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Category: Sensory

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The Crucial Role of Individualized Educational Evaluation (IEE) in Promoting Holistic Student Development

Education is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor.

Every child possesses unique abilities, challenges, and potential waiting to be unlocked. Recognizing this diversity, educators, occupational therapists, and professionals in the field of special education have embraced the concept of Individualized Educational Evaluation (IEE) as a powerful tool to cater to the specific needs of each student.

In this article, we will explore the significance of IEE, highlighting how it not only benefits the students but also contributes to the well-being of occupational therapists both within and outside the school setting.

Understanding Individualized Educational Evaluation (IEE)

IEE is a comprehensive and student-centered approach to assess a child’s abilities, challenges, and learning style. It is not limited to students with special needs; rather, it is a valuable practice that can benefit all students. IEE involves a multidisciplinary team, including educators, occupational therapists, psychologists, speech therapists, and parents, who work together to understand the student’s unique strengths and areas of improvement.

The Importance of IEE for Students

1. Tailored Learning Plans: IEE serves as the foundation for creating personalized education plans (IEPs). These plans are designed to address a student’s specific needs, providing them with the support and resources required to succeed academically and socially.

2. Early Intervention: For students with developmental delays or learning disabilities, early identification through IEE can be transformative. It enables educators and occupational therapists to intervene promptly, offering the best chance for improvement and success.

3. Holistic Development: IEE does not solely focus on academics. It considers the student’s emotional, social, and physical development as well.

Occupational therapists, in particular, play a crucial role in assessing and addressing a child’s fine and gross motor skills, sensory processing, and self-regulation abilities.

4. Inclusive Education: IEE promotes the inclusion of students with diverse needs into mainstream classrooms. This not only benefits the students with special needs but also fosters a culture of acceptance and understanding among their peers.

The Impact of IEE on Occupational Therapists

From the yeas of practice I have observed that sometimes, Occupational therapists – who work in the clinical setting are ‘unfavorable’ among the school based OT as they are there because “parents did not trust the process” – and hypothetically many SBOT think but, from the majority of my friends who are school based OT, what I came to know is worth knowing – that we the OTs LOVE collaboration with other OTs!! Below are a few reasons why IEE sounds a ‘healthy’ relationship between SBOT & Clinic based OT:

1. Professional Fulfillment: Occupational therapists working within the school system find immense satisfaction in contributing to students’ growth and development. They play a pivotal role in helping students overcome challenges and succeed in their educational journey.

2. Skill Enhancement: IEE provides occupational therapists with opportunities to further enhance their skills and expertise. They continually adapt their strategies and interventions to meet the unique needs of each student, fostering professional growth.

3. Collaboration: Working as part of a multidisciplinary team in the IEE process allows occupational therapists to collaborate with educators, speech therapists, and psychologists. This collaborative environment encourages knowledge-sharing and holistic support for students.

4. Transferable Skills: The experience gained in the school setting through IEE can be applied in various occupational therapy settings outside of school, such as clinics, hospitals, or private practice. The skills acquired in working with children with diverse needs are highly transferable.

Conclusion

Individualized Educational Evaluation (IEE) is a cornerstone of inclusive and effective education. It empowers students to reach their full potential by tailoring their learning experiences to their unique needs.

Moreover, IEE enriches the professional lives of occupational therapists, both within and outside the school setting. As we continue to prioritize individualized education, let us recognize the invaluable role that IEE plays in nurturing holistic student development and promoting the well-being and professional growth of occupational therapists.

OT Park provides IEE services for families who needs them. OT Park also provides job opportunities for OTs who love school-settings but, also love working at the clinic!!

Contact: admin@otpark.com for any questions.

Send your most recent resume to: careers@otpark.com

Visit: Otpark.com for more details .

Call: +1 (669)-8883636

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Sensory Diet

A sensory diet is a personalized program of sensory activities that is designed to meet the specific needs of an individual. A sensory diet is

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What is Sensory Integration?

Sensory integration refers to the process by which the central nervous system combines and organizes sensory information from the environment in order to produce meaningful

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Intensive Occupational Therapy Sessions

WHY do we recommend this summer?

Read our TOP 7 reasons in this blog: 

Intensive OT sessions play a crucial role in supporting the development and well-being of children. Occupational therapy focuses on enhancing a child’s ability to participate in everyday activities and promotes their independence and overall quality of life. Here are some key reasons why intensive pediatric occupational therapy sessions are important:

1. SKILL DEVELOPMENT

Intensive therapy sessions provide concentrated and focused opportunities for children to develop and improve their motor skills, sensory processing abilities, self-care skills, and cognitive skills.

The intensive nature of these sessions allows therapists to target specific areas of development and work on challenging tasks more frequently, leading to accelerated progress.

OT Park Sensory Roller

2. INDIVIDUALIZED APPROACH

Individualized approach: Each child is unique, with their own set of strengths, challenges, and goals. Intensive therapy sessions allow occupational therapists to tailor interventions to meet the specific needs of each child.

