Melissa & Doug Beginners Pattern Blocks

Beginners Pattern Blocks set

In the box: 5 pattern boards (10 scenes), 30 shape pieces

This activity is simpler than many other pattern block activity kits and may be a good place to introduce pattern piece activities. This is why I say that:

• The bigger pieces may be easier to handle than the smaller pieces in many sets. 
• Each piece is placed directly onto a picture without having to follow a pattern card. As you can see in the image below, the places where the shapes go are not colored in with the picture, they are blank. The colored pieces don't generally match the background anyway (see image above).
  
• Each piece is placed into a slightly hollowed out hole the same shape as the piece, less chance of it moving around.
• There are very few pieces per picture.

Holes where pieces go.

Like most Melissa & Doug toys, the wooden pieces are well constructed, smooth, and brightly colored. There is one picture on each side of each board. The pictures are kid-oriented and include a ship, dog, bird, train, house, butterfly, kite, flowers, fire engine, fish. Pictures take from 3 to 6 pieces each. The piece shapes are circle, rectangle, triangle, oval, and square. Several pictures can be made at once because there are so many pieces. Boards are 9 1/2" x 7". Yippee, this box has a lid.

For more activities of this type, check out my blog What's in Your Therapy Box? Pattern Blocks Edition.

Try this:

• Play with the different pieces before making the pictures and point out the similarities and differences. Call pieces by their geometric shape name.
• Give the individual one piece at a time and name the parts of the picture, such as this is the tail, this is the wing, this is the window etc.
• Use consistent directional language as you work, such as this fin is on top of the fish.
• Hand the individual a piece that is not in the correct orientation so that he will have to manipulate it.
• Place only the pieces for the picture in front of the beginner. As skills improve, ask the individual to find all the needed pieces from a group of pieces.
• Work on manual dexterity, visual discrimination, visual closure, visual form constancy, spatial relations, figure ground, eye-hand coordination, executive functioning skills, process skills, recognition of shapes and shape names, play and leisure exploration and participation
  

If you are interested in purchasing this item or just want more information, click on the image below.

Melissa & Doug Magnetic Pattern Block Kit

Work on manual dexterity, in-hand manipulation, palmar arch strength/stability, coordinated use of both hands, motor planning, body awareness, tactile perception, visual discrimination, visual closure, visual form constancy, spatial relations, figure ground, eye-hand coordination, attention, recognition of shapes and shape names, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the bag: Magnetic board, 120 magnetic geometric pieces, 6 cards (12 pictures)

A magnetic pattern board that I have used quite a bit. The frame of the board and all of the pieces are wood. The colors and the shapes match the general pattern pieces that you find in many of the geometric math activity sets. Place a card on top of the magnetic white board and build right on top of it, or place the card next to the board and build from the card on top of the board. The cards show the outline of each piece and have held up well. So has the carrying case. I often use the magnetic pattern sets with beginners or individuals who have slight hand tremors or other conditions that impact their fine motor precision because magnetic pieces, once laid, are harder to disturb if bumped than non-magnetic pieces. 

For more activities of this type, check out What's in Your Therapy Box? Pattern Blocks Edition.

Try this:

• Play with the pieces before using the boards and point out the differences in size, shape, color, etc.
• Put the first piece in place in front of the individual if he cannot look at the picture and figure out where to start. Or say something like "let's start with the ears".
• Build on top of the card. Once this is mastered, build next to the card. Then prop the card up in front of the individual and build by looking up at it.
• Orient and place a piece if the individual is having trouble with orientation. Then pick it up, hand it to the individual, and invite him to place it.
• Hand the individual a piece he will need and ask him to turn it in-hand for the correct placement.
• Use consistent directional and positional language such as above, to the left of, under, flush, etc.
• Find all pieces for the picture ahead of time. Place only those pieces (or even fewer) next to the board if you want to focus on one specific skill at a time, such as spatial orientation. This may decrease frustration from working on too many things at once.
• Practice recognizing shapes from different orientations. Ask the individual to search through all the available pieces to find the ones he needs. Make sure that the pieces are in various positions so that some are facing the wrong direction, some are overlapping, some are upside-down, some are on their sides, etc.
• Correct errors as soon as they are made as continuing to build on incorrect placement may impact the rest of the model.
• Teach the individual to recognize and correct errors. After the individual places a piece incorrectly, ask "Are you sure?" or say "Try again". If he cannot figure out the error, make the correction while he watches. Then pick up the piece and hand it to him to place.
• Give fading prompts as the individual learns to identify errors and correct mistakes on his own.
• Ask the individual to cup his non-dominant hand to help strengthen palmar arches. If he has trouble doing this, place a small ball in his hand and ask him to curl and lightly squeeze his fingers around the ball. Then remove the ball and ask him to hold his hand in that position. Place several of the pieces he will need in the cupped hand and keep the hand cupped while he places the pieces on the card.

