with their families and friends. Cautionary Note: before starting food therapy it is important to get a good food history and baseline data, rule out oral-motor and swallowing dysfunction, and join forces with the child’s family to prioritize food goals. Also note that there are two main approaches to sensory-based eating difficulties. Here is a great article on play versus behavioral approaches to overcome food aversions: http://www.otplan.com/articles/strategies-to-improve-feeding-at-home.aspx This year I have had the good fortune to work with a batch of kids that have needed to expand their food intake. I thought I would briefly describe three children and the types of play activities that have been helpful for them to gain confidence and pleasure with eating a greater variety of foods. Please meet David, Emily, and Alex: David is a three-year-old student in an early childhood classroom. He has always had difficulty with weight gain and all his developmental milestones have been delayed. David eats only crackers and chips at school. He has a strong tactile and oral aversion to anything that is wet or slippery. He has a difficult time with getting paint or glue on his hands. My approach with David is pure sensory exploration. I took several photographs of one of our sessions, and his parents have graciously allowed me to share them with you. I remove everything from the environment except for the one food we are playing with. In this session we have a container of diced peaches and a small plastic plate from the kitchen area of his classroom. He is familiar with the containers, and likes to play kitchen. I model picking up a piece of peach and pretend I am feeding a dinosaur, because David loves dinosaurs. 1. At first he is reluctant to touch the peaches you can see how he extends his fingers to make as little contact as possible. But there’s not much else to do, it’s just us and peaches. 2. He has quickly gotten used to picking them up with his right hand, and is starting to use his left hand to hold the container. 3. When first using his left hand to touch the fruit, it is like starting over from the beginning. Note his extended fingers again! 4. Then he becomes able to pick up the peaches with his left hand too. Now playing with peaches has become a crossing the midline and a bilateral task. When he has filled up the little toy plate with a pile of peaches, I discreetly toss the peaches in the garbage, and we start again, “feeding the dinosaurs”. 5. David starts to be interested in looking at the peaches. I start talking about kissing the peaches, and VICTORY, soon David starts to explore them with his lips and tongue. He is in control, I do nothing more than give a verbal suggestions, and model for him what touching the peaches to my lips and tongue look like. 6. He was so happy and content playing the peaches, that I pulled out a container of pineapple and we started playing with that too. 7. He had gotten so comfortable with the wet, cold textures that he started rolling the pieces of fruit between his hands. 8. More quickly this time, David becomes interested in tasting pineapple too! GO David! 9. He left happy and content, and felt successful. I consider this a highly successful therapy session, even though all we did was to play with fruit for 30 minutes! Emily: Next I would like to introduce a four-year-old girl, who developed typically for the first years of her life, and then at two years, was diagnosed with cancer. She had numerous hospitalizations and medical interventions and while she was being treated she lost her appetite. She was given a G-tube [Gastro-intestinal feeding tube] to maintain her nutrition and strength. Now she is at home, and is medically stable. Not surprisingly, probably in response to her difficult medical interventions, Emily now has significant tactile and oral aversions. On good days she’ll eat a few crackers and a few bites of rice. I used the Food Survey for Oral Dysfunction, Sensitivity, Food Aversions, and Nutrition to interview mom and get detailed information on the foods Emily is willing to try, and which ones she seems to like. When asked about food priorities, mom indicated that she would love for Emily to be able to eat fruit. Mom said she remembered Emily loving fruit, and wanted her daughter to be able to have that pleasure again. Truthfully, if I had been working with Emily in the school setting, I would have approached building her sensory tolerance to a fruit through touch and play much like I did with David above. But I was not seeing Emily at school, I was going into her home, working side-by-side with her mom. As Emily’s mom also showed evidence of tactile defensiveness, and had a strong desire not to give Emily any difficult task, I had to come up with a different approach. It turns out that Emily loves small manipulative toys. I have found that I can give her one gem which she pushes through a slot before it drops into a container. Coaching mom to place the smallest sliver of fruit on the spoon, Emily will take a taste in order to get the next gem. During our first ‘food’ session, Emily ate a quarter of one banana, one teeny piece at the time. Her mom was elated, saying that it was the first time she ate bananas in over two years. Now Emily is happily eating bananas and apples on a regular basis. She has a good start on potty training, and now we are also exploring some strategies to help make tooth brushing be more pleasant! Alex is a five-year-old kindergarten student with autism. He is new to OT and when I evaluated him I saw that he was eating only fish crackers at school. His parents