Design and Drill Socket to Me

You guys. Kids LOVE this toy. And not just the first time they see it. Even after the novelty of it wears off, they still love this toy. Believe me when I say I was skeptical. I opened the box and I thought, "Wait, that's it?" Design and Drill Socket to Me is a simple toy. The OT in me knows that kids love simple toys and that proved to be true with this toy.

Design and Drill Socket to Me comes with four shapes (car, robot, spaceship, and boat), a wrench, and lots of bolts. The bolts twist into the shapes and then the wrench can be used to tighten or loosen the bolts.

I put this toy to the test with some kiddos, and they did not have the same skepticism that I had. They immediately gravitated toward this toy and together we discovered that this toy can be used in so many fun and educational ways.

Here are a few of the skills you can work on while playing with Design and Drill Socket to Me:

Fine motor skills - twist the bolts into the shapes
Bilateral coordination - use one hand to hold the shape and the other hand to manipulate the wrench
Sorting - sort the bolts by color
Counting - put the bolts in the shapes and then count the number of bolts
Pretend play - drive the race car around a track or shoot your rocket into outer space!
Speech - encourage kids to use their words to request the shape they want
Turn taking - while playing with peers or siblings, kids must share the shapes, bolts, and wrench

Design and Drill Socket to Me is recommended for kids ages 4 and up due to the small pieces. I found that kids as young as two really enjoyed putting the bolts into the shapes. Of course, this should only be done with close supervision, due to the small bolts being a choking hazard. The wrench can be a bit tricky for young kids to manipulate, but older kids seem to enjoy trying to figure it out. I think this toy would make an awesome fine motor/free play station in a preschool classroom.

What are your favorite fine motor stations for preschoolers? Have you found that simpler is better when it comes to preschool toys?

Where to buy:

Design and Drill Socket to Me is available on the Educational Insights website or Amazon.

Connect with Educational Insights:

Website: www.educationalinsights.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/educationalinsights
Twitter: @ed_insights
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/edinsights


Disclosure: This game was received complimentary of Educational Insights in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not compensated for this post and all opinions are my own. Links to Educational Insights and Amazon are affiliate links.

8 Ways to Play | Kitten Caboodle

When Educational Insights contacted me to check out some of their summer releases, the cat lover in me couldn't resist Kitten Caboodle. (Don't worry! If you're more of a dog person, Educational Insights also has a dog version of this game called Diggity Dogs). While these two card games don't scream OT, like some of the other games and toys that Educational Insights offers (Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel game, anyone?), they are still fun AND educational. What's not to love about that combination?

 Aren't these cats just the cutest?

Kitten Caboodle is a go-fish style card game. The object is to adopt as many kittens as possible by collecting cards that match the items pictured on the cat's card. So while your kids are busy having fun, they're also working on matching, sorting, counting, and turn taking skills!

As an occupational therapist, I tend to look at games through my "OT eyes." To me, a good game is one that can be adapted to work on a variety of skills and can be enjoyed by kids of all ages. If you're looking to get a bit more out of your game, here are a few more ways to have fun with your Kitten Caboodle game.

8 ways to play Kitten Caboodle:

Turn the cards into a game of memory!

1. Play the old fashioned way! Best for kids ages 5 and up.
2. Use the cards to play a game of memory.
3. Trace the box and then draw a picture of a cat. Tracing is great for developing bilateral coordination skills!
4. Want more tracing practice? Trace the cats too!
5. For kids just beginning to write, copy the name of the cats onto a piece of paper.
6. For older kids, use the cards and cats as sentence prompts.
7. For younger kids, use the cards to practice matching and sorting.
8. Use the cat cards to encourage speech. "Cooper wants a mouse, a bed, and yarn."

Where to buy your own game:

Kitten Caboodle is available on the Educational Insights website or Amazon.
If Diggity Dogs is more your style, you can find it here or here.

Connect with Educational Insights:

Website: www.educationalinsights.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/educationalinsights
Twitter: @ed_insights
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/edinsights


What other ways would you play Kitten Caboodle?  

This game was received complimentary of Educational Insights in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not compensated for this post and all opinions are my own. Links to Educational Insights and Amazon are affiliate links. 

