My Obstacle Course: Engage, Encourage and Empower

A fun, structured, systematic way to work on your child's strengths and weaknesses at home!

Obstacle Course Mom

St. Patrick’s Hat “Search and Find”

My Obstacle Course Station Activity: St. Patrick's Hat "Search and Find"

I got this idea from a game that Andrew’s class had been playing called “Ned’s Head.” The idea for this and the “Ned’s Head” game comes from using the sense of touch to locate or identify an object. (Here is a google link to show what I’m talking about.)

Last year I found this St. Patrick’s Day themed hat in the dollar section of Target (I was just there today and they still have them!). When I bought it, I didn’t know what I would do with it but I knew it would come in handy for something. After looking through what skills I was working on and what sorts of things I could do with a hat like this, I decided to make my own Ned’s Head game (their’s costs $19.99, mine costs $1 when used with things we already have!)

I gathered up some objects…

Things I found around the house - toothbrush, straw, top, tissue, spoon, truck, cow

used some shamrock shaped calendar cutouts and wrote some clues. The clues were written to get him thinking about what the items are used for or certain characteristics that would be easy to detect by feel.

Clues written on cutouts.

When doing the station, we would read the clue, he would put his hand in and with “no peeking,” see if he could locate the object.

Variations:

  • This could be done in a very explicit way by using word names – “Find the ___.”
  • FInding an object that goes with something – ex. toothbrush and toothpaste.
  • Finding an object that goes with a certain function – ex. Find something you use to help you drink.

This is another way to add mystery and intrigue to My Obstacle Course while strategically working on skills that your child needs.

Engage, Encourage and Empower!

 

Super Simple Shape Sorting

Last year I was working with a mother who had a young child but was wanting ways to work with him without having to go out and buy all sorts of new toys and gadgets. One of the things that I found really helpful when I began doing this was going through our own closets and cupboards to use what we already had. I encouraged her to do the same! I reminded her that the station activities do not have to be complicated, in fact the more basic they are, focused on a certain skill, the better they are. This is an idea that I sent her to help her work with her child on recognizing and discriminating between different shapes.

My Obstacle Course Station Activity: Shape Sorting

I gathered triangle and square shapes from a building block set and some balls from a hammering game we had. I placed them in a plastic container and provided three empty containers for the shapes to be sorted into. I took some paper and wrote out the shape name while also providing an example (including the example is optional) to add a literacy component and something they can use for reference.

 

Circle Label
Triangle Label
Square Label
Shapes sorted!

Remember that when you are first working on a skill or concept with your child and you aren’t sure where they are with it, start basic and simple. The most important thing is to give them a good foundation. It’s okay to see if they know it without the visual cue, but I recommend having one available. The purpose of this is not to trick them. If it is too easy, take note and make it more challenging the next time.

Engage, Encourage, and Empower!

March Themed Memory Match

My Obstacle Course Station Activity: March Themed Memory Match

This is a super easy March Themed Memory Match game to make. I used some shamrock shaped calendar cutouts and some St. Patrick’s Day themed stickers (I usually use colored index cards cut in half but grabbed these because I needed something quick and easy and these fit the bill perfectly!).

I know that I have said this before, but this game is great because it provides you with an easy way to work on basic game playing skills, such as turn taking, while also building vocabulary, strategy and concentration/memory skills!

You could use any kind of thematic stickers you want (They don’t have to be St. Patrick’s themed. Our teacher supply store has lots of different stickers ranging from letters, ladybugs, transportation or sports.) Spelling or vocabulary words could also be incorporated by writing them on the cutouts. The only thing you have to do is make a matching pair. Super easy!

 

Matching pair!

You can find the link to my original “How To” post on how to make a Thematic Memory Match here.

Engage, Encourage and Empower!

Tweezers

This is one of my all time favorite discoveries! I was looking for ways to build Andrew’s pincer grasp for handwriting and began using tweezers because they require using the same fingers and muscles for grasping a pencil. I paired the tweezers with colored puffs in different sizes because he would have to squeeze his fingers differently depending on the size of the puff. At first he would put the puff in the tweezers with his other hand and I had to help him using hand over hand. While it seems really easy, it was actually a challenge for him (and still is).

I came up with some basic stories to go along with needing to move the puffs to make it more purposeful than just moving puffs from one place to another. Most of the stories involve reuniting baby animals (small puffs) with their moms (larger puffs). You could also place different colored puffs out or in the container and have them only take out a certain color or size. I like to place the puffs in shredded paper to add a bit of a challenge.

My Obstacle Course Station Activity: Use the tweezers to help the baby chicks get back to their mother hen.
My Obstacle Course Station Activity: Help the baby spiders get back to their mom's web using tweezers.
My Obstacle Course Station Activity: Use the tweezers to help the baby spiders (aka small blue puffs) get back to their mom (aka large blue puff).
My Obstacle Course Station Activity: Use the tweezers to place the puffs in order from biggest to smallest. (Two sets of puffs, two rows of muffin tin.)

