development Archives

Growth Mindset

December 4, 2023November 29, 2020 by Colleen Beck OTR/L

Tools to support growth mindset can come in all shapes and sizes. From journals, to coping toolkits, to targeting self-awareness, putting growth mindset strategies into action supports self-regulation, learning, and everyday functioning! Understanding when and how to use growth mindset strategies is the beginning of self reflection. A lot of this has to do with metacognition!

If there’s one thing that we all need, it’s a positive outlook and a growth mindset. Our children especially, would benefit from resilience, coping skills, and coping with big life changes. Supporting kids of all ages with growth mindset tools such as a growth mindset sorting activity can help to put those tools into action.

Growth Mindset

Amazon affiliate links are included in this post.

Since we are talking all things growth mindset, and and resilience…and resilience seems to be a common topic this year, I thought I would run through some common terms when it comes to growth mindset and developing the skills of resilience in children.

mindset definitions and other skills such as empathy, mindfulness, resilience,

Growth Mindset Definitions

Let’s start with a definition of growth mindset and then break it down.

A growth mindset refers to the belief that one’s abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, hard work, and learning. Individuals with a growth mindset perceive challenges as opportunities to learn and improve rather than as obstacles that define their capabilities. This concept, popularized by psychologist Carol Dweck, contrasts with a fixed mindset, where individuals believe their abilities are innate and unchangeable.

Embracing a growth mindset fosters resilience, a love for learning, and a willingness to face challenges, making it a valuable perspective in various aspects of life, including education, career, and personal development.

Empathy– Empathy is the ability to recognize and understand the feelings and perspective of others.

Mindset– Our mindset is the way that we think about ourselves and the world around us. It’s the attitude that we have about ourselves and the world. It’s our mood and the way with think about problems or tasks that we need to accomplish. Mindset is a way of looking at the problems or situations in front of us. Addressing difficult tasks and mistakes is part of mindset. Executive functioning skills play a part in mindset.

Growth Mindset– Growth mindset is the ability to confront challenges, view hard tasks as an oppourtunity and a process. Someone with a growth mindset believes they are not limited by their abilites or intelligence. When we use a growth mindset, we believe our abilities or our ability to learn new things can improve given effort.

Fixed mindset– Fixed mindset is a limiting belief that impacts our ability to solve promblems, learn new skills, react to situations, and respond to daily situations. Fixed mindset can impact wellness and well-being, as well as learning and task completion.

Mindfulness– Mindfulness is our ability to focus on our awareness and presence in any given moment. It’s our ability to acknowledge and accept our feelings, thoughts, body sensations and the world around us in any given task or activity.

Resilience– resilence refers to one’s ability to have a mental toughness, and the ability to recover quickly from difficult tasks or situations. Resilience offers the ability to bounce back or respond and react in the event of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or stessful situations.

Coping Skills– Coping skills are the specific steps one might take to react and respond to events, internal thouhgts, emotions, and daily tasks. It’s the strategies a person can use to consciousely solve personal or interpersonal problems. Coping skills can be physical methods, self-talk, sensory strategies, and other specific skills that allow for wellness and wellbeing.

Self-talk– Self-talk is that internal dialogue that is constantly running in your mind. Self-talk can be a coping skill, and it can impact mindset. This internal dialogue is influenced by your subconscious thoughts as well as conscious thoughts. Self-talk can be both positive and negative and has the ability to impact resilience and mindfulness.

You can see how all of these terms are inter-related and how they all impact one another. When these skills are growing and developing children can accomplish tasks and not limit themselves in learning and developing as an indiviual.

All of these mindset definitions can be strengthened, using tools and specific strategies. And, by working on these various areas, children (and ourselves) can respond to challenging situations (like distance learning, for example) that require us to pivot and change.

Also connected to all of these areas are social emotional learning, executive functioning skills, and the emotional regulation part of executive functioning skills.

Critical thinking plays a big part in development of mindset and the other growth areas listed above.

So how to work on these areas to foster a growth mindset, positive self-talk, coping tools, and resilience in kids?

Strategies for Mindset

Specific strategies can help, along with a plan. Below are some strategies to address mindset and the other areas listed above.

Work on wellness and wellbeing- Check out these wellness strategies
Practice mindfulness
Help others
Focus on positive self-talk
Identify goals and work on those areas
Breaking down goals into smaller, achievable steps
Work on perspective
Create a toolbox of strategies
Foster a positive outlook
Practice working memory strategies and learn from mistakes
Focus on the present and mindfulness

One method for working through these skills is with the (Amazon affiliate link) Big Life Journal.

Children can use the journal as a working tool to foster specific strategies and methods for developing persistnece, growth mindset, and a positive perspective. These stragies can be a powerful way to help kids accomplish tasks, believe in themselves, and grow and develop as a person.

You can get a copy of the Big Life Journal here. (Ages 7-10)

And the resource for older kids: Big Life Journal for Teens and Tweens (Ages 11+)

As well as the adult-version: Big Life Journal for Adults (Ages 18-99)

Big Life Journal PRintables

Want to add a Big Life Journal to your toolbox? Let’s get kids developing resilience, social emotional learning, and mindset.

I love that the Big Life Journal is available as a printable PDF on the company’s website, making the printables easy to print off and use with your students or children.

OT providers often support students and clients with mindset, and we know that Mindset is everything! The Big Life Journals help your child, tween/teen, or even YOU to develop the mindset of growth, resilience, gratitude, and positivity.

Check out the blog comments below for ideas to help kids to develop skills in empathy, resilience, mindset, self-talk, and mindfulness.

