My Obstacle Course: Engage, Encourage and Empower

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

Problem Solving

Design and Drill

"Design and Drill" toy

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 colorful screws and drill

The cards that come with the toy range from basic to complex and can take a bit of time to complete. I found that having Andrew make the pattern or picture that was on the card from start to finish was too much and he lost interest when he realized it was going to take a while. I began shortening the activity by either starting a picture or pattern for him to finish or only giving him a certain number of screws to drill in. This helped a ton and was far more motivating to him.

My Obstacle Course Station Activity: Finish the Pattern

Choose colors or a pattern. Begin the row or the pattern and have your child finish the pattern by screwing in the pieces that come next. I like to provide the exact number of pieces that he will need to complete it. Once I saw that he had a good idea of the pattern, I would include an oddball screw to see if he could recognize that it did not belong.

Card with basic rows of different colors
Card with a basic pattern
Rows of patterned screws

My Obstacle Course Station Activity: Make the Same (finishing what is shown on the paper card)

This is the most challenging activity and is something that I found worked best when I began the pattern or picture and provided him with the screws to finish it.

Train card
Andrew's board almost finished (missing two purple screws in the bottom row)!

This is another toy that was purchased for Christmas and was not really played with until I taught him how to do it in a small, structured way. Breaking down the steps into small, manageable pieces makes such a difference! It is now a toy that he understands, enjoys and is more comfortable playing with. Click here for a previous post on new toys not played with.

Engage, Encourage and Empower!

 

 

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!

 

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!

Lite Brite Heart

We have a lot of toys that Andrew does not play with (click here for a previous post about new toys) and so I began including these toys as station activities in My Obstacle Course. I do this so I can teach him how to play with them (in case that is why he doesn’t play with them) in small steps, with a good deal of structure and guidance.

My Obstacle Course Station Activity: Make A Heart On A Lite Brite

Lite Brite Heart

I think that a lot of times it is intimidating for children with planning issues or delays in pretend or imaginative play to sit down with a blank canvas, like a Lite Brite screen or a toy that comes as a bunch of small pieces needing to be put together to make something, like Legos or Lincoln Logs. Instead of considering those toys to be too difficult or too advanced for him, I removed the “I don’t even know where to start!” factor. I decided to see if starting things out for him would help. It was near Valentine’s day and he had received a new Lite Brite toy for Christmas that hadn’t been played with yet, so I started a heart so that we could build on from there together.

Heart shape started

This was so much less intimidating for him because he knew we were making a heart, he could see the general outline, and he could help me fill in the lines.

Pegs added to fill in heart outline

He didn’t have to worry about coming up with the idea or plan and making sure it would be right. I was helping him see that in order to play with this toy, all he had to do was put the little pegs go into the holes to make a picture, shape or just something random.

All of the pegs in to make a completed heart shape!

When we finished the heart, he pushed the button, saw all of the colors light up and had the greatest smile on his face!

Something so basic as introducing a toy (or reintroducing if they had no interest the first time) by removing steps that could be too frustrating is a great way to encourage your child to play. After doing this activity (we did this last year), I “caught” him playing with his Lite Brite many times, using the pegs (or markers as he calls them) to make patterns and also placing them randomly. It doesn’t matter to me if he makes random things, shapes or pictures. What matters is that he learned the basics and realized that he could do it!

Engage, Encourage and Empower!

February Puff Sorting

Puff Sorting

This is a basic activity to work on visual discrimination of color and size using colored puffs. I purchased a large bag of colored puffs, in different sizes, from Michael’s a few years ago and am still finding ways to use them in My Obstacle Courses to build different skills. Since it is February (almost Valentine’s Day!), I chose the white and red ones to use in these station activities to go with our theme.

My Obstacle Course Station Activity: Sorting By Color

I placed a handful of puffs, between 10-15, in a container to keep them organized (they could also be placed in a zippered bag to work on opening and removing items while holding the bag – for some children that is a challenge). I used heart-shaped calendar cutouts labeled according to how the puffs were to be sorted – in this particular activity they are labeled “white” and “red.” I also provided a place for him to put the puffs (see below for more on thematic sorting containers). It’s all set and ready for sorting!

My Obstacle Course station activity: Sort puffs by color

My Obstacle Course Station Activity: Sorting By Size

I strategically picked puffs in each size and placed them into the container. I labeled the mailbox sorters so he would know which size puffs to place inside. You could also provide a sample puff for each size so that your child can compare and check their choice. It’s all set and ready for sorting!

