Functional Skills for Kids Series by OT and PT Bloggers

Welcome to the Functional Skills for Kids series!  The Functional Skills for Kids series is a year-long project by top Occupational and Physical Therapist bloggers where we’ll be creating blog posts based on 12 functions of childhood.  From Play to Toileting and School Functions to Mealtime, this is a comprehensive compilation of posts that will become a powerful resource. Each month the OT and PT blogging team will cover everything you need to know about one of the daily functions of a child. 
 
A 12 month series on the Functional Skills of kids, including play, handwriting, school day functions, community, dressing, hygiene, toileting, self-care, and more. By Occupational and Physical Therapists and loaded with tips and ideas for parents, teachers, and therapists who work with kids.
 


Childhood Functional Skills & Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy

Have you ever wondered when your baby should begin to interact in play?  Have you ever thought, “How can I help my child learn to dress themselves?” Are you looking for creative ways to work on scissor skills so your child can complete their homework?  This series is for you!
 
This year-long series is for parents, teachers, therapists, and anyone who is looking for information about all the tasks a child routinely completes.  You’ll see each childhood function broken down into development, fine motor considerations, gross motor considerations, sensory considerations, visual perceptual considerations, accommodations and modifications, creative ways to work on problem areas, and more. 
 
Meet the Occupational Therapists and Physical Therapists on the Functional Skills for Kids Team:
(Follow each therapist on social media for developmental information, great ideas, and creative community!)
 
 
Cindy at Your Kids OT | Facebook | Pinterest
 
 
 
Lauren and Claire at The Inspired Treehouse | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest 
 
Functional Skills of Childhood series begins January 2016!
Our first post where we dissect a function of childhood goes live in January and is Handwriting.  Throughout the year, this page will be updated with all of the functions and you’ll be able to easily access the links from here.

 Handwriting for Kids  
   
      Teach kids how to get dressed       
 Functional Skills in the classroom
January | HANDWRITING
 
February | POTTY TRAINING
 
March | PLAY
 
April | DRESSING
 
May | PLAYGROUND
 
 
July | COMMUNITY 
 
 
This is going to be an fun series and I’m excited to share it with you!

A 12 month series on the Functional Skills of kids, including play, handwriting, school day functions, community, dressing, hygiene, toileting, self-care, and more. By Occupational and Physical Therapists and loaded with tips and ideas for parents, teachers, and therapists who work with kids.
 
 

You’ll love these resources on helping kids thrive in all aspects of theri occupational performance:

the handwriting book The OT Toolbox
The Toilet training Book, a developmental look at potty training from the OT and PT perspectives
scissor skills book
 

The Handwriting Book is a resource for meeting the needs of every individual when it comes to all aspects of handwriting

The Toilet Training Book is a developmental look at potty training from the perspectives of occupational therapy and physical therapy practitioners.

The Scissor Skills Book teaches all aspects of cutting with scissors, from form to function.

Irregular Verb Activity with LEGOS for Second Grade

“MOM! I BUILT an Irregular Verb! Get it?? BUILT??”
 
Yep, hands-on learning is a good thing.
 
This LEGO activity is on the tails of our LEGO manipulatives post we shared the other day where we built words.  Today, we matched up past and present tense irregular verbs.  This was an activity that my second grader used to practice verbs, and it was an easy way to talk about what is an irregular verb.


 
Use LEGOS in this hands-on learning activity to teach and learn about irregular verbs, this is great for second grade!

Irregular Verb Hands-On Activity

 
Full disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
 
We used LEGOS
to practice irregular verbs.
 This is such an easy activity to set up.  Grab a dry erase marker
and write verbs on one side.  On another block write the past tense of the irregular verb.  Have your child identify the past tense of the verb and match them up.  So easy and so much fun!
 
Use LEGOS in this hands-on learning activity to teach and learn about irregular verbs, this is great for second grade!

What is an Irregular Verb?

We talked about irregular verbs being verbs that don’t add on -d, -ed, or -ied when the word is used in the past tense form.  Words like made, dug, broke, thought, and built are irregular verbs.
 
We practiced a few times and then wiped the dry erase marker
away so that we could use the LEGOS
in play, like we always do. 
 
Use LEGOS in this hands-on learning activity to teach and learn about irregular verbs, this is great for second grade!
My second grader loved this activity for it’s unique practice of a typically boring (ummmm, yes. Practicing verbs is boring!) and I loved it because of the fine motor work that LEGOS bring.  LEGOS
are small enough blocks to promote a great tripod grasp and resistive enough to provide proprioceptive feedback along with arch development, open web space, thumb stability, and hand-eye coordination.
 
We had fun with this activity, especially since we BUILT our irregular verbs!
 
Let us know if you try this activity. We would love to see your version.
 