This product was featured in our Therapy Toys and Tools Giveaway Series. (Giveaway now closed.)

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.

Gratitude Activities

November 16, 2020 by Colleen Beck OTR/L

Gratitude activities and specific ways to teach gratitude is an important part of child development. But gratitude can be a complex and abstract topic for kids. Sometimes, putting together a few hands-on activities can be a helpful way to show children how to express gratitude for the people, things, and places in their lives that they are thankful for. There’s more; Gratitude is an early social-emotional skill that fosters children’s social emotional learning as well as a core skill that relates to successes and relationship skills later in life. Use the gratitude ideas described here to help children build this essential soft skill while targeting motor development, making activities for gratitude development fun and functional.

Gratitude Activities

These gratitude games, activities, and hands-on play ideas help children foster this soft skill.

I’ve tried to pull together several activities and ideas that help children understand thankfulness and see that feeling in action through play and activities.

You’ll find book-related thankfulness activities, gratitude games, thankfulness crafts, and other gratefulness activities to teach gratitude to children and even adults.

You’ll find a teaching gratitude therapy slide deck that occupational therapists and other child professionals can use in teletherapy to teach this skill, while targeting other areas like fine motor skills, gross motor, mindfulness, and even handwriting.

There’s more to it, though. Helping children foster gratitude helps them later in life.

Gratitude Activities Foster Social Emotional Learning

I mentioned in the first paragraph, the significance of teaching gratitude to children. This soft skill is a powerful one to start early with toddlers and preschoolers. But, teaching the ability to be self-aware, and cognizant of one’s well-being, even in difficult times is a powerful instrument in fostering grit and resilience.

More so, teaching gratitude to children allows them to build essential roadmaps to social emotional learning and prepares them for successes later in their life.

Social and emotional skills are founded on self-awareness, emotions, and the connection between the emotions, thoughts, actions that we see in children. The ability for children to manage their behaviors, thoughts, and actions (or behaviors) rests in perspective, impulse control, and self-awareness.

When children can connect the dots between other people’s perspectives and having empathy for others, they are able to maintain and build relationships. And, when children are in that mindset of being mindful of others and how their own actions, thoughts, behaviors, and actions impact others, social emotional awareness takes place. That ability to make responsible decisions about their choices can flourish when a child is grateful for what the have and their ownership in any given situation.

Gratitude leads to self-awareness, perspective of others, kindness, and empathy.

For children, having and expressing gratitude helps them to recognize the tools they have already as a way to be resilient against obstacles and challenges. When kids are aware of the things they have, the special skills they posses, or people they have in their corner, they can use those things so they are empowered, and not overwhelmed.

These are big concepts and deep connections for children!

Many adults struggle with these very same concepts. But, to say that these ideas are too deep or advanced for children doesn’t mean that we can’t work on gratitude as a building block for social emotional awareness and development. Instead, we can provide gratitude activities that help children build and establish these skills.

Research tells us that positive emotions, including gratitude, promote happiness and flourishing, creating an upward spiral (^{Fredrickson, 2009, Seligman, 2011}). This upward spiral is a tool in a child (or adult’s) toolbox for learning, development, interaction with others, and day to day success.

Gratitude Activities for Children

So, how can we foster this appreciation for the world around us? Below, you’ll find gratitude activities and gratefulness activities to help children become genuinely more thankful for people, things, and their own self-awareness.

Discuss thankfulness- Talk with children about the things, people, situations, and skills they have available to them which are things to be thankful for. Expressing gratitude for the smallest gifts that we have in our lives, of any kind, helps children communicate and establish gratitude. Try this gratitude craft to help children count their blessings and to create a physical reminder of all that they have to be thankful for.

Model gratitude- Parents can express their gratitude and be a visible example to children so they can be thankful in any given situation, even when things seem difficult or challenging. Parental examples of thankfulness despite challenging situations is a powerful reinforcement that allows children to learn gratitude by “seeing” and “doing” as they learn to use the skills and “tools” they have available to them. In this way, kids learn in the moment and see gratitude in action. This can be shown in many ways:

Parents can tackle difficult situations with positivity.
By saying thank you to others, kids see an example of gratitude in action.
Say things like, “I’m so grateful for…”
Put a positive spin on difficult situations as an example of a positive mindset: “this is hard, but I am thankful I can…”

Express gratitude on a daily basis- Being consistent with thankfulness can help children learn this abstract concepts in very concrete ways. These gratitude printable worksheets and activities can be part of a daily gratitude exercise, as a family.

Incorporate books- This Bear Says Thanks activity helps children to see gratitude in action in a childhood book and then pair the book with a fine motor activity that allows them to count their blessings.

Make gratitude part of the home- Make a gratitude tree as a way to express family gratitude. The daily reminder will become part of the home and is a reminder of all the things in life that there are to be thankful for.

Teach gratitude- Helping kids to understand what gratitude means and looks like can involve the whole body. This teaching gratitude slide deck targets fine and gross motor skills, mindfulness, and even handwriting.

Journal gratitude- We know that writing down the things that we are thankful for promotes a better mindset and overall wellbeing. Keeping a daily journal with children can be a way wot foster the positive impact of daily gratitude. Ask children to write down just one or two things each day that they are thankful for. What would you add to that list for today?

The Impulse Control Journal is a child-friendly way to write down gratitude and to use that journaling to foster mindset and self-awareness through quick checklists where kids can write out their strengths, qualities, supports, and insights.

