Stocking Stuffer ideas with an OT twist!
What is Motor Planning?
2022 Holiday Gift Guide
Winter Snowy Day Activities - January 2022
Whether you live in a snowy climate in the winter or you have some rainy days that pass through, you need some indoor activities for your kiddos. A few years back I did a Winter Challenge and posted winter-themed activities for each week throughout the months of January and February. I have had so much fun pulling out some of those same recipes and activities on rainy days, while I’m cooking dinner, or as an invitation to create and explore when my kids come home from school.
Here are some of my favorite winter-themed activities all in one place for you to try at home!
Baking soda is a key ingredient to make snow. There are so many recipes out there for fake snow and baking soda really does pack into snow balls. You can just add some water and extend play with vinegar ( I love using a spray bottle or pipettes to watch it fizz up!). Try mixing baking soda and hair conditioner until you get a consistency that packs together. I have also tried baking soda and lotion. You can experiment with the combinations and see which your child prefers.
My all-time favorite snow though, is that fake snow that grows with water and is like the inside of diapers that absorbs the water… it’s just so fun for us Californians far from snow!
Cloud dough is also a fun sensory experience! Take a 5 lb bag of white flour and some baby oil and mix together until the 2 clump together to make snowballs. Or for a smaller batch, 2 cups of flour with 1/4 c. of baby oil. This is very fun with winter figurines!
For a fun activity to develop the muscles in our fingers for a mature grasp takes just a few items- q-tips, white paint, and blue paper! Using a small item to paint with, like a q-tip helps kiddos use what’s called a tripod grasp rather than all of their fingers.
Snow paint is another favorite activity! It is incredibly fun to paint with AND it dries fluffy! It leaves a 3D effect to your kiddo’s snowy art! I don’t measure this, just squirt a mound of shaving cream and add in some white school glue! An added fun flair is some glitter… if that’s your jam! Use a paint brush, a men’s shaving brush, popsicle stick, spoon, a variety of painting tools helps kids to develop their motor skills and proprioception as they feel the different weights of materials in their muscles and joints!
Shaving cream can be your best friend for winter activities! Drive trucks through it, play with snowmen and arctic figurines, drop food coloring and swirl it, place paper over the swirls for marbled paper, and our personal favorite… bring it into the bathtub!
A non-mess sensory bin that is tons of fun and a great opportunity to work on fine motor skills is a cotton ball sensory bin! Add in some scoops, tongs, and bowls and you are set!
A big hit in all of my groups and with my own kids- even my 6.5 year old, is freezing figures in water and melting the frozen ice with salt and warm water. Scoop, squeeze pipettes or a turkey baster, pound with a mallet or kids hammer… I like to have white play dough ready for the freed animals to play in! One of my clients loves his legos so we built some lego men and froze them! The options are endless of what you can freeze and free!
You can also freeze items from nature- pine sprigs, berries, leaves- really anything! If you live where it gets below freezing at night, simply leave it out overnight and it is an excellent invitation to get outside the next day to check on your frozen items! A pro tip is to freeze a piece of twine in the water and you can hang it up and watch the sunlight stream through!
Indoor ice skating is great fun on a rainy or snowy day! All you need is paper plates, maybe some mittens to practice with self-dressing skills, and a balloon to add in some visual motor skill building!
Morning Drop Off
Stages of Disequilibrium
Research by the Gesell Institute of Human Development has long reported that a child’s development is characterized by stages of equilibrium and disequilibrium. I came across this research when we entered those daunting “terrible twos” and found it to be so comforting that there actually is an explanation for the challenges we were encountering. I had recently forgotten about these stages of equilibrium and disequilibrium until my dear friend reminded me of them and how it persists throughout the teen years. Talk about a roller coaster! Just when things seem to be going more smoothly, we take a turn and are faced with a new repertoire of responses and emotions to things that once seemed pretty even-keeled. Recognizing these stages of development and how they relate to equilibrium and disequilibrium can be so helpful when you are wondering, “why is my child suddenly acting this way?!” Remembering that all behavior is communication and then keeping in mind that developmentally, they could be in a stage of disequilibrium, can help you as a parent or caregiver breathe a sigh of relief that, “this too shall pass.”
These stages typically fluctuate every 6 months until a child reaches the age of 7 and then they change more slowly at a yearly rate. These stages correlate with Piaget’s theories of the stages of child development. As a child begins to understand and make sense of the world, new experiences and information can be assimilated more readily. The most beneficial way to make sense of the stages of equilibrium and disequilibrium is to try and understand the child’s point of view and delve into what the behavior might be communicating. Considering this aspect can then allow the parent or caregiver to be curious about the behavior.
