Toy review: Feed the animals game

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

These games are a great choice if you are in search of a game to boost the fine motor skills of your 3-5 year old child. You can purchase all 3 together, or choose the animal that is most appealing to your child. Each game comes with a pair of large tongs that will be used to “feed” treats to the animal. The pretend food treats are an appropriate size, making it challenging, but not exceedingly difficult to pick up.  The larger mouths of the animals are conveniently designed to make it a “just right challenge” for young children to get the treats inside. 

After having played the game, I have listed below a couple of pointers and adaptations to maximize the fine motor benefits accrued while playing:

Place a piece of colored tape around the tongs exactly where your child should hold them (approximately two-thirds of the way down the tongs) so that he/she automatically knows where to place his/her fingers.

Each game comes with 30 treats. By taking turns with your child, you will keep the small muscles of the hand from fatiguing quickly. 

  • Quality counts! If you notice that your child is struggling to hold the tongs, or is beginning to use the entire hand to grasp them, discontinue the game or alter the game play to pick up the treats using fingers only. 

Aviva Goldwasser, OTR/L

Dr. Chaye Lamm Warburg, OTR/L

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 13th, 2011 and is filed under POTS Favorite Toy Ideas, Seasonal Tips.

Toy review: Spot-it!

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

TOY REVIEW:   SPOT-IT!

Holiday season has arrived! As you shop for the ideal gifts, keep in mind that games are a great vehicle for developing your child’s skills. Use this gift giving opportunity to buy a game that will challenge your child’s perceptual skills in a fun, creative, and interactive way.

How do you play?

Each Spot-It! card contains 8 symbols out of a bank of 50 universal symbols. Two cards are drawn at the same time, and placed face up. The object of the game is to find one matching symbol between the two cards. Be the first player to call out the name of the matching symbol.

Therapeutically, this game challenges visual perception skills. It requires accurate visual scanning of the symbols on each card and solid figure-ground discrimination to pick out the relevant symbol from the whole array. It also demands good matching, visual memory, and visual discrimination skills in order to locate the one match between the cards. Players must be able to recognize and identify the matching symbol, even though the symbol may be a different size or in different orientation, tapping into visual form constancy

For detailed explanations of all of the visual perception terms, click on the “Glossary” tab on the left column of our potsot.com website.

Who can play?

The game is intended for 2-8 players, ages 7+. Because the symbols are universally recognized, such as hearts, ladybugs, snowflakes, and simple words such as Stop, Art, and Ok, accurate reading skills are not critical to play the game, and we have used it successfully with 6 year olds.

What’s included?

Spot-It! includes 55 cards neatly packed in a tin container. Its small size makes it easy to store and ideal for travel. The game is relatively inexpensive and in addition to the regular game, there are 5 mini-games, each with its own set of rules and objectives, making the game more versatile and interesting.

Aviva Goldwasser, OTR/L

Dr. Chaye Lamm Warburg, DPS, OTR/L

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 7th, 2011 and is filed under POTS Favorite Toy Ideas, Seasonal Tips.

A CLOSER LOOK AT LINCOLN LOGS, AN “OLDIE BUT GOODIE”

Wednesday, December 29th, 2010

Lincoln Logs is a toy that we all had in our homes when we grew up. While there are many new toys on the market full of bells and whistles, this classic toy is timeless, and offers many educational and therapeutic benefits.  

To challenge visual perception skills, such as visual spatial awareness and design copy, replicate the structure in the instructions. Or using your own creativity, build a unique, one-of-a-kind structure. Building your own structure is great for motor planning (see our glossary of terms) because your child will come up with a plan (ideation), figure out how to make a sound structure (organization), and then carry out the plan (execution). There are limitless possibilities when you use your creativity.

Although the recommended age is from 3 years, it is difficult for many children that young to manage the interlocking pieces independently. It appears to be better suited for children 5-8 years old.

The wooden logs are durable and are great for building structures over and over again. Lincoln Logs are available in several different sizes and price ranges. If you purchase a larger set, there will be enough logs and accessories so that more than one child can play simultaneously. All sets come in a container for storage.

 Blog written by: Aviva Goldwasser, MS, OTR.   Chaye Lamm Warburg, DPS, OTR, Director of POTS

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 29th, 2010 and is filed under POTS Favorite Toy Ideas.

