November 27, 2020 - The OT Toolbox

2020 has been a year like no other. This year calls for a mega giveaway! Let’s celebrate therapists, teachers, and parents with the 2020 Therapy Tools Giveaway!

Giveaway is now closed.

The winners are…

I wish I could send a big toy or tool to each and every therapist, educator, and parent out there, because you are all stars in my book!

Here are the winners of this year’s giveaways…

Parachute- Jill A.
Carpet Markers-Melissa G.
Agility Cones- Nelly R.
Ball Launcher- Jennifer J.
Bucket Stilts- Amanda S.
Zoom Ball- Michelle M.
Radio Flyer Push Walker- Jodi K.
Vision 101 Course- Stacie M.
Art Play Book- Valarie C.
Whatsitsface toy-Kathy S.
OT Park Box- Bridget S.
Telehealth OT pack- Amy C.
OT Holly- Sheila S.
Fine Motor Boot Camp- Tanya R.
Play Spark- Ashley R.
WooTape- Stacy R.
Purpose Therapeutic Box- Carla M.
Skootle Box- Courtney K.
Laddalove Creations- Jennifer C.
Stepping Stones- Michaela C.
Forward Therapy Solutions- Sarah M.
Full Range Therapy Supplies- Rachelle S.
Creative Kits- Jenny T.
Big Life Journal- Melisa C.
Sensory Meltdowns Course- Jill O.
Radio Flyer Balance Bike- Amy B.
Avalanche Fruit Stand- Gillian L.
Pop Tubes- Marie M.
Spike the FM Hedgehog- Grace T.
Bucket of Perler Fuse Beads- Olivia B.

I had so much fun bringing these giveaway items each day. Stay tuned for next year’s series! Check out the items that were a part of this year’s fun below.

I wanted to celebrate and honor all of the work that you’ve done this year and bring something fun and exciting this year…maybe a change from the sales emails that you may be seeing in your inbox during this holiday season.

It’s been YOU, the therapists, educators, and parents that are working with children who are feeling the impact of 2020 in major ways. It’s been YOU that are feeling burnout, overworked, and exhausted.

And, we all know that therapists and teachers, many times, purchase materials with their own money to use in their work and that fact often doesn’t often get recognized.

Each day, I am blessed to serve therapists, parents, and teachers all over the world while promoting the profession of OT. During all that this year has brought, it is my hope that The OT Toolbox has made things just a little easier.

Each year around this time, I partner with brands and services to bring giveaway items to fill therapist’s/parent’s/teacher’s toolboxes with resources and toys. This year, I am excited to say that the Annual Therapy Tools and Toys Giveaway is bigger than ever!

Therapy Tools Giveaway

I am so grateful and incredibly proud of the readers of The OT Toolbox. You are professionals, advocates, and servants, defenders, and counselors. You are leaders, educators, and supporters of those looking for their ability to do and be. You are the manager of function and the chief of ability. By using your sincere empathy, insight, judgement, and expertise, you are the means for guiding those you serve towards capability. The profession is proud to have you. You are an instrument to build up others and the system to establish function.

You are the reason that so many flourish with their daily occupations. You are the roadmap to ability in the day to day skills that make up our classrooms, clinics, and communities. You deserve so much more than these items. These giveaways are just a simple way to express gratitude for you and all you do on a daily basis.

Celebrating Therapists, Teachers, Parents

So, to kick off the holiday season with gratitude and thanks, I’m excited to announce the Annual Therapy Tools and Toys Giveaway!

This is the place you will need to come back to each day over the course of the next 10 days. Each day, you will find a new therapy giveaway item “turned on”. If you missed entering any of the past giveaways, don’t worry! Just go back and enter those giveaways. All giveaways end on December 6th at 11:59 pm PST. Winners will be notified by email. Prizes will be fulfilled by the brand or company offering the giveaway. For some prizes, a full name and physical mailing address will need to be obtained via email so the prize can be mailed out.

Scroll through the images below and enter each one beginning on the day indicated. I’m excited to share each of the items below.

You’ll find therapy items that you can use in your practice, in the clinic, classroom, or home. There are sensory tools, handwriting products, massive therapy resource bundles, amazing therapeutic toys, and so much more. You are going to love each item!

Giveaways are now closed.

THERAPY Tool #1: Radio Flyer Air Ride Balance Bike

Click HERE to enter for a chance to win a Radio Flyer Air Ride Balance Bike!

Therapy Tool #2: Fine Motor Toys!

Click HERE for a chance to win a fine motor toy!

THERAPY Tool #3: Big Life Journal!

Click HERE for a chance to win a Big Life Journal!

THERAPY Tool #4: OT Business Owners & Entrepreneur Prizes

Click Here for a chance to win these prizes and more from occupational therapy entrepreneurs and small businesses!

THERAPY Tool #5: Sensory Meltdowns Course

Click HERE for a chance to win the Overcoming Sensory Meltdowns course!

THERAPY Tool #6: Emotional Development Toy

Click HERE to enter to win a WhatsitsFace Emotional Development Toy!

THERAPY Tool #7: Art Play!

CLICK HERE to Win a copy of Art Play!

THERAPY Tool #8: Vision 101 Course

Vision 101 course for occupational therapy practitioners.

CLICK HERE TO WIN Access to the VISION 101 Course!

THERAPY Tool #9: Radio Flyer Push Toy

CLICK HERE to win a Radio Flyer Push Toy!

THERAPY Tool #10: Gross Motor Toys

CLICK HERE to win one of these Gross Motor Toys!

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.

Today I am excited to announce a partnership with Radio Flyer. There are so many reasons why as an occupational therapist, I love the use of a balance bicycle to help children learn to ride a bike. I would love to share those reasons for using a bike without pedals in teaching bike riding. Here, you’ll also find bike riding tips and reasons that a balance bicycle helps children with balance and bike riding skills.

Today is our first giveaway item in our annual Therapy Toys and Tools Giveaway series. (Giveaway now closed.)

How to teach kids to write a bike using a balance bike.

Balance Bike for teaching bike riding skills

Pediatric occupational therapists work with children to help them accomplish functional tasks, from play, to self-care, to learning, to day-to-day activities. Riding a bike is just one of those areas that an occupational therapist can work with children and families to facilitate function and ability.

When children struggle with riding a bike, there may be underlying issues happening that impact the successful transition to independent bike riding. Those areas might be as a result of an injury or diagnosis, or it might be a weakness in a specific area like strength, coordination, or balance.

There are many skills that kids need to ride a bike. Use these therapy tips to help teach bike riding.

Skills needed for bike riding

When occupational therapists work with children to achieve the functional task of riding a bicycle, they can help kids achieve independence with areas that are needed for bike riding:

Core strength
Motor planning
Balance
Sequencing
Postural praxis
Upper body/lower body disassociation
Motivation
Body awareness
Visual convergence
Visual scanning
Coordination

All of these areas can be achievable by working on underlying areas through therapy.

How to Teach a Child to Ride a Bike

Use a bike without pedals!

For kids that are working on bike riding, try some of these tips:

Use a bike without pedals to work on balance.

Address pre-bike riding skills by breaking down the skills that kids need for bike riding, including coordination of both legs, core strength, etc.

Work on core strength with activities like animal walks, donkey kicks, bicycle leg pumps, standing on one foot to build balance.

Use a balance bicycle to work on fears related to balance by allowing kids to glide feet along the sides of the bike.

Work on motor planning by stopping and starting the pedal-less bike and picking feet up/running feet along the bike, and stopping the balance bicycle.

Address core strength and endurance with yoga.

Address balance and upper body/lower body disassociation by pushing feet down and lifting feet up to practice gliding and balance.

Address vestibular issues by practice getting on and off the balance bicycle with both feet down on the floor and then just one foot down on the floor.

Work on vestibular input and balance, coordination by working on lean with a balance bicycle.

Build confidence in young bicycle users by instilling confidence in riding a bike without pedals.

Using a bike without pedals offers so many opportunities to work on all of the areas needed for bike riding, and core strengthening, motor planning, balance, and sequencing can help children become successful in helping them reach this goal.

balance Bike for Kids

At this stage, teaching kids to use a balance kid for 2 year old children can involve pre-bike riding skills. These can involve things like breaking down the skills kids need and working on the areas listed above.

In all of these ways, bikes without pedals are so helpful for teaching bike riding, from 2 years old and older!

Radio Flyer Air Ride Balance Bike

Want to add a bike without pedals to your toolbox? Let’s get kids moving and building skills!

The Radio Flyer Air Ride Balance Bike is a great tool to add to your therapy toolbox or to use in your home to teach young kids to ride a bike! The Radio Flyer Air Ride Balance Bicycle is a pedal-less bike that allows kids to build balance and other bike riding skills.

Check out the comments below, for ideas on how readers would use the balance bicycle to teach a child to ride a bike!

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Therapy Tools Giveaway 2020