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TV Teacher - Alphabet Beats |
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Featured on CNN in November, and winner of the 2008 Preferred Choice Award by Creative Child Magazine, the Alphabet Beats™ handwriting program by The TV Teacher™ will amaze you! Visual demonstrations and catchy rhythmic chants in each 5-minute letter chapter provide a multi-sensory approach that has shown incredible results! Co-created by an OT, this program is now being used in school systems across the country. Miss Marnie, OTR/L will engage your child as she teaches writing plus over 8 vocabulary words per letter (including spatial concepts, social skills, etc). A great resource for every therapist!.
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Water Panels
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Multi-chambered acrylic panels carry internal light to thousands of
dancing bubbles, offering relaxation to your clients. Change out the
supplied color strips to change the mood.
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No Mess Indoor Portable Sandbox
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This great sandbox allows children to play with sand indoors, any time
of the year. "Tube arms", which are made of a comfortable, cool
flexible material, are attached firmly to the rim of the access holes.
More Info |
| We-Blocks Mirror Set |
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This set of six large building blocks allow children to construct on a
large scale. Teeth design ensures easy interlocking. May also be used
as a tactile pathway.
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Welcome to the October edition of Pawprint, Southpaw's monthly newsletter designed to share information throughout the SI community. If you are not on our mailing list, be sure to request your copy of the NEW Fall/Winter 2008 catalog here. Make sure to visit our newly updated website at www.southpawenterprises.com. |
Therapist Forum
Fall into some Spooktacular Fun
Deanna Macioce, MS, OTR/L |
In any aspect of life we are always looking for a way to break up the monotony, change a routine, or add a little spice. I have found this especially true as a therapist. Each day is fun and presents something new, but when seeing multiple children in a day, it is sometimes hard not to get in a rut with treatment ideas. Needless to say, you get bored! I am sure that this is true for a therapist, teacher, parent, or any other person who spends time with children on a daily basis. So, I am always looking for new activity ideas, crafts, and games to re-invent my treatment sessions. And what better time than with a new season or holiday to get motivated for change? I have to admit that I do use many of the tools available, the internet, activity books, magazines, and my co-workers' ideas to achieve this. However, you have to remember that activities need to be adapted to the individual's needs and skill level.
Fall is such a fun time a year. Not only do our daily routines change with the children heading back to school, but the change of the leaves and brisk weather provides a whole different excitement. There is the beginning of football season, the smell of apple pie, and sweatshirt weather! So, what are some of the best activities to use with our children with sensory processing concerns during this season?
Why not start outside? Begin with a scavenger hunt that has them searching for various leaves, twigs, acorns and squirrels. Not only is this a fun way to play outside, it also requires direction following, attention to task, and visual scanning while having various input to many of the sensory areas.
And yes, pumpkins - oh, there are so many things you can do. Pumpkin carving allows for a fun tactile experience when cleaning out the 'guts. Have children design a face that is then carved out by an adult or even allow them to paint or draw it on. This will help with body awareness and fine motor skills.
To add some fun to heavy work/proprioceptive activities set up a pumpkin patch. Allow children to climb over barrels of hay, pick up and move pumpkins of various sizes and weights, and gather gourds for a fun tactile experience. A good bilateral hand/eye coordination task is Pumpkin Bowling. Instead of using a ball, you have the child roll a pumpkin to knock down the pins. Go on an apple picking trip by using a scooter board to gather apples that are hiding in different places. To make this activity even better, you can prepare sliced apples with caramel sauce or even individual apple tarts as a snack. Kids always enjoy a treat after all of their hard work.
There are many other food activities to utilize during this time of year. You can find instructions for anything from spider Oreo cookies, to swamp juice, to even witches' brew. These activities help out with direction following, sequencing and eating a mixture of textures.
Liven up an obstacle course by having children obtain pieces to decorate the face of a pumpkin or different bones to assemble a skeleton. These activities are then great to complete while hanging vertically on the wall to strengthen shoulder stability. As a group, decorate a large appliance box to make a haunted house and allow this to be a quiet place. This is a great place for individual play or to read books.
So, sometimes we all just need a little kick start to motivate us. Hopefully these few ideas help start your way to some "spooktacular" fun!
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New Website
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Last month we launched our new redesigned website with several new features to make the site easier to use, along with over 225 new products - including new positioning, mobility, and sensory products.
Be sure to stop by and check it out!
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Did You Know?
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Do you have an idea for the next great thing in Sensory Integration? If so, we'd love to hear from you! Click here for more information. |
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