Ask yourself, “what is my child telling me through their behavior?”
“What skill does my child need to learn to adjust to this situation in the future?”
“What else is happening for my child at this time?”- consider the environment, family dynamics, additional family stressors, transitions, life events, and of course whether this is a period of equilibrium or disequilibrium.
The most important aspect of these stages is that it does not always happen like clockwork. These stages of equilibrium and disequilibrium can occur slightly before or after the expected milestone. You might begin to see signs of disequilibrium somewhat before the 6 month mark or yearly mark. Being aware of these stages and considering that the disequilibrium that is naturally occurring could be a contributing factor to the dysregulation can be impactful in how you respond to the behavior.
Here are some of my favorite books to read up on this topic…
Play Ideas for Babies and Young Toddlers!
I have compiled some of my favorite activities to engage with your baby. These are developmentally appropriate ideas that promote motor development, visual skills, sensory perception and most importantly, foster connection with your little one.
You have heard that tummy time is essential for babies. I have a whole blog post about it here! But being on the tummy is important for years, even as your baby develops in a toddler. Engaging in games on the floor is so important for visual tracking skills, building the shoulder muscles, tactile discrimination on the hands, and bimanual coordination. So what can you do? There are so many great black and white high contrast cards and books that are available for babies that stimulate their visual discrimination.
And this soft mirror is always a favorite for babies to look at while on their tummies!
I always loved having a shallow basket available for my kiddos to explore while on their tummies. This serves a few purposes. First, it encourages reaching which requires a weight shift-exactly what kiddos need to do to crawl. Having various textures also increases tactile discrimination. And lastly, this basket encourages visual motor coordination and eye teaming skills! And I almost forgot, it is also great for building language and joint attention. Label the items as your child explores. Although they aren’t speaking words to you, this facilitates communication skills with another person.
Bubble wrap is a fun texture for your baby to explore while working on their “tummy time.” Be sure to tape it down and supervise your kiddo so that they do not pull it off and begin to mouth it. Babies are stronger than we think! The sound the bubble wrap makes when it is touched creates the beginning exploration of cause and effect. The texture will be novel for your kiddo and stimulate their tactile system.
This is another fun activity that also requires adult supervision at all times. Ping pong balls are so fun for your little one to attempt to crawl after. The sound and the erratic way in which they bounce are great ways to explore cause and effect, visual tracking, encourage crawling, weight shift and reaching!
These can be something a little one could choke on so you must be vigilant!
Exploring textures is one of the things babies love to do. Securing a piece of cellophane to their highchair tray is very entertaining for them. You can place an item underneath it for them to move around or even try this with a plastic zip-top bag to mix paints, move around an item in hair gel, play with water beads or other items that they would otherwise potentially put in your mouth.
*Again, although it is secure, be sure to supervise your child to ensure that they do not obtain a piece and place it in their mouth.
Empty containers, mason jar rings, wooden spoons… these are all great ways for your little one to explore cause and effect, bilateral coordination, developing their core muscles while sitting in a supported manner, reaching and weight shift! There is so much happening for them with a simple activity like this!
As your child gets older, one of the ways we want to see them progress through movements is the ability to squat. This is essential for moving from sit to stand and builds key muscle groups. Encouraging squatting with toys at different heights is one way. A fun activity is to save a canister like a coffee can and cut a hole in the lid. A coffee creamer container also works well for this! Next, have your kiddo pull off clothespins at a higher level or grasp Pom Poms or other various items and push or drop them into the container. This is great for learning cause and effect, tactile discrimination, problem solving, bilateral coordination and of course moving from standing to squatting!
This position on hands and knees is one of the movement progressions that is so important for kids. Continuing to engage your child to move into this position well into their toddler years provides so many benefits. This is a precursor to crawling but this is also how babies learn to use the two hemispheres of their brain, understand visual relationships, use the eyes in a coordinated manner, develop proprioception or awareness of the muscles and joints in the body, shift weight, build tactile perception, and most importantly, explore the world around them!
I love baby pools for so many things including a makeshift ball pit! You can cut up a pool noodle too and add it in for a different texture. I must caution however that if your kiddo puts the pool noodle in their mouth, they could take a bite out of it! You can also use a laundry basket for an easy ball pit! There are so many ways to work on bilateral coordination, label colors for your kiddo, roll a ball to them. As they get older, invest in a play parachute for even more fun and add the ball pit balls to the fun too!!!