Fredrickson B.L. Crown; New York: 2009. Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace The Hidden Strength Of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity, And Thrive. [Google Scholar]

Pencil Grasp Development

August 2, 2023July 31, 2020 by Colleen Beck OTR/L

Pencil grasp development is a common concern for many parents, teachers, and therapists. So often, we see children holding a pencil with all of their fingers wrapped around the pencil, or very awkward pencil grips and wonder what is a typical pencil grasp. But, did you know that children typically progress through pencil grasp development in a predictable pattern? It’s true! Let’s talk pencil grasp.

First, when it comes to writing with a pencil, there are a few things that therapists want parents to know about pencil grasp.

Secondly, it’s important to note that grasp development, while it can be predictable, can also vary in timing. And when grasp doesn’t follow the progression listed below…it can be ok! In fact, a functional pencil grasp is perfectly fine for children.

Pencil Grasp Development

Grasp development follows three main categories: primitive grasps, transitional grasps, and mature grasps.

Primitive Pencil Grasps

In this beginning pencil grasp, the whole arm moves the pencil. These grasps include two specific grips which are described below:

Palmer Supinate Grasp (a whole hand grasp)
Digital Pronate Grasp

1. Whole Hand Grasp/Palmer Supinate Grasp- (Typically seen between 12 months-1.5 years) Child holds the crayon with their whole hand, with the writing end of the crayon sticking out near their pinkie side of the hand. It looks like they are holding a paint stirrer or potato masher.

2. Digital Pronate Grasp/ Pronated Wrist Grasp- (2-3 years) Crayon is held in the hand so the tip of the crayon (or the drawing end) is held on the thumb side of the hand.

Transitional Pencil Grasps

In the transitional pencil grasp stage, the child’s forearm and/or wrist moves the pencil.

Transitional Pencil Grasps include:

Quadrupod grasp
Static Tripod grasp
Other grasp patterns

1. Quadrupod Grasp, or Four Fingered Grasp- (3-4 years)- Crayon is held between their thumb, and tips of the pointer finger, middle finger, and ring finger. As the child progresses, these four fingers may pull down to the tip of the finger into a quadrupod grasp.

Static tripod pencil grasp is a mature pencil grasp pattern

2. Static Tripod Grasp- (3.5-4 years)- Child holds the writing utensil with the thumb, pointer finger, and rests the utensil on the last joint of the middle finger. The ring finger and pinkie fingers are tucked into the palm of the hand.

3. Other grasp patterns- There can be many variations of grasp patterns that occur in the transitional stage, marked by the use of the wrist or forearm to move the pencil.

Mature Pencil Grasps

In the mature pencil grasp stage, the child holds and maneuvers the pencil using mobility in the fingers or the hand.

Mature grasp patterns include:

Dynamic Tripod Grasp
Lateral Tripod Grasp
Dynamic Quadrupod Grasp
Lateral Quadrupod Grasp

Dynamic tripod pencil grasp is a mature pencil grasp

1. Dynamic Tripod Grasp- (4-6/7 years) Thumb and pointer finger hold the pencil as it rests on the last joint of the middle finger. Pencil movements occur via manipulation of the fingers and hand. Note that a true dynamic tripod grasp may not be established up until around 14 years of age.

2. Lateral Tripod Grasp- Thumb is pressed in against the pencil (or adducted) to hold the pencil against the side of the pointer finger. The tip of the thumb may bend over (or flex) over the pencil in a “wrapped” position. This grasp is sometimes called a thumb wrap grasp because the thumb is not involved with the distal movement of the pencil. Distal mobility occurs, but it is the index and middle fingers manipulating the pencil.

3. Dynamic Quadrupod Grasp- Grasp is similar to the dynamic tripod grasp, but opposition includes the thumb, pointer finger, middle finger on the pencil shaft.

4. Lateral Quadrupod Grasp- Grasp is similar to the lateral tripod grasp, with its thumb wrapped positioning of the thumb, but uses the pointer, middle, and ring fingers are on the pencil shaft and manipulate the pencil.

Quadrupod Grasp

One thing that is important to mention is the quadrupod grasp. You might have noticed this term was mentioned a few times above, and in difference areas of development through the progression of pencil grasp development.

The quadrupod grasp is considered a four finger grasp, in which four fingers (thumb, pointer finger, middle finger, ring finger) are used to hold the pencil. Quadrupod grasp progresses from a static form to a dynamic form where there is fluid motion and repositioning in the joints of the hands.

Quadrupod Grasp- If the thumb opposes the pointer finger, middle finger, and ring finger this may be called a quadrupod grasp. A quadrupod grasp can also occur with the pencil resting on the side of the ring finger.

The quadrupod stage is an important part of grasp development as the fingers move into a dynamic position with pronation and extension of the wrist. However, don’t get stuck on a quadropod grasp if this type of grip is used with older children or if students are established with their quadrupod grasp!

Quadrupod grasp or Tripod Grasp?

Research tells us that the quadrupod grasp is a very functional grip and the use of one extra finger (as opposed to the traditional sense of a tripod grasp) is actually very functional in written work.

Some may say that the quadrupod grasp is more restrictive than the tripod grasp, however that extra stability can actually promote more mobility in the pencil and be used in very efficient and effective handwriting.

When the child that the uses a quadrupod grp on the pencil is forced to use a tripod grasp, you may see a decrease in written work legibility due to decreased stability. The arches of the hands may need to compensate for strength and dexterity in the fingers and that precise placement that the ring finger adds to the shaft of the pencil just isn’t as targeted with the arches of the hand and the stability offered through the ulnar side of the hand. For those who have the stability in the ulnar side and within the arches or intrinsic muscles, a tripod grasp can be more precise and lead to more refined pencil motions.

