***amazon affiliate links are in this post just for transparency!***
I was looking through my drafts this morning while I was having some me time, and realized that I had started putting together this list of OT tools I really enjoyed in the month of November 2023…. and it is now February 2024. Time has flown, and I guess I lost track of all the ideas I have had! So without saving this in my drafts one more time, here are a few items I have loved in my OT practice in the last little while!
Something that I want to share for any parents or new OTs who are looking into buying tools for their child’s development; is important to remember that just like pink tax, which is the elevated cost of items designed specifically for women (ex: compare mens razors vs womens… its not just the pink and pastel colours that make them different), I have noticed there is definitely a price increase for anything that is labelled as outdoor learning, special needs, autism etc. So often times a lot of the materials I use with my clients are just found at the dollar store, things that are not necessarily designed for therapy specifically, or something I have made myself! Get creative if you have the time and energy, sometimes it can save you money and you can create some cool things that your kids love!
Wooden Percussion frogs
These guys were so fun that have for our music and sound exploration week in the forest! Running the little sticks across the pointy edges on their backs feel super cool for that sensory kiddo and make really neat noises! The link I added has three different sized frogs, each making their own different pitched sounds! There was no specific instruction I gave to the kids in the use of this instrument, I just lay them out on the deck we have alongside with some materials to make our own musical instruments, and the next link I have shared below, and let them take control! I loved these even more because since they are such a cute little animal shape we had some imaginative play happening with using them as little toys, and pretending to be a frog physically and vocally! So much fun!
Miniature kalimba
We have a very beautifully painted kalimba in our home that my wife bought when she worked at a daycare, and I was inspired by one of my clients who loves creating music. A colleague and I were talking about how it might be cool to be able to explore different pitches of sound but following the tapping and drumming concept (also having a piano or keyboard in a forest program is a bit much). You can buy bigger sized kalimbas, but these are finger kalimbas that fit on a keychain! Of course you can explore making music with different pitches and sounds in a more organized and teacher based way, but I added these to my pile of instrument material with the frogs mentioned above and the kids loved exploring them! As a heads up, these are quite tough to press, so if you have kids/clients who have very gentle finger strength, these may be difficult to use, or perhaps they’re perfect for your kiddo to encourage building finger strength!
Brybelly Feelings in a Flash – Emotional Intelligence Flashcard Game
This little flash card set comes with a variety of emotion cards and different scenario cards! I am pretty sure there is a full game play instruction set in the box, but I just loved these for the emotion cards and exploration of such with my little ones. You can grade the use of these cards (grade = make it easier or harder) depending on the kid that is using them too! When first learning the different emotions, kids can use the visuals to name the facial expressions and try to make the expressions themselves! You can also have them matching the cards to your expression, or naming when they feel each emotion. As they get more accustomed to the emotions, you can use the situation cards to explore what they think each situation elicits in emotions and why – this is a great conversation to have as some people may feel different emotions in each situation! One of the social workers at my job has similar cards and plays a musical chairs style game in a group of kids where you pass around a bag of cards when the music is playing and when it stops they have to pick out a situation and work together to come up with the emotion and a solution to the problem! So many uses for these cards!
When Harley Has Anxiety: A Fun CBT Skills Activity Book to Help Manage Worries and Fears (For Kids 5-9)
When Harley Has Anxiety is written as a workbook where you can work through it with your child. I work with kids, teens and adults, and I like using this book as both a workbook I photocopy sheets out of, and a reference for different ways to explore challenging thoughts. Something important to remember is that CBT might not be for everyone, so I like to use different pieces of it for different clients! I do like that the concepts are very simple and relatable so that kids can follow along with Harley and their journey on working through their anxiety! This is definitely one workbook I think is age appropriate (with an adult’s help!) and can see kids enjoying! Don’t forget that paper pