These flower snacks are fun and super easy to create with kids and build fine motor skills in the kitchen. If you are looking for creating ways to add healthy snacks into a child’s diet, these flower themed snacks are just that. Whether kids help in the kitchen for fun or for the benefits of building executive functioning skills or fine motor development, there are many reasons to make these flower healthy treats! This is just one of the many cooking with kids recipes here on the website.
The flower snacks you see below are creative ways to add fun healthy foods for kids. But, even better, kids can help to make these treats. When kids make these snacks, they are building many skills.
Getting kids involved in the kitchen helps to develop fine motor skills like eye-hand coordination, dexterity, and motor planning. All of these skills are refined through dicing, chopping, scooping, and pouring.
Cooking with kids also is a powerhouse task for developing executive functioning skills. Following recipes, direction following, impulse control, planning, prioritization, and working memory are all skills that are developed through meal preparation and recipe following.
Beet slices flower snack– Use a flower shaped cookie cutter to cut beet slices (or other soft fruit/veggies: pineapple, apples, thin potatoes…
Mandarin orange flower– Peel an orange and open one end. Add celery for a stem.
Orange with flair– Add a grape tomato to the center of your orange to add a little color. Other fruits could also be arranged into a flower shape: apple, pear, and banana slices would work.
Dried cranberry mini flowers– Arrange cranberries (or raisins) into petal shapes. Add chickpeas for a center to each flower.
Tulip cucumbers– Cut a jagged line into cucumber slices. Add a piece of the peel for stems for each flower.
Flower art– Get the kids involved in this one! Provide carrots, broccoli, red peppers, grape tomatoes and create a flower design as a family. Enjoy!
Make today special with a little bit of healthy flower fun! While you’re at it, make a few flower crafts:
Score Fine Motor Tools and resources and help kids build the skills they need to thrive!
Developing hand strength, dexterity, dexterity, precision skills, and eye-hand coordination skills that kids need for holding and writing with a pencil, coloring, and manipulating small objects in every day task doesn’t need to be difficult. The Spring Fine Motor Kit includes 100 pages of fine motor activities, worksheets, crafts, and more:
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.
Years of research and personal experience can tell us that adults tend to function better with regular exercise. Exercise helps us sleep better, reduce our stress, and manage our weight2. But what about our kids – how do they benefit from exercise? Today we are going to dive deep into the research and see why and how our kids should exercise to better their mood. Let’s look at the link between exercise and mood, and establishing healthy habits that lead to function and independence in kids.
If your child is having issues with emotional regulation, it may come out as a temper tantrum. You know the feeling of having no control over your emotions; being taken on a ride of sadness, aggression, and pounds of heavy frustration. Most adults have had enough practice honing their emotional regulation skills to keep them from screaming in the middle of the grocery store after a long day. Children, however, are still working on developing emotional regulation skills, and because of that, their overall mood can suffer.
Also related is the mood of those around us, or co-regulation. This is another aspect of mood that we don’t always first think of as it relates to our behavior and actions.
According to research new and old, exercise can help a child better regulate their mood9. Next time your child is screaming in the middle of Target, think to yourself – have they gotten enough physical activity recently? I have found that 30 mins of exercise in the morning can help even out moods for the whole day. Plus, you are bound to get a good nap time out of them if they have gotten enough physical activity – double whammy for everyone’s mood!
Tips for Exercise and Mood
Try these tips for encouraging exercise to reduce tantrums in toddlers:
Instead of pushing your toddler in a scroller on neighborhood walks, encourage them to walk next to you for a while.
Use classic movement songs to incorporate movement into their day – our favorites are “Animal Action” By Greg and Steve, “Jim Along Josie” By Pete Seeger, and “Pet Parade” by Hoyt Axton.
If screen time is a part of your routine, use videos like Cosmic Kids Yoga to make the screen time more valuable.
Exercise to REDUCe ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION
Research shows that regular exercise in youth can treat anxiety and depression in the short term and long-term 3,4. Some studies suggest that high-intensity exercises, that will increase cardiorespiratory activity, improve mood more than low-impact exercises, like yoga5.
While there is lots of evidence to support that exercise can improve mood in both adults and children, some of the research points to other affects that exercise programs can have on children. For example, when children are enrolled in sports or other physical activity programs, they are also socially active and get attention from adults, which may also positively impact their mood7.
Whatever way you look at it, exercise is likely to improve their mood and guard against anxiety and depression.
Exercise for self-CONFIDENCE
One way that exercise improves mood is through raising self-esteem – physical activity gives you a confidence boost! Research shows that all kinds of physical activity contribute to a rise in self-esteem5.
Self-esteem is so important in all the occupations that children have, particularly in school. Academic and social success are partially dependent on self-esteem and self-worth, and both contribute to a positive mood.
“Psychological and behavioural problems in children and adolescents are common, and improving self‐esteem may help to prevent the development of such problems” (Ekeland et al., 2004).
Exercise and positive BEHAVIORS
In one study, researchers found that teachers reported an increase in wanted behaviors for children enrolled in both high and low-intensity exercise programs5. The theory here is that when a child’s physical activity needs are met, they are better able to regulate their emotions, attention, and behaviors9.