So you can see that it all is up to each individual when it comes to forcing a student to move from quadrupod to tripod. It just may not make sense to do so for some…and that’s ok and very functional!

Other Functional Pencil Grasps

There are other grasps that can be considered “functional” in which the child holds the pencil differently than described here, but can also write in an efficient manner.

These can include (but not be limited to) a thumb wrap grasp, thumb tuck grasp, inter-digital brace grasp, or a finger-wrap grasp.

How to help with pencil Grasp

Want to know more about pencil grasp progression, development, and strategies to use to help children build a strong, efficient, and functional pencil grasp? It’s all in the Pencil Grasp Bundle!

The Pencil Grasp Bundle is for those struggling to help students with carryover of skills. It’s designed to make pencil grasp practice meaningful and motivating. The Pencil Grasp Bundle is 16 pencil grasp resources, guides, worksheet sets, and tools.

Pencil Grasp Success Was Never Easier.

It can be a real struggle to help kids address tricky pencil grasps.
It is frustrating and difficult to weed through all of the information and pull out what will work for a child.
You struggle with kids who work on skills but can’t carryover handwriting and pencil grasp into the classroom.
Therapists may search for fresh ideas to address pencil grasp needs and wonder whether a grasp is considered functional or needs changing.
Therapists need pencil grasp screening and educational materials to address a huge influx of therapy referrals.
Parents wonder about development and skills.
Teachers will love the Centers activities to incorporate into learning to impact carryover of handwriting skills.

The Pencil Grasp Bundle includes 16 products and is valued at over $73. It’s bundled together and offered at just $24.

More pencil grasp help

Want to know how to fix a problem with pencil grasps? Need help knowing where to start when it comes to immature pencil grasps or a child hating to write because their hand hurts? The Pencil Grasp Challenge in open for you! In this free, 5 day email series, you’ll gain information, resources, specific activities designed to promote a functional, efficient pencil grasp.

The pencil grasp challenge is a free, 5 day mini course and challenge. During the course of five days, I’ll be teaching everything you need to know about the skills that make up a functional pencil grasp. You’ll learn what’s going on behind the inefficient and just plain terrible pencil grasps you see everyday in the classroom, clinic, or home. Along with loads of information, you’ll gain quick, daily activities that you can do today with a kiddo you know and love. These are easy activities that use items you probably already have in your home right now.

Besides learning and gaining a handful (pun intended) of fun ideas to make quick wins in pencil grasp work, you’ll gain:

5 days of information related to pencil grasp, so you know how to help kids fix an immature pencil grasp.
Specific activities designed to build a functional pencil grasp.
Free printable handouts that you can use to share with your team or with a parent/fellow teachers.
You’ll get access to printable challenge sheets, and a few other fun surprises.
And, possibly the best of all, you’ll get access to a secret challengers Facebook group, where you can share wins, chat about all things pencil grasp, and join a community of other therapists, parents and teachers working on pencil grasp issues.

Click here to join the Pencil Grasp Challenge .

Developmental Checklist

September 21, 2023July 28, 2020 by Colleen Beck OTR/L

Parents and therapists alike often look for a developmental checklist. Having a list of developmental milestones in physical development, emotional, and social development would be handy, right? A printable resource that acts as a guideline to child development could be useful for parents to track the milestones of their child for the first two years of life. A pediatric developmental checklist can help to identify red flags or to reference a child’s growth and development.

Also check out our blog post on ADLs as we cover each stage as it relates to daily functional tasks.

Today, I wanted to share developmental checklists that are available here on The OT Toolbox, so you can have a one-stop spot for understanding growth and development stages in children.

Be sure to read this resource on toddlerhood for specifics on birth-3.

Developmental Checklist

These blog posts listed below were created to serve as a guideline, and reference, for parents to track the milestones of their child for the first two years of life. Ideally, this milestone resources will be helpful to identify developmental progression in order to guide the conversation with your child’s provider in reference to their growth and development, and to any concerns which become apparent.

It is important to note that all children develop at their own pace; however, the guidelines provided in this book are the accepted steps in development by doctors, service providers and educators alike.

For ease of use, these childhood development milestones are broken down by the general developmental month span utilized in the medical community (i.e. 0-3 months, 3-6 months, etc.). This book covers the following:

Speech/language milestones
Feeding milestones
Fine motor milestones
Gross motor milestones
Activities to address each of the above
Red flags to look for in each range
Pre-K readiness checklist
Kindergarten readiness checklist
Potty training tips
Expected stages of play
Pre-writing progression
Resources (websites and podcasts)

In addition, many of these milestone resources provide printable checklists for increased ease in filing and long term record keeping for each of your children, as well as the ability for your child’s provider to make copies of, and keep the information for their own files.

Childhood developmental milestones

It is important to note that all children develop at their own pace; however, there are a set of developmental guidelines that are accepted steps in development by doctors, service providers and educators alike.

Here are developmental milestone lists that we have here on The OT Toolbox. Use these to better identify any developmental concerns:

Fine Motor Milestones

Social Emotional Skills Developmental Milestones

Visual Motor Integration Developmental Milestones

Spatial Awareness Development in Babies

Foster Development with Block Play

Development of Oral Motor Skills

Development of Eye-Hand Coordination

Development of bilateral coordination and how this skill impacts feeding

Executive Functioning Skill development

Boost child development with rhyming games

Scissor Skills development

Grasp development

Developmental progression of pre-writing lines

Development of Play

Developmental Milestones in Kids Getting Dressed

Knowing all of this information on typical child development, it would be very handy to have a complete checklist of aspects of developmental progression from birth to two years.