It is important to note that while engaging your child in some of these various movements is important, it is also critical to observe them. Be aware of when they are overstimulated. This does not always mean crying. It could be turning away, grimacing, no longer exploring the objects. Babies have a very limited span for their attention to stimuli and being aware of their cues, talking to them, varying their position is critical to their sensory processing and building their own internal awareness of regulation and sensory needs.
Please share this if you know someone with a young one at home. And as always, reach out with any questions!
Stocking Stuffers and Small Gifts...
I love finding small gifts to send to friends’ children for their birthdays or holidays. So filling stockings is also something I look forward to each Christmas! Here are some fun ideas for small yet very useful gifts!
I’ll start with some of our absolute favorite games… We take these everywhere we go and always have one or two in our car!
As an OT, here are some of my favorite little toys and activities to build fine motor skills….
Always in my therapy bag when working with kids, zoom ball is so fun!
This Zoom-O game is so much fun!
This little bug jar is the perfect accessory for your little explorer!
Stockings are a great opportunity to include some very practical and useful yet fun things for kids- like flashlights (play flashlight tag, go owling, make animals on the wall at night, encourage play outside when the sun goes down…) and this rainbow umbrella is sure to brighten up even the darkest rainy day!
The kaleidoscopes, kaleidoscope kit, and glow-in-the-dark stars are so fun for kids!
As a kid, I always loved friendship bracelet making and Klutz books! These would be a fun stocking stuffer for kids!
I love all of the Ooly art supplies- they are so cheery and make anyone want to start to create!
Did you love scratch and sniff stickers when you were little?! These would be so fun to get in a stocking!
What are some of your favorite stocking stuffers? What have been a hit in the past! Comment here to share some of your tips!
Holiday Gift Guide!
At a time when the months seem to pass in warp-speed yet also at a snail’s pace, I continue to be shocked when we move into the next month.
Really, every month I find myself saying, “wow, I can’t believe it is already ___.”
So here we are, already thinking of how we will spend the holidays and what gifts we will give to loved ones and friends. I don’t know about you, but I am really really going to try and dial it down. Fewer, better gifts. The ones I know my kiddos will love. We will donate more, serve others more, and really honor the true
meaning of giving.
So here are some of my favorite tried-and-true gifts and some that I have my eye on…
Here are some favorite toys that span many age ranges:
These look absolutely amazing for so many different ages- a welcome addition to a child’s play space that might even double as a beautiful shelf decoration or a fabulous item on an adult’s work desk for some meditative tinkering while on a zoom call!
For 6 years now, my kiddos have absolutely loved Magnatiles. They play with them almost every.single.day! Again, this is a gift that can span across age groups from 18 months to 12+. In my opinion, these are even a toy I will box up and save for grandkids someday many many years from now! The options are endless with Magnatiles- the best open-ended activity!
A wobble balance board is another “toy” that can be used in so many ways across so many ages. Sit on it, stand, pretend it’s a boat, use it for toy cars, turn it upside down to make a “bridge” for toy trains… My kiddos have had one for years now and it is a permanent fixture in our playroom. I love using it with the kids I work with as well, because it builds body awareness, core strength, balance, and visual tracking skills.
Unit blocks! Unit blocks are an amazing gift that again can stand the test of time. These are fantastic tools you can not only play with in an open-ended way, but they truly teach math concepts.
Here is an article you might enjoy about the importance of block play!
Hands-down, our most beloved scooter. I highly recommend purchasing an adjustable handle so that the scooter can grow with you! My kids have ridden their scooters for years.
Weighted blankets have hit the mainstream. They used to just be something we talked about in the OT world. They aren’t for everyone- the weight can be too much for some. Look for a weight that is 5-10% of body weight but be prepared to try it out first with your kiddo to make sure it is something their nervous system enjoys.
Another great set of blocks that can be used to build number recognition but are also amazing to actually build structures!
How cool are these tree climbing holds?! My kids would absolutely love these!
Gifts for the little toddlers in your life…
I love these for playing peek-a-boo, developing object-permanence by hiding an object underneath, and even better- it will grow with your kiddo to become a doll blanket, a super-hero cape or part of a fort!
These pull-toys are so simple yet become a favorite for many tots! Not only is it great for pretend play and building language skills, but pulling a toy requires significant motor planning and body awareness.
These are always on my gift lists- so great for fine motor skills- put them on a high chair tray, in the bath, on a window… Truly, the options are endless!
Pretend play is one that will go on for years! This play phone will be perfect for many years to develop language skills and open up your child’s world of pretend play.