This comes with the awesome effects that exercise has for executive functioning, which controls many cognitive abilities6. With this increase in desirable behaviors, they will be more likely to develop positive relationships with their peers, teachers, and family members8.
“Exercise…is highly relevant in preadolescent children… given the importance of well-developed executive functions for daily life functioning” (Verburgh et al., 2014).
Exercise has been shown to increase self-esteem, cognition and academic success, and decrease depression and anxiety in children3. Not to mention the obvious health factors associated with physical activity like heart and respiratory function. All said, exercise is integral to the overall health and wellness of our children.
EXERCISES FOR KIDS
After all that exercise talk, we have to offer some great ideas to add to your list! Most important to any exercise routine – you have to do what you love! Find what your kids like and encourage them to try new activities.
Another key strategy to encourage exercise in kids is to model healthy habits as the child’s parent. When parents model healthy choices, fitness, and regular exercise, kids see that and are more likely to follow suit with their own healthy choices.
One way that adults can model healthy choices is through exercising in the home. When kids see adults exercising, they have that positive interaction with physical activity.
Having a treadmill in the home is one sure-fire way to encourage movement, exercise, and healthy habits that are integrated into the day-to-day. With Horizon Fitness treadmills and fitness equipment, you get the availablity of cardio equiptment right in the home. It’s there as a visable option for adding movement and regular cardio exercise on a daily or weekly basis.
Plus, parents of children can benefit from the fitness programs for quick and effective workouts that fit into the busy family’s schedule. Horizon offers a number of entertainment apps and streaming options, including Bluetooth speakers, live or on-demand fitness apps, and other streaming fitness opportunities. All of these extras are designed to promote improved physical exercise and meaningful motivation.
1. Ekeland, E., Heian, F., Hagen, K. B., Abbott, J. M. & Nordheim, L. (2004). Exercise to improve self‐esteem in children and young people. Cochrane Libary of Systematic Reviews.https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD003683.pub
2. Oaten, M. & Cheng, K. (2010). Longitudinal gains in self‐regulation from regular physical exercise. The British Journal of Health Psychology,11(4). https://doi.org/10.1348/135910706X96481
3. Ortega, F. B., Ruiz, J. R., Castillo, M. J. & Sjöström, M. (2008). Physical fitness in childhood and adolescence: a powerful marker of health. International Journal of Obesity, 32, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803774
4. Pascoe, M. C. & Parker, A. G. (2018). Physical activity and exercise as a universal depression prevention in young people: A narrative review. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 13(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.12737
5. Telles, S., Singh, N., Bhardwaj, A. D., Kumar, A. & Balkrishna, A. (2013). Effect of yoga or physical exercise on physical, cognitive and emotional measures in children: a randomized controlled trial. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health,7(37). https://doi.org/10.1186/1753-2000-7-37
6. Verburgh, L., Königs, M., Scherder, E. J. A., & Oosterlaan, J. (2014). Physical exercise and executive functions in preadolescent children, adolescents and young adults: a meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine,48, 973-979. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/48/12/973
7. Williams, C. F., Bustamante, E. E., Waller, J. L. & Davis, C. L. (2019). Exercise effects on quality of life, mood, and self-worth in overweight children: the SMART randomized controlled trial. Translational Behavioral Medicine,9(3), 451–459. https://doi.org/10.1093/tbm/ibz015
8. Xue, Y., Yang, Y. & Huang, T. (2019). Effects of chronic exercise interventions on executive function among children and adolescents: A systematic review with meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine,53, 1397-1404. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2017-097600
9. Zhang, Y., Fu, R., Sun, L., Gong, Y., & Tang, D. (2019). How does exercise improve implicit emotion regulation ability: Preliminary evidence of mind-body exercise intervention combined with aerobic jogging and mindfulness-based yoga. Frontiers in Psychology,10. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01888
Sydney Thorson, OTR/L, is a new occupational therapist working in school-based therapy. Her background is in Human Development and Family Studies, and she is passionate about providing individualized and meaningful treatment for each child and their family. Sydney is also a children’s author and illustrator and is always working on new and exciting projects.
Exercise and Mood Resources for Kids
You’ll love these resources designed to help kids get moving, exercising, and building skills, and kids won’t even realize they are “exercising”!
Designed to use fun themes, these heavy work activity cards add proprioceptive input to help kids become more aware of their body’s position in space.
Heavy work input allows kids to gain more awareness of motor planning skills, coordination, AND strengthening in fun and creative ways.
Incorporate the themed exercise cards into learning themes or play.
Critical thinking is intentional thinking that is involved in the process of completing tasks. In this post, we will dissect critical thinking. This essential executive functioning skill helps us accomplish complex tasks. Let’s talk critical thinking for kids!
What is Critical Thinking
Let’s start with executive function. Executive function encompasses the critical thinking skills of planning, organizing, prioritization, time management, working memory, attention, and other skills. Critical thinking is similar and requires the use of executive functioning. Critical thinking includes observing and analyzing, self-reflection, interpretation of available information, evaluation and inference (based on working memory), problem solving (metacognition), and decision making.
Within the aspects of critically thinking are many thinking and doing processes that allow us to follow through with the completion of tasks.
We’ve discussed previously that executive function does not fully mature until adulthood. It is important to recognize that fact because many times, we expect kids and teenagers to exhibit maturity in their decision-making and meta cognition.
Strategic Thinking and Critical Thinking
Strategic thinking may be commonly known as a business term that describes savvy business decisions to lead a business to success. But, there are similarities between the strategic planning of a business and critical thinking involved in executive functioning tasks. In business, strategic thinking involves using a business plan as well as past successes and failures in order to reach business goals. Strategic thinking requires initiation, planning, prioritization, observation, and self-assessment.
Similarly, critical thinking in order to self-analyze, create goals, initiate tasks, and plan out a task follows along with the same process.
Critical thinking for kids
Critically analyzing given information so we can strategize a plan and follow through with that plan based on what we know sounds a lot like executive functioning, right? We know that executive functioning doesn’t fully develop until early adulthood. But, we ask a lot of our kids when it comes to integrating critical thinking/executive functioning/regulation.
These skills, together, allow us to integrate the areas of strategic thinking that we need to accomplish tasks:
-Regulate emotions and behaviors
-Pay attention during tasks
-Complete tasks with an awareness of working memory
-Initiate tasks when it can be hard to decide on the best “first step”
-Transition between tasks
Some of our kids really struggle with this process on a daily basis! Critical thinking in kids can be a real struggle, but we can help by breaking things down into bite-sized steps.
Critical Thinking Broken Down
When it comes to accomplishing a task, there are two parts that we need to separate. The first is the thinking of the task. The second is the actual doing of the task.
We’ll break down all of the specific pieces of critical thinking by dissecting the task of writing a book report.
Say you know a child who has a book report to write and it’s due on Monday. They’ve known about this project for some time and have read the book (mainly in class), but haven’t actually done any of the actual book report work. They have this weekend to get it completely finished to turn in on Monday morning, while going through the routine of a typical weekend: activities, events, chores, relaxation/down time…(sound like a familiar situation, parents?)
Let’s pull apart the process of knowing there is a book report due on Monday to the completion of that assignment. Talk about executive functioning skills and critical thinking, right??
Think of it this way: When a child has a book report to do, they know they need to do it. It’s been talked about in the classroom for a few days. The assignment might be in the back of their mind. So, when the child has the weekend to complete the book report, they know they need to start thinking about actually sitting down to do it. But, what about the Friday night time with friends? And the Saturday morning sleep-in time? And the baseball practice Saturday afternoon? And the family party that’s planed for Saturday evening? And, and, and? We are all well aware of exactly HOW FAST a weekend can slip away from us in the blink of an eye. There is a lot going on during a typical weekend! So pulling out time to actually break away from the “fun” and initiate a book report?? It’s not easy. It takes some skills: planning, prioritization, and task initiation. Then, they need to consider other things they have on their schedule during that weekend so they can plan ahead. (More Planning Skills)
Next, They need to plan out what they are going to write about. (Planning Skills)
They need to gather all of the materials they need to complete the task, like pencils, paper, and the book. (Organization Skills)
They need to recall important facts from the book and pull out that information. They need to recall how they’ve written a book report in the past or the assignments they’ve done in preparation for this project that will help them. They need to gather their thoughts to know where to even begin on this report and start thinking about a topic or a viewpoint they are taking with this report. (Working Memory)
Finally, they need to think about how they can use those facts and prior experiences to write statements that make sense in their book report. They need to think about what they’ve written in if they might need more information. They need to be self-reflective in their writing. (Metacognition Skills)
All of those tasks involved thinking about actually writing the book report. It didn’t involve the writing portion and accomplishing the task to fruition.
The next part of accomplishing the task of writing a book report involves the “doing”.
The child needs to regulate behaviors and emotions so they can stay on task without having an attitude or tantrum. They need to inhibit the desire to refuse to write the book report because they would rather check their phone or go play video games. (Response Inhibition)
They need to start the process of writing the report by sitting down and getting started on the book report and not get angry or upset by the task at hand. (Emotional Control)
They need to maintain attention during the entire task. (Sustained Attention)
There is a need to be flexible, as well. The student needs to adjust to other tasks that need accomplished during that weekend, and be flexible in their thinking and task completion. (Flexibility)
Finally, they need to actually complete the report to completion while retaining focused on their goal of getting that book report done so it can be turned in on Monday morning. (Goal Oriented Activity)
Critical Thinking Examples
It’s a lot to process, right? That project, when broken down, has some major skill building lessons within the assignment. Here are those specific skills again:
The thinking skills:
Planning
Organization
Time Management
Working Memory
Metacognition
The doing skills:
Response Inhibition
Emotional Control
Sustained Attention
Task Initiation
Flexibility
Goal-directed Activity
How to improve critical thinking
So, how can we take a major project like a book report and make it an assignment that helps kids build each of these critical thinking skills? By breaking down that assignment into bite sized pieces and working on each area!