Social Emotional Learning

February 21, 2024July 8, 2020 by Colleen Beck OTR/L

Social emotional learning is defined as a process for helping children gain critical social skills for life effectiveness, such as developing positive relationships, behaving ethically, and handling challenging situations effectively. The specific skills that allow kids to function and complete daily occupations (such as play, learning, participating in social situations, rest, dressing, writing, riding a bike, interacting with others…) are those social emotional skills that help children to recognize and manage emotions, interact with others, think about their feelings and how they should act, and regulate behavior based on thoughtful decision making.

One piece of addressing underlying social emotional learning needs in kids is the fact that the behaviors that we see have an underlying cause that can be found as a result of regulation of emotions, making decisions, and acting on impulses. Social emotional skills are not always a cut and dry aspect of development.

Social emotional learning is an important part of child development and an essential skill that kids need to accomplish daily tasks.

What is Social Emotional Learning?

Today, I wanted to expand on that idea. So many times, we run into children on our therapy caseloads or in our classroom (or hey, even in our own homes!) who struggle with one area…or several. Remembering that beneath the behaviors, troubles with transitions, acting out, irritability, sleep issues, inflexible thoughts, frustrations, etc…can be emotional regulation components.

Let’s consider some of the ways our kids may struggle with social and emotional competencies. We might see kids with difficulty in some of these occupational performance areas (occupational performance = the things we do…the tasks we perform):

Academics/learning
Management of stress in learning/chores/daily tasks
Creating of personal goals in school work or personal interests and following through
Making decisions based on ethical and social norms in play, learning, or work
Understanding/Engaging in social expectations (social norms) in dressing, bathing, grooming, etc.
Social participation
Conflict resolution with friends
Empathizing with others
Responding to feedback in school, home, or work tasks
Making good judgement and safety decisions in the community
Showing manners
Responding to the moods of others and reaching out to others as a support system (both an aspect of co-regulation skills)
Understanding subtle social norms in the community or play
Transitions in tasks in school or at home
Ability to screen out input during tasks
Cooperation in play and in group learning
Considering context in communication
Emotional control during games
Understanding mood and affect and how this relates to behavioral responses

Wow! That list puts into perspective how our kids with regulation concerns really may be struggling. And, when you look at it from the flip-side, perhaps some of our children who struggle with, say, fine motor issues may have sensory concerns in the mix too.

Social Emotional Learning Activities

When we equip our students with tools to identify their emotions and self-regulate, we are giving them tools for life and promoting a positive environment for learning. We can foster social emotional development through play and interactions.

What might this look like at home, in online schooling, or in a classroom setting?

1. Connect emotions to behavior- Children may not have the language knowledge or understand how to explain what they are feeling. They may need concrete examples or scenarios to help them understand how their emotions are tied to their behavior. Does a storm make them feel nervous or scared? How do they react when they feel anxious about a test or quiz? When they argue with a sibling, how do they react? Once they are able to understand their emotions and how they are feeling, they can start using emotional regulation tools and strategies.

Use this social emotional learning worksheet to help kids match emotions to behaviors and coping strategies.

2. Be flexible and patient- Flexibility is something we have all been thrown into more than usual lately. But working with children on emotional regulation and understanding their emotions takes patience and being flexible. You may need to change up how you introduce emotions, or maybe a strategy you thought would work isn’t.

3. Set the tone and share your own feelings- This may feel uncomfortable for some of us, but sharing our own feelings with our students and clients and modeling the responses and strategies we are encouraging them to use will have a huge impact.

4. Try specific social skills activities- Social skills activities are those that help kids build underlying emotional and regulation strategies so that making friends, emotions, kindness, empathy, self-awareness, self-management, and other socio emotional tools are built at the foundation. One way to do this is by setting up a system for an emotions check in or a feelings check in to start the day.

A recent post here on The OT Toolbox has more ideas to develop social emotional learning by engaging in activities that foster emotional regulation and executive functioning skills.

…it’s ALL connected!

Another fantastic resource that can help develop social and emotional skills is the activity book, Exploring Books Through Play.

This digital E-BOOK is an amazing resource for anyone helping kids learn about acceptance, empathy, compassion, and friendship. In Exploring Books through Play, you’ll find therapist-approved resources, activities, crafts, projects, and play ideas based on 10 popular children’s books. Each book covered contains activities designed to develop fine motor skills, gross motor skills, sensory exploration, handwriting, and more. Help kids understand complex topics of social/emotional skills, empathy, compassion, and friendship through books and hands-on play.

The book Exploring Books Through Play, has 50 different activities based on popular children’s books. Each book is used for 5 different activities that cover a variety of areas: sensory play, crafts, gross motor activities, fine motor activities, handwriting, scissor skills, and so much more.

This book is designed to address emotional regulation and connecting with kids.

What’s Inside Exploring Books through Play?

We have handpicked these easy and hands-on activities to help kids develop essential social emotional learning skills.

As classroom curriculum becomes more focused on academics, social and emotional development can get lost in the shuffle. This book focuses on abstract concepts of friendship, acceptance and empathy. By using children’s books that foster understanding of these concepts through pictures and stories, we can help children understand and see these emotions in action. What if you could use books and interactive activities to teach friendship? What if you could read a book that centers on accepting differences and create or make an activity or craft that helps children see acceptance in action. What if you could explore emotions through story and interactive play? In this book, you will find books that cover abstract concepts and use play to build social and developmental skills. The 10 books covered include:

A Sick Day for Amos McGee
Boy + Bot
Little Blue and Little Yellow
Red: A Crayon’s Story
Chrysanthemum
The Day the Crayons Quit
Leonardo the Terrible Monster
The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend
Whoever You Are and Penguin and Pinecone

Want to help kids learn more about complex concepts such emotions, empathy, compassion, and differences?