Looking for more ways for early childhood learning with LEGOS? Try these ideas:
Spelling With LEGOS! from Preschool Powol Packets
LEGO Boat Engineering Challenge from Handmade Kids Art
Using LEGO to find Syllables from Rainy Day Mum
Area and Perimeter with Lego Duplos from School Time Snippets
Plural Nouns with LEGO from Still Playing School
Estimating and Probability with LEGO from Planet Smarty Pants
Lego Bar Graphs for First Grade from Look We’re Learning
Pick Two: A Fun LEGO Math Game from Creative Family Fun


Use LEGOS in this hands-on learning activity to teach and learn about irregular verbs, this is great for second grade!
                      Love this activity?  Share it on Facebook!


More activities you will love:

 

amzn_assoc_placement = “adunit0”;
amzn_assoc_tracking_id = “sugaun-20”;
amzn_assoc_ad_mode = “search”;
amzn_assoc_ad_type = “smart”;
amzn_assoc_marketplace = “amazon”;
amzn_assoc_region = “US”;
amzn_assoc_textlinks = “”;
amzn_assoc_linkid = “b220d1ec20409fd451b7a0002e7ac3d3”;
amzn_assoc_default_search_phrase = “LEGOS”;
amzn_assoc_title = “Get your LEGOS so you can play!”;

Super Simple Snowflake Frisbee Indoor Play

 Is it cold where you are?  We had our first snow of the year and it is cooooold out there.  When the temps drop, there is more time or indoor play.  This Vestibular activity is super simple and a great way to incorporate movement and sensory input into play.  We’ve been sharing a bunch of creative ways to explore movement with our vestibular and proprioception sensory activities on our January Occupational Therapy calendar.  This vestibular Frisbee activity is a quick way to have fun with movement with a snowflake theme!


Super easy and SO fun Vestibular Frisbee activity for indoor play this winter.  Get the kids moving!
Add these resources to the ones you can find here under sensory diet vestibular activities to meet the sensory needs of all kids. 


Vestibular Activity using a Frisbee

Full disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Kids who appear to never get dizzy or those who are overly sensitive to movement may have difficulty regulating movement in their vestibular system.  Activities like rolling, swinging, sliding, and rotating are ways to involve the vestibular system.  This super easy snowflake Frisbee is one quick way to add a little vestibular play into your day.
 
Turing and tossing a Frisbee provides vestibular input as slight head movements are involved in throwing a Frisbee.  Some kids may overly turn in circles as they toss the Frisbee. 
 
   Super easy and SO fun Vestibular Frisbee activity for indoor play this winter.  Get the kids moving!


Super Simple snowflake paper plate frisbee

We cut a snowflake from white paper and taped it to a blue paper plate. Double sided tape
works well for this craft, too. The weight of this DIY Frisbee was light and a fun challenge to toss the Frisbee into a laundry basket.  
 
Additional ways to play: 
Try tossing the Frisbee in different positions: sitting, laying down, and between the legs.
Tape two paper plates together for a sturdier Frisbee.
Use a styrofoam plate (or two) to grade down this activity (make it easier to toss at a target).

Use a smaller dessert plate
to require more accuracy with tossing the Frisbee.


Super easy and SO fun Vestibular Frisbee activity for indoor play this winter.  Get the kids moving!
 
Looking for more sensory activities? Try these:
  Oobleck in the Marble Run  Alphabet Discovery Bottle

Frozen Play Dough with Candy Play Dough

frozen play dough

This candy play dough recipe is a fun homemade play dough to use in fine motor activities, and we love to use this recipe to freeze the play dough for more resistance in manipulating the homemade dough. While we love this particular candy play dough, you can use any dough recipe in the freezer to add more resistance for hand strengthening.

Candy Play Dough

 If you’ve been following for a while, you know we make a ton of sensory play dough.  We’re back for another year of sensory play dough recipes, and by looking at the list (you’ll find all of the upcoming play dough recipes for 2016 at the bottom of this post!), it’s going to be a fun year of tactile sensory play.


This month’s challenge was frozen dough.  I’m not talking about the movie that’s been everywhere for years now…I’m talking about put-it-in-the-freezer-until-it’s-frozen-solid dough.  

We decided to take a fun spin on the theme and make frozen Pixy Stix dough. We had a bunch of pixy stix candies in the house from who-knows-when.  So, instead of tossing them, we first made Pixy Stix frozen dough…a fun candy play dough!

 

 
 
This sensory play dough recipe is so cool! Its made with Pixy Stix candy and smells amazing.  The best part is freezing the dough-its such a great fine motor strengthening activity and great for proprioceptive input to the hands.
 
 

 

Candy Play Dough

 
This post contains affiliate links.
 