Kids with executive functioning skill challenges really struggle with critical thinking. And vice versa. Here are some ways to help teach kids impulse control for improved attention, self-regulation, and learning so they can do hard things:
Goal tracker
Reduce clutter
Make goals
Break big tasks or projects into smaller steps
Make a schedule (picture-based or list)
Social stories
Act out situations beforehand
Count to three before answering/responding
Self-rewards
Self-talk
Reduce time to complete tasks
Increase time to complete tasks
Think through and predict social interactions before going into a situation
The Impulse Control Journal has been totally revamped to include 79 pages of tools to address the habits, mindset, routines, and strategies to address impulse control in kids. More about the Impulse Control Journal:
30 Drawing Journal Pages to reflect and pinpoint individual strategies
28 Journal Lists so kids can write quick checklists regarding strengths, qualities, supports, areas of need, and insights
8 Journal worksheets to pinpoint coping skills, feelings, emotions, and strategies that work for the individual
Daily and Weekly tracking sheets for keeping track of tasks and goals
Mindset,Vision, and Habit pages for helping kids make an impact
Self-evaluation sheets to self-reflect and identify when inhibition is hard and what choices look like
Daily tracker pages so your child can keep track of their day
Task lists to monitor chores and daily tasks so it gets done everyday
Journal pages to help improve new habits
Charts and guides for monitoring impulse control so your child can improve their self-confidence
Strategy journal pages to help kids use self-reflection and self-regulation so they can succeed at home and in the classroom
Goal sheets for setting goals and working to meet those goals while improving persistence
Tools for improving mindset to help kids create a set of coping strategies that work for their needs
This is a HUGE digital resource that you can print to use over and over again.
Read more about The Impulse Control Journal HERE. There are so many strategies to address attention in kids and activities that can help address attention needs. One tactic that can be a big help is analyzing precursors to behaviors related to attention and addressing underlying needs.
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.
Helping kids become more more self aware is a skill that can help with emotional regulation, goals, executive functioning skills, goal achievement, and so much more. Today, I’ve got self-awareness activities for kids in the form of a free Google slide deck. This resource goes really well with hands-on self-awareness games to target a variety of skills and abilities.
This is a powerful social emotional development tool for kids. Use these awareness activities to help kids become more aware of how they feel, the things they are good at, personal goals, interests, and positive traits. You’ll find the animal themed activities below. First, let’s discuss awareness for kids.
Self awareness for kids
For kids and adults alike, self-awareness is a means to become more aware of how they are behaving and thinking. Using that awareness of self and applying the ability to self-monitoring through strategies can help with improved behavioral outcomes. When we respond to situations, most of us have a monitoring system or the ability to monitor how we feel, think, and act so that we can respond appropriately. Self monitoring leads to behavioral responses and functioning so we are able to complete tasks in a given situaion.
Being aware of one’s needs, goals, emotional state, thoughts, behaviors, and responses can help within a situation. Awareness offers an opportunity for the need for self-care and self-advocacy.
All of our life experiences, including functioning in day-to-day tasks, learning, and social participation requires self-reflection or an awareness of self. Without self awareness, learning, participation, following rules, social interactions, lawfulness, and all aspects of occupational performance may be threatened.
Self-awareness is a skill that allows for emotional regulation and behavioral regulaiton. For some, these are extremely difficult. When awareness of one’s preferences, tendencies, emotions, reactions, one can begin to understand their needs. Having a sensory diet in place as part of a sensory lifestyle is just one tool to address sensory needs. Using coping strategies to help with regulation needs can be a life-changer. Using stress reduction tools to address anxiety or anger can be powerful in adapting. There are tools to address specific needs of all kinds. One of the first steps in identifying needs is the understanding of self-awareness.
For more information on integrating a sensory diet into a sensory lifestyle, try the Sensory Lifestyle Handbook, a comprehensive resource in integrating functional sensory diet based on individual interests in a motivating manner.
Development of self awareness
For children, the ability to self-monitor and be aware of their thoughts, skills, abilities, interests, emotions, and behaviors, these skills may be challenges.g It takes practice and experience for a child to have the ability to self-reflect. Research tells us that self-awareness begins to develop in childhood, but involves metacognition, or interospection. Metacognition is a skill that is acquired later in childhood, in the adolescent years.
One study of metcognition has found that the skill develops at a functional level for basic metacognitive skills around age 13 to 14. More generalized or advanced metacognition develops around age 15. This study also determined that between the age of 12 and 15 years teenagers develop in qualitiy of metacognitive skills, however this development varies between individuals. Aspects of higher level cognition skills such as those commonly discussed when covering executive functioning skills impact self-reflection: orientation, planning, evaluation, and elaboration. Like other aspects of executive functioning, self-awareness and reflection (metacognition) develops until at least the age of 22.
Another aspect of executive functioning, working memory, is a skill that impacts metacognition and self-reflection. Younger teens have been observed to have a lower level metacognitive skills that are applied to single situations or limited transfer of skill. Older teens, as metacognition develops, are capable of transfer of metacognition across environments. This higher-level inference involves conscious formulation of abstractions in one situation that allows for making a connection to another situation.
Self awareness examples
In the self awareness slide deck you’ll find below, there are several main areas covered. These are essential pieces of the self reflection and self monitoring puzzle.
Identification of positive traits- Knowing what they are good at. The slide deck prompts kids to identify 5 things they are good at. This exercise is a booster in self-esteem and can be a starting point for addressing goals.
Compliments- Learning to identify what others are good at and telling them is an important skill. Authentic compliments identify positive traits in others. Noticing these details about others builds an awareness of oneself as well as others.