Creative book activities that help kids develop fine motor skills and gross motor skills, while exploring books.

Exploring Books Through Play uses children’s literature as a theme to engage in fun, hands-on activities that help children and adults delve deeper into the characters and lessons, bringing the stories to life and falling further in love with literature. Read a story and then bring the characters to life while learning and building skills. Each story offers unique activities designed around central themes of friendship, empathy, and compassion.

Each chapter includes 5 activities for each of the 10 children’s books. The activities are perfect for children ages 3-8, can be used in small groups or as a whole class, and are easily adapted to a home or classroom setting.

Click here to get the Exploring Books Through Play resource.

Hopefully, this resource, and these suggestions to support social emotional learning has been helpful. Remember that fostering SE development across the ages and stages fosters learning, educational participation, and functional performance in all contexts and environments. Specifically, social emotional learning is important to consider when creating self regulation IEP goals or when fostering self regulation and emotional regulation needs in the school environment.

Kindergarten Readiness and Executive Functioning Skills

December 20, 2022June 3, 2020 by Colleen Beck OTR/L

Kindergarten readiness and developing executive functioning skills in kindergarten

Many parents of preschoolers have questions about preparing for kindergarten. There are kindergarten checklists and loads of resources online designed to address kindergarten readiness. One area that parents might miss when getting ready for kindergarten is the concept of executive functioning skills.

Executive functioning skills develop from very early in childhood! These skills can easily be developed through fun, age-appropriate play. Sound familiar? Combining learning and play in kindergarten is essential to build skills with an age appropriate awareness and at developmental levels. This is the exact way that children should be preparing for kindergarten!

Kindergarten Readiness

There is immense amount of pressure for children to be ready for the academic demands of
school, even from kindergarten. From the moment they walk in the door, most kindergartners
are pushed to be “little sponges” of the academic content to meet standards. However, most of us
recognize that this may not be the most appropriate approach to take. Finding engaging executive functioning activities can be tricky. The ideas here should be a great start to add to your kindergarten lesson plans or use in kindergarten preparations.

However, there are more child-friendly things that parents can do to help their children get ready
for kindergarten. Provide children with opportunities to be independent! Teach them the steps to
wash their hands (initiation, working memory, shifting, monitoring), how to blow their nose
(initiation, working memory, and monitoring), and letter recognition (working memory). Teach
them how to follow directions (impulse control, working memory, and shifting).

PREPARING FOR KINDERGARTEN WITH EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING SKILLS

Working on some kindergarten prep through play can involved executive functioning skills at the same time. Start here to understand exactly what executive functioning skills entail, but when it comes to kindergarten aged children, here are some of the executive functioning skills that can be addressed through play as well as tasks that will help them prepare for kindergarten:

Kindergarten lesson plans can include these reading and writing activities that build executive functioning skills

HandWriting in Kindergarten

Amazon affiliate links are included below.

Be sure to start by reading our resource on name writing for kindergarten to support the handwriting and fine motor skills needed in kindergarten, as this is a new skill for many 5 year-olds that are picking up a pencil for the first time. (Or preschool students that were rushed into pre-writing tasks.

There are many ways to integrate reading and writing preparation into play. Have your child match uppercase and lowercase letters in games or at the store. This encourages working memory (what letter they need to look for). Games like Zingo are great for teaching sight words in a fun way while also requiring a child to use their impulse control, shifting, and working memory.

More reading and writing for kindergarten:

Alphabet Discovery Bottle

Magnetic Letter Handwriting Game

Name Soup Writing Your Name

Fizzy Dough Letters

Handwriting Cookie Cutters

Kindergarten lesson plans can include these math activities to develop executive functioning skills to prepare for kindergarten

Math, Science, and Executive Functioning

Early math and science skills can be fun and easy to integrate into play! If the weather is
conducive, try hopscotch, saying the numbers out loud as you jump! For mental flexibility,
change the rules of how they go through the series: hop on one foot, jump on two feet, switch
feet, and so on. For older children or those who know their evens and odds, have them only jump
on the odds or only on evens.

For science, create simple science experiments, like vinegar and baking soda volcanos! This
requires initiation, monitoring, impulse control, shifting, and planning/organizing.

More kindergarten math activities to build executive function:

Caterpillar Math Craft

Play and Executive Functioning

Play is critical, but with the push to be ready for academics, play is getting pushed to the side
However, without play, children suffer. They lack the ability to find joy in learning.

Outdoor play provides the opportunity for children to develop their executive functioning while
participating in child-led adventures! Taking a bike ride or a walk around the community, or
even playing basketball in a driveway, requires a child to demonstrate strong impulse control and
monitoring skills for safety. Red light, green light is also a great opportunity to work on impulse
control.

Outdoor play also encourages children to take risks while being aware of their surroundings.
Whether determining if cars are coming, stranger danger, or appropriate clothing to wear outside,
this is an incredible opportunity to encourage executive functioning development!

Can’t play outside? Build a fort! Planning/organizing, initiation, shifting, time management, and
working memory are critical for this.

Kindergarten play ideas to build executive function

Teaching Spatial Concepts

Bugs and Beans Sensory Play

Outdoor Small World Play

Painting Toys in the Water Table

Sticks and Stones Simple Sensory Play

Use these executive functioning games in kindergarten lesson plans and to prepare for kindergarten

Games and Activities to build executive functioning skills in kindergarten

Some family-friendly games include Outfoxed (initiation, working memory, monitoring,
planning/organizing, and impulse control) and Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game.