Toy Review: Pop Beads

Monday, December 13th, 2010

If you are looking for a creative, open-ended toy that can also enhance your child’s skills, check out the Parents Pop Beads toy. It is ideal for children who are at least 4 years old, but will keep the interest of children several years older as well. Just be careful if there are younger siblings at home because the small pieces pose a choking hazard.

The set includes 500 colorful pieces, including 12 rings and 6 bracelets. Because there are so many pieces, it is ideal for sharing during a play date or as a group activity.

Therapeutically, this toy can be used to enhance visual perception skills and eye-hand coordination. Create a pattern based on bead color or shape, and have your child copy the design. Lining up the beads to pop them together is great for eye-hand coordination.

This toy is also an excellent choice for building fine motor coordination. Learning to push hard enough to make the beads snap together is helpful for modulating pressure, an important pre-writing skill. To improve dexterity, have your child pick up 5 beads, one at a time, using a pincer grasp (thumb to index finger) and move them from the fingertips to the palm of the hand. As he/she is ready to add to the design, have him/her bring each bead up from the palm to the fingertips one at a time.  

From a pragmatic perspective, the beads are durable and can be used time and time again for educational play. In addition, the container is small, travels well, and make storage easy.

 Blog written by:

Aviva Goldwasser, MS, OTR/L  

Chaye Lamm Warburg, DPS, OTR/L, Director of POTS

This entry was posted on Monday, December 13th, 2010 and is filed under POTS Favorite Toy Ideas.

Toy Review: A closer look at Melissa & Doug’s pattern blocks and boards

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

 

 

PATTERN BLOCKS AND BOARDS

As the holiday season rapidly approaches, the hunt is on for fun, educational toys that will make great gifts. For those of you who have pre-schoolers who have outgrown peg puzzles, but who are not yet ready for interlocking puzzles, this toy is a great choice. A 3 or 4 year old would be an ideal candidate for the pre-made pattern boards, or create his/her own design using just the geometric shapes without the pattern board.

Therapeutically, Pattern Blocks and Boards is excellent for building visual perception skills, including shape recognition, color recognition, and visual spatial relationships. Take the opportunity to teach your child how to fit the shapes into a preexisting pattern to create a picture (i.e. bunny or butterfly, as seen below). Or create unique, one-of-a-kind designs with your child. It is so much fun that your children will not even realize how much they are learning!

The toy includes a total of 120 wooden geometric shapes, with 6 different shapes, and 5 double sided pattern boards.

Pros of the toy include the durability. The pieces and pattern boards are wooden, there are enough pieces to allow more than one child to play simultaneously. Unlike many toys that have loud music and flashing bright lights, this toy can foster creativity and quiet thought.

Cons of the toy are that there is no cover, which makes it difficult to keep all the pieces together, so consider storing them in a re-sealable bag. Also, the pieces move around the board very easily, which may be frustrating for children who tend to knock things over. Since there are no indentations to help the pieces stay put, you might want to take the time to put small pieces of Velcro on the back of the shapes.

Blog written by: Aviva Goldwasser, MS, OTR/L

                              Chaye Lamm Warburg, DPS, OTR/L, Director of POTS

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 18th, 2010 and is filed under POTS Favorite Toy Ideas.

POTS Top Toy Picks for 2009

Friday, November 27th, 2009

Pre-schoolers

Children 3-5 years old engage in pretend play to experiment different roles.

Their problem solving and fine motor skills are developing rapidly. They love to build and are beginning to follow patterns. Playtime is a natural way to support their development with opportunities to practice these emerging skills.

Melissa & Doug Play Food Sets (www.melissaanddoug.com)

Pre-schoolers are learning to play pretend and will love the variety of foods that they can cook, prepare, and serve just like Mommy and Daddy. Many food sets have a cutting feature so that your child can learn how to “cut” the Velcroed foods and put them back together to make them whole. These sets as well as other sets, such as the Ice Cream Parlor Set and Grill Set, encourage using two hands together, which is an essential skill for children to master at this age.

Wedgits (www.wedgits.com)

WEDGiTS are unique building blocks that are graduated in size. The five block shapes nest and layer in vertical and horizontal positions. Your child will love this open-ended manipulative because WEDGiTS are designed to naturally align or drop into place, offering no wrong way to build and endless possibilities for creative designs. Stimulate your child’s tactile sense with the soft, flocked blocks in the WEDGiTS Weebabu line. Challenge fine motor skills in older children with the mini WEDGiTS. To up the ante, design cards are available (Starter through Advanced Design Cards) so that your child can learn to follow a pattern.