To make Pixy Stix dough, you’ll need a few ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons Cream of Tartar
Pixy Stix
(we used about 10 of each color)
1 teaspoon oil for each color
1/2 cup water for each color.
 
 
How to make candy play dough:
 
  1. To make the dough, I first combined all of the dry ingredients into a bowl.  I then separated it into four bowls because I wanted to make four different colors of dough.  

2. In each bowl, pour in one color of the candy.  This was a job that my four year old loved.  She carefully snipped each paper tube and made sure not a particle of sugar escaped the bowls.

 
  
3. In a sauce pan, combine one teaspoon of oil and 1/2 cup of flour.  
 
4. Then, stir in the dry ingredients.  
 
5. Stir until the dough forms a ball.  
 
6. Place it on a cutting board and once it is cool enough to touch, knead it for a few minutes.
 
We found that some of the colors were stickier than others.  If your dough seems sticky, knead in a bit of flour.
 
This sensory play dough recipe is so cool! Its made with Pixy Stix candy and smells amazing.  The best part is freezing the dough-its such a great fine motor strengthening activity and great for proprioceptive input to the hands.
 
We played with our Pixy Stick play dough for a while at this point.  The scent from the candy is really strong and it’s a fun, soft dough to play with.  
 
My oldest daughter didn’t want to stop playing with the Pixy Stix dough.  
In fact, she played with it while doing her homework.  There’s nothing wrong with a little scented dough DIY fidget toy play during homework!
 
This sensory play dough recipe is so cool! Its made with Pixy Stix candy and smells amazing.  The best part is freezing the dough-its such a great fine motor strengthening activity and great for proprioceptive input to the hands.
 

Frozen play dough can be made with any play dough recipe.

Frozen Play Dough

After a while, we moved on to the frozen part of our frozen play dough.  
 
I pulled out a (Amazon affiliate link) water bottle ice cube tray and we filled up the sections with pieces of dough.  My four year old popped the tray into the freezer.  
 
Side note:  Carrying the tray to the freezer was SUCH a big deal for my little girl.  I wish I had a picture of the giant smile on her face as she carried that tray.  She was a BIG girl doing an important job of freezing our play dough.  It was perfect to see her light up like that!
 
 

 

Use frozen play dough for proprioceptive and strengthening of the hands!
 
Later in the day, we pulled out the tray of frozen dough. It was not completely solid (due to the salt in the recipe), but it was very firm and nice and cold.
 
 It was such a neat tactile experience to play with the frozen play dough.  Honestly, I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before:  freeze play dough for a proprioception work activity for the hands!  
 
OTs: Make frozen play dough for your clients.  It is a great way to work on strengthening with more resistance than typical play dough.  
 
 
A proprioception activity like manipulating the frozen dough “wakes up” and provides feedback to the hands.  
 
Try working with frozen play dough as a warm up exercise to handwriting.
 
I hope you try this play dough recipe!  It is one we’ll be making again.  Let me know if you make pixy stix play dough or freeze your own version.  I would love to hear about it!
 
 
 
 
This sensory play dough recipe is so cool! Its made with Pixy Stix candy and smells amazing.  The best part is freezing the dough-its such a great fine motor strengthening activity and great for proprioceptive input to the hands.
More of our favorite sensory dough recipes you will love:

 

Crayon Play Dough
Body Wash Play Dough
Proprioception Marshmallow Dough

Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

Word Building with LEGOS

So, this week in the learning with manipulatives series, we’re covering LEGOS.  These classic blocks have been used to build just about everything you can imagine.  They’ve been used in many learning activities, too.  We shared creative ways to learn with LEGOS before and as an Occupational Therapist, I love them for their fine motor benefits.  LEGOS are on pretty much every OT’s recommendation list.  They are small enough to encourage a tripod grasp, resistive enough to really work the intrinsic muscles of the hands, and open-ended enough to encourage problem solving and creativity in play.


Today, I’m sharing an easy work building activity that I did with my Kindergarten-aged son.  He’s learning to build words and we had fun practicing the skill with LEGOS!


Use LEGOS to build words! This is perfect for Kindergarten and early readers who are learning to build words by sounding out and blending letters, and has great fine motor benefits, too.


Learning with LEGOS Word Building Activity



Full disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.


 In Kindergarten, he’s working on sounding out words, creating an ending and adding different letters to the beginning of the word to “build words”.  Typically, my son comes home with small pieces of paper with the letters printed on them and uses the letter cards to build words.  We decided to take word building to a new level and literally build words with LEGOS
!



For this activity, we used a large LEGO Building Plate
to create a surface for building our words.  To make the letters of the words, we used single width blocks in different lengths.  Building the letters with blocks was not exact.  We used a lot of creative license to make some of the more rounded letters.  But, using the blocks reminded my son of Minecraft and the boxy looking letters were ok with him.