Always a favorite and how cute would this look under the Christmas tree stocked with items for pretend play?! Cooking, shopping, and a way to work on writing when your kiddos grow and can write pretend grocery lists!
I have been eyeing these luggy baskets for my daughter to cart her doll stuff around the house when she play as well as when she wants to take it to her grandma’s house! When she isn’t using it, I think I might borrow it to wrangle toys and loose things around the house for delivery to their places in our home!
A toy stroller and a water-proof doll have long been favorites in our house. For the growing toddler, these will go through many iterations of play for years!
Gifts for the school-age kiddo in your life…
One of my favorite gifts to give is an assortment of these Ooly art supplies and a sketchbook. Here are a couple of fun ones that will inspire creative writing, drawing, sending a letter to a friend or family!
A microscope is a great way to inspire young minds. Extend any activity by examining things under a microscope- then draw it, paint it, write about it!
This ball run for magnetic tiles looks so incredibly fun! It is a great way to expand structures and problem solve!
This is a great game for developing visual perception and visual discrimination skills in a fun way!
Another favorite AND beautiful game that also serves as an amazing open-ended opportunity for block play. This builds visual perception skills and problem solving abilities! It also looks stunning on a shelf!
The crafty kiddo in your life would love this rainbow craft! How cheery is this?!
These wooden bow and arrows are so fun and fantastic for building hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination and motor planning skills!
This has been such a hit in our family. We document fun memories as well as silly things around the house. This also provides a great opportunity to paste them in a book and have a fun writing opportunity!
Let me know what some of your favorite gifts to give are… What do your kiddos love giving and receiving??
You can check out last year’s gift guide here!
Fall Activities to Promote Development
I love fall so much. The change of seasons is always a refreshing welcome. When fall comes, I savor the chill that begins to set in, watch the leaves change to beautiful colors, and begin to anticipate the joy of holidays ahead. I also love the activities that fall brings with it!
Here are a few favorite activities I hope you and your kiddos enjoy as well…
Get hammering into a pumpkin! This is a favorite activity to build hand strength, shoulder strength, bilateral coordination and visual motor coordination! Try this too- write some math equations on it, letters, or sight words and once your child solves it, finds it, or matches a golf tee (with the corresponding number or letter written on it!), they get to hammer it! This sequential learning helps build a connection for recall later!
Use your pumpkins in an obstacle course!
Step from one pumpkin to another, lay a board across them to make a balance beam, carry a pumpkin from one place to another, roll a pumpkin, jump over it… There are SO many ways to use them in an obstacle course and because of their weight, they add a great dose of heavy work. Heavy work is using proprioception to let our muscles receive the input they need to know where we are in space but also can help kiddos feel grounded, calm, and secure.
Speaking of pumpkins… exploring the insides of the pumpkin is a sensory wonderland! That being said, it can also be very very aversive to many (I don’t particularly care for it)… You can still explore the sensory aspects with your child with a spoon available, tongs to pick out the seeds (and work on hand strength at the same time), smell it, bake some seeds and experience the crunchy and chewy texture of the seeds, look at it up close with a magnifying glass, plant the seeds and watch them grow over time. These are all fantastic ways to explore the pumpkin without diving in!
Sensory bins! I love a themed sensory bin for a holiday! While I’m trying to get away from using food for sensory bins- if it is just for my kids and I can wash some beans to use later, I’m still game.
You can also make a sensory bin with these items:
cracked corn (and toss to chickens or birds)
bird seed
colorful leaves
pumpkins with water and soap and some scrub brushes
paper shreds from a paper shredder- add in some spooky Halloween items
Corn with husks (dried or fresh- have your kiddo explore the corn and pull the husks off!)
Pick up a package of vampire teeth to add to your sensory bin and use them as tongs to have kids pick up spider rings and place them on a straw, twig, or into a witch’s cauldron! This is a great way to build hand strength and work on visual motor skills!
One of my absolute favorite activities to do with kids is vinegar and baking soda. What better time to do it than during October when you can be festive with a witch’s cauldron and make a “witch’s brew!”
I love using process art with my own kids and children I work with because it allows for full sensory immersion. Rather than following discrete steps that are often parent-led, process art allows children to explore at their own pace. Make some fabulous fall art with colors of the changing leaves or use black and orange for a fun Halloween- themed work of art. Extend this into the holiday season to use as gift wrap later!
Have fun with these activities and leave a comment to tell me what your favorites are!
Stocking Stuffer ideas with an OT twist!