They can closely assess the child’s abilities, identify areas of difficulty, and design personalized treatment plans to address those challenges effectively.

3.Consistency and repetition

Consistency and repetition are essential for skill acquisition and consolidation. Intensive therapy sessions provide regular and frequent opportunities for children to practice targeted activities and exercises.

Through repeated practice, children can reinforce new skills, develop muscle memory, and improve their overall performance.

4. Generalization of skills

Intensive therapy sessions often involve working on skills in various contexts, such as at home, school, or community settings. This approach helps children generalize their newly acquired skills beyond the therapy room and apply them in real-life situations.

By practicing skills in different environments, children can enhance their ability to adapt and succeed in multiple settings.

5. Parent and caregiver involvement

Intensive therapy sessions offer increased opportunities for parental and caregiver involvement. Parents can actively participate in the therapy process, observe interventions, learn techniques to support their child’s progress at home, and receive guidance on how to create a supportive environment for their child’s development. Involving parents and caregivers enhances the continuity of care and facilitates the integration of therapy goals into the child’s daily routine.

6. Maximizing progress within limited time

Some children may have more significant challenges or time constraints due to various factors, such as school schedules, geographic distance from therapy centers, or insurance limitations. Intensive therapy sessions allow therapists to optimize the limited time available and make the most significant impact on the child’s progress within a shorter duration.

7. Addressing complex needs

Children with complex medical conditions or multiple developmental challenges often require intensive therapy interventions. These sessions provide a comprehensive approach to address the various aspects of a child’s development, such as physical, sensory, cognitive, and emotional needs. Intensive therapy can help children with complex needs achieve their developmental milestones and improve their overall functioning.

It’s important to note that the decision to pursue intensive pediatric occupational therapy sessions should be made in collaboration with the child’s healthcare team, including occupational therapists, parents, and other relevant professionals. They can evaluate the child’s specific needs and determine the most appropriate therapeutic approach to support their development effectively.

Starting on June 5th, OT Park will be featuring Summer Intensive Sessions for those interested!

Intensive pediatric occupational therapy sessions are specialized therapy programs designed to provide focused and concentrated treatment for children with various developmental, physical, or cognitive challenges. Intensive sessions typically involve more frequent therapy sessions compared to regular therapy programs.

During intensive pediatric occupational therapy sessions, therapists work closely with the child to address their specific challenges and promote skill development in areas such as:

Fine motor skills
Gross motor skills
Sensory processing skills
Self-care skills
Play skills
Cognitive skills

Contact: admin@otpark.com NOW! Or Schedule a free screening call now. 
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What is Sensory Integration?

Sensory integration refers to the process by which the central nervous system combines and organizes sensory information from the environment in order to produce meaningful and purposeful responses. This process involves the integration of information from different sensory systems, such as touch, vision, hearing, smell, and proprioception (the sense of the body’s position in space), into a unified, coherent perception of the world.

Sensory integration is essential for many everyday activities, such as moving around and interacting with objects in the environment. It allows us to coordinate our movements, understand the relationships between objects, and respond to stimuli in an appropriate manner.

Disruptions in sensory integration can lead to difficulties in processing sensory information and can contribute to conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and sensory processing disorder (SPD). Occupational therapy that includes sensory integration techniques can be helpful in treating these conditions.

Sensory integration is especially important for children as they develop and learn about the world around them. During early childhood, the brain is rapidly developing and integrating sensory information, which lays the foundation for future learning and development.

For children, sensory integration activities can include a range of experiences that engage the senses and help them process sensory information in a meaningful way. Examples of sensory integration activities for kids include:

  • Playing with playdough or other sensory materials such as sand, water, or foam.

  • Climbing and crawling on different surfaces and textures, such as a soft rug or a bumpy mat.

  • Engaging in physical activities such as jumping, swinging, and spinning.

  • Doing art projects that engage multiple senses, such as painting with different textures or making sensory bottles with items such as water, food coloring, and glitter.

  • Listening to music or playing musical instruments.

  • Sensory storytelling, where children listen to a story while engaging with sensory materials.

These activities can help children with sensory integration difficulties develop their sensory processing skills, improve their motor coordination, and enhance their ability to interact with and respond to their environment. However, it’s important to remember that every child is unique and may need different sensory experiences to help with their specific needs. An occupational therapist specializing in sensory integration can help design an appropriate sensory diet for your child.

Now what is Sensory diet? Stay tuned for our Next blog!! Share this post on your Social Media now 🙂 

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Top indoor activities away from the screens for kids ages 1-3

While we all love getting fresh air and sunshine, sometimes, you get stuck inside. When rainy, cold weather, a hot summer afternoon—or a pandemic—keeps you and your kids inside. Outdoor winter activities and summer activities can be hard to do when the weather’s not cooperating. While it can be tempting to let your toddlers spend the day in front of the TV, there are plenty of creative, non-screen time activities to help your kids learn, grow, and play well in the comfort of your own home. 

Do they like cooking activities? do you know how beneficial is cooking activities for your toddler? https://otpark.com/cooking-with-kids/

Here we listed several cooking activities with their benefits for you that your toddler may participate in.

Making Slime with kids

Let’s just say that kids really love the fantastic sensory experience slime gives. Squishy and stretchy things like homemade Slime simply beg to be touched!

Tactile activities such as Slime making are a treat for the senses. Toddlers engage their sense of touch! For so many kids, Slime can be such a, calming relaxing, regulating activity. That’s exactly why they gravitate toward playing it!

Toddler’s often like to keep their hands busy, helping them to focus. Also, Slime is an awesome stress-relieving tool, and it makes a beautiful brain break! Kids who need extra help with sensory processing work will love Slime too! Slime is for everyone.

Aren’t you always looking for ideas to further strengthen your connection with your kids?

What about doing it by engaging them in something they love to do. Show them that you’re interested in what they love. And, of course, enrolling in your child’s activities as a parent would give them a sense of trust in you!

Immediate connection/ The kid(s) will know you’re going to get them and want to be part of their world. Who knows they might even come and talk to you earlier when having other problems.

Making Slime is not just something that needs to be achieved. It’s a great path to fun and safe interactions with your children, but it’s all about how you see slime making. If you think it’s dumb and pointless, you ‘re missing the chance of a connection. When you run with it and know how to make awesome homemade slime right alongside them.

Is Slime Safe to Play with?

In a nutshell, yes, Slime is perfectly safe for most kids.

It’s important to:

-Understand how much of each ingredient you need, and stick more or less to that ratio. Although slimming will often require fine-tuning and more activator or glue, a clear understanding of each ingredient’s approximate quantities is necessary.

-Track your children as they’re making the Slime. As with any activity, keep an eye on your children to work with the materials safely.

Drawing coloring and painting

The freedom to explore and express creativity through art is one of the best gifts you can give your growing toddler. From coloring and finger paints to playdough and sidewalk chalk, artistic play is the perfect way to foster creativity in your little one—and develop lots of other important skills along the way.

Art is not only fun for little ones, but it teaches too. Creative play helps babies and toddlers develop crucial early childhood skills like sensory and fine motor skills, problem-solving, cognitive development, self-confidence, and even early math skills like recognizing shapes, sizes, and patterns.

When you’re sitting down to make art with your kiddo, keep in mind that it’s the process, not the final product. (Although all those masterpieces will definitely liven up the front of your refrigerator!) Working on an art project together is a great time to work on language skills by talking to your toddler about what they’re making or asking them open-ended questions about their work. It can also be super empowering; there’s nothing quite like watching a 2-year-old rock their independence by dipping that paintbrush in every.single.color.

Before you and your little Picasso get to work, you might want to keep a few things in mind:

  • Dedicate a workspace for creative, artistic play. It can be anything from a small desk in the corner of a playroom to a larger space with a craft table or easel; just make sure there’s enough room for your little one to spread out.
  • Prep for mess. If cleaning finger paints out of your carpet doesn’t sound like your idea of a good time, be sure to invest in the right dress and a drop cloth for the floor. You can thank us later.
  • Supplies are key. Give your little one free reign to make art whenever the inspiration strikes. (While you keep an eye on them, of course!) This means you’ll need to stock your art space with safe, kid-friendly supplies like child-safe scissors, glue sticks, and easy-grip crayons and markers. We also love lining tables with rolls of craft paper for maximum creativity!
  • Keep your activities age-appropriate. For younger toddlers from 12-18 months or so, this often means lots of supervised sensory play (shaving cream canvas, sand play or finger paints) and simpler projects (sponge paints or large chalk), while kids closer to 2 may start to enjoy more traditional art projects like coloring, painting, collages or modeling clay.
  • Don’t forget to have fun! Toddlers love to express themselves, and art is a great way to empower them to do just that. Let them explore, create, and play.

Telling stories

“If you want your children to be smart, tell them stories. If you want them to be brilliant, tell them more stories.”- Albert Einstein

How often do you sit down with your children and tell them stories? Is your answer no, or rarely? You’re missing out on a key part of their growth – the amazing benefits of storytelling that affect their mental functions and developments in more ways than you expect.

When you tell your kid a story, there’s a magical moment when he sits enthralled, his mouth open, his eyes wide. The stories that the child hears shape their universe. When they listen to stories, something really important is being triggered – their imagination. They learn to go beyond their environment, their walls,  into faraway places, and explore the minds of extraordinary people.

You can increase children’s memory capacity by asking them to remember the stories you’ve already read or asking them to remember where you stopped the day before. Try to let your child share his emotions, opinions about the characters, and the expression of hatred for evil in the stories.

If you want your toddler to listen actively and deeply understand the story, you have to read the stories emotionally. Adapt the pitch of your voice to the feelings and emotions conveyed in the tale. Using active body language to express ideas in a meaningful way. Storytelling parents are found to have a more emotional bond with their children. 