Aimee's Babies

 

Aimee Ketchum, OTR/L, CNMI is a pediatric occupational therapist and the founder of Aimee's Babies, a child development company. Aimee is on a quest to provide parents with practical and easy to follow information and instructional tools regarding their children's development. Aimee is embarking on this journey with a series of educational DVDs and apps. 

When Aimee contacted me and asked if I'd like to check out her DVDs, I'll admit, I was a little skeptical. As a pediatric occupational therapist myself, I tend to encourage parents to throw all milestone books and charts out the window, since they seem to cause unnecessary anxiety and worry among parents of children with special needs. After watching Aimee's Babies First Year Milestones and Aimee's Babies Baby Massage DVDs, I still believe that it is important to not get too caught up in the milestone race, however these DVDs are a great resource for parents and therapists alike. Let me tell you why...

Aimee's Babies First Year Milestones

Aimee's Babies First Year Milestones contains four chapters, one on each of the following ages:

• Newborn
• Three - four months
• Six - nine months
• Twelve months

Each chapter demonstrates what typically developing babies are doing at that age, and then provides helpful tips and exercises to help babies reach important milestones. Each chapter contains the following sections:

• Reflexes
• Vision
• Hearing
• Touch
• Movement and balance
• Taste and smell

In addition, there are "Baby Boot Camp" exercises interspersed throughout the video. These are simple exercises that parents can do with their baby to promote development.

The most useful aspect of this DVD is being able to see what your baby's movement or reflexes should actually look like. I think one of the biggest downfalls milestone books and charts, is that they are just a bunch of words (and maybe some pictures), but it is hard to really understand what your child should be doing. The video clears up that confusion by showing what babies are doing.

In addition, there are several Aimee's Babies Apps (and most are free!) that complement the video. Below is a screenshot of the Aimee's Babies Newborn App.

Aimee's Babies Baby Massage DVD

I frequently used infant massage as an intervention technique when I worked in early intervention. Infant massage has many benefits including, increasing circulation, enhancing the immune system, improving sleep, relief of colic, improving digestion, and helping to develop coordination and motor skills.

This DVD begins with an overview of sensory development of babies, along with some simple exercises to promote the development of each sense. The DVD then provides some simple step by step baby massage instruction. Again, as with the milestone DVD, I think it is so much better to see baby massage in action, rather than try to read about it or look at some pictures. Aimee shows how simple it is for parents to massage their babies and to give them the best start possible!  

Who would benefit from Aimee's Babies DVDs and apps?

• New parents - The videos and apps provide simple tips and exercises for parents to easily implement. They also provide an easy to understand guide to developmental milestones.
• OT students - Being able to see typical baby development is so much better than just reading about it in a textbook.
• New OT graduates -These serve as a great guide for therapists who are out on their own for the first time.
• Early Intervention practitioners - Both the DVDs and the apps are a great resource to have on hand to share with parents. The apps would be great to pull out when explaining a reflex or exercise to a parent. It always helps to have a visual!

For more information, visit www.aimeesbabies.com. You can also follow Aimee's Babies on Facebook.
Click the image to the left to visit the iTunes app store to learn more about the Aimee's Babies apps!


 *I received complimentary copies of the DVDs mentioned in this post for my review. However, all opinions are entirely my own. This post also contains iTunes Affiliate links.

Schoodles Pediatric Fine Motor Assessment

Schoodles Pediatric Fine Motor Assessment (PMFA), Third Edition is a performance-based assessment tool for evaluating a child's fine motor skills.

I've been using Schoodles for a few months now and I love it! It is neatly organized into a useful binder and is easy to administer. I love that it allows me to have everything in one place. When I need to assess a student I can easily grab my Schoodles binder and I am ready to go!

Who should use this tool?

School and clinic based pediatric occupational therapists.

What does Schoodles assess?

Schoodles is a performance based assessment tool to evaluate a child's fine motor skills. It is not a standardized assessment. With that said, I have found it to be a very useful tool to guide my clinical observation of childrens' fine motor skills.

Schoodles is used to assess the following skill areas: grasp, hand dominance, design imitation and design copying, tracing draw a person, handwriting, coloring, cutting, and picture assembly.

In addition, the following supporting skills are assessed: visual tracking; hand and arm strength, endurance, coordination, and tone; right/left discrimination; graphesthesia; body awareness; eye-hand coordination; kinesthetic awareness; crossing midline; and balance and coordination.

For what ages is Schoodles appropriate?

