We might be occupational and physical therapists, but we can spot a great language activity from a mile away!  We’re very lucky to work with some incredible speech language pathologists who amaze us by working speech, communication, social, and cognitive skills into unique, creative activities for kids every day.  Today’s activity was created by one of our dear friends, speech language pathologist Julianne Wolf.  She came up with this cute speech therapy rhyming activity called The Rhyming Reindeer game as one of her speech therapy activities for the holidays. WHAT YOU’LL NEED: Clothespins, ... Read More about RHYMING REINDEER LANGUAGE ACTIVITY

The smell of peppermint automatically makes me think of the holidays. We use glitter all year long for various crafts because kids love it!  In this fun activity, we will turn sweet little striped peppermints into glitter to decorate some cute name tags for the holidays! This Christmas craft will thrill the person that receives the gift and they’ll smell wonderful too! This activity lets  kids use their big AND little muscles all at once! The perfect Peppermint Glitter Christmas Craft for Coordination! WHAT YOU’LL NEED: Peppermints, storage bag, red construction paper, black sharpie ... Read More about PEPPERMINT GLITTER CHRISTMAS CRAFT

One of our favorite traditions during the Christmas season is to put a tree in each of our kids’ rooms.  They have so much fun making their own tree unique and special.  This year, we decided to let them make some of their own homemade clay Christmas ornaments too, using oven hardening clay.  They loved this and I think it will become a new part of our yearly tradition. WHAT YOU’LL NEED:  oven-hardening clay, jewelry rings, an oven! WHAT TO DO:   Pick up some oven-hardening clay in as many colors as you would like.  We grabbed every shade we could find!  Set the kiddos loose to design their ... Read More about MINI CLAY CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS

Wouldn’t it be great to know where your child was at all times? Here’s how...make them jingle!  Children love DIY projects that they can wear and jingle bells are a seasonal must-have! Homemade headbands, jewelry, and belts?? Yes please! What other jingling creations can your child come up with? WHAT YOU’LL NEED: Jingle bells, pipe cleaners WHAT TO DO: Allow younger children to string jingle bells on pipe cleaners. Simple, easy, fine motor fun! Twist the ends to enjoy them as necklaces and bracelets. Twist 2-3 pipe cleaners together to make jingle belts and headbands. Earrings? If your child ... Read More about DIY JEWELRY WITH JINGLE BELLS

How many of you use the Elf on the Shelf or the impending Santa visit as bait for good behavior for the holidays??  It works like a charm for my 4 year old.  It’s to the point now that he will walk a little taller and speak a little quieter when we pass Santa at the mall.  This is an activity we do to enforce the kind of behavior that warrants a visit from the big guy and which behavior deserves of a lump of coal! :) WHAT YOU'LL NEED:  The actions printable found here, a stocking or other Christmasy container! WHAT TO DO:  Print the list of actions from our Freebies and cut each one into a ... Read More about NAUGHTY OR NICE? GAME TO ENCOURAGE APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR

I saw this idea on our favorite site...Pinterest (originally from Rhodes Bake N Serv)! I couldn’t resist sharing because it was such a great idea for the upcoming holidays. A simple twist on sugar cutout cookies: Mini Cookie Cutter Pizzas. Genius! We believe that cooking with kids is a terrific way to help them learn by using their sense of touch.  In this cooking activity, kids have to figure out how hard to press and how to visually line up the cookie cutters in the dough all while feeling the textures of flour,dough, and pepperoni. So many fantastic reasons to get your kiddo into the ... Read More about COOKING WITH KIDS: HOLIDAY COOKIE CUTTER PIZZAS

My favorite part of decorating during the holidays is watching the joy on my kids’ faces when we finally plug in the lights.  Instant joy.  Bright eyes.  Big smiles.  Laughter.  So, I thought it would be fun to experiment with a few sensory activities using christmas lights to capture that joy again and again this season. WHAT YOU’LL NEED: Christmas lights (white or colored) WHAT TO DO: Here is a list of 5 ways to bring on instant joy (and stimulate the sense of vision) simply using a strand of Christmas lights! It is best to engage in these activities at night time when it is dark or find a ... Read More about 5 FUN SENSORY ACTIVITIES USING CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

Make a seek and find ornament! My babies and I have played around with the clear, acrylic ornaments every Christmas since I can remember.  We’ve swirled the insides with paint, painted the outsides, tied the tops with all sorts of pretty ribbons, and even stuffed the insides with secret messages for Santa.  This year, I thought it would be fun to do DIY seek and find ornaments! What You'll Need: -Clear, plastic ornaments (better than glass because they won’t shatter)-Small letter beads or other small objects you would like to “find” -Glitter-Fake snow-Sugar What to Do: We ... Read More about DIY ORNAMENTS: CHRISTMAS SEEK AND FIND!