Use LEGOS to build words! This is perfect for Kindergarten and early readers who are learning to build words by sounding out and blending letters, and has great fine motor benefits, too.

To start off the word building task, I first used a dry erase marker to write out a word.  I showed my son how the dry erase marker could be wiped off using a baby wipe.  We discussed how a permanent marker would not do the same thing and that if we didn’t use a dry erase marker, his LEGO board could be permanently damaged.


Using the guide of the letters, we worked on building that first word.  Once he got the hang of making letters, he was really into it.  We started with a few -at words and as he named words that rhyme with cat or bat, we removed the first letter and build the new word.

Use LEGOS to build words! This is perfect for Kindergarten and early readers who are learning to build words by sounding out and blending letters, and has great fine motor benefits, too.

We only had enough LEGO pieces to make one or two words at a time, especially using the same ending letters.  We then built another word with just one ending sound and removed the first letter only.


This is an activity that can be used in SO many learning tasks, all while including fine motor skills into the activity.  Try practicing spelling words, building numbers for math problems, practicing name recognition…How could you use this idea to learn?


Looking for more ways to use LEGOS in learning?  Try these ideas:

amzn_assoc_placement = “adunit0”;
amzn_assoc_tracking_id = “sugaun-20”;
amzn_assoc_ad_mode = “search”;
amzn_assoc_ad_type = “smart”;
amzn_assoc_marketplace = “amazon”;
amzn_assoc_region = “US”;
amzn_assoc_textlinks = “”;
amzn_assoc_linkid = “98c77c05491b5e16349173fa28d2efaf”;
amzn_assoc_default_search_phrase = “LEGOS”;

42 Ways to Help Messy Kids Organize Their Schoolwork

Kids need Organization Skills in order to function during their school day.

A student’s desk is so over-stuffed that papers are crammed in among pencils, books, last week’s homework, and the missing permission slip for today’s field trip.



A backpack that is filled with crumbled papers, broken pencils, toys, and crumbs from last week’s lunch.



A locker that doesn’t shut because granola bar wrappers, overdue library books, three sweatshirts, and last semester’s gym shorts.
A homework folder that is so full that it doesn’t shut flat, filled with doodles, notes from teachers, homework, and yesterday’s test that needed a parent signature.


How can a child function during their school day when they are so disorganized that desks, backpacks, lockers, and folders are so overwhelming?  


As an Occupational Therapist in the schools, I often times had referrals for kids with organizational difficulties: messy desks, overstuffed book bags, trouble with keeping homework and classroom assignments organized, lost or missing parent/teacher communication, and the ability to organize and care for one’s own belongings during their school day.






Organization tips for students in the classroom. So many ideas here from an Occupational Therapist on how to help kids with disorganization problems and help students with organizing their school work.



How to Help Kids Organize their School Work

There are many ways that a student can overcome disorganization and flourish in school with systems that work for them.  As with any Occupational Therapy recommendation, ideas are individualized to meet the student’s needs.  Every child is different in their strengths, abilities, and needs and what works to organize one student will not work with another.  Today, I’m sharing tips and tools to help organize students so that they may learn in the classroom and school environment.


These sensory strategies for school based occupational therapists can be a big help in addressing the organizational needs of students.

What causes a student to become so disorganized that they cannot complete classroom requirements?

There are many diagnoses that have symptoms of disorganization.  ADHD, Autism, and Learning Disabilities are just a few.  Additionally, many students do not have a diagnosis and are disorganized in their school tasks. There are so many causes of disorganization that describing contributing factors is a more efficient way to describe reasons why a student may be disorganized. Problems with attention, executive functioning, fine motor skills, and vision may contribute to disorganization, among many others:

Problem Areas leading to disorganization:

Studies show that individuals with a small or underdeveloped frontal lobe of the brain tend to have difficulties with organization, poor memory, emotional reactions, and they tend to become overwhelmed by simple tasks.  These individuals will have trouble keeping themselves organized in tasks.


Often times, organization challenges are a result of difficulty with planning and prioritizing tasks. These problem areas may be contributing to a child’s disorganization in school:


Attention difficulties

Sensory issues
Behavior
Executive Functioning
Visual Perceptual difficulties
Visual Motor difficulties
Cognitive deficits
Fine motor problems
Motor Planning issues
Hyperactivitiy
Distractabilitiy
Fidgeting
Problem solving
Memory issues
Auditory processing problems
Language processing problems
Lack of motivation
Poor impulse control
Emotional instability

Executive Functioning and Organization difficulties

Executive functioning is needed to keep up with the growing to-do list of the school’s day.  A child with executive function difficulties can’t see the first step they need to take in a project.