Schoodles is designed for children ages 3 years and older. In my opinion, it is most appropriate for children between 3 and 8 years of age, or those that are developmentally functioning within that age level. I used to work in a middle school setting where I frequently used only clinical observation when writing reports, because standardized assessments just didn't provide an accurate depiction of the students' abilities. I wish I had had Schoodles back then to organize my thoughts and observations!

How is it administered?

It's very simple to use. Schoodles can be used in part, or in full, and can be completed in any order. The reproducible 'Student Worbook' worksheets make it easy to assess basic skills, such as cutting, coloring and tracing, as well as handwriting. The 'Therapist Guide' contains suggestions on how to observe each skill area and supporting skill area, either within the classroom setting or during an assessment situation.

What does the Schoodles assessment tool include?

Schoodles comes neatly organized into a binder with two sections. The first section is the 'Therapist Guide' which explains how to use the assessment tool, provides directions for assessing each area, and contains age ranges for expected skill development. The 'Therapist Guide' also contains an Assessment Table which provides skill observations guidelines. Finally, the 'Therapist Guide' contains a Therapist Observation Sheet, which allows for easy recording of skills during the assessment.

The second section of the assessment binder is the 'Student Workbook' which contains reproducible pages for tracing, drawing basic shapes, drawing a person, handwriting, coloring, cutting, and picture assembly.

The Schoodles binder also contains an empty zippered pouch to hold the items needed for testing. This is all I had to add to my kit to make it fully usable!

pencil, pen, scissors, a few crayons, and a couple of tissues

What about the paperwork? Is it easy to write up a report?

If you're an OT then you've probably been writing up reports of your clinical observations since you were a student. Yes, using Schoodles does require actually writing out all of your observations. There is no shortcut around that. I do find that using Schoodles helps me complete my observations in a more systematic way than I usually do, which in turn makes writing up the results easier. For a sample report, visit the Schoodles website.

Where can I purchase Schoodles Pediatric Fine Motor Assessment?

The Schoodles Pediatric Fine Motor Assessment can be purchased on the Schoodles website (www.schoodles.com). Schoodles PFMA is available in binder form for $65 or as a CD for $55. The student workbook is reproducible, so you will not be required to purchase expensive testing booklets every few months :)

For more information, be sure to check out the Schoodles website, including this great list of FAQs.

*I received a complimentary copy of the Schoodles Pediatric Fine Motor Assessment, Third Edition for my clinical use. However, all writing and opinions are entirely my own.

Bamboo Brace

Have you heard of the Bamboo Brace? I hadn't either until I was contacted by Michael Workman, PT, C/NDT, creator of the Bamboo Brace. In his work as a pediatric physical therapist, Michael saw a need for a dynamic elbow splint for children with hemiplegia, so he designed one himself!

What is the Bamboo Brace?

The Bamboo Brace is a flexible pediatric arm brace that is placed around the elbow joint for children with cerebral palsy and other developmental challenges. The Bamboo Brace assists children in maintaining a more extended position at the elbow, so both gross and fine motor skills are easier to perform. The Bamboo Brace is made out of neoprene and has five flexible and interchangeable stays, as seen below. These flexible stays make this a dynamic splint rather than a static splint, which allows gross motor movement while still allowing fine motor play.

How is it used?

The Bamboo Brace is recommended for use with children with an elbow flexion pattern that is slowing development, children who are unable to bear weight through their arms or support themselves for crawling, and children who present with spontaneous hand movements and hand mouthing.

As recommended by Michael Workman, I started out using the #3 insert when working with children and then adjusted from there as needed (the higher the number, the more rigid the plastic). The flexible insert easily slides into the brace (as seen below). The insert does tuck into the fabric completely - I just left it partially out in the photo to demonstrate how it is inserted. The inside of the brace has three non-slip dots to help hold the brace in place against the child's arm. The brace simply Velcros around the child's arm and you're ready to go!

I used The Bamboo Brace bilaterally to assist with weight bearing in infants and I found the brace to be very helpful when using it in this way. It allowed the child to develop more shoulder strength while being supported at the elbow. It was also easier for me as the therapist to position the child, because sometimes I feel like I need eight hands! The Bamboo Brace was also less bulky than other similar splints on the market.