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The Importance of Developmental Milestones for Every Child 0 to 6 Years of Age

Developmental milestones are barometers for skills that each child should be able to do by a set age. They are the primary standard that kids are measured by to make sure they are developing appropriately. Each skill builds upon one another. When a milestone goes unmet or is delayed, several problems can ensue. Developmental milestones are skills that you should always consider as a parent of kids 0 to about 6 years old. 

Typical milestones categories include Social-emotional, Movement, Language/Communication, and Cognition/Problem Solving. Here at OT Park, we have compiled a list of milestones for children ages 0-6 years old in the areas of:

  • Gross motor
  • Grasp patterns
  • Scissor skills
  • Toilet skills
  • Home chores
  • Dressing skills
  • Scissor skills
  • Pencil grip development

So, how do you know if your child is developing appropriately and meeting age-appropriate milestones? After downloading your OT Park Milestone checklist, based on your child’s age, try skills in the category younger age-level and then the older age-level to see what your child can do. If you realize that your child is having difficulty completing age-level activities or younger, reach out to your pediatrician for next steps to better help your child. OT Park is gearing up to launch telehealth services and will be available and honored to help your child in any way that we can. If you find that your child is meeting the age-appropriate milestone, this is great. Keep working on the next skill. 

Either way, providing your child with what we OTs like to call the “just right challenge,” or a challenge that isn’t over or underwhelming, can help your child build confidence, strength, and endurance without making them feel as though they are incapable! 

Keeping an eye on your child’s development is vital for their future success and well-being! 

Also, feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. 

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Early exposure to sensory activities

“There is nothing in the intellect that was not first in the senses,” – Aristotle

Did you know that when your baby crawls around a room touching objects, playing with toys, listening to you singing songs, or putting things in his mouth, he’s doing a lot more than just playing? Toddlers use their senses to learn about and explore their environment. As a parent, you can enhance this learning by providing a positive sensory experience.

Sensory play or experience would then allow your child to interact with his surroundings and learn about his world. 

Once your child is born, his brain is ready to gain knowledge about the world. They’re actually learning long before they walk and talk. This learning takes place through hearing, touch, taste, sight, smell, and movement. They hear our voices, enjoy bouncing, chew toys, and touch everything they can.

The more positive sensory experiences your baby has, the stronger newly built brain connections become. Sensory play not only has a positive effect on your child now, but also helps to promote learning and development even in adulthood.

Researchers have found that a baby who is not given an appropriate set of opportunities and is kept in a swing most of the day or is kept in a dark, quiet environment for long periods can have his learning and brain development stunted by lack of exposure to sensory stimuli. 

These sensory systems don’t develop simultaneously, but rather in a specific order that does not vary.

This is tactile > vestibular > chemical > audio > visual. The infant has five senses functioning at different levels at the time of birth. 

Building blocks essential to an efficient sensory system

  • For effective sensory processing, all sensory systems need to work together. It should be recognized that the sensory system is indeed composed of seven senses; these sensory systems process information as the building blocks to most of the individual skills.
  • Visual Sense: This is the ability to understand and interpret what is seen. The visual system uses the eyes to collect information about the contrast between light and dark, color, and movement. It receives sensory information from the environment by light waves that stimulate the retina then by the optic nerve to the visual cortex on the back of the brain.
  • Auditory Sense: is the ability to interpret information that is heard. The auditory system uses the external and middle ear to obtain sound information. They collect information about volume, pitch, and rhythm to the brain’s side parts by the 8th nerve.
  • Olfactory Sense is the ability to interpret smells by Receiving the chemical makeup of particles in the air to determine if the smell.
  • Gustatory Sense: it is the ability to interpret information regarding taste in the mouth using specialized buds on the tongue’s upper surface.
  • Tactile Sense: It uses skin receptors to receive sensations of touch, such as fine touch, pressure, vibration, temperature, and pain. This is the first Sense to develop (in the womb), and, as such, it is vital for the overall neural network.
  • Proprioceptive Sense is the ability to interpret where your body parts are in relation to each other. It uses information from the nerves and sheaths of the muscles and bones to inform about body posture and movement by muscle contraction, stretching, bending, straightening, pulling, and compression.
  • Vestibular Sense: is the ability to interpret information relating to movement and balance. The vestibular system uses specialized channels in the inner ear to transmit information on movement, change of direction, change of position of the head, and gravitational pull.

Most human critical periods exist within the early years postnatal, which is why sensory play is especially important for young children​.

A critical period is a phase in which brain cell connections are more plastic and receptive to the influence of a certain type of life experience. These connections, called synapses, can be formed or strengthened more easily during this period.

A recent study has linked the lack of sensory play and negative home environments, especially during children’s first three years with several developmental problems, including:

  • Poorer language development by age three.
  • Later behavior issues.
  • Deficits in school readiness.
  • Anxiety, Aggression, and depression.
  • Impaired cognitive development at age three.

The Importance of Sensory Play

Building Nerve Connections

Research indicates that sensory play builds nerve connections (synapses) in the brain pathways that contribute to a child’s ability to perform more complex learning tasks.