Taking home a daily planner, packing a backpack, arranging items in a desk, placing homework into the correct bin, all requires working memory, motivation, cognitive skills, focus, planning, and persistence.  Difficulties in any of these areas will result in a breakdown of task completion.


So, how can a student with organization problems be helped so that they can complete assignments, function in their school day, and excel in learning?



Full disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.


Organization tips for students in the classroom. So many ideas here from an Occupational Therapist on how to help kids with disorganization problems and help students with organizing their school work.



Organization Tips for Students

Try these tips to help organize students in the classroom:
  1. Develop routines and stick to them. Morning routines can involve unpacking a backpack, planning homework into correct bins, putting away items needed for the day, sitting at the desk, and starting on morning work.  Maintain a consistent routine. Develop routines for different parts of the student’s day.  Social stories, picture schedules, story stones, and physical routing minders can help.
  2. Use a simple Schoolwork Folder system. Create a system for paperwork that needs to come back to school and what can stay at home.  A simple 2 pocket folders
    works best for this.  Adding extra pages or parts to the folder creates too much visual input.  Add a bright sticker to one pocket for “Keep at Home” and a bright sticker for the pocket to “Bring Back”.  A plastic folder is more durable. Older students can use color coded folders for each subject.
  3. Clear document folders
    in different colors can be used to coordinate with each subject’s color.

  4. Create a container system for lockers. Use one container for hat, gloves, scarf, and one container for books.  The container can be emptied into the backpack at the end of the day.  Add pictures to the locker for a visual cue for where the coat, lunchbox, and backpack should hang. Add shelves if needed.
  5. Picture Symbols. A visual cue is a great way to break down tasks.  Create a series of pictures for desk morning tasks, lunch tasks, or end-of-the-day tasks. Pictures can be printed off in a strip and the strips replaced as the day goes by.
  6. Use checklists. Make checklists that the student can mark off tasks as they are completed. Using a checklist is a great way to incorporate handwriting skills into the routine.  Marking a check mark or “x” in a small box allows for precision of motor movements.
  7. Eliminate dropping of the pencil.  Students with organizational problems often times have difficulty with fidgeting, sensory issues, fine motor skills, attention…(all of the items described in the list above!) Dropping the pencil can create a break in attention that allows for further disorganization.  Tie the pencil to the desk to prevent dropping: Tie a string to the eraser end of the pencil and tie the end of the string to a suction cup
    .  Attach the suction cup to the desk surface.
  8.  Homework assignments should be written in the same place on the blackboard each day.
  9. Allow time at the beginning of the class or day instead of at the end to write down that day’s homework.  
  10. Teachers can sign off in an assignment book after the student writes down the day’s homework.  Provide a space for parent sign-off after homework has been completed.
  11. Reward systems. Set up an incentive or reward system for appropriate organization of folders, backpack, locker, or homework completion.  These can be tailored to the student’s interests.
  12. Use a second set of textbooks at home to eliminate the need to bring books back and forth between school and home.
  13. Break long term projects into smaller tasks with deadlines.
  14. Color code notebooks, folders, book covers, and workbooks.  Books and notebooks can use prefabricated book covers or you can use colored paper to create book covers in a variety of colors. Add a small colored dot on homework assignments that correspond with the color of the subject’s book.  Use markers or small stickers
    to color code homework.
  15. Use a zippered pouch
    for pencils, erasers, calculators, etc in the backpack.  This will reduce the items “floating around” in the backpack.
  16. Parents can be provided with a small list of students in the class that can help with homework assignment questions.  These students or parents can be called if there are questions about assignments.
  17. Place a checklist of what needs to be brought home each day in the locker or in the desk.
  18. Use a monthly calendar to keep track of long-term assignments and weekly classes like gym or library.
  19. Develop a written contract of organization tasks with the student, teacher, and parent, along with choices for the student.
  20. Mailed homework. The parents would need to provide a self-addressed, stamped envelope and the teacher can mail the next few week’s homework assignments.
  21. Clear plastic, gallon-sized bags in the backpack to hold items like gloves, gym clothes, etc.
  22. Email parent permission slips.
  23. Breakdown worksheets by folding the paper into sections that can be completed before moving on to the next section.
  24. Reduce distractions in the classroom to prevent distractability: place desk away from windows, doors, and the pencil sharpener.
  25. Provide concise and concrete directions.
  26. Use a classroom peer as an organizing mentor.
  27. Provide a daily class checklist.
  28. Mark pages in a book or workbook with a paperclip so that the student can turn to the correct page more easily and quickly.
  29. Help the student clear their desk of all items except the items they should be using. Work on getting the student to be independent in this task by using visual and verbal cues. Provide a 10 second “Clear Off” time before starting a new task to allow time for the student to clear his work space.
  30. Turn in completed assignments immediately and provide a space for completed work with clear label. A bin, file, or tray works nicely for this.
  31. Mark off spaces inside the desk for items like books and pencil box using masking tape.  The items should be “parked” in their correct space unless they are being used.
  32. Provide a low cardboard box inside desks with compartments for organizing supplies.
  33. Provide a clear plastic bin
    or shelf for the student’s items instead of using a desk or locker.
  34. Use a triangular pencil grip
    to keep pencils from rolling off desks.
  35. Provide velcro for students to attach their pencil to the desk surface or inside the desk.
  36. Try an eraser ring to prevent losing large erasers inside desks.
  37. Use a Kneadable Eraser
    . It can be stuck inside the desk when not in use and makes a great fidget toy.
  38. Use a digital clock in the classroom or timers for competing tasks.
  39. Conduct daily, weekly, and monthly clean-ups of desk, locker, and backpack.
  40. At the end of the day, help the student prepare his work space for the next day.
  41. Provide a small movement break between tasks.
  42. Allow for self-monitoring of systems.
  43. Provide tools for fidgeting.
  44. Try using an Impulse Control Journal.
Organization tips for students in the classroom. So many ideas here from an Occupational Therapist on how to help kids with disorganization problems and help students with organizing their school work.

