Mini Pegboard

A 99¢ Store fun find.

This 99¢ Store fun find is a mini version of a pegboard that most OTs are familiar with. I stumbled onto this today while shopping for a cat's birthday party. :) It is well constructed, all wood and features four different shapes, just like the larger versions. When the board is empty, the individual must recognize the location for the piece by matching the dowel positions to the holes on the pieces. Because these pieces are small, they may require more dexterity to hold by the sides while keeping level than the larger pieces do. The pieces slide on and off the dowels easily.

Try this:

• Put one piece of each shape on the board to start if the individual would not be able to identify the shape by the position of the dowels.
• Put all the pieces in a bag (or Ned's Head). Ask the individual to reach into the bag and, without looking, pick up one piece, feel it, and identify it as a circle, triangle, rectangle, or square. Pull it out and place it on the stand.
  
• Make a pattern on the peg board by placing all green, then all red, then all yellow.
• Cover the board except for one shape at a time and stack if the individual is distracted by the other pieces or cannot find the right spot.
• Stack the pieces for each shape in the same color pattern, such as red, green, yellow.
• Learn colors and shape names by verbally identifying each piece as it is placed. 
• Work on visual discrimination, manual dexterity, spatial relations, eye-hand coordination, color and shape recognition, process skills, executing functioning skills, play and leisure exploration and participation 
  

 In the package: One board with dowels for stacking shapes, 12 wooden shapes

 

My Plate Builder

My Plate Builder.

The MyPlate plan and icon were released in 2011 in conjunction with Michelle Obama's mission to raise a healthier generation of kids. I think the new icon is a great visual and I like it much better than the old pyramid model. The box contains 200 cards in the following categories:

• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Proteins
• Grains/Dairy
• Physical Fitness
• Physical Challenge

I expected something more for beginners, a place to start teaching about the government's nutrition model, My Plate. But that is not what it turned out to be. The plate is cut into fourths (vegetables, fruits, proteins, grains/dairy) and each of the four sections have their own stack of cards. On the front of each card is pictured that portion of the plate so that you can complete a plate like a simple puzzle as you follow the directions or correctly answer the questions on the back.

 

I am seeing two ways to look at this (there are probably many more). You can either teach by question and answer format, or the individual already needs to know some basic nutritional information if you use the questions as a quiz. Here is a sampling of the questions on the back:

• Choose the vegetable that is highest in beta carotene, which can be good for your eyes (lists four to choose from).
• True or false? Eating too many cranberries can cause bladder infections.
• Name the protein foods you have eaten today.
• True or false? A small hamburger patty equals 1 ounce of protein (the answer is false, but they did not say HOW small.).  
• You need 4 ounces of protein per day. About 7 walnut halves equal 1 ounce. How many walnut halves should you eat to get half of your protein for the day?

The questions are numbered and all the answers are on the instruction sheet.

There are also physical fitness and physical challenge categories as this is also a part of Obama's overall health program. You could either add these two to the plate activities, or do them separate. Here is a sampling of what those cards include:

• Walk slowly backwards across the room as you spell "asparagus".
• True or false? Kids need at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per day, at least five days a week, to stay strong and healthy.
• Exercises that make you breathe harder and your heart beat faster for a period of time are called a) stretches, b) aerobic 3) muscle strengthening d) bone strengthening.
• Touch your toes, then reach for the sky. Repeat five times.

There was only one review on Amazon at the time i checked this out, but it wasn't that enlightening. I always look for reviews before I buy, maybe that is why I think a blog like this can be interesting and helpful. : ) Anyway, I will think of ways to use this and will probably come back and add more ideas later as I go. www.ChooseMyPlate.gov has lots of activities and information if you want to check it out.

UPDATE: Here is a plate that I recently picked up. It is not exactly set up as the "official" Choose My Plate image, as the cup is in the middle, but it could be a place to start introducing the concept to young children.

Try this:

• Use the information on the back of each card to teach from and then come back to using it as a game and checking what has been retained. It will be like teaching random bits of trivia.
• Save the physical cards for a day when you are talking about overall health if you want to concentrate on nutrition only.
• Line up the four nutrition cards on the table. Look through magazines and cut out pictures of food and stack them next to the appropriate card.  Dairy and grain are together on the same card. Good luck.
• Line up the four nutrition cards in front of four small baskets. use any plastic kids food that you have and let the individual sort it into the four baskets based on category.
• Work on meal planning, nutrition, life skills, food related facts
  
  In the box: 200 cards, instruction/answer sheet
  Grades 2-3
  

For more information, click on the image below.

Superman Exercise Flash Cards

Superman Exercise Flash Cards

Let Superman, Lois Lane, and Lex Luther inspire you to get up and move. Each exercise flash card has a different exercise printed on it and number of repetitions for beginner, intermediate, and advanced. The exercises are classified as lower body, middle body, upper body, and full body.

The cards are plastic coated and nice quality. The booklet contains 90 games and activities to use with the cards that require limited preparation, equipment, or resources. The deck also contains one of each of these cards: Faster than a speeding bullet card, Lex Luther drop card, Kryptonite card, Lois Lane lucky card, Freedom card, X-ray vision card. 

Consult with your physician before beginning this or any exercise program. There is a card entitled BEFORE YOU BEGIN that spells out precautions and recommendations. Be sure to read that first.

In the box: 50 exercise flash cards, 4 instructional flash cards, 2 stretching flash cards, games and activities booklet, plastic carrying case

Work on balance, coordination, core strength, motor planning

For more information, click on the image below.

DUPLO Fairy Tale

DUPLO Fairy Tale - 15 pieces and a board book.

A perfect set for beginners that includes a board book and 15 DUPLO pieces. You will create the four different models shown above and they stay the same throughout the book. This set comes in many different themes, such as Busy Farm, Let's Go Vroom, And Peekaboo Jungle. Below is a look inside the book.

 

Try this:

• Start with a few minutes of free play so that the child gets the feel of the pieces and how they snap together.
• Put only the pieces needed for the character you are making next to the individual for an easy start.
• Put all the pieces in a pile and ask the individual to find the pieces he needs to build each character. Turn some of the pieces upside down or on their side so the child will have to recognize them from different perspectives.
• Demonstrate how to assemble the object while the individual watches, then take the pieces apart and ask the individual to do it.
• Take time for creative play at the end with the finished pieces.
• Work on visual discrimination, visual closure, spatial relations/position in space, manual dexterity, hand and finger strength, coordinated use of both hands, eye-hand coordination, executive functioning skills, process skills, creative play, play and leisure exploration and participation
  

In the box: 15 Duplo plastic pieces, 1 story book.

Ages 1 1/2 - 4

 

If you are interested in purchasing this item or just want more information, click on the link below to go to Amazon.com.

Carousel Bells

In the box: Ring of bells, removable base, removable finial for top, mallet.

I was so excited to receive my newest set of bells. Most kids I have worked with love musical instruments, and with color coded songs, even kids with no musical training can play recognizable songs. Carousel Bells is a three piece set: The top with the bells, the white base, and the mallet. All three pieces can be separated and stand alone.

 

Once I opened the box, I had mixed feelings. The most disappointing part was the music sheet. It includes 7 songs, coded in letter and number.  All 7 songs are printed on a 5.75 X 5.75 card, resulting in very small dots to follow.  The colors are not an exact match for the bells, the red looks purple and the green looks grayish. The orange looks pretty close in color to the yellow.  It took me a couple minutes to tap out Old McDonald because of the small dots and the color issues.  If it is difficult for me, it will be for most of my kids too. 

Maybe I will get on Photoshop and crank out some music sheets with matching colors, as you won't be able to use standard Crayola markers on this one.  The green is more of an olive green, and the light green look more like yellow, etc.  

 

The letters for the notes are embossed onto the metal. They are painted the same color as the background and hard to see.  Maybe you could color them in with a contrasting color of nail polish or something if you want them to stand out. You will get different intensities of sound, depending on which end of the mallet you are using and how hard you hit the bell. 

 

One upside - it is awesome to spin the carousel, watching the colors blend together.  You can hold your mallet lightly on the side as it spins and it sounds like wind chimes to me. You can also take off the bottom, turn the ring of bells upside down so that you are holding the finial, and you have a two-handed activity.

 

Pet peeve - the box had no front and we had to break it up to get the bells out. Bottom line - nothing to store it in. The mallet fits into the groove as shown above, but does not stay there unless the bell set is kept upright. And with only a slight tug you can separate the bells from the base. 

Update 3/14: This set of bells is just difficult to play. For one, you have to reach across the finial in the middle, which partially blocks your view. Best bet is to take it off. Secondly, many kids understand that with a straight keyboard, as the notes get higher, they are moving to the right. As the notes gets lower, they are moving to the left. If they know the tune, this helps them anticipate which direction to move. With these bells there is no way to anticipate which way to go since they are in a circle.

 

Try this:

• Work on visual discrimination, figure ground, spatial relations, visual memory, eye-hand coordination, tool use, bilateral integration, manual dexterity, play and leisure exploration and participation