Valentine's Day! Product Specials and Free Shipping

Web Version  |  Update preferences  |  Unsubscribe Like Tweet Forward Pocket Full of Therapy Sensory Pals These delicious, stuffed plush animals are really loveable, huggable vibrators! You can sit on, lay on, or hug the ladybug (18") and she purrs with delight. Movement and pressure sets Mr. Frog (13"x16") going so pick him up and start dancing, singing, or clapping, he loves all the attention. Sensory Puppy This cute as a button soft floppy puppy wags his tail and his whole body whenever someone picks him up, gives him a hug or talks to him. The vibrating puppy is great for faciliating verbal and physical interaction from a child. Large Popbeads It took us awhile, but we finally found the BEST POPBEADS and they REALLY WORK! All the benefits of the old stand by activity, but made more fun and motivating by the new designs available.  Hearts Gross Motor Fun Musical Hearts:  Cut out large hearts and tape them to the floor. Have your students stand on a heart and start the music, you should have one less heart then you have children.  They will walk from heart to heart until the music stops.  When the music stops, the child not standing on the heart has to pick how the next round will move through the hearts.  Should they jump? hop? skip? march?  Or have a gross motor activity written on the bottom of each heart.  When the music stops, pick one child to turn over the heart and everyone has to do that gross motor task.   Find The Hearts: Hide heart cut outs around your room and have your children march, skip or hop around to find them.  Have them work in a team or pairs to find a certain color.  Or work on bigger/smaller and have them find only a small heart.   Heart Crafts You will need a piece of cardboard and yarn.  Cut a heart out and cut the center of the heart out as well.  Take a piece of the yarn and tape it to the cardboard, now wrap it around the cardboard until the whole thing is covered.    Work on bilateral coordination as your child holds the heart and wraps the string in, out, and around.  And tie a knot when you're done!  Weekly Special Free Shipping on Orders!  Minimum order $40.00, placed within the continugous U.S. before midnight on Tuesday 2/14/17 Enter code "4mefree"  Not valid on drop shipments.   Comiled by Lisa walker OTR    You're receiving this because you subscribed or placed an order with Pocket Full of Therapy. We will NEVER share or sell your info. Edit your subscription | Unsubscribe Contact Us: (800) PFOT-124 (732) 462-4474 *An OT is always available to answer questions or assist in selecting the right item!

Avoid Left-Right Confusion with Bi-Color Shoelaces

Bi-Color Shoelaces helps to easily distinguish one lace from the other. Now give directions using colors instead of Left or Right lace which is confusing! I still get confused!

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Visual Warm-Ups to Improve Reading Skills

One of the first requirements of reading is the actual use of the eyes and coordination of the muscles. Just as you do warm-ups and stretches before exercising, do some exercises with the eyes before reading. Eyes are controlled by muscles. These can be strengthen and trained to work more efficiently.

A. "Look to the extremes":   Up, Down; Left; Right; Top to bottom centered; then top to bottom on the right; Top to bottom on the Left; Bottom to top on the right; Bottom to top on the left; Quickly look from top left to bottom right (diagonal); Top Right to bottom left; Bottom right to top left; Bottom left to top right (diagonal)

B. "Eyes Jumps": Focus on an object about 10' away, then quickly shift to an object much closer but within the same visual pane; (ie the clock on the wall then the back of the students head in front of you) go back and forth several times. Then from a far object to a near object on a different visual plane (ie from the clock again to your hand on the desk) -No head tilting allowed only eye movements!

Feeling warmed up yet?

C. Visual Scanning Exercise: this is another way to get those eyes moving and ready to read.

     

1. Find each letter in alphabetical order that are randomly placed in circle.

2. Find the letters or numbers in the order listed. Place the circle search page next to the "look up" page on the desk to practice side by side scanning. This keeps the eyes in the same visual plane.