How to Help Organize Kids Schoolwork

Organizing challenges are difficulties with prioritizing and planning.  It is difficult for some students to breakdown a multi-step assignment into manageable steps.  


Try using the tips above for organizing in the classroom.  It can take a period of monitoring along with trial and error to establish an appropriate organizational system that works for your student of child.


Organization tips for students in the classroom. So many ideas here from an Occupational Therapist on how to help kids with disorganization problems and help students with organizing their school work.



This is our first post in a new series on organization for kids.  I’ll be sharing a few other ways to help kids become organized so that they can function in daily tasks.  Stay tuned for more tips to help organize themselves.


Are you getting our newsletters?  Sign up to receive weekly (or less!) emails so you don’t miss a single post!  Sign up here.

Ice Cube Jump and Smash

This ice cube jump and smash is a great ice play activity with major sensory benefits. The heavy work built through smashing ice cubes or jumping on ice cubes is huge! Plus, kids love the novelty of this sensory motor activity. Let’s break this activity down…

Ice Cube Jump and Smash

We’ve been sharing some fun sensory play activities recently, part of our January Occupational Therapy calendar.  The proprioception and vestibular activities linked up in the free calendar are sure to provide sensory experiences and input that will keep your child moving all winter long.  Hey, you can do most of these activities in warmer weather too, so be sure to save this one for hot summer days!  


This Ice Cube Proprioception Jump and Smash activity will provide movement and heavy work that can help with regulation of sensory seekers.  Try making these bright and vividly colored ice cubes and playing with sensory input today!


The movement of jumping and hopping adds a vestibular activity component to this fun activity.




Ice Cube Proprioception and Vestibular Activity for kids that need sensory input. This is fun for typically developing children (and the adults) too!
 
 

Proprioception Activity with Ice Cubes

Full disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.  
 
I used a couple of mini muffin tin to make colored ice cubes.  
Fill the tins with water and then add one or two drops of liquid food coloring to each section.  Kids love this activity and it is a real experiment of color mixing.
 
Use a toothpick to mix the colors and try to achieve various shades of color by mixing more or less food coloring.
 
Once the ice cubes are frozen, turn the muffin tin
over in the sink and run warm water.  The ice cubes will pop out after a moment.  
 
Place the colored ice cubes in a bowl or on a large cutting board and take them outside.  This is a messy activity and it will stain your floors, so take big precautions if you decide to do this one inside!
 
We kept the ice cubes on the cutting board and used a hammer to smash the colored ice cubes.
 
This activity was a huge hit with my preschooler.  She loved lining up the hammer and smashing the ice cubes into chunks.  
 
Using the hammer is heavy work for a child and she needed to use two hands to hold and use the hammer, but she was able to smash the ice easily.  
 
While smashing ice cubes, my daughter remembered a similar proprioception and strengthening activity we did last year using peanut shells.  It’s another messy, yet fun activity that is worth trying!
 
Be sure to clean up any ice pieces before they melt because the liquid food coloring will dye any surface.  You may want to do this activity in the grass. NOTE: For a mess-free option, use liquid watercolors to dye the water. The colors will wash away with soap and water.
 
Related Read: Find out more about proprioception here.
 
Ice Cube Proprioception and Vestibular Activity for kids that need sensory input. This is fun for typically developing children (and the adults) too!
Ice Cube Proprioception and Vestibular Activity for kids that need sensory input. This is fun for typically developing children (and the adults) too!
 

Ice Cube Jumping

Get the kids moving with this outdoor vestibular activity.  Take the ice cubes outside and place them in the grass. Be sure to keep them away from sidewalks and driveways because the food dye will stain the surface until the rain and weather has cleared the dye away! 
 
Kids can jump on or over the ice cubes.  Ask them to jump up high with both knees bent.  For other vestibular challenges, have the child side jump or skip over and around the ice cubes.  
 
Ice Cube Proprioception and Vestibular Activity for kids that need sensory input. This is fun for typically developing children (and the adults) too!
 

 

Be sure to stop over and see the January Calendar for more sensory activities to do with the kids this winter! You can get it and all of our free resources by joining our newsletter subscriber list, found in the upper corner of this website.

 

Rainbow Chain Toddler activity

Color sorting activity
This rainbow chain can be used in a toddler activity to teach colors and color matching in a creative, hands-on approach to teaching toddlers colors. This is an activity that I’ve used over and over again with my own toddlers. Older siblings can make and build the plastic chain links to make a rainbow chain…and younger siblings can sort the colors of the chain links. This is a chain link activity that builds so many skills!
 
Today’s learning with manipulatives activity uses something that I LOVE.  I had these plastic chain links in my therapy bag for years, and used them daily in school based and outpatient occupational therapy treatment.  Now, I get to play with my kids using these plastic rainbow chain links. Today, we used them with my toddler to practice color sorting
 
And, here’s a little preview for you: We went a little crazy with playing with these chain links.  I’ve got a bunch of fun chain link ideas coming your way, soon!
 
Color sorting activity for toddlers using rainbow plastic chain links for learning and fine motor skills. This is an Occupational Therapists recommended tool for so many skills: bilateral hand coordination, tripod grasp, intrinsic hand strength, open thumb web space, extended wrist, and so many more.
 
 

Rainbow Chain

This post contains affiliate links.
 
Chain links are completely awesome for find motor skills in kids.  Linking the chains together and pulling them apart requires intrinsic muscle strength, bilateral hand coordination, tripod grasp, and pronation/supination of an extended wrist.  
 
These chain links are tools that can used to work on so many goal areas.  From using two hands together, to a functional pencil grasp, to using spoons and forks with an appropriate write positioning, to holding a zipper with the right wrists angle…these little guys are great skill builders!
 
Linking the chains together requires a bit of muscle oomph, so for preschoolers and school-aged kids, building chains are a great strengthening activity.  
 
Color sorting activity for toddlers using rainbow plastic chain links for learning and fine motor skills. This is an Occupational Therapists recommended tool for so many skills: bilateral hand coordination, tripod grasp, intrinsic hand strength, open thumb web space, extended wrist, and so many more.

 

Rainbow Chain Link Activity

Color sorting activity for toddlers using rainbow plastic chain links for learning and fine motor skills. This is an Occupational Therapists recommended tool for so many skills: bilateral hand coordination, tripod grasp, intrinsic hand strength, open thumb web space, extended wrist, and so many more.
 
For this activity, we used our Learning Resources Link n Learn Links.
 
(This set comes in a big bucket of 500, so you’ve got plenty for multiple kids playing at the same time, or different age-appropriate activities happening with the chain links)
 
You’ll also need colored card stock in matching colors.
 
 I cut squares of equal sizes and placed them out on the table. I figured this would be a great activity for older toddlers, but my 19 month old completely surprised my by correctly placing the colored links
on the matching paper squares.  I had a few links in place to show her what to do and she was able to put them on the correct squares.  
 
I even put an incorrect colored link on a different colored square and she was able to fix the mistake.  It was a proud mama moment!
 
Color sorting activity for toddlers using rainbow plastic chain links for learning and fine motor skills. This is an Occupational Therapists recommended tool for so many skills: bilateral hand coordination, tripod grasp, intrinsic hand strength, open thumb web space, extended wrist, and so many more.
 
Color sorting activity for toddlers using rainbow plastic chain links for learning and fine motor skills. This is an Occupational Therapists recommended tool for so many skills: bilateral hand coordination, tripod grasp, intrinsic hand strength, open thumb web space, extended wrist, and so many more.
 