were interested in expanding his food repertoire and have been very helpful in sending a variety of table foods from their home, as well as new kid-friendly foods to school. I scheduled Alex for OT two times a week during his lunch period, as he was refusing to eat anything while in the school lunchroom. I decided that we would start with foods he did eat at home, but was not eating at school. Alex is a boy who has a STRONG will. When he says no, he means it. My hunch with him was that we needed to have a structured session and that the authority needed not to be me but “the schedule.” This visual schedule reflects our routine. He comes to OT with his lunch, and before doing what he wants to do [write letters starting on the iPad] we start with his main dish. My first session with him, I strongly insisted that he touch the spoon that had been in his noodle dish to his lips and the moment he did that, I proclaimed success and we went on to our first task. We went back to the spoon after every preferred task, but he knew he only needed to put the spoon to his lips so he did it quickly and we got on famously. In every subsequent therapy session I have upped the ante a little bit. Next, I had him touch his tonge to his spoon, then clean the spoon between his lips, then clean the spoon with one noodle, the next time he was eating a few noodles at the time, and then a few bites. Most recently he took it upon himself to finish his main dish before we started our first preferred task! What I have not said is that I modeled every step. I had my lunch at hand, we talked about it, smelled it, and I showed him what I needed him to do with my own spoon. When he started cleaning his spoon, it was after he watched me clean my spoon with my lips. When I wanted him to take several bites, I would have a turn, and then he would have a turn. The spoon in this picture has been the symbol to represent eating on the therapy schedule. The symbol has remained the same, despite the increased expectations. I was able to give an identical spoon picture to his paraprofessional, and now Alex is now beginning to eat his lunches in the lunch room too! If you would like to read more about using visuals for occupational therapy this link will take you to my blog post on making and using visual supports. You can find the two products that were used in therapy for these three kiddos here: Food Survey Visual Supports for Occupational Therapy
Your little engineers will really enjoy these 12 creative engineering activities. On a recent trip to Sydney, Australia, I spent a lot of time admiring (and photographing) the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge which is the widest and one of the longest steel arch bridges in the world. Quite the engineering feat! Between that and the world famous Sydney Opera House, I came back buzzing from my little getaway with lots of thoughts about engineering and just how important it is for our children to have opportunities to experience it and to learn more about it. What is engineering? Engineering is the application of science, technology and maths to develop solutions to problems. Put simply, engineers are creators! They take the above disciplines and combine these with creativity and ingenuity to make something new. Engineers see a problem and solve it. They create and re-create products, infrastructure and solutions that make our everyday life easier. Architectural engineers play a huge role in the construction of buildings like the Sydney Opera House (pictured above) and civil engineers work on things like roads and bridges like the Sydney Harbour Bridge (see pictures below). There are also many other types of engineers that are heavily involved in so many different projects and areas of production. From technology and the engineering of the mobile phones we use, to robots, computer games, chemical engineering, medicine, renewable energy, aircraft and much more. There are so many different avenues that engineers can put their skills and passions towards in this modern day and age. Why is it important for children to learn engineering? Allowing children to experience different forms of engineering helps them to understand more about the processes that go into making up so much of the world around us. Engineering encourages creativity, problem solving and cooperation. It allows children to think outside the box and to come up with solutions to problems through experimentation and trial and error, whilst putting into practice so many of the skills they are acquiring as they grow. Check out this fabulous video from the 2012 Young Australian of the year, Marita Cheng as she talks at TEDx Sydney about why we need to teach our children to be makers and the fabulous work they're doing, encouraging girls in particular, to take an interest in engineering. Engineering Activity ideas for kids Here are 12 fabulous activities that allow children to experience a number of different types of engineering. These activities encourage creativity, problem solving, trial-and-error, maths, science, technology and more. Designing and Building bridges by The Imagination Tree Build Blinking Bugs by Inner Child Fun Toothpick and Mini-marshmallow challenge by Learn with Play at Home Four Engineering challenges with Craft Sticks, Cups and Cubes by Frugal Fun for Boys Spaghetti Tower Challenge by Tinkerlab Make Soda Rockets by Lemon Lime Adventures Make a Tinkering Station by Left Brain Craft Brain on A Mom With a Lesson Plan Make a Catapult by Fun-A-Day Paper Building Blocks by Babble Dabble Do Test the Stability of Structures by Science Sparks Design a Cardboard