Do kids play cards anymore? New solitaire games to try

Pocket Full of Therapy: Time to unplug and play the old fashioned way - with cards! Playing cards offer an opportunity to address so many skills: from hand motor skills, to cognitive, perceptual, organizational and of course social. It all depends on how you chose to use this versatile piece of equipment.  Today we are going to review 2 solitaire games that can be used to practice motor skills. Most of us learned to first play clock face then basic solitaire (Klondike). They are great games that rely on luck. There are many YouTube videos that can refresh your memory of clock face. Two, lesser known solitaire games are: Monte Carlo and Accordion.   Monte Carlo: OVERVIEW: Move all cards to the discard pile by matching pairs.  SET  UP: After shuffling, deal - face up, a row of 5 cards. Repeat 4x so there are 5 rows of 5 cards. (Remember to focus on proper card handling techniques and keeping rows/columns neat and organized) PLAY: Scan the layout for matching numbers (ignore suits/color). A match may be removed to the discard pile, IF they are next to each other, side by side; up/down OR they are diagonal to each other. After finding all pairs in the layout, carefully realign the remaining cards on the grid by moving them up and to the left to fill in the empty spaces. Be careful to keep the order and do not shuffle. New cards are then dealt to the bottom as needed. Repeat until all the possible matches are found. Accordion: Overview: leave as few cards as possible by matching suit or number in a stack.  PLAY: deal 4 cards face up in a row. Look at the fourth card dealt. If it matches the third card (either suit or number) stack it on top. If not, count back 3 positions and see if it matches this card. Stack it on top if it does. Now look at the new card that is last and do the same. Deal one card at the end of the row and look again for matches. As cards get moved around and added to the end of the row remember to review the whole row each time. Continue until all matches are found. How many do you have left? Variation: Make this a hand held game, that can be played anywhere. Hold the whole deck of cards in one hand - face up. Carefully fan out the top four cards and look for your matches. As you remove cards place them face down at the back of the stack. Continue revealing cards as you go until the stack is done.               SET CARD GAME:   A great game to focus on attributes and not perfect matches. Race to find as many SETs as you can-the player with the most SETs at the end of the game wins!  Players do not take turns but pick up 'Sets' as soon as they see them. A player must call 'Set' before picking up the cards. After a player has called 'Set', no other player can pick up cards until the first player is finished. If a player calls 'Set' and does not have one, the player loses one point.  Four Attributes to focus upon and match: Color, Shape, Filling, Number of objects So: 3 diamond shapes (regardless of color) are a set; 3 purple cards (regardless of shapes); 3 cards filled with stripes match; 3 cards with only one object are a match, etc.  This is a deck of cards that are unusual and the game can be structured as needed for each client.  Click here for more info: Copyright © 2022 Pocket Full of Therapy, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Pocket Full of Therapy 337 State Route 36 Port Monmouth, NJ 07758-1367 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Maze vs Labyrinth DYI instructions

There is a difference between them in both creating and doing them.

Maze vs Labyrinth: What's the difference? Blocked paths vs continuous paths. Yup that's all. The other big difference is how they are used. Labyrinths have been used for centuries. They were frequently seen in garden landscapes, monasteries, and Cathedrals. Today they can be found in parks, hospitals, church or court yards. Anywhere a contemplative atmosphere is desired.  True labyrinths only have one route and contain no wrong turns. They aren't meant to be puzzles; they are meditations and paths.  Labyrinths on paper are frequently used to develop pencil control and focus. Any path with curves and without a dead end could be considered a Labyrinth. Simple forms of these are frequently used with younger children.   Mazes, on the other hand, are completely different; they may have only one correct path, and are designed to make the user think, remember and plan by hitting a dead end or getting lost and needing to backtrack. Paper mazes with many twists, turns and blocked paths may be a challenge for the older student. They need to be able to focus for longer lengths of time, recognize a dead end and understand the concept of back tracking and trying a different route. Let's draw a classic labyrinth Begin with a large plus sign leaving enough space for additional lines. Add a dot in each section. Numbers are for clarity of directions and are optional. We are creating a curved path so be sure all of your lines are arch-like.  Time to connect the dots - BACKWARDS. Draw all lines around the top, counterclockwise: without crossing lines. So # 1 connects to # 8; #2 goes to #7, etc. try to keep lines evenly spaced . Drawing mazes with and without erasing: Simple mazes may appear to be easy enough to create. More complicated ones can be a challenge. Begin by drawing a square with openings for Start and finish. Notice that this creates 2 separate lines. Creating a maze now is easy as long as you follow these two rules. Rule1: All new lines must originate only from either of these lines and must not end on a line. Rule 2: New lines can pass each other but NEVER intersect. Now add squiggles, spirals, crooked lines, whatever just follow the rules. Done! Another method: Draw concentric shapes gradually getting larger. Then erase lines to create opening for start/finish and to get between levels. Other DYI maze ideas: - Take a box lid. Glue tongue depressors, cardboard rolls, toothpicks, chopsticks, clay etc to make walls and paths. - Use hot glue on a piece of felt or other fabric. - Try paths with cotton balls, pompoms, gum balls, marbles, etc. - Draw a path on cardboard, place a paper clip in the maze, use a magnet Under the board to maneuver the paperclip through the maze. - use LEGO's  Mazes from Pocket Full of Therapy:        Copyright © 2021 Pocket Full of Therapy, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Pocket Full of Therapy 337 State Route 36 Port Monmouth, NJ 07758-1367 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. Copyright © 2021 Pocket Full of Therapy, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Pocket Full of Therapy 337 State Route 36 Port Monmouth, NJ 07758-1367 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Got a minute activity: fine motor coordination

Learn and practice the "Jumping Rubber band" trick. Place a rubber band around the index and pointer fingers, close your hand and when opened again the rubber band "jumps" to the ring and little finger. How is it done? While the hand is closed, secretly stretch and slip all of your fingertips, under the stretched band. When you open the fingers again, the rubber band will come off the 1st fingers and go around the last two. 

 Years ago, famed magician David Cooperfield joined forces with, Julie DeJean, OTR and developed Project Magic. It was a collection of magic tricks and  illusions selected for the motor skills and coordination required to complete them. It's goal was to motivate as well as to improve motor skills.

"Most people with disabilities have come to believe that they are less capable than a non-disabled person. Therefore, the ability to perform simple magic allows them to do something that others cannot. Performing magic involves knowing something that the audience does not know - the secret. The performer can work "miracles."This baffles the spectator and creates within the performer a sense of accomplishment, pride, and self-fulfillment.Self-esteem and motivation are essential to the achievement of rehabilitation goals" (https://projectmagic.org)

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