Simple-Easy Gifts Kids Make; Group Holiday Songs, Gift Ideas

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Easy To Make Gifts For Anyone

Puzzle Piece Art:  You will need an old puzzle and something to glue the puzzle pieces on to.  Paint the pieces or leave them plain then form them in a heart.  "We Love You To Pieces" can be added to your project.  

- Form the pieces in to a design or shape. 

- Use a pair of tweezers or wood tongs to pick up the pieces. 

- Cut puzzle piece shapes out of cardboard. 

- Use your old holiday cards or blank ones to cut a puzzle piece from.

Handprint Menorah: All you need is paper, paint and little hands.  Any relative will love those little menorahs! 

 

 

 

Rudolph the Red nose Reindeer Hands! 

 

Snowman Family Hand

Holiday Sing-a-longs

The Rudolph Hokey Pokey and Santa is His Name-O are two fun variations of favorite children's songs.  Click on the pictures below to bring you to some fun You Tube videos we've found.  

Click on Rudolph for a fun Rudolph Hokey Pokey!! And put your right hoof in and shake it all about! 

Santa is his Name-O- Click on Santa for this fun sing along song! 

Never the Wrong Size or Color

Gift certificates available in any denomination!  Good for any age and always appreciated.  

Compiled by Lisa Walker OTR 

How to make stencil use more successful


Kids love stencils. They're drawn to them. Stencils offer the promise of creating a picture that really looks like something (something that they could not draw on their own)! But tracing around the edges of a stencil is difficult and often frustrating. So here's a neat trick - place the paper on the wall. Tape it in place for those that need it. Then place the stencil on top and ask the child to color in the stencil. Use crayons or pencils with back and forth movements. For more success, peel the crayon and hold the barrel lengthwise and rub it across the paper.The result is a shaded-in drawing that is easier to do and looks pretty good! You can also tape the stencil in place, if needed, but holding it in place is a great upper extremity workout!  Have fun with this!

Identify Your Sensory Speed With a Self-Odometer

For a lot of kids, verbally communicating how they're feeling, especially when they feel out of control is very difficult. It can be frustrating for both the child and adult and can escalate behaviors even more. So improve communication  with this activity on identifying sensory speed with a self-odometer! 
Visual aides are very helpful for assisting a child and adult when trying to communicate feelings and “energy levels”.  Based on “How Does Your Engine Run”, children compare themselves to cars. Keeping things very simplistic for the child, use 3 “engine speeds” which the child selects as most closely resembling their own current “speed: Too slow, Just Right, or Too Fast.  Make this special internal odometer with your child when he is calm and discuss what each of the speeds feels and means to him. Incorporate pictures like these faces into a drawing of a speed odometer to help illustrate the various speed levels to help reinforce the concepts.
Then work on constructing the odometer with the child so that the child feels a sense of ownership of it once its completed.  (Every child, no matter what the skill level can help construct the odometer in some way, even if its just picking out the colors they want to use).. Here is the directions and pictures to make one for your child...
 at KidsPlaysmarter.com

Add Coding-Sequencing & Planning

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Amazing Police Officer knows the Power of Proprioception

Cop Drops To The Ground For Push-Ups To Calm Agitated Boy With Autism! Deputy Loftis of the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office in TN was called to Bubba’s home because the young man was agitated and his mom knew “Bubba loved officers.”  “When Dep. Loftis showed up, he was able to calm ‘Bubba’ down and showed him how to channel his frustration by doing ‘PUSH-UPS!’
Mom says:  ‘Bubba was laughing before Dep. Loftis left, which at the time I thought was impossible!’”

Another example of proprioception at work!

What To Do When You Only Have a Ball! Specials, Product Highlights

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All You Need is a Ball!

Well here are some fun games to play when that is all you have!  

Maybe you don't want to run a motor group but all you have is ball, find a marker and write some letters on the ball.  Sitting in a circle, toss the ball to each other.  When each student catches it, they have to pick a letter on on the ball, the letter will correspond to a question from your paper.  

This can be a great ice breaker!

Some questions to use: "What is your favorite color?" "Where is your favorite vacation spot?" "How many siblings do you have?" "What sports do you play?" "What is your favorite video game?"

 

Or if you would like a motor game- have the letters correspond to a motor activity the srudent has to complete before tossing the ball to a friend.  

 

Kickball- easy to play and all you need is a ball and some kids! You may want to mark 4 bases also.  Split into teams- one plays the field and the other team kicks the ball.  Played just like baseball but kicking instead of hitting, kick the ball run the bases, if you are tagged- you're out!  Three outs and the teams switch.  Play keeping score or just for fun! 

    Change it up! Maybe everyone already knows how to play kickball or you just want to make the game a little bit harder.  Have your fielders only using their body to stop the ball and their feet to pass- No hands!   Or instead of running the bases, you have to march or hop.  If you need to make the game a little easier, have the kicker kick a stationary ball instead of rolled by the pitcher or just work on kicking and running, no one gets "out" 

Body Jam Relay: You can play as a team or individually.  Mark a start and finish line.  You are going to call out a body part and your student needs to race to the finish holding the ball on that body part.  "Hold the ball on your head" or "Hold the ball between your knees"

Playing as teams- now you have two students who need to hold the ball with a body part while racing to the finish.  For example, if you say "Hold the ball with your shoulder" The ball will be between one students left shoulder and the other student's rigtht shoulder.  Can they hold it with shoulders, elbows, knees, hands, just fingers, or their heads?  Teamwork really comes into play here as they have to move at the same pace and remember no cheating!

Some Other Fun Ball Games

Cooperative Ball Games:

Hit the Clip: Standing in a circle, place a paper clip chain or other lightweight object in the middle of your students.  When it is your turn, say who you are going to bounce the ball to then aim for the chain as you bounce the ball.  As a group you must total twenty five hits.  Use different sized balls, smaller ball will be a lot harder, or use a large ball to increase upper body strength.  Or for a really good workout, use a weighted ball.  

To make the game more challenging add a memory component. Each player states his/her favorite fruit/food/sport or name a US state.  Player must say their answer and those before them before throwing at the clip.  

Pass Along: How many different ways can you relay race the ball down the line?  Sitting side by side, twisting from one person to the next to get the ball from one end to another.  Or laying foot to head and you have to use your core to sit up and reach for the ball, then sit back and pass to the next student.  Or you can sit against the wall with youur legs straight up in the air, and pass the ball along the wall with only your feet.  

 

Anyone Remember playing "SPUD"?

Everyone gets a number 1 through however many students are playing.  One student throws the ball up in the air and calls a number while everyone runs.  

Once the ball is caught everyone stops.  The student with the ball is allowed four steps S-P-U-D to the closest person then bounces the ball at their legs, if they tag them with the ball that person become the ball thrower and the original thrower gets letter S.  You play until someone has the full word.  

Or forget spelling the word and practice running and catching.  There is one person throwing the ball as high as they can in the air and everyone else runs away. 

 

 

Compiled by Lisa Walker OTR