When I first saw this toy I thought it would be a huge hit with Andrew and when he seemed reluctant to play with it I immediately made plans to turn it into a station activity in My Obstacle Course. It is a square with holes to be used with colored screws to create designs or patterns. It comes with an electric drill as well as one the child can use manually. This is a great toy for combining fine motor skills, problem solving and planning along with math skills (patterning). The cards … [Read more...] about Design and Drill
Archives for March 2011
Pastry Brush as Paint Brush
Pastry (or Basting) Brush I found these bright brushes at Target. I thought that they would be great for painting with while also being super easy to clean. Andrew is not a huge fan of painting and past attempts involving sheets of blank white paper have lasted about 15 seconds. I took that knowledge and decided to make this painting station look very different. I set out these brushes... added a pie tin... and a plate or cookie sheet underneath (since my tin has holes). My … [Read more...] about Pastry Brush as Paint Brush
Practicing Speech Sounds
Most speech pathologists will send home practice pages with words that have the target sound for the child to work on. If they do not, contact them and let them know that you would like to reinforce what they are doing and would like to stay current on the sounds your child needs to practice. This is particularly helpful if they receive services while they are at school and you are not able to speak with the pathologist each time. Andrew receives his speech therapy after school so I am there … [Read more...] about Practicing Speech Sounds
Colored Marshmallow Graphing
I love it when I find something that is fun and inexpensive that can be used in many different ways and the colored marshmallows I wrote about last week are another one of those things! Here is a My Obstacle Course station activity to build the math skills of graphing and interpreting data with colored marshmallows. This is something that is great because each time you set it up, the results are different. I find that introducing a skill but using different materials that are random really … [Read more...] about Colored Marshmallow Graphing
Stir Up Some Fun With Spring Colored Whisks!
I found these colored whisks at Target and besides being perfect for using in a spring themed My Obstacle Course, I realized they would be perfect for building a skill I was working on with Andrew. If At First It Doesn't Work, Try Something Different I had introduced a stirring activity with him (stirring frosting with a spoon) and realized that it was too challenging for him because he didn't have the hand muscle strength to dig in and move it around. I thought that these whisks would be … [Read more...] about Stir Up Some Fun With Spring Colored Whisks!
Colored Marshmallow Sorting Station
It was springtime last year and I was on the hunt for things that reminded me of spring to use with Andrew's My Obstacle Courses. I was in our grocery store, (which is a great place to find fun, thematic materials- especially in the “holiday” aisle and the shelves at the end of the aisle), and my eye caught a package of colored mini-marshmallows. They appealed to me because of their pastel colors, they could be used with tweezers for fine motor skill building and also because there were so many … [Read more...] about Colored Marshmallow Sorting Station