Pix O’s (www.toysrus.com)

Pre-schoolers are developing a mature three-finger grasp that they will need for coloring and writing. Pix O’s comes with a distinctive tool that is shaped like a fat marker. Short, fat tools are better for young children to facilitate a three-finger grasp. As your child’s thumb pushes against the trigger to release the Pix O’s onto the template, he/she is using controlled, dynamic movement. Spraying the Pix O’s with water to set the 2D and 3D designs requires your child to isolate the fingers of the hand to use them individually, providing excellent tactile and proprioceptive input. Placing the Pix O’s and spraying the water are fun ways to strengthen the small muscles of the hand necessary for coloring and cutting.

Elementary Schoolers

Children in elementary school are honing their cognitive and visual perceptual skills and love to play strategic games. They are social, and enjoy group activities and sports are an important modality for building positive social interactions.

Ruk Shuk Game (www.hearthsong.com)

This is a game of balance that challenges visual perceptual skills as players turn over a game card that depicts a rock formation and have 60 seconds to duplicate what they see using 7 game “rocks” they’ve drawn from a large pouch. Rocks are worth varying amounts of points: tallying points on the included scorecards is a fun way to build on math skills. There are 25 formations in all, based on real rock formations from around the world, and includes fascinating facts about each.

Design & Drill Activity Center (www.learningexpress.com)

Children will love using Design & Drill to create their own designs, or follow the activity cards that come with the set to make pictures and patterns. Use a drill bit in the reversible power drill, a screwdriver, or your fingers to secure the bolts in place. Using the tools strengthens the shoulders and elbows while encouraging separation of the thumb and pinky sides of the hand, important prerequisites for coloring, cutting, and writing.

Qwirkle (www.hearthsong.com)

Qwirkle is a game of strategy based on color and shape rather than letters, so both readers and non-readers can play. Each player starts with 6 of the 108 wooden tiles, and players will be challenged to see how many matches can be made with the designs on the board.

Bucket Blast Game (www.hearthsong.com)

Elementary schoolers are beginning to participate in group play and competitive activities. Bucket Blast includes 15 games for indoor and outdoor play that are perfect for group play at parties and get-togethers. It includes 6 colorful plastic buckets, 6 belts to attach buckets to players’ backsides, 24 beanbags, 4 boundary-marking cones, 6 blindfolds, and an instruction book with directions for all the different action-packed games. Gross motor skills will be challenged with tossing, running, and balancing games. They must also strategize and team up for points, which requires cooperation and turn taking among players. Our favorite is beanbag basketball, where you try to toss beanbags into everyone else’s buckets, while trying to keep beanbags from landing in yours.

Can You See What I See? Finder Keepers Game (www.toysrus.com)

No reading is required for this visual game of hide and seek. It will challenge visual perception and figure-ground discrimination skills for parents and children alike. Players turn over a “Find Me” tile and try to find the featured object among your set of “Keep Me” cards. You must look carefully as objects may be hidden and you may have more than one match on your cards.

Blog written by: Aviva Goldwasser, MS, OTR &

Chaye Lamm Warburg, MA, OTR, Director POTS

This entry was posted on Friday, November 27th, 2009 and is filed under POTS Favorite Toy Ideas.

Holiday Toy List 2009

Friday, November 27th, 2009

0-12 Months:

Babies birth to twelve months should be exposed to a variety of sensory inputs, such as sounds and sights, so that they can learn to respond to the world around them in an organized manner. They are also learning to use their hands purposefully and they are beginning to understand cause and effect by exploring and manipulating the objects in their environment.

TinyLove Developlay Activity Center (www.buybuybaby.com)

Developlay is a versatile two-sided toy that can be attached to the crib or placed on the floor. It plays gentle, pleasant music, and has a wide variety of opportunities for pulling, pushing, spinning, and grasping. The blue side offers large activities that are simple for young babies beginning to learn basic control of the hands. The green side has more complex activities that require separation of the fingers, a pincer grasp, and using the fingers in varied ways to help strengthen the muscles of the hand. It features both vibrant colors and simple, contrasting black and white.