For less structured activities, think about making something in the kitchen, like baked goods. Making slime with a slime kit is another engaging way to build executive functioning skills.

For a less structured executive functioning activity, try making a bracelet from a bracelet kit that involves patterns or low-level direction-following.

For kindergarten readiness, focus on fun! This is a time of extensive growth, including in the
area of executive functioning.

For more executive functioning activities, grab this Executive Functioning Activity Guide. It’s full of strategies to address common executive functioning areas that impact working memory, attention, impulse control, organization, and more.

executive functioning skills activity guide The OT Toolbox

Floor Play for Babies

August 24, 2022February 22, 2020 by Colleen Beck OTR/L

Baby floor play is one of those essential play activities that maybe kids are missing out on more than ever. Here we are talking about why babies need to get down on the floor to baby play, and how to set up floor play activities for babies and toddlers. Baby development depends on movement and play. These ideas will guide you in creating play activities that maximize child development through those early years.

Another great resource to check out is a new blog post on DIR Floortime.

What is Floor Play

Floor play and movement play is one of those things that not only help babies develop essential skills, it is a powerful way to help them excel with higher level tasks. There is so much more than just placing a baby down on the floor to play. Let me explain…

When little ones are on the floor in tummy time or in play activities, they are developing essential core strength and visual perceptual skills that will help them down the road in areas like reading, endurance in play, and even handwriting. Here is more information on how floor play and tummy time helps with the development of spatial awareness and other visual perception skills.

Time spent on the floor helps with kinesthetic intelligence as well. With tummy time play comes skills like body awareness and reasoning, eye-hand coordination, motor skills, and spatial ability for function.

Play For Babies

For babies, tummy time helps to build strength in the core, arms, neck, and shoulder girdle needed for sitting up, changing of positions, and coordination. Here are baby play ideas that can be incorporated into floor time activities. Movement like participating in play, changing positions, reaching, crawling, moving objects, and functional tasks require endurance and stability. Tummy time is an important task for infant babies as well as older babies for different reasons. In each stage, floor play encourages use of the body and eyes in coordinated motor plans.

More Floor Activities for Babies and toddlers

Floor play for babies can look like toys placed in front of the infant. Using noise toys, rattles, and eye-catching toys encourages reach, visual tracking, neck and head movement, and development of visual processing and auditory processing.

Floor play for infants can look like a scattering of toys placed in a circle around the child. This positioning encourages turning, rolling, and creeping or crawling, especially when the little one is pushing up onf their elbows and hands.

For very small babies, floor play can look like getting very close to the child to encourage them to pick up their head and make eye contact.

Baby play ideas can be easy but pack a powerful punch when it comes to child development and helping with skills like crawling and learning.

Older babies that are sitting up can benefit from a scattering of toys placed around them on the floor. Place pillows behind and around the baby and encourage them to pick up toys like large blocks as they bring the toy to their mouth to explore. Picking up and bringing items to the midline promotes endurance of core strength, stability in the core, and coordination as they reach and turn.

Playing on the floor can include baby mats or baby-safe mirrors. Check out this baby sensory play idea using mirrors for an easy way to encourage movement and endurance in floor play using everyday items such as cups, balls, and baby toys.

Babies that are beginning to crawl love play tunnels…and for good reason. Baby play tunnels are exciting and fun! But not only that, they develop skills like visual motor skills, cause and effect, visual scanning, visual convergence, and so much more. Here are more play tunnel activities for babies.

Try this indoor play idea that boosts development of skills such as fine motor skills, visual motor skills, and visual perceptual skills using toddler-friendly blocks!

Floor play for babies builds skills and helps them develop and learn to crawl while building endurance and strength for motor movement tasks. — Use large blocks or other baby toys in floor play for babies. Super easy!

Occupational therapists know the value of movement and playing on the floor has on babies. We know that babies need tummy time and a chance to move on the floor without use of the Bumbo seat, swing, and other baby positioners. We KNOW that play is the child’s primary occupation and that through play, they develop motor skills, cognition, language, and so much more.

That’s why I’m SO excited to share a valuable new resource for new and expecting moms.

Remarkable Infants is a HUGE resource for new parents. This online course, taught by 5 child development experts, is a 5 hour crash course on development of the whole child from birth through 12 months of age. It is literally everything that we WISH new parents knew about tummy time, positioners, developmental milestones, baby play, communication, sleep, and nutrition.

Tummy Time Myths

August 11, 2023October 25, 2019 by Colleen Beck OTR/L

Tummy Time Advice…There are certain tummy time myths that are part of that advice. You’ve heard about it at each baby well visit and read it in all the baby advice books. All of that tummy time advice is so important. But what happens when that sweet little baby wails as soon as they are down on the floor? Those little screams can break a mama’s heart! It can be stressful for mom and dad when tummy time results in a red-faced, screaming baby. Here’s the thing though. Tummy time doesn’t need to be stressful. But how do you break through those screams of discomfort? It’s actually part of the tummy time myths we’re debunking here. Read more for tummy time myths and what’s really happening:

When to start tummy time and other tummy time myths that parents have.

Your Biggest Tummy Time Myths Busted

What is the biggest myth or misconception surrounding tummy time ? What is one thing that many parents believe…but it just isn’t true?

Here’s the thing: Babies don’t actually hate tummy time.