Cognitive Development

Children first learn to understand new things through their senses. Every time they encounter something that is sticky, cold, or wet, for example, they gain a better understanding of which types of objects have these characteristics. Your child will then begin to make connections between things that have similar properties.

Strengthening Fine Motor Skills

Sensory play often involves touching, pouring, pinching, sorting, and moving actions. Toddlers primarily use their hands to explore, building on their fine motor skills, which will later be used for writing, zipping jackets, buttoning clothes, and tying shoes.

Enhancing Language Skills

By exploring new smells, tastes, and textures through sensory play, children can learn new ways to describe things found in the world around them. For example, a rock will be more than a rock when they feel it – it’s either smooth or rough or cool to the touch.  Also, your kids begin to describe food as sweet, salty, spicy, or crunchy.

Sensory Play Is Calming

You may have noticed that your kid is calmer after bath time or after a particularly rough session of jumping around the room, crashing onto his bed, banging into furniture, or pillows. This type of sensory activity calms children as it helps them manage their internal discomfort, whether it is boredom or restlessness.

 Early taste experiences 

 Early life nutrition is an important factor affecting later health. Your child’s food habits are shaped in infancy and are tracked back to adolescence and beyond, meaning that supportive eating activities are important to prevent eating disorders later in life.

Italian researchers from the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Milan have shown that early repeated experiences with different tastes and supportive feeding increase the children’s desire to try new foods and greatly decrease the risk of having a picky-eater kid in a healthy social environment. In other words, you, as a parent, can modify the innate food preferences of your child! 

By paying attention to these things, your baby will gain a lot of benefits and get exposed to various wonderful activities that will really help him develop properly! 

Until Next blog,

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References:

 Blair C, Granger DA, Willoughby M, et al. Salivary cortisol mediates effects of poverty and parenting on executive functions in early childhood. Child Development. 2011; 82(6):1970-8.

Son S, Morrison F. The nature and impact of changes in home learning environment on development of language and academic skills in preschool children. Developmental Psychology. 2010; 46(5):1103–1118.

De Cosmi V, Scaglioni S, Agostoni C. Early Taste Experiences and Later Food Choices. Nutrients. 2017;9(2):107. Published 2017 Feb 4. doi:10.3390/nu9020107

Howard-Jones P, Taylor J, Sutton L. The Effect of Play on the Creativity of Young Children During Subsequent Activity. Early Child Development and Care. August 2002:323-328. doi:10.1080/03004430212722

Rosenzweig MR, Bennett EL. Psychobiology of plasticity: effects of training and experience on brain and behavior. Behavioural Brain Research. June 1996:57-65. doi:10.1016/0166-4328(95)00216-2

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10 Toddler Gross Motor Activities and Why Obstacle Courses are the Best!

Developing gross motor skills is an essential foundation that all children need!

Gross motor skills are any movements that engage the large muscles in your body. They are the significant movements that kids begin to use regularly. We often hear a lot about fine motor skills and their importance in learning and academia. However, without strong gross motor skills, a child’s fine motor development could suffer greatly. Gross motor skills include rolling, walking, running, jumping, climbing, hopping, skipping, bending, kicking, throwing, catching, balancing, and more. 

Think about not being able to control your arm or shoulder actively and how hard it would make it to hone your fine motor skills to write a word or letter. Gross motor skills provide foundational skills for learning and developing. Kids use gross motor skills to eat, play, dress themselves, or even sit in a chair to participate in school-based activities. Needless to say, gross motor skills are grossly important (pun intended!)  

Here are ten gross motor activities for children ages 1-3 and why obstacle courses are the best gross motor activity of them all! 

(Above picture: A child doing Obstacle course activity using OT park worksheets in her Backyard.)

  1. Cleaning up

Cleaning up requires walking, reaching, bending, and squatting. All of these movements are great gross motor practice. 

  1. Catch and toss

Catch and toss is such a simple and classic game. Get the whole family involved and allow the kids to run and retrieve the ball for optimal skill building! 

  1. Water play/swimming

This activity requires adult assistance and supervision at all times to prevent drowning. However, water play is such an excellent gross motor activity and even allows your child to build strength safely by moving, playing, kicking, and splashing against the water’s resistance. 

  1. Jungle gyms

Most kids enjoy parks and outside play. Constant movement is created to run and climb, swing their legs back and forth, or even squat and bend to squeeze into tight and low spaces. The most fun part is they don’t even realize they are building foundational skills!

  1. Animal Walks

Pretend to be your child’s favorite animal, or allow them to show you how that animal moves (even if it’s wacky!) Pretend play with them and show them how to walk like a crab or hop like a frog! Have them mimic you and see which animal was their favorite!

  1. Pretend play

Layout various clothes or costumes that you have around the house, and let your child dress up and pretend to be a football player, a teacher, or even mommy or daddy! 

  1. Dancing

Put on your favorite tunes and dance it out! Dancing also builds endurance and relieves tension, stress, or anxiety.

  1. Hopscotch

The most important part of this game for kids ages 1-3 is hopping and jumping around! We aren’t looking for perfection. Allow your kid to hop and attempt to hold their balance while picking up the rock they threw. Hopscotch is such a great gross motor activity! Hop, hop, hop!

  1. Playing with bubbles

When toddlers play with bubbles, it encourages them to reach up high or squat down low. They jump and run after the bubbles to catch or pop them.

  1. Obstacle course 

Finally, we saved the best for last! Obstacle courses are such a fun and versatile way to engage your child’s gross motor skills. Obstacle courses can be made indoors or outdoors and can be super complex or straightforward. You can use household objects or purchase different items from the store! Whatever you choose, make it fun!

For example, let’s say you wanted to make a four-step obstacle course indoors. You and your child could:

  • Roll or catch a ball while sitting
  • Do crab walks
  • Dance for 3 minutes
  • Walk over four pillows that are lined up!

It’s just that simple! Get your kid’s body moving and allow them to explore! With this four-step obstacle course example, your kid just practiced reaching, sitting, standing, stomping, bending, twisting, squatting, balancing, jumping, and so much more! This is why I believe obstacle courses are the best gross motor activity!

They allow your child to build multiple gross motor skills simultaneously. There is no limit to how much your child can grow, learn, and develop.

All it takes is a little time and creativity!

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TOP 10 Sensory Activities for 2 years olds

Why Is Sensory Play Important for Children?

– Sensory is important for children because it allows them to be messy and enriches their awareness of their bodies and senses. Sensory activities can help kids focus on their experience in the present moment.

Here are 10 sensory activities for toddlers! 

1.) Slime

Kids love playing with slime, and it is so beneficial for them. It is an amazing, tactile sensory experience. Most parents aren’t fans of slime because of the mess it can make, but it’s a great sensory tool for children. Manipulating slime and measuring ingredients can strengthen fine motor skills, and experimenting with slime recipes helps kids learn about cause and effect.

Slime helps kids get in touch with almost all senses; they focus on how it feels, sounds, looks, and smells.

Benefits are:

  • Promotes mindfulness
  • Helps children focus
  • Encourages them to play independently
  • Promotes fine motor skills
  • It is calming
  • It’s portable

2.) Ice Painting

This activity allows children the opportunity to explore color mixing, patterns and to feel the texture of the slippery, cold, wet paint. It will enable your child to be creative and use their imagination. As the paint melts, they will learn how when colors mix, they make a new color.

Benefits are:

  • It helps develop fine motor skills
  • It helps develop gross motor skills & control
  • Hand-eye coordination
  • Learn colors

3.) Play Dough

Playdough provides a great sensory medium, and the possibilities are limitless and will evoke your child’s imagination. The malleable properties of play dough make it fun for investigation and exploration. Playdough can be squashed, squeezed, rolled, flattened, chopped, cut, scored, raked, punctured, poked, and shredded.

Benefits are:

  • Develops Fine Motor Skills

  • Calming

  • Encourages creativity

  • Enhances Hand-eye coordination

  • Improves social skills

  • Supports literacy and numeracy

  • Promotes playtime

 

4.) Oobleck

Oobleck is a fascinating way to engage in sensory play and understand science. It is great because it is inexpensive, quick, easy, taste-safe, and so much FUN! All it takes is cornstarch and water, and it is environmentally friendly.

– Your child can drive cars through it, play with it in your hands, mix colors, dribble and paint with goop on the sidewalk or driveway, or make sudsy goop.

Benefits are:

  • Supports language development
  • Builds gross motor skills
  • Builds fine motor skills
  • Learn science concepts
  • Strengthen hand muscles

5.) Sensory Toy

A sensory toy is specially designed to stimulate one or more senses. They may also help and be appealing to children on the spectrum because they can help them remain calm and provide the sensory experience they want. Much of what young children learn is through touch and stimulation of the senses.

– Types of sensory toys are rattles, crinkly books, teething beads, toys with mirrors, sensory shapes, and activity walkers.

Benefits are:

  • Cognitive stimulation
  • Language development
  • Fine and gross motor skills
  • Social interaction
  • Calming and comforting
  • Develop a sense of awareness

6.) Finding Small Items Hidden in the Kinetic Sand 

Playdough is fantastic for encouraging imaginative play. Children love to play hide and seek and love playdough, so why not combine the two. Hidden treasure playdough is a fun way to present small toys that children can use in their imaginative playdough play.

Benefits are: 

  • Develops fine motor skills
  • Calming
  • Encourages creativity
  • Enhances hand-eye coordination
  • Improves social skills
  • Supports literacy and numeracy
  • Promotes playtime

7.) Noodle Play

Kids are designed to explore the world through their senses, and exploring sensory materials helps kids’ emotional development. This sensory activity allows children to be creative. Different noodles provide texture-related tactile sense development. Kids will love the feel of playing with noodles.