3. Find the letters on numbers in the order listed. Place the circle search page vertically several feet away (tape to a wall or chalk board). This makes the eyes change planes, going from horizontal to vertical.

Other Things to Consider:
1. Acuity: How are the lens of the eye?  Make sure that there is no farsighted, nearsighted or imbalance effecting vision. Children that have never seen any differently may not know that their vision is not as clear as it should be. Have they ever had an eye exam or when was the last one?

2. Observe the reader carefully. Sit across from the reader rather than next to them. This allows you to watch what the eyes are doing as well as anything else that may be happening. Things to look for: Do they always angle or position the head and eyes in a specific way? Is glare or light sensitivity a problem? Is one eye weaker than the other? Is the head and body held stable while reading?

Actual Case Examples:
- Awhile back I noticed a colleague would consistently cover one eye when writing notes. This continued month after month. He wasn't even aware that he was doing it. A simple eye exam confirmed that one eye had an acuity change. Glasses corrected the problem and alleviated his mysterious daily headaches.

A Great Resource of Activities

- I observed a student in class during reading group that is reported to be "very fidgety and unfocused" She sat with both legs wrapped around the legs of the chair and chewed her necklace while trying to listen to others read. With very little work we were able to swap her chair with another students, so both feet could be firmly on the floor;  placed a square of non-slip material on the chair seat so she did not slide around; and gave her a small squeeze ball to quietly fidget with. This stopped her squirming in an over-sized slippery chair, and gave her something more appropriate to fidget with. It did not transform her into the "ideal student", but did allow her sit for longer periods of time, be slightly more focused and now did not disrupt other students from working.

Other Helpful Tools:

Color Reading Lines

Many people naturally see better when viewing through color tints. A colored strip allows the line to be highlighted while also acting as a guide to help keep your place while reading. Paragraph strips highlight several lines at a time. It allows the eyes to flow from from line to line without needing to re-position the guide for each line.

See 'N Read

The See'n Read provides the best of both. It has a clear cut-out window for the reading line, allowing the natural paper to be seen. It then provides a shaded gray area that highlights the paragraph being read, allowing the eyes to flow to the next line and then the cut out window can be re-positioned as needed.

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

Web Version  |  Update preferences  |  Unsubscribe Like Tweet Forward Pocket Full of Therapy Ozobot Amazing mini robot you learn to program with markers; progressing from simply following a path to preforming tricks and solving puzzles. Any line, made with any marker on any paper! It all starts with a line... - Jack: The Code and Go Mouse Meet Jack, the fully programmable robot mouse, this cute little fellow is ready to follow commands to teach sequencing through hands-on coding concepts! Plan a step-by-step path using the 30 double-sided coding cards for Jack to follow. Coding is EVERYTHING right now and motivating to all ages. This little guy makes it easy. Plan your route to get to a specific designated spot, (maybe it is 2 steps forward, turn left, forward three steps) now press the arrow buttons on Jack's back. Laying out the cards will help you plan and remember the steps. Spooner Board A truly amazing, "one of a kind" piece of equipment! Improve balance, weight shifting, coordination, motor planning, and gross motor skills while strengthening ankles, legs and core musculature. the "spoon shape" lets you replicate most board sports in any location and on any surface, inside or out. virtually indestructible, the balance boards safely hold 250+ pounds. Gifts for the "Hard to Buy For" We all have them and can't avoid them; the "hard-to-shop for" people on the list. They seem to have everything and need nothing! Well, before you order them another fruitcake, take a look at the items below. We've compiled some of our favorite, unusual items that most people won't have already. Thanks Pinterest Friends for Some Great Ideas 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  You're receiving this because you subscribed or placed an order with Pocket Full of Therapy. We will NEVER share or sell your info. Edit your subscription | Unsubscribe Contact Us: (800) PFOT-124 (732) 462-4474 *An OT is always available to answer questions or assist in selecting the right item!

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!