Tube Marble Run by Learn with Play at Home Design and Build a Rollercoaster by Planet Smarty Pants Highlights from Sydney Well, isn't that a lot of fun? All inspired by a little bridge. Ok, not so little! Here are some pictures from my weekend in Sydney. My fabulous kid blogger buddies and I at Nuffnang's Sydney Office Launch Party. L-R: Me (Learn with Play at Home), Kelly from Be A Fun Mum, Danya from Danya Banya, Chelsea from Moments a Day and Rachel from Racheous- Lovable Learning. Even with the dark clouds rolling in, the harbour was a spectacular sight. See the bridge? I got to drive a yacht around Sydney Harbour! Very cool! (Thanks for the pic, Kelly- Be A Fun Mum!) Sailing underneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge gave a whole different perspective and you got an even great feel for the gigantic scale of it all. Engineers are incredible! The food! Oh the food. My favourite was Spice Temple and meeting the owner and celebrity chef Neil Perry. Amazing! Definitely some food engineering going on there! Yes, food engineering is a real thing. Why didn't anyone tell me that when I was at school? Yum! A comfy bed, good food and a good location. Couldn't ask for more from our accommodation at Rydges Sydney Central And I can't resist just a few final shots of the bridge! Sydney Harbour bridge. Spectacular by day and by night. If you get a chance to go to Sydney, you really must. Such a vibrant place to visit with tons to see and do for all the family! (Even in winter.) A huge thanks to the major trip sponsor, Destination NSW for an amazing launch party at ECQ Bar and an incredible sailing adventure around the bay with East Sail; Qantas for getting me there and back as well as hosting a mouth watering lunch at The Burger Project and an unforgettable dinner at Spice Temple (you really must go!);; and of course my comfy and well positioned accommodation for the weekend, Rydges Sydney Central Hotel! Also thanks to Spotlight (check out their awesome range in-store or online) for sponsoring our conference in the Macquarie Room at the Pullman Quay Grand Sydney on the final day (location, location!). Sydney, thanks for having me and I can't wait to come back. Next time with my whole family! Further Reading: Here is a fabulous article on 10 ways to support an interest in Engineering! A good read with lots of other engineering activity ideas. Have you been to Sydney? Do you have little future engineers at your house? Happy playing, Debs :) {Disclaimer: This is not a paid post. My Sydney trip was provided thanks to my agency Nuffnang, Destination NSW, Qantas and Rydges. All opinions are, as always, my own.) Look where else we are. Are you following along? :)
Homemade cloud dough is sure to please and you only need 2 ingredients from the kitchen for this recipe. Enjoy hands-on sensory play!
Kids learn best through doing and will be able to review and further their knowledge of colors and color mixing with this hands-on color experiment.
Want to help your kids learn about gratitude? Play the gratitude game with them. It's a fun game that the whole family will enjoy!
Use a few simple materials to have some sticky learning time! Adding the element of a vertical surface can completely transform patterning and sorting!
One of the most fun indoor kids activities: a rainbow pouring station. This is a quick and easy set up for kids at home - a perfect activity for siblings!
Learn how to play the Kaboom game in your classroom to make practicing math facts, sight words, and more a blast for your students!
101 sensory play activities for kids with autism to help strengthen the brain’s neural pathways by stimulating the 5 senses to facilitate learning!
Hatch frozen dinosaur eggs! Making a frozen dino egg for quick preschool water activity or dinosaur themes is easy.
From science experiments to sensory explorations to STEM and STEAM activities, these science activities for preschoolers are sure to be a hit!
Articulation Books for TH, SH, CH, and J sounds in speech therapy. Tips, strategies, and activities to incorporate into speech and language.
Get the world-famous elephant toothpaste formula recipe at Steve Spangler Science. Find instructions for our popular Elephant Toothpaste Experiment here!
December always seems to be the month for "Best of" lists. So, with my almost 8-year old son's help, I've compiled this collection o...
How to Make Stress Balls, The best cheap stress balls everyone loves, DIY stress balls, Stress relief, DIY therapy ball, Stress balls kids make, sensory play, Orbeez Balls
I remember dyeing noodles as a kid so that we could make pasta necklaces. That was always so much fun!
Social Skills Activities To Help Children Explore Their Feelings with balloon people. Don’t be surprised if a tribe of balloon people invades your house.
Are you looking for fun activities to hep develop your child's fine motor skills? These 35 fine motor activities are not only great for fine motor development but will keep your child entertained for hours!
How to improve word spacing issues by using fun techniques to improve visual perceptual and visual motor skills, without doing more handwriting practice
*Update: This original bundle from long ago has been split into two separate products – one for Grades K-2 and one for Grades 3-5! Be sure to read the descriptions carefully on TpT to make sure you get the one to best fit your needs!* My students often have difficulty dealing with anger in safe, ...
These incredible sidewalk chalk ideas for kids will easily bust through summertime boredom with fun games, learning activities, & cool chalk art creations!