Emotions- The first step of emotional development is identifying emotions. We can see by the faces someone makes how they are feeling. Putting a label to that emotion is a strong skill.
Emotional self-awareness- Moving on, kids can describe how they are feeling at any given moment. They can identify how they might feel in a situation. Then, they can identify coping tools and put words into their feelings and emotions.
Growth mindset- This skill is powerful in self-awareness and metacognition. Using a growth mindset allows room for development in your internal belief system. You have room to learn and develop as a person and understand that there is room for improvement regarding behaviors or actions. This mindset, when it comes to self awareness, limits self-judgement and hopelessness.
Interests- Identifying interests is a first-step in self-awareness. Our Sensory Lifestyle Handbook covers interests and motivation in great detail. The research tells us that interests impact motivation and goal achievement. Looking deeper into oneself to identify interests is a great first step.
Goals- Goals don’t need to be all about behaviors and actions. A beginning step can be identifying goals that others might have and the steps it takes to get there. A simple goal achievement path builds skills in planning, prioritization, organization, and other executive functioning skills.
Setting goals- A higher level task of setting goals covers self-reflection as well as those items covered in goal achievement. Kids can be guided to set goals that are important, achievable, satisfying, and motivating. Then, identifying milestones and the steps to get there can make it easier to achieve, making them motivating and a self-confidence booster.
Self awareness activities
Setting one’s own goals- Setting goals can be helpful for kids as they learn to work toward a meaningful goal. This process helps them learn focus, planning, prioritization, self-esteem and goal achievement. Setting goals and identifying goals impact self awareness. Part of goal setting includes getting super clear on what’s important to a child. Kids can examine their process and identity actions they’ve taken toward those goals. They can identify what’s working and what hasn’t worked. They can create a plan for moving forward. All parts of this process improves self-awareness through self-reflection.
Provide opportunities for kids to self-reflect- Ask questions based on concrete acquisition of knowledge and open up conversations such as, “Before, I thought… Now, I think…”
Role playing (role reversal)- Kids can sometimes “see” how their actions or reactions impact themselves and others when the situation is acted out. Coping tools or strategies can be used in the role play as a practice run.
Zone of regulation activities- Using Zones of regulation activities to address self-awareness is an effective strategy for many children. The Zones program was developed to help kids learn a greater internal awareness while using self-regulatory behaviors and emotional adaptive skills for functional use.
Keep a journal- Keeping a record of small wins, mini goals, struggles, efforts, and day-to-day progression can be so powerful for kids (and adults!) The Impulse Control Journal is a comprehensive resource that can be printed off and used over and over again as a journal for addressing and building executive functioning skills, including the essential component of self awareness.
Goal Attainment Scaling- This AOTA article shares examples of how goal attainment scaling can be used to measure changes in individual behaviors using a self-rating scale for specific actions in response to goals. This self-awareness strategy offers a means for the child and their therapist to track progress on goals to help accomplish individual goals and accomplish a specific aspect of functioning, or occupation.
Self-cuing- Using self cuing is a tool to help recall instructions, coping strategies, tactics, or even a visual prompt that delivers a step-by-step directive in a situation. Visual prompts can be as simple as a list, or a social story that is visible or accessible during a situation. These visual reminders can be a building block for self-awareness and reinforcement of strategies that have been determined to work for an individual.
Video modeling- Making a video recording of a child within a treatment session can be another way to help the individual see how they are responding in a situation. They can then watch their actions, behaviors, and choices as well as use of coping tools or modulation strategies within a situation. The video should be reviewed with the child and discussed what they did well and what might work better next time.
Self-Awareness Slides
These self awareness slides use an animal theme to help kids become more aware of them self through self-reflection. The slides work through the aspects of self awareness that we outlined above. Beginning skills are covered and kids can work on each area in a fun and creative way.
Enter your email into the form below and you can access this free therapy slide deck to help kids build self awareness skills.
References:
Foster L. and Lueger, K. (2014). Model Behavior: Helping Adolescents With Autism Through Goal Attainment Scaling and Video Self-Modeling. OT Practice 19(2), 7–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.7138/otp.2014.192f1.
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:
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.
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:
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
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 activities are tools to build skills in attention, working memory, self-control, and cognitive flexibility. But these brain tasks can be HARD for some kids. So, when enhancing executive function is a real challenge, how can you make executive functioning activities meaningful and engaging? In a previous post, we talked about the use of strategy games as a method to improve executive functioning (EF) skills. Executive functioning games can be one means of engaging individuals in processing and self-reflection. While games are a great tool that children and teens can participate in both in and out of the clinic, there are many other everyday activities to promote EF skill development! Here are some more engaging ways to improve executive functioning skills.
Executive Functioning Activities…That Work
Executive functioning skills are an important client factor contributing to successful participation in daily occupations. EF is currently a buzzword, but it isn’t a new idea. Creating a EF activities that are personalized and based on interests is an effective strategy for ensuring participation. If the child has a deep interest in specific themes or activities based on their personal preferences, executive function practice and skill work becomes more fun as opposed to “work”.
Using the interests of the child as a motivator and as a scheduler can have great results.
Check out a few ways that you can help children and teens develop their EF skills!