Still missing one winner for a Sili Round Sensory Scrub give-away! The duck and fish have been caught, but not the Round brush yet... feel free to enter again if you didn't get the duck or fish. Remember to "like" our page and guess a number between 1-100. Good luck! (PS- lots of "shares" will get 3 more winners...)

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Cyber Week Special Continues: Free shipping & $10 Gift Certificate! New online orders only please. pfot.com

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New Silie Sensory Scrub Give-away! Like us, pick a number 1-100 & tell us which design you hope to win.

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Make butter for Thanksgiving! - Pour about 1/8 cup heavy cream into a glass jar with a lid. Now all you have to do is shake! Shake and shake some more. The heavy cream will turn to whipped cream then butter. You will have to pour some excess liquid out of the jar before using the butter. Great activity for you kids to do while you are cooking!

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pocket full of therapy for sensory, writing and rewards!

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...

Thanks: Amy Smith, OT at KidsPlaysmarter.com

Add Coding-Sequencing & Planning

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Coding is all the "Thing" right now - for ALL ages. But what is it and why do you want to include it in sessions? The very basics are Sequencing, Planning, Logic, Cause & Effect and Memory. All good stuff that you already address -  Now just make it Hi-Tec & Cool! Meet Jack, the Programmable mouse, this cute little fellow is ready to follow commands given in a sequence.  Use the double-sided directional/coding cards to plan a step-by-step path for Jack to follow. This little guy makes it easy. Plan your route to get to a designated spot, maybe around an obstacle to touch a yellow block of pretend cheese.  (i.e. - 3 steps forward, turn left, forward two steps, left...) now press the arrow buttons on Jack's back in that order. Laying out the cards will help you plan and remember the steps. Then hit go. Did he make it or do you need to make changes to the route? CONGRATULATIONS - You just did code-programming! Jack measures 4"L and requires 3 AAA batteries (not included). Coding is motivating for all ages! OZOBOT  An amazing robot in a teeny-tiny body. Clients , young and not so young, will be fascinated by his ability to read and follow a simple drawn line. ANY LINE, ANY PAPER, ANY MARKER - REALLY! Use red, he turns red, blue, green the same. Suddenly drawing broad, firm lines and smooth curves that he can follow becomes the goal.  For more of a challenge... Add the add small spots of color - in the correct order, and now you have given Ozobot a command. Turn Around; Go faster; Turn left... Design a path with dead ends or road blocks and code him to turn around or avoid that turn all together. But Ozo can not read scribble, so lines and color codes need to be drawn with some care with attention to detail.  Use any paper. Extra large sheets on the floor, can encourage upper extremity weight bearing while working. Use codes to correctly follow a word or name written in cursive.  You can also use him on an ipad or go online to design patterns that you then print out.  And this is just the beginning - The website has activities and so much many more things that Ozobot can do. Here's a link to a short video with little more info. Dizzy Disc Jr - Now smoother spin. Up to 200 lbs. Still can adjust angle of platform. In stock - Ready to Ship - On Sale - While Supplies Last - Order Today - Give as A Gift Preferences  |  Unsubscribe

Have your child use this story starter to complete a sentence or whole story. "When we opened the barn doors, we saw a big purple......"

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Site Word & Exercising: Take your child's site words and write them on index cards. On a sheet of paper label each letter of the alphabet with a different exercise. Have your child pick an index card- now they have to spell their word with the exercises. For example A= 10 jumping jacks B= 10 sit ups C= 10 touch and jumps D= 10 frog jumps Pick the word DAD- you have to do 10 frog jumps, 10 jumping jacks, and 10 frog jumps.

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Dizzy Disc Jr- New Improved Version in stock at PFOT.com

Dizzy Disc Jr- New Improved Version!

Now with metal ball bearings for a smoother, easier spin. Holds up to 200 lbs. Supplies limited - Sale price: $179.95. See more details at Pocket Full of Therapy