 
Looking for more learning activities using rainbow manipulatives?  Stop by our Learning With Manipulatives team to see what they’ve come up with:
AND, be sure to stop by Instagram and check out the #toolsforlearning hashtag to see them all.  Tag your hands-on learning ideas using rainbow manipulatives, too! We would love to see them!
Graphing with Rainbow Bears from Still Playing School 
Alphabet Formation Compare Bears from Adventures of Adam
Animal Counters Sensory Bin & Color Sort from Raising Little Superheroes 
Color Graphing with Rainbow Bears from Schooltime Snippets 
Rainbow Bears Sensory Bin from Something 2 Offer  
Rainbow Bears Addition Cards from The Kindergarten Connection 
Measuring with Rainbow Bears from Mom Inspired Life 
 
 
 
More fine motor activities you will LOVE:
 
 
 
Colors Handwriting Kit

Rainbow Handwriting Kit– This resource pack includes handwriting sheets, write the room cards, color worksheets, visual motor activities, and so much more. The handwriting kit includes:

  • Write the Room, Color Names: Lowercase Letters
  • Write the Room, Color Names: Uppercase Letters
  • Write the Room, Color Names: Cursive Writing
  • Copy/Draw/Color/Cut Color Worksheets
  • Colors Roll & Write Page
  • Color Names Letter Size Puzzle Pages
  • Flip and Fill A-Z Letter Pages
  • Colors Pre-Writing Lines Pencil Control Mazes
  • This handwriting kit now includes a bonus pack of pencil control worksheets, 1-10 fine motor clip cards, visual discrimination maze for directionality, handwriting sheets, and working memory/direction following sheet! Valued at $5, this bonus kit triples the goal areas you can work on in each therapy session or home program.

Click here to get your copy of the Colors Handwriting Kit.

Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

Banana Greek Yogurt Protein Muffins Recipe

We are nearing the end of our Cooking With Kids A-Z series!  I can’t believe that my daughter and I have cooked our way through the alphabet for the past year. She loves cooking with me and I love the bonding time, so it’s been a fun year of creating new recipes together.  We’re up to Y for Yogurt and have come up with a Banana Greek Yogurt Protein Muffin Recipe that my kids are gobbling up.  It’s a breakfast, snack, and lunchbox addition that is filling and moist.  You won’t believe how healthy this muffin recipe is!

Besides the sugar in the yogurt and the natural sugar in milk and applesauce, there is no added sugar. (OK, I take that back.  I totally sprinkled brown sugar on the top of the muffin.  But, your getting such a small amount, and I mean, what is a muffin without crunchy brown sugar??)  BUT, you can leave the brown sugar topping off and just add the oats.
Banana Greek Yogurt Protein Muffins. These are great for lunchboxes,healthy snacks, and a filing breakfast idea, packed with protein and low sugar, these muffins are healthy and delicious!

Healthy Banana Greek Yogurt Protein Muffins


Full disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

You’ll need a few ingredients for this recipe:
2 soft bananas, peeled
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
1 egg
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup milk
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 cup rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup whole wheat flour

For the topping, you’ll need:
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
Banana Greek Yogurt Protein Muffins. These are great for lunchboxes,healthy snacks, and a filing breakfast idea, packed with protein and low sugar, these muffins are healthy and delicious!
To make the muffins, mash together the bananas and the Greek yogurt with a fork.  Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl.  Add in the wet ingredients: egg, peanut butter, milk, and apple sauce.  Mix to combine.  
 Banana Greek Yogurt Protein Muffins. These are great for lunchboxes,healthy snacks, and a filing breakfast idea, packed with protein and low sugar, these muffins are healthy and delicious!



In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, rolled oats, baking powder, and ground flaxseed meal
.



Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until combined.

Banana Greek Yogurt Protein Muffins. These are great for lunchboxes,healthy snacks, and a filing breakfast idea, packed with protein and low sugar, these muffins are healthy and delicious!
Scoop the batter into a lined muffin tin
.  Combine the rolled oats and dark brown sugar to create a crumbly topping. Sprinkle this on top of the uncooked muffins.  

Place the muffins into the oven and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Immediately take the muffins from the tin and let them cool on a cooking rack
.
Banana Greek Yogurt Protein Muffins. These are great for lunchboxes,healthy snacks, and a filing breakfast idea, packed with protein and low sugar, these muffins are healthy and delicious!
Enjoy a healthy banana Greek yogurt muffin with assurance of a healthy snack!
Banana Greek Yogurt Protein Muffins. These are great for lunchboxes,healthy snacks, and a filing breakfast idea, packed with protein and low sugar, these muffins are healthy and delicious!
Love this Cooking with Kids recipe?  Share it on Facebook!

You’ll want to stop over and see all of the yogurt recipes that the Cooking With Kids team have come up with this week:
Cinnamon Roll Bread | Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails
Smoothie Popsicles | Still Playing School

Looking for more recipes to make with your kids in the kitchen?  Try these:
Vegetable Quesadilla Recipe   Honey Nut Popcorn  Antipasto Skewers
M is for MushroomsVeggie Quesadilla Recipe | N is for NutsHoney Roasted Nuts Popcorn | O is for OlivesAntipasto Skewer Kabobs | P is for Peppers: Asian Chicken