Related, using a model of delivery that works for the individual is important. For some, executive function coaching is a way to support specific needs through a coaching model.
Cooking for Executive Functioning Skill Development
Cooking is a great way to work on executive functioning with a treat at the end! Cooking requires many executive functioning skills. Kids need to use impulse control to complete one step at a time and pace themselves, avoid ingesting raw ingredients or eating all of their hard work, as well as prevent injury with sharp or hot tools.
They also need to use working memory to recall what ingredients they need after looking at a recipe, as well as recalling the quantity of that ingredient. Here is information and strategies to teach direction following with cooking activities.
Crafts and Projects for Executive Functioning Skill Development
Crafts for kids and projects are another great way to work on executive functioning skills. Does your client have a special interest in the U.S. Presidents? Have them create a board game related to this interest! They will need to keep track of their materials, manage their time appropriately, and consider the perspectives of others who might play their game!
Executive Functioning and Gross Motor Activities
Gross motor activities and executive functioning activities can go hand in hand. Almost any activity can be adapted to integrate gross motor play! In a large room, a child could look at a list of items, then race to the other side of the room on their scooter to find an object, just like “I Spy” books and games! Many kids love to make obstacle courses, allowing for the development of initiation (getting started on building, instead of making grand plans and running out of time to make the course), impulse control (try changing the rules on them halfway through! “No touching red pieces!”), and metacognition (have them evaluate what went well, what did not go as well, and what they would change).
Executive Functioning and Daily Routines
Daily routines are a natural opportunity for the development of executive functioning skills. However, this also goes the other direction, because executive functioning is critical for independence in daily routines. Have clients create visuals to support their attention and sequencing of multiple step routines. If a child takes a significant amount of time to complete their routine, have a race to see who can get ready the fastest!
Executive Functioning and Technology
Some kids are highly motivated by apps and technology. These interests can be used as part of therapy intervention or as a reward. Here are occupational therapy apps which contain some free options to address executive functioning skills. Here are Alexa skills for therapy that can be used to work on executive functioning and other areas.
It’s all about executive FUNctioning!
Try a few of these activity ideas to integrate executive functioning skill development in an enjoyable, approachable way! These are engaging and fun ways to build executive functioning skills through meaningful strategies. They work for kids, and adults. The most best thing is that building mental skills can be meaningful and fun!
Looking for more motivating executive functioning activities? Try the Impulse Control Journal. It’s a fun and creative way to journal through skills…impulse control is covered, but also working memory, attention, organization, planning, prioritization, flexible thought, and more.
Address the habits, mindset, routines, and strategies to address impulse control in kids. More about the Impulse Control Journal:
30 Drawing Journal Pages to reflect and pinpoint individual strategies
28 Journal Lists so kids can write quick checklists regarding strengths, qualities, supports, areas of need, and insights
8 Journal worksheets to pinpoint coping skills, feelings, emotions, and strategies that work for the individual
Daily and Weekly tracking sheets for keeping track of tasks and goals
Mindset,Vision, and Habit pages for helping kids make an impact
Self-evaluation sheets to self-reflect and identify when inhibition is hard and what choices look like
Daily tracker pages so your child can keep track of their day
Task lists to monitor chores and daily tasks so it gets done everyday
Journal pages to help improve new habits
Charts and guides for monitoring impulse control so your child can improve their self-confidence
Reading is a great life-long occupation! Did you know that there are books on executive functioning for all ages? Check out this list for your next read, while teaching kids about executive functioning skills…and maybe learning a thing or two yourself! These books are great tools to support mental dexterity in daily tasks at all ages and stages.
Books on Executive Functioning for All Ages
Books are an accessible and approachable learning opportunity for many skills, including executive functioning! From children’s books, to workbooks geared to teens, to evidence-filled books for adults, there is a plethora of option to meet your needs.
Amazon affiliate links are included in this post.
Books on Executive Functioning for Ages 4-10
Experts support the use of books to support child development in social and emotional health, which is highly interconnected to executive functioning. Children in the early school-age range benefit from intentional introduction to these concepts. Many books geared toward this age lend themselves to activities to further solidify their concepts.
Books by Julia Cook, including It’s Hard to be a VERB!, -Difficulty with impulse control can look like wiggles, getting out of one’s seat, fidgeting, or constantly moving. This is a great book on managing impulses.
My Mouth is a Volcano! – A great book on impulse control, managing thoughts and words, and teaching the skill of listening and waiting for one’s turn to speak.
Planning Isn’t My Priority…and Making Priorities Isn’t in My Plans!– Planning, prioritizing, and thinking ahead can be hard. This book teaches kids about making choices, prioritizing, and using one’s strengths and weaknesses creatively to build these essential executive functioning skills.
I Can’t Find My Watchamacallit!– Some kids are more organized than others. This books highlights unique skills and helps kids understand, develop, and apply organization skills.
These books can make reading fun for even the most hesitant reader!
Books on Executive Functioning for Ages 11-18
This is a fun (and critical) age range for executive functioning development! Self-awareness is beginning to develop further. These books emphasize skill development in this area to promote participation in everyday activities!
Whether an individual struggling with the demands of executive functioning in everyday life, a parent, or a professional, there are plenty of books for adults to learn more about executive functioning! Some are even available as audiobooks, if you are looking to develop the skill of shifting and divided attention by multitasking!