 

Andrew using the tweezers to put puffs in order from biggest to smallest.

Sometimes it just takes thinking outside of the box with items you already have and coming up with a simple story to make an activity that a child will find purpose and meaning in doing.

Engage, Encourage and Empower!

 

Sentence Strips

Sentence strips are strips of lined paper, usually colored, that are used in classrooms to build literacy skills. They can be found in teacher supply stores or online (You can google sentence strips or click here for a link to Teacher Heaven where I got mine.)

Sentence strips
Front and back of sentence strips.

As a classroom teacher I would use them to write out sentences provided by the students for our “daily news.” Afterwards we would go back and read what we had written, find words that had certain beginning sounds, words that rhymed, locate proper nouns and verbs. This was such an easy and natural way to incorporate literacy skills with sentences that the children could relate to. Once I began doing My Obstacle Courses with Andrew, I realized that I could do something similar with Andrew by incorporating the same idea into station activities.

Building sentences

When I began working with Andrew on putting words together to form complete sentences, I thought it would be best to write about things that he was doing or had done that day. I felt that keeping it extremely relevant to his world would help him figure out if it made sense. I wrote a sentence, cut apart the words and set them out. At first, I placed the first few words out so all he’d have to do was finish it. Eventually he would look at the words, think about what it could say and then placed them together to form a sentence.

My Obstacle Course Station Activity: Put the words back in order to make a sentence.
Sentence has been started.
Sentence put together.
Another Example
Sentence completed!

Once the sentence is complete, I can ask him to find words, find words that begin with a certain letter or sound and point out punctuation at the end of the sentence. If your child is working on nouns, pronouns or verbs, you could also incorporate those skills!

Does The Meaning Change?

I also used a version of this to work on pronouns. I would write a sentence and then we would place different pronouns over his name to see how the sentence changed, sometimes the meaning stayed the same, sometimes it changed.

My Obstacle Course Station Activity: Read the sentence. Add the word cards to see if the meaning of the sentence changes.
Replacing "I" with "You" in the sentence.
"Andrew" replacing "I" in the sentence.

(*My apologies for the photos – couldn’t seem to get the lighting figured out with the yellow sentence strips!)

It doesn’t take long to create a sentence that can help your child build and reinforce literacy skills they are ready for. In my experiences while teaching and with Andrew, children like to read about things that are either about them, something they have done or something they are going to do. Because you are doing this with your child, in your home, all of the sentences can be about them! It makes it relevant and purposeful as well as easier to figure out once they hear the words and start thinking, “Oh wait! I know what this could be!!” Those are great moments to witness, with the little smirk on their mouth and an intense look on their face as they work to figure out the correct order of the words.

I have some other ways I have used sentence strips in My Obstacle Courses with Andrew and will share those in future posts! Thank you for allowing me to share with you!!

Engage, Encourage and Empower!

 

Using Timers for Motivation and Self Regulation

I am someone who LOVES  (and needs) to use a timer. I tend to get distracted easily (wonder where Andrew gets it from!) but there is something about a timer that helps me to focus. It is great because when the timer is on, I think, “Ok, I can do ___ for x amount of time.” It seems like the same is true with Andrew. If there is something that he is not really into or is avoiding while doing My Obstacle Course, I will bring out a timer and say, “Ok, let’s see how much we can do before the timer runs out.” This really helps because he knows there is an end and that as long as he is working or trying, the timer keeps counting down time (I also make a mental note to revisit why he wasn’t into it or why he was avoiding.).

Digital timer for counting down a specific time.Â

I have a digital kitchen timer that I got at our grocery store that clips on my pants so I can set it and forget about it until it goes off.

Hourglass timers

I have some hourglass timers that I found at the teacher store - one is for 3 min. and the other is for 1 min. These work well when doing an activity that I know he can do but is “stimming” on something (or giggling uncontrollably which frequently happens 🙂 ). If it is an activity that is very challenging for him, then I will say, “Just try your best and let’s see how many we can do before the sand goes down!”

"Clock" application on my iphone - My new favorite!!

and my most recent favorite is the “Clock” app on my iPhone. It has a timer…

Timer

as well as a stopwatch…

Stopwatch

which challenges him to see how fast he can do something as well as setting a limit on an activity (works with activities that are preferred or non-preferred!).

Useful beyond My Obstacle Course:

I have found that timers are also really helpful for limiting time on things like electronics or showers, both of which he could do all day long some days! It works because he knows up front that I am setting the timer and when it goes off, he needs to shut it off or he doesn’t get it the next time. The first few times he would put up a fuss but once he knew that I was going to be consistent, he got it. This is another way to remove the, “Mom says!” aspect because it is the timer that is telling him his time is up, not me.

I have also just started using the stopwatch for him to earn time for his preferred activities. Whatever amount of time he spends playing with his toys or reading books is the amount of time he can earn to watch video clips of ceiling fans, play his DS or computer games. You could vary it depending on what works for you in your house but it has been working really well, particularly on weekends where he is home with a greater amount of unstructured time.

Engage, Encourage and Empower!