Back to Sleep has our babies sleeping on their backs, and that’s a good thing. But babies are also spending a lot more time on their backs that is necessary it’s having an impact on development, and issues like Flat Head Syndrome ( or Positional Plagiocephaly), or torticollis (or stiff neck in babies).

Related, is our resource on newborns not sleeping, as sleep can be achieved in the tummy time positioning.

There are other issues that can come up as a result of lack of tummy time. There is a reason why doctors and therapists agree that babies need that time every single day. Tummy time is so important for neck and core strength, digestion, spatial awareness, eye-hand coordination, visual processing, preventing flat spots on the head, and strength and stability of the trunk, neck, and arms.

Tummy Time Myth #1 My baby hates tummy time.

Baby needs tummy time. Baby is placed on their belly…and they scream. Mom or dad swoops in and picks up baby. They MUST be in pain, right? Crying = something is wrong, right? Wrong! Your baby actually doesn’t hate tummy time!

So often, parents of a young baby are told to place their infant into tummy time for proper development, strengthening. The pediatrician has mentioned it at each doctor’s visit. But each time you dread it. It hurts your heart to hear that sweet little thing wail or downright scream each time he or she is placed on her belly!

Baby actually just needs a little help learning to get comfortable, adjust to new positioning, staying calm, connecting with a loved one, and engaging in this strange, new view of the world. Think about it this way: your child just spent a long nine months (or more/less) curled up in a cozy fetal position in the womb. That’s a lot of time to get comfortable in a curved and flexed position. Then, that newborn sweetie is swaddled, held, placed on their back to sleep, or snuggled in a car seat or baby swing most of the day and night.

Positioning baby on their stomach actually stretches and lengthens those muscles that have for so long been curved up in a snuggly curved forward position. Laying a baby on their belly stretches and develops the muscles that will later support the child in sitting and playing in the coming months. Tummy time is also essential for neck and core strength, visual processing, and eye-hand coordination. It prevents flat spots on the head and allows for flexibility of the neck and hips. The problem is that all of this work is hard for baby!

So, a crying baby in tummy time is definitely communicating their dislike of this new and hard task of stretching out those muscles and joints. They are telling you that the hard sensation of the floor on their tummy is different. They are expressing uneasiness in the way they can.

Tummy Time Myth #2: Tummy Time starts at 2 months

Nope! Tummy time actually starts before that three month time, or even one month. In fact, tummy time starts much, much earlier! Knowing when to start tummy time is actually one of the most common questions new parents have about their baby.

When to start tummy time?

Tummy time starts day one! That’s the thing: tummy time can start on the day (or night) that your little one is born and it can be easy to do. As soon as baby is fed, rest that sweet little one on your chest and you’ve got a baby in its first session of tummy time. Using chest positioning several times a day is an easy way to transition to floor tummy time where the little babe can build the strength they need.

Tummy Time Myth #3: Tummy Time is Hard!

When little baby cries because they are used to going “Back to Sleep”, spending time in their car seat, baby swing, bouncer, Bumbo pillow, or curled up to eat, they can have some trouble in tummy time. Think about it: when your little one has spent so much time curled up in a comfortable bent forward (flexed) position, laying on the floor in tummy time can put a stretch on those muscles. But tummy time doesn’t need to be hard…

In fact, there are some simple ways to make tummy time easier for baby so that the important strengthening, stretching, and development can happen:

Use short 3-4-minute periods of tummy time several times throughout the day instead of longer spurts. Make it part of the routine of the day.
Try positioning baby in tummy time in position where they feel more connected to mom or dad: on a parent’s chest, laying across the knees with support, in the arms in a football hold, with a nursing pillow, etc. Here are more tummy time activities in various positioning.
Get down on the floor and make eye contact with a soothing voice. Baby needs to feel connection so he/she can learn to stay calm in tummy time. A tummy time mat or a baby gym on the floor can make the floor feel softer and provide an engaging surface. Some of the best tummy time mats have bold patterns with black and white or black/white/red patterns.
Engage with baby in play while in tummy time. Invite siblings to play with baby. Talk to baby. Use tummy time toys to engage baby. The options are limitless. Try this tummy time play idea with baby-safe mirrors.
Encourage reaching for toys and development of eye-hand coordination skills that will drive crawling, play, and eventually reading and writing. Here are some baby play ideas for older babies, but some to give an idea of tummy time play.

A final Note on Tummy TIme Myths

Did any of these tummy time myths resonate with you? Have you run across questions about tummy time or wonder when to start tummy time? Let me know in the comments below. Add your tummy time tips too. You never know if they may help another new parent!

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Gratitude Activities Foster Social Emotional Learning

Gratitude Activities for Children

Pencil Grasp Development

Primitive Pencil Grasps

Transitional Pencil Grasps

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Quadrupod Grasp

Quadrupod grasp or Tripod Grasp?

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Developmental Checklist

Childhood developmental milestones

What is Social Emotional Learning?

Social Emotional Learning Activities

What’s Inside Exploring Books through Play?

Kindergarten Readiness

PREPARING FOR KINDERGARTEN WITH EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING SKILLS

HandWriting in Kindergarten

Math, Science, and Executive Functioning

Play and Executive Functioning

Games and Activities to build executive functioning skills in kindergarten

What is Floor Play

Play For Babies

More Floor Activities for Babies and toddlers

Your Biggest Tummy Time Myths Busted

Tummy Time Myth #1 My baby hates tummy time.

Tummy Time Myth #2: Tummy Time starts at 2 months

When to start tummy time?

Tummy Time Myth #3: Tummy Time is Hard!

A final Note on Tummy TIme Myths

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