I also used The Bamboo Brace with a child with hemiplegia, as seen below. The brace positioned the child's arm in an extended pattern, which allowed for weightbearing through the more affected arm. Typically this child was resistant to bearing weight through that arm and would only use the affected arm for functional activities if strongly encouraged to do so. I found the brace to be effective for both bilateral and unilateral activities, depending on the needs of the child.

For the most part, I found that children were willing to wear The Bamboo Brace and did not appear to be uncomfortable when wearing it. I have not yet used it for children who frequently mouth their hands or engage in self-injurious behaviors (e.g. hitting self), but it seems that it could be useful in those situations as well.

Product Details:

The Bamboo Brace
Available in three sizes: Infant/Toddler (under 18 months), Preschool (18 months to 4 years, Early Grade School (5 years to 9 years)
Price: $60 for Infant/Toddler and Preschool; $69 for Early Grade School; Discounted price when purchasing two braces at the same time. Click here for purchasing information

For more information:

Visit Professional Therapies at www.bamboobrace.com
Follow The Bamboo Brace on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheBambooBrace (When The Bamboo Brace reaches 2,012 fans, Professional Therapies will donate $5,000 worth of Bamboo Braces to therapy clinics across the country. Go give them a thumbs up and let's make this happen!)
To purchase The Bamboo Brace, click here or you can purchase it on Amazon

Disclosure: I received demos of the Bamboo Brace free of charge. However, all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Has anyone else used The Bamboo Brace? I would love to hear about your experience!

Happy Mealtimes with Happy Kids

Happy Mealtimes with Happy Kids, by Melanie Potock, MA, CCC-SLP, is a must-read morsel of a book for those interested in making mealtimes with their child more enjoyable! Melanie is a feeding specialist who has shared her knowledge by writing a book about the "how" to feed a child, with topics ranging from proper seating to straw drinking to helping your child tolerate change and new foods.

This book is designed for busy parents. Each chapter consists of an appetizer, an entree and a quick bite. The appetizers are short, real life stories from Melanie's experiences as a feeding specialist. The entree dives into the topic introduced in the appetizer more thoroughly, and the quick bite gives a short synopsis of tips.

This book covers the basics of feeding your child in an easy to understand manner. If you are looking for a book that dives deep into techniques of feeding therapy, then this is not the book for you. If you're looking for quick, helpful, and easy to implement tips, then this book will leave you with plenty of straight forward tips to try right away with your child!

Topics covered include:

• Proper positioning
• Spoon feeding
• Getting messy (and why it's important!)
• Experiencing temperature and texture before taste
• Helping children tolerate change
• Straw drinking
• Behavioral strategies, including reinforcement and ignoring undesired behaviors
• Creating eating routines
• Tooth brushing
• Signs of choking
• Portion sizes

What Therapists Will Love:

• Quick, easy read!
• Great resource to have on hand with basic information about feeding and mealtimes to share with families.
• Chapters are so short, you can have a parent read one during your session, and then discuss what they learned.

What Parents Will Love:

• Quick, easy read. Even busy parents of toddlers can find time to read this book!
• Useful, basic information about feeding, especially for a first time parent or a first time parent of a selective eater!
• Great tips on common areas of concern, such as tolerating change, getting messy with food and learning to sit quietly in a highchair.
• Tips are easy to understand and easy to implement with your child immediately!

If you want to hear what others think of this book, please visit Amazon to read all of the reviews parents and therapists have written. Then, head on over to My Munch Bug to purchase the book directly from the distributor and save 20%. Even better, follow My Munch Bug on Facebook for tons of great information as well as frequent discount codes for Happy Mealtimes and Dancing in the Kitchen!

Wait, what is this Dancing in the Kitchen that I just mentioned? Melanie has teamed up with a childrens singer/songwriter to create a CD of fun music about food. Check out the video below of A Peas Operetta from Dancing in the Kitchen: Songs That Celebrate the Joy of Food to get a taste of what the CD has to offer!


As a therapist, I am always looking for good music to incorporate into therapy sessions, and Dancing in the Kitchen fits that bill! It's not just fun, it has therapeutic value too! This CD includes suggestions and strategies for incorporating these songs into your child's mealtime experience to get the most out of the music. You can purchase Dancing in the Kitchen from My Munch Bug or from Amazon.

Disclosure: The items reviewed in this post were received free of charge for review. All opinions expressed are my own.