If you are interested in purchasing this item, or for more information, click on the image below.

ZINGO! Number BINGO 1-2-3

Zingo! Number Bingo 1-2-3

The ZINGO line of games is a simple version of bingo. With only nine spaces on the card and kid friendly pictures and numbers, this is a game to learn on.

The ZINGO cards are coded with colored borders. The green border is the easier side, showing a number of objects in each square with the written number below. The red border indicates a more difficult game as each squares has objects to count, but also have addition sign.

The red zinger (see image above) is hard and sturdy plastic. It is two pieces - body and lid. The lid comes off so you can load the yellow number tiles. Take the lid off the plastic zinger and stack all the number tiles inside. When ready to play, push the tall part of the zinger forward, them pull it backward again. Two tiles will be dropped into the spaces in front. 

This game is similar to ZINGO Bingo, which I previously blogged about, so I am going to copy and paste a little of that information onto this post.

Object:

Be the first to get three in a row either vertically, horizontally or diagonally. 

Set up:

Give each person a ZINGO card. Load the red plastic zinger with the number tiles.

Play:

Push the Zinger forward, then pull it back to reveal two tiles. The first person to match one of those tiles to his card calls out the number, takes the tile, and places it on his card. If no one needs either of the numbers, take them off the Zinger and reveal two more numbers. Keep playing until someone gets three in a row and wins the game.
 

Try this:

• Play for only one orientation at a time. Give the individual an example of what you want by making a photocopy of a ZINGO card and then using a yellow marker to color in three across only. Then play for that particular orientation. Watching for three different orientations can be very difficult for some.
• Play alone. Lay out several cards, and load the ZINGO zinger. Let the individual push the zinger to release two cards. Scan the ZINGO cards on the table to find places to put them.
• Sort out only two tiles of each number and play a matching game. Turn all pieces face down and, taking turns, turn over two tiles to look for a match. If you match, take another turn, and keep going until you miss. If you miss and they don't match, turn the tiles face down again and the next person plays. Player with the most tiles at the end wins.
• Sort out two tiles of each number and lay one of each number on the table, face up. One at a time, present one of the matching tiles and ask the individual to find it in the group. Turn tiles in different orientations.
• Use a piece of clear plastic (transparency) and cut it to the size of the card. Lay the plastic piece over the card and yellow in the three in a row you will be looking for to provide a guide. Have the individual play on top of the transparency.
• Sort out one of each number tile. Lay them all in a row from one through twelve.
• Let the player reload the zinger after a game making sure all tiles are put into place in the correct orientation.
  Work on spatial relations, figure ground, visual discrimination, visual closure, visual form constancy, manual dexterity, eye-hand coordination, socialization skills, executive functioning skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation
  

In the box: 1 ZINGO zinger, 72 number tiles, 6 double sided ZINGO cards
Ages 4+, 2-6 players

 

If you are interested in purchasing this game or just want more information, click on the image below

Pathfinder

In the box: Wooden base with attached, but movable, wooden balls, 8 small pattern cards

Work on spatial relations, visual discrimination, visual closure, bilateral integration, manual dexterity, eye-hand coordination, thinking skills, play exploration and participation

The goal is to look at a pattern card and move the wooden balls to match the pattern. It can be used flat on the table or standing up because of the wider base. The pieces are movable, but not removable, so you have to think ahead so that you can maneuver balls out of your way but still not block them.  It is a little hard to move pieces around the square corners, although there is sufficient space to maneuver. I suppose if you used it a lot the corners would become a little rounder and smoother to pass. The pattern cards that are included with the board are small and on the back of the box and you have to cut them out. You can buy the large pictured cards (above) as a separate purchase. The same design is printed on the back of the large cards in black and white, so you could color in the circles in different colors on the back and double the amount of challenges you have. Kids I work with haven't liked this much and I have not used it as much as I thought I would.

 

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

Bejeweled

Bejeweled - Prepare to be bedazzled.

Bejeweled is a tabletop game that was designed after a popular digital game by the same name. Kids today may prefer the digital app, but as an OT I like playing the 3D version, considering all the pieces there are to manipulate.

 

There are two different types of plastic gems, regular and power, that are set up on a plastic grid/tray. The power gems look the same as the regular gems with the exception that they have glitter in them. The grid is 8 X 8, so it will take 64 of the gems, sitting side-by-side.

 

 

Game in play.

