When I introduced watercolors to my children for the first time (back when they were 3 and 2), I thought that the concept of dipping the paintbrush in the paint, wetting the paint, cleaning the brush after each go, etc, would be way above their level. (Spoiler alert: I was correct.) So instead I just … Read more
Okay, it might look like a hostage situation, but I promise that my game of “rescue the beanbag animals using scissors to cut the tape and string” was more fun than it looks visually and that no bunnies were harmed in the making of this activity 😂 Alternate caption: Sometimes I have days where I’m … Read more
I have this one kid I work with who is an utter delight to witness inventing things. It’s a talent, seriously. Whereas I often work with kids who don’t necessarily know how to direct play or how to play freely in complex ways, this kid has got it on lock. Given access to the stations … Read more
Sometimes “following a child’s interest” means taking 5 minutes before the session starts to use the beanbag animals that they’re extremely passionate about and set up a diorama of bunnies participating in fine motor activities. 😉 (Full disclosure: The child in question was more baffled than anything else, immediately asked “What are the bunnies doing?” … Read more
[Image description: A picture of a table that is low to the ground, only about 1 foot high. On top of it are Plus Plus blocks, separated into piles according to color. Taped to the table is a piece of paper that reads: “If you need an idea of what to make, maybe… -a flower … Read more
The physical therapist who I work with told me that she had done a “shuttle run” with one of her kids — a timed activity or race where you must grab an object from one marked line and carry it down to the end zone, drop it off, then quickly run back and grab the … Read more
I’m a part of a group devoted to process art ideas for classrooms, daycares, homes, etc, called Process Art by Maryann Kohl. In that group, I saw a fantastic idea of dipping balloons in paint and then stamping it on a backdrop to make circular, marbled “planets”. Coincidentally, I have had a giant pile of … Read more
[Image descriptions: One shows the setup: on the floor, there is a blue-and-red gym mat. On the mat is a 10×10 foam pegboard. There are green, yellow, orange, red, and blue pegs sorted into different buckets and off on the side. To the left and right of the pegboard are two beanbags. There is an … Read more
I have this great set of tents connected by a crawl-through tunnel, and the children who come to my therapy gym already love crawling through it. To add a bit of a game element to it, and also with a specific child in mind who loves numbers, I put a foam numbers puzzle in one … Read more
A recent little activity option from the schools: I set out this “car mat” for our littlest kids (3-4yo) to roll cars on while waiting for their turn in the therapy gym. It was mostly set up for purposes of keeping them safely occupied while waiting, but of course there’s an element of letter recognition … Read more