This simple and squishy DIY fidget for Halloween is fun to make and even more fun to squish and squeeze! If you’re looking for a fun and easy Halloween activity with a final product that will keep little hands happy and busy – this is the activity for you! This DIY fidget is super cute and can be made in lots of different ways for different effects. This is a perfect activity for a kids Halloween party! What you’ll need: [Continue Reading]
Hands on Math Activities: Math Cutting Cards
Add these printable cards to your list of favorite hands on math activities for kids! Hands On Math Activities: Printable Math Fact Cutting Cards Here at The Treehouse we’ve always been suckers for hands-on learning activities. We love when we can introduce or reinforce learning concepts through hands-on, play-based activities! That’s what today’s activity is all about! So many kids (including my own) need extra practice with math facts and this printable pack is the perfect way to provide that [Continue Reading]
Printable Pumpkin Activities for Kids
Looking for fun pumpkin activities for kids? This fun activity is great for building fine motor skills with a fun fall theme! This post contains affiliate links. Read more. Pumpkin Activities: Pick a Pumpkin! Lately I’ve been looking around for new pumpkin activities to try with my kids at school to work on developing their fine motor skills. So many of the kids I see for occupational therapy struggle with fine motor coordination, grasping skills, and in hand manipulation skills, [Continue Reading]
Pencil Grasp Development Coloring Pages: The Dynamic Tripod
This simple idea is a great way to promote pencil grasp development, particularly when working toward dynamic movement in the tripod grasp. *This post contains affiliate links. Read more. Pencil Grasp Development Pencil grasp development is something we OTs look closely at as kids make their way from toddlerhood to preschool and then to school age. The reason it’s so important is that a solid grasp pattern is the foundation for efficient handwriting and drawing as kids get older. A [Continue Reading]
Put In Task Box Ideas
Want to learn more about how a put in task box can promote not only fine motor skills, but also attention, positive behavior, and engagement? Read on! *This post contains affiliate links. Read more. Want to know one of our best kept secrets (aka one of the most commonly used tools in our therapy practice and during our play groups at The Treehouse)? Is it some magic sensory trick or a complicated method of addressing challenging behaviors? Nope. It’s much [Continue Reading]
A Surprising Cause of Attention Problems in Kids
It’s more and more common these days to hear about kids with attention problems – kids who can’t sit still, kids who can’t focus on their school work, and kids who are too distracted to carry out simple everyday tasks. We talk a lot here at The Inspired Treehouse about sensory processing needs and how they can impact kids’ ability to attend and function at school and at home. And there are also many children whose attention problems fall [Continue Reading]
Positive Discipline: 10 Ways to Stop Taking Recess Away
Today, we’re here to make the case for recess! Learn 10 positive discipline strategies that are alternatives to removing recess as punishment for negative behavior. By now, most of you know that we’re big advocates of free play, movement, and sensory motor exploration here at The Inspired Treehouse. Sometimes it’s disheartening to see how infrequently kids are able to get up and move during the school day when our training and experience as therapists tells us that movement and sensory [Continue Reading]
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY: BEST APPS FOR KIDS
You probably already know how we feel about free play, recess, and the importance of unstructured motor experiences and sensory exploration for kids. So it might come as a bit of a surprise that I’m about write a post about screen time. But I can’t help sharing some of the the best apps for kids that I use to promote fine motor and visual motor skills and more! While we will always be huge advocates for active, unstructured play for kids, there is [Continue Reading]
Alternative Seating for the Classroom
Learn about alternative seating and how to use it in the classroom to promote attention, motor skills, and more! *This post contains affiliate links. Read more. As pediatric occupational and physical therapists, we believe in the power of movement! We believe that if students have the opportunity to choose alternative seating options throughout their school day, their bodies (and minds) will be awake and ready to learn! That’s why we love our ebook – Wiggle Worms: A Guide to Alternative Seating [Continue Reading]