Benefits are:

  • Language development
  • Problem-solving skills
  • Cognitive function
  • Fine motor development
  • Develop creativity

8.) Color Papers Hidden in Rice

Children learn best through hands-on experiences. It can be very calming to run your hands through a textured material like rice, and it is a wonderful invitation to play and create imaginary worlds.

– Fun sensory bins with rice are rainbow sensory bin, alphabet search, and watermelon rice sensory bin.

Benefits are:

  • Develop Pincer grip
  • Hand-eye coordination
  • Calming
  • Fine motor strength
  • Learn colors
  • Language skills

9.) Stamping

Creating art expands a child’s ability to interact with the world around them and provides a new set of skills for self-expression and communication. They will love creating aesthetically pleasing works and experiences.

Benefits are:

  • Fine motor skills
  • Strengthening hand muscles
  • Hand-eye coordination
  • Coordination
  • Explore colors

10.) Water Beads

Water beads are soft, squishy, and smooth to touch. Children will love the feel of the water beads and will love scooping them with their hands. They are soothing to touch and look at. You can even add these to your child’s bath. Children will also love watching the water beads grow bigger.

Benefits are:

  • Fine motor skills
  • Coordination
  • Exploration
  • Learn colors
  • Promotes creativity
  • Teaches science
  • Hand-eye coordination

Unitl next Blog!

Hiral

Do you have questions such as..

  1. What activities are best for my 10 months old? or
  2. From when should I start my child’s potty training? or
  3. How to develop correct posture for handwriting and get my child ready for School? 

Anything regarding 0-8 years, you can have a Free-consult with our CEO and Award winning pediatric Occupational Therapist – Dr. Hiral Khatri. 

Do you love these ideas/activities of our blog and want more of them? You can have a box with age-appropriate activities that are developmentally correct and pediatric designed, shipped right to your door!

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Why Kids Use “Non-Words” And Tantrums? How To Teach Them To Use Their Emotions With Words?

We have all seen it, and most of us have experienced our children throwing tantrums and acting out! So why do children throw tantrums instead of just using their words?

Temper tantrums range from whining and crying to screaming, kicking, hitting, and breath-holding. They are equally common in boys and girls and usually happen between the ages of 1-3. Every child is different, some have tantrums often, and some hardly ever have tantrums but just know that tantrums are a normal part of child development.

 Tantrums are how young children show that they are upset or frustrated.

Reasons Why A Child May Be Throwing A Tantrum:

  • The child may be tired, hungry, or uncomfortable.
  • They can’t get something that they want, like a toy.
  • They get frustrated because an adult can’t understand what they want.
  • The child wants to do it themselves but realizes they can’t.
  • The child gets told ‘no.’

 Toddlers can’t yet say what they want, feel, or need; a frustrating experience may cause a tantrum. Learning to deal with frustration is a skill that children gain over time.

Believe it or not, tantrums are an essential part of our child’s emotional health and well-being.

10 Important Reasons Why Your Child’s Tantrum Is Actually A Good Thing: 

  • Better out than in When we cry, we are literally releasing stress from our bodies.
  • Crying may help your child learnafter they calm down again, they have cleared their mind after expressing their frustration and can learn something new.
  • Your child may sleep betterStress can cause a child not to be able to fall asleep and wake up from sleep. Crying and releasing that stress will allow your child to relax.
  • Saying ‘No’ is a good thingSaying no to your child sets boundaries, and they need those.
  • Your child will feel safe telling you how he feelsmost times; the tantrum is not because you said no; it’s them showing you how they feel about it.
  • Tantrums bring you closer togetherAfter the tantrum, hug them, show them they are loved.
  • Tantrums will help your child’s behavior in the long runHaving a tantrum helps your child release the feelings that can get in the way of his natural, cooperative self.
  • If the tantrum happens at home, it’s less likely to occur in publicwhen children are allowed to express their emotion fully, they will often choose to have their upsets at home.
  • Your child is doing something most of us have forgotten how to doThey cry to release their stress and anger, and as adults, we tend to avoid crying to ‘fit into’ society.
  • Tantrums are healing for you, tooStaying calm takes practice, but when we manage it, we are literally rewiring our brains to become calmer, more peaceful parents.

What Should You Do During A Tantrum?

 The most important thing to do during your child’s tantrum is to stay calm; if you get upset and angry, it will only make the situation worse. Everyone’s child needs different reactions, so know your child and what they need from you.

Sometimes it is best to ignore the tantrum! If you ignore it, they realize that they will not get your attention when they throw a fit.

After a tantrum, the most important thing is to praise your child for calming down and hug your child, reassure them that they are loved, no matter what.

 Helping Your Child Learn How to Express Their Feelings 

Young children have a hard time identifying how they are feeling and how to express those feelings appropriately. The first step is to help your child identify their own emotions and why they feel that way.