In this list, you are bound to find some new favorites! Enjoy learning more about the brain. After all, that in itself is an executive function!
Kids of all ages (including adults) can use The Impulse Control Journal to work on self-regulation, self-control, planning, prioritization, and executive functioning skills in every day tasks. These hands-on journaling sheets are perfect for all ages. Grab the Impulse Control Journal here.
Here, you will find a variety of information on executive functioning. These are resources curated from around the internet designed to improve executive function. I wanted to create a space that has information on executive functioning skills that can be accessed all in one place. It is my hope that this space is one where you can find strategies and tools for addressing problems with attention, organization, task initiation, planning, prioritization, and many other mental skills that cause so many individuals to struggle. Use these tools, tips, and information to work on executive functioning by starting at the beginning!
If you’ve noticed anything about The OT Toolbox, it may be that I love to share a lot of tools and resources that can help parents, teachers, and of course, occupational therapists. The information in this post are resources and tools that I share on one of our Facebook pages, Executive Functioning Toolbox. Some readers who do not have access to Facebook have asked for access to this collection of information. It’s my hope that THIS can be an executive function toolbox!
1. First, you may want to sign up for our free Executive Functioning Skills Email Course, if you haven’t already. Over the course of 5 days, we’ll cover everything from what executive function means, to the “why” behind actions, and things that may be occurring beneath the surface in the individual with executive function disorder or simply challenges with one or more of the mental skills. You’ll also get great tips and strategies to work on executive functioning skills, too.
3. Inhibition is a big part of executive functioning skills that play into many other EF skill areas like planning, prioritization, task initiation, perseverance, and more. Here are some Impulse Control Strategies.
4. Here is a self-test to help determine if you or someone else has an executive function disorder.
5. Foresight, or the ability to think ahead, is a big part of executive functioning. This skill works together with working memory, and other skills to allow us to problem solve, plan, and prioritize tasks. Here is more on foresight and activities and games to improve foresight.
6. “Executive function and self-regulation skills are the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully. Just as an air traffic control system at a busy airport safely manages the arrivals and departures of many aircraft on multiple runways, the brain needs this skill set to filter distractions, prioritize tasks, set and achieve goals, and control impulses.” Here is more information on executive function and self-regulation.
8. Looking to add items to your child’s holiday gift list that serve a purpose? Keep these games in mind when choosing gifts for a child who struggles with executive functioning skills.
9. An introduction to working memory: “Compared to short-term memory, working memory plays a more influential role in students’ academic performance. This is because many academic tasks involve multiple steps with intermediate solutions, and students need to remember those intermediate solutions as they proceed through the tasks. Examples of working memory tasks could include holding a person’s address in mind while listening to instructions about how to get there, or listening to a sequence of events in a story while trying to understand what the story means. In mathematics, a working memory task could involve keeping a formula in mind while at the same time using the formula to solve a math problem.”
10. Understanding what it’s like to have executive function disorder: “It only took three-and-a-half minutes of simulated executive functioning issues to bring me to tears of frustration. It still makes me panicky to think about it.”
11. This site has much information, resources, articles, and tools for addressing executive functioning skills and needs in these mental skill areas.
12. Does a lack of executive function explain why some kids fall way behind in school? This report discusses the idea.
13. Here is general info on EF skills, anatomy of executive functioning, and a quick list of instruments used to assess executive behavior.
14. What is executive function disorder, and how is it different than ADHD? Here is a nice explanation.
15. Here is an assessment of Sensory Processing and Executive Functions in Childhood..
16. Want to understand more? This article is informative: “There’s no diagnosis called executive function disorder. You won’t find it in the DSM-5, the manual clinicians use to diagnose conditions. But you can still identify weaknesses in executive function by having your child evaluated.
Executive function is complex, so it can be tricky to evaluate. But there are specific tests that look at a wide range of skills that are involved in executive function. These skills include…”
18. Need ideas to work on EF skills? Here are a few completely free and no-prep games that build executive functioning skills:“Parents who want to stimulate their children’s brain development often focus on things like early reading, flashcards and language tapes. But a growing body of research suggests that playing certain kinds of childhood games may be the best way to increase a child’s ability to do well in school. Variations on games like Freeze Tag and Simon Says require relatively high
levels of executive function, testing a child’s ability to pay attention, remember rules and exhibit self control — qualities that also predict academic success.”
19. Need creative ways to address executive function weaknesses? This bundle of card games are helpful for improving working memory, attention to detail, response inhibition, sustained attention and mental shifting.Get a set here (affiliate link).
20. Looking for more information on executive functioning skills? Here is all of the executive functioning skills items on this website that can help.
We’ve been talking a lot about executive functioning skills here on The OT Toolbox recently. There’s a reason why: so many kids struggle with executive function disorder or just are challenged by sills that make up the executive functions. Planning and prioritizing tasks is a big concern for many kids who struggle. These skill areas are essential for initiating tasks and following through with projects.
How to teach Planning and Prioritization
We know the feeling of being stuck on a big project. It can be overwhelming when we are presented with a task so immense that we spin our wheels with fixing problems. Maybe a big house remodel or other multi-step project comes to mind. For our kids with executive functioning challenges, the smallest project or task can be overwhelming. Planning and prioritization are a big part of that.