My Obstacle Course station activity: Sort the puffs by size
Valentine Mailboxes with red puffs sorted by sizeÂ

Helping to build basic skills like this does not have to be complicated! Activities like this are quick and easy to set up but allow you to see firsthand how your child does with these concepts. Too easy? Now you know they can do it and the next time you can use an activity that will challenge them. Too hard? Scale it back and include more activities like it to build their skills.

I have attached a developmental skills timeline/survey I received a few years ago (it is also on my website). I really like this timeline and use it to determine what we need to work on with Andrew and what we need to do next once he has mastered a skill. This timeline is unique because it lists out skills in order according to developmental areas, and does not list them by what a child “should” be able to do according to chronological age.

Thematic Sorting Containers

I’m always on the lookout for fun, thematic items to include in My Obstacle Courses and found these cute red and white mailboxes at Target last year. The dollar section in the front of the store usually has fun containers or buckets that go with the season we are in or about to be in. I get them to use for thematic looking sorting stations. This year I went and while my particular store did not have the mailboxes, they did have boxes that resembled Chinese food take out boxes. You could make your own “mailboxes” from shoe boxes or use plastic containers. In working with Andrew, I find that it helps to have a specific place to put things that we are sorting.

If you’d like ideas specific to what your child needs to work on, please email me at obstaclecoursemom@yahoo.com or leave me a post on My Obstacle Course’s Facebook page. I love hearing from you!

Engage, Encourage and Empower!

Things That Go Together

One concept that comes up in evaluations and therapies is being able to determine what things go together (like hammer and nail, bowl and spoon, etc.). This usually involves the child looking at a picture of something and having to choose from another set of pictures what goes with it.  Being able to match things up like this requires the child to access prior knowledge and if there is no past personal experience than use reasoning skills and logic to determine what makes the most sense. The concept of matching objects with their functions or knowing what objects go together is part of a child’s cognitive development.

A Great Find To Build Knowledge Of Things That Go Together

This was a concept I wasn’t sure if Andrew was grasping when we first began doing My Obstacle Courses with him.  I knew this would fit in perfectly as a station activity and had lots of ideas for how to do so.  While I try to use real objects when I can to help reinforce and build concepts and skills with Andrew, there are some times when it’s not practical or possible and when that happens I love using things that are easy to set up and are also fun and kid-friendly.  I found some Winnie the Pooh Go Together cards at Walgreens (this was years ago and I’m not sure if they still sell them at Walgreens so I’ve attached an Amazon link: for Pooh’s Go Together Game click here ).

Winnie the Pooh Go Together Game Cards

I bought them because while they were appealing and inexpensive,

Some of the cards that "go together."

they were helping to build vocabulary as well as making connections between objects

Matching pair.

and were self-checking.

Matching pair flipped over to make picture. If the picture doesn't work the cards are not a match.

When a game or activity is self-checking, it usually means that when the cards or cutouts are flipped over, they will either make a picture or give some indication through symbols (letters, numbers, shapes, or colors) that the choice was correct or incorrect.

Self-checking pictures made when things that "go together" are matched up.

I like this because it takes the parent aspect out of the picture a bit – it’s not me determining that it’s right or wrong. If the picture doesn’t match, it is not the correct choice. With this particular game, when the correct match is made and the cards flipped over, they make a picture of Winnie the Pooh characters in a scene using the objects that “go together.”  This is great because we can find the objects in the picture and talk about how they are being used together to help out the characters.

Here is how we have used these cards as My Obstacle Course stations in our house:

My Obstacle Course Station Activity:  Match up the pictures that go together

My Obstacle Course station activity: Match up the pictures that go together.
Flip the top card in the pile. Â It is a hat. Which of those pictures above goes with a hat?
A hat and a coat go together. Flip them over to see if it's correct!
It's a match! Christopher Robin is wearing a hat and a coat. I think it must be about to rain because he also has rain boots on!

My Obstacle Course Station Activity:  Clothesline Clipping Things That Go Together

This station activity allows you to combine the concept of things going together with the fine motor skills and motor planning that are necessary when using clothespins to clip two cards onto the clothesline.  (Click here to see a previous post on using clothes lines.)

My Obstacle Course station activity: Clothesline Clipping Things That Go Together
Andrew matching up a bar of soap with a bathtub.
Things that go together matched and clipped onto the clothesline.

This is such an easy station activity to set up and can give a lot of information about a child’s ability to determine which objects go together. These cards allowed me to learn about Andrew’s knowledge of things and what experiences we needed to introduce him to. We could talk about how the things were being used with some favorite characters and most importantly, we were having fun together as we flipped the cards over to make pictures. I have to say my $2.00 Walgreens purchase proved to be a wonderful investment!

Engage, Encourage and Empower!