Here are 10 ways to help your child express their feelings:

 

  • Use Words or IllustrationsExplain the feeling to your child by using easy words they can understand. Using picture books is a great way to illustrate feelings.
  • Teach Your Child Sign LanguageThis gives them tools to express their wants and needs.
  • Help Them Find A SolutionTeach your child different ways to deal with feelings and allow them to come up with solutions.
  • Encourage with PraiseWhen you see your child positively expressing their feelings, always praise them.
  • PracticePractice strategies for expressing emotions by talking about feelings during daily life.
  • Name the FeelingHelp your child give their feelings labels.
  • Identify Feelings in Themselves and OtherDescribe emotions they see around them.
  • Accept Your Child’s Feelingsthey will feel like you understand them, and that will help them cooperate with you and make them feel better.
  • Listen to Your Child’s FeelingsThey need to feel like you care.
  • Talk About Others FeelingsWhen your child is upset about something that involved another child, talk about your child’s feelings, but also discuss how the other child may be feeling.

 

Children just want to feel loved and understood. Remember, when your child isn’t calm, your NUMBER #1 JOB IS TO STAY CALM!

 Do you love these ideas/activities and want more of them? You can have a box with age-appropriate activities that are developmentally correct and pediatric designed, shipped right to your door! Click the link below to get your box now!

 

 

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Easter Eggs Activities and its developmental Importance for kids

Easter holds so many great activities for our children. What kid doesn’t love an Easter egg hunt? An Easter egg hunt is not just fun but a whole learning process. First, there’s finding the eggs, which works on your child’s gross motor and cognitive skills. Then decision making, planning, visual skills, and Picking the eggs up and putting them in the basket, which works on the child’s fine motor skills and coordination.

Here are some fun activities to do at Easter:

Color Scavenger Hunt

  • Use plastic-colored Easter eggs to encourage gross motor skills, visual perception, and learning colors. They will also be building cognitive skills and visual scanning.
  • You can assign a color to each child, and those are the eggs that they need to find.
  • You can use clues or a scavenger hunt for the older children.
  • The reward is they get to keep what is inside each of the eggs that they find.
    • Some tips for a successful Easter egg hunt for small children are:
      • Find a suitable space for the hunt, a small safe place.
      • Make sure to have baskets for each child.
      • Keep it simple.
      • Make sure all the children know the rules.
      • Keep things fair.

Easter egg hunts and/or scavenger hunts encourage physical activity. You can even involve math and have your little one practice counting all of the eggs they found. You can even put different sensory objects in some of the eggs for them to explore. Easter stickers are also a great item to put in the eggs.

 

Eggs and Bunny Art

  • This activity will be painting or coloring the eggs.
  • Have your child use markers, crayons, or paint to color the eggs for Easter.
  • Let them be creative and use their imagination. There is no right or wrong way.

Art promotes creativity, and that is extremely important for a child’s development. Holding the marker, crayon, or brush works on their fine motor skills. Art also helps children gain confidence and perseverance. Painting and coloring help develop visual-spatial skills. It will also help develop working memory, mental flexibility, and self-control.

Feed the Bunny

  • Use a box that is closed up and cut out a mouth for the bunny.
  • Give your child pom poms and have them feed the bunny through the mouth either with their hands or tweezers.

This activity will work a child’s pincer grasp when picking up the pompoms with their fingers or the tweezers. The ability to isolate the pointer finger and use a pincer grasp during fine motor play are important skills to prepare kids for a good pencil grasp.

This activity can also work on your child’s ability to cross the midline. Have them reach over to the left side to get the pompoms and then back to the right to feed the bunny. This is an important prerequisite to efficient reading, writing skills, and overall motor coordination.

Easter Activities to Involve the Entire Family

– Egg and Spoon Race – This is an old-fashioned outdoor game where you each have a spoon with an egg resting on it. You all race to a certain spot and see who can make it there first without dropping their egg.

– Read Easter books together as a family. Reading is so good for children and helps them with bonding, listening skills, cognitive and language development, expanded vocabulary, attention span, creativity, and social and emotional development.

– Easter symbolizes rebirth, so plant some flowers, plants, or trees together. Children love to help, and you can teach them about the planting process, feeding and nurturing what you plant, and how it grows.

– You can decorate a tree with Easter eggs for Spring.

– You can teach your child about the importance of giving. Have them help make, decorate, and fill an Easter basket. Then bring it to a neighbor, friend, or family member.

– Make the Easter meal together as a family. Let the children help because they love to feel like they accomplished something and helped mom and dad.

– If the weather permits, be outside! Everyone benefits from getting some sunshine and breathing in the fresh air. It is also very beneficial for children to explore the outdoors and nature.

Holidays bring families together, and family time is incredibly important for raising a healthy and secure child. Children learn from what they see, so show them what it means to be there for each other and truly with each other. It is a time when your children learn how to deal with all kinds of life situations, and they learn invaluable lessons.

 

So, don’t forget to stock up on some plastic Easter eggs, candy, small gifts/toys, and anything else you might need for Easter. Most of all just have fun!!

 

Do you love these ideas/activities and want more of them? You can have a box with age appropriate activities, that are developmentally correct and pediatric designed, shipped right to your door! Click the link below to get your box now!