In fact, many adults struggle with the skills of planning and prioritization, too. Recently, I’ve had many readers reach out in response to our free executive functioning skills email course. Several readers have indicated that much of the information applies to themselves (and adults) or other adults they know. Planning and prioritization are skills that can be difficult to establish well into adulthood. For the adult with executive functioning difficulties, these are common concerns and challenges. The information below can be a help to children, teens, and even adults.
Has trouble figuring out how to start a big assignment like a book report
Starts a project but then never finishes because they struggle with the steps
Has difficulty remembering and completing all of the steps to when getting dressed and ready for the day
Can’t figure out the most important assignments to complete first
Has trouble when there are more than a few items on a “to-do” list
Can’t sequence a project visually or verbally
Has trouble looking at the “big picture”
Can’t figure out how to find the important items when cleaning out a messy desk
Overwhelmed when planning out the day
The activities listed below can help with the executive functioning skills of planning and prioritization:
Prioritization is another complex executive functioning skill that, when achieved, provides kids with the ability to achieve goals. Deciding on steps of a process and thinking through that process to work toward the most important tasks is a difficult skill for many kids.
When prioritization is difficult for a person, getting every day tasks like getting dressed, completing homework, or multi-step tasks can be nearly impossible.
Prioritization allows us to make decisions about what is important so we can know what to focus on and what’s not as important. Being able to discern tasks that are necessary from those that we should do is crucial.
Prioritization is a critical skill to have, but can take some practice to achieve. Try the activities listed below to support development of this skill.
Activities to Teach Prioritization
Provide opportunities to practice prioritizing by planning simple tasks. Talk about how to build a snowman, how to make a bed, and other tasks they are familiar with.
Discuss the most important steps of tasks. What must be done before any other step can be done.
Show kids photos, and ask for their opinions about what they found to be the most important detail or big idea.
Make to-do lists to help kids plan and prioritize. Once you have everything written down, then rank tasks in order of importance.
Make a list of assignments with due dates. Highlight the things that must be done first.
Create a calendar and schedule.
Create a daily task list. Check off items as they are completed.
Try easy projects. If something seems to “big”, break it down into smaller steps.
How to Teach Planning
Planning is an executive functioning skill that refers to the ability to create a plan or a roadmap to reach a goal. Completing tasks requires the ability to have a mental plan in place so that things get done.
Planning and prioritization are EF skills that are closely related. Additionally, skills like foresight, working memory, and organization enable successful planning.
Planning can be a stumbling block for many with executive functioning challenges. Try the activities below to support the ability to plan out tasks:
Draw out plans. The drawing prompts in the Impulse Control Journal can be a great exercise in using drawing to work on real skills and goals with kids.
Teach kids to create a drawing mind map to plan out a multiple step project.
Teach kids to create lists. Using sticky notes can make planning easier and allow kids to physically move tasks to a “done” pile as they are completed.
Plan a simple task like making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Ask kids to write out the steps then check them off as they are completed.
Take planning and prioritization a step farther
Want to really take executive function skills like planning and prioritization to the next level of success? The Impulse Control Journal is your guide to addressing the underlying skills that play into trouble with planning and prioritization.
The journal is an 80 page collection of worksheets and prompts to discover what’s really going on behind executive functioning skills like planning, organization, prioritization, working memory, and of course, impulse control.
While the guide was developed for students of all ages, this printable workbook is perfect for adults, too. It can help you discover strategies that make a real impact for all of the skills needed to get things done.
Here’s the thing; Everyone is SO different when it comes to struggles related to executive functioning and everyone’s interests, needs, challenges, strengths, and weaknesses are different too. All of these areas play into the challenges we see on the surface. And, this is where the Impulse Control Journal really hits those strengths, weaknesses, and challenges where it matters…in creating a plan that really works for kids of all ages (and adults, too!)
Check out the Impulse Control Journal, and grab it before the end of February, because you’ll get a bonus packet of Coping Cards while the journal is at it’s lowest price.
The Impulse Control Journal has been totally revamped to include 79 pages of tools to address the habits, mindset, routines, and strategies to address impulse control in kids.
More about the Impulse Control Journal:
30 Drawing Journal Pages to reflect and pinpoint individual strategies
28 Journal Lists so kids can write quick checklists regarding strengths, qualities, supports, areas of need, and insights
8 Journaling worksheets to pinpoint coping skills, feelings, emotions, and strategies that work for the individual
Daily and Weekly tracking sheets for keeping track of tasks and goals
Mindset, Vision, and Habit pages for helping kids make an impact
Self-evaluation sheets to self-reflect and identify when inhibition is hard and what choices look like
Daily tracker pages so your child can keep track of their day
Task lists to monitor chores and daily tasks so it gets done everyday
Journal pages to help improve new habits
Charts and guides for monitoring impulse control so your child can improve their self confidence
Strategy journal pages to help kids use self-reflection and self-regulation so they can succeed at home and in the classroom
Goal sheets for setting goals and working to meet those goals while improving persistence
Tools for improving mindset to help kids create a set of coping strategies that work for their needs
This is a HUGE digital resource that you can print to use over and over again.