JOLLYBABY Sensational Play Park Discovery Gym and Playmatwww.toysrus.com)

This toy includes a playmat, tunnel, and water mat. Flaps on the mat make it appealing for tummy time and toy arches on top make it ideal to stimulate reaching. Added features provide a variety of sensory stimulation. Your baby will love the sound and feel of the crinkly mat and tunnel, and enjoy the wiggly sensation of playing on the water mat. The unique crawl-through tunnel offers additional play opportunities, such as playing Peek-a-Boo.

Infantino Block Party Zebra (www.amazon.com)

Dump and fill toys are great for children this age. This toy features a zebra wagon that can be pushed and four soft, crinkly, textured blocks that will entice your baby to sort, stack, put in, and take out the blocks.

12-24 Months:

Children 12-24 months engage in rudimentary problem solving and can begin to perform mental trial and error. Imaginative play is just beginning to emerge as children start to use one object in a creative way to stand for another.

Imaginarium 150 Wooden Piece Set (www.toysrus.com)

These blocks come in all different shapes and sizes to stimulate your child to construct towers and buildings. Your child can build his own creations, reproduce a building that you have made, or follow a pattern that you start. The cover of the container is a shape sorter. Cleaning up the blocks has never been more fun!

Slow-Roll Visual Tracker (www.lakehore.com)

Watching the balls twist and turn down the maze is great for visual tracking. Your child will be mesmerized by the varying speeds with which the balls roll- some run fast, and others go super-slow.

Measure Up! Cups (www.discoverytoysinc.com)

Nesting cups have always been great for sorting, stacking, and counting. Your child can enjoy scooping, pouring, and measuring in all different places. Scoop beans and rice in the kitchen, or fill them with water in the bath tub. Add some measuring spoons, and your child can “cook” some delicious recipes. After all the fine motor exploration, you can use these volumetrically correct, sequentially numbered cups to introduce important preschool concepts related to volume, size, color and measurement. Build recognition skills too with numbers, trilingual number words, and animal shapes.

Board books will hold up best to drooling and do not tear easily

Our top 4 picks for color, humor, language, and kid-appeal:

    1. Eric Carle
    2. Sandra Boynton
    3. Dr. Seuss
    4. Karen Katz

Blog written by: Aviva Goldwasser, MS, OTR

Chaye Lamm Warburg, MA, OTR, Director POTS

This entry was posted on Friday, November 27th, 2009 and is filed under POTS Favorite Toy Ideas.

Sensory Toys & Messy Play for Toddlers

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

Holiday season is in full swing. As you shop for your children, take a look at our toy list for great gift ideas that can promote your child’s development.

Two and three years olds like to gather and collect items and are learning to sort by color, shape, and size. They are driven to explore their environment and need lots of opportunity to expand their play.

Sand
Sand & Water Activity Center- Step 2 (www.toysrus.com)
Step 2 Frog Sandbox (www.toysrus.com)

Water
Clay, Play Doh
Rocking horse
Rock N Bounce Pony (www.toysrus.com)
Rock 2 Roll Pony (www.toysrus.com)
Simple musical instruments
Parents Bee Bop Band Instruments By Battat (www.buybuybaby.com)
First Act Percussion Pack (www.toysrus.com)
Sound Beginnings Pound N Sound Xylophone (www.target.com)

EYE-HAND COORDINATION
Peg boards with large pieces
Learning Resources Stacking Shapes Pegboard (www.target.com)
Wooden animals
Large crayons and paper (avoid coloring books)
Dot Art: Do a Dot Art Washable Markers 6 Pack (www.amazon.com)
Chalkboard: Scribble Center (www.amazon.com)
Simple jigsaw puzzles with large pieces
Parents Puzzle Rack with Puzzles (www.target.com)
Vehicle and Farm Sound Puzzles (www.target.com)
Melissa & Doug puzzles with knobs, doors and thick stand-up pieces (DaffyDan)
Blocks with numbers and letters
Melissa & Doug Deluxe 50-piece Wooden ABC/123 Blocks Set (www.amazon.com)
Shape sorters
Shape Sorting Cube (www.target.com)
Chicco Shape Sorter Drum (www.target.com)

CONSTRUCTION TOYS
Mega Blocks
Mega Blocks 200 Piece Duffle Bag (www.amazon.com)
Magnet blocks and trains
Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway Circus Train (www.target.com)
Duplo:  My First Lego Duplo Set (www.amazon.com)

By: Aviva Goldwasser, OTR/L

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 and is filed under POTS Favorite Toy Ideas.