Object:

Be the first player to accumulate three different colored sets with three scoring chips each.

 

Set up:

Randomly fill the tray with the regular gems. Make sure that you don't place three of any one color in a row horizontally or vertically. Place the remaining 10 regular gems and the 7 power gems in the bag.

 

Play:

Players take turns. Each play will swap two gems that are sitting side-by-side (horizontally or vertically) on the tray. The goal is to make a row or column of three or more gems of the same color. If you do, take those gems off the tray. If you match three of one color you will also collect 1 scoring chip of that color. If you match four of one color you will collect 2 scoring chips of that color. If you match five or more gems of one color you will collect 3 scoring chips of that color. You also collect one chip for each power gem you remove. Once you have removed the gems from the grid, push the gems forward to fill in any gaps. Refill the tray with gems from the bag, then put the gems you took off the tray back into the bag. Your turn is over and the next person plays. Once a player has accumulated three different colored sets of three scoring chips, he wins. 

Try this:

• Skip the game, just line up the gems on the tray by color to practice sorting by color.
• Randomly fill the tray. Call out colors and ask the individual to pick up any gem of that color and hold it in his cupped, non-dominant hand. See how many pieces can be held without dropping.
• Set up the game by picking up two or three gems in the hand. Bring them to the fingertips one at a time and rotate and place without dropping any.
• Make a pattern card by drawing an 8 X 8 grid of squares and coloring in the squares to match the colors in the game. Prop the pattern card in front of the person (or lay it off to the side of the tray) and ask the individual to recreate this pattern on the tray using the gems. Leave some of the spaces empty for a more difficult game.
• Work on visual discrimination, figure ground, spatial relations/position in space, eye-hand coordination, visual scanning, visual closure, manual dexterity, fine motor precision, sequencing, executive functioning, values, social interaction, play exploration and participation 
  

In the box: 84 gems, 7 power gems, 70 scoring coins, bag, game tray 

If you are interested in purchasing this game or just want more information, click on the image below.

Thin Ice

Thin Ice - Don't let your marble be the one that breaks the ice!

Using tweezers, pick up and set one marble at a time onto the top of the igloo. The weight from the marbles will eventually break through the "thin ice" tissue, and all the marbles will fall into the base. It does make a racket, for those who need the forewarning.

Once you run out of tissues, you can use regular tissues, like Kleenex. I use single ply. I actually added some of my own glass marbles because we have played games where the tissue has not given way even though all marbles were on it. Maybe a cheaper brand or thinner tissue would be better. Not for young kids or anyone who may put a marble in the mouth.

The base, legs, and hoops all make up the igloo and are lightweight plastic. To assemble, stand the three legs on the base. Place a tissue over one hoop and press the second hoop on top to make the tissue taut. That part is then balanced on the three legs. I typically have to try a few times to assemble it, getting the legs balanced while putting the hoop on the top without the legs falling.The marbles are plastic and come in four colors - red, blue, green and yellow. Although the image below shows only three colors. So you may only get three.

Object:

Don't be the one to place the marble that breaks through the ice (tissue).

Set up:

Assemble the igloo. Place the marbles around the base. Place the tweezers nearby.

Play:

Each player, in turn, will pick up one marble from the base and place it on top of the tissue. Keep taking turns until someone "breaks the ice" by putting on the marble that breaks through the tissue. 

To see a list of games with tweezers and tongs, click here.

Try this:

• Work on colors by calling a color of marble for each player to pick up.
• Put the game away by cupping one hand, fingers together, and dropping the marbles in one at a time. How many can you hold? Throw the handful into the box and do it again, switching hands.
• Put the game away by picking up one marble at a time and squirreling it in the palm. Get a handful before putting them into the box.
• Set the game up by picking up the marbles with the tweezers and putting them into the rim of the base.
• Ask the player to name the marble colors as he picks them up.
• Put the game away by grabbing up a handful of marbles in the dominant hand. Bring them to the fingertips one at a time and count them as you drop them back into the box.
• Skip the game and just use the base. Sort the marbles by color into the base.
• Ask the individual to put two or three marbles onto the igloo on each turn, not just one. Give him a sequence, such as red-yellow, for the order of placement.
• Skip the tweezers and use your fingers to place the marbles.
• Work on visual discrimination, in-hand manipulation, manual dexterity, eye-hand coordination, fine motor precision, tool use, palmar arch support, coordinated use of both hands, socialization skills, executive functioning skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation  

In the box: Igloo base, 2 hoops, 3 legs, marbles, tissues, tweezers

Ages 5+, 2+ players

If you are interested in purchasing this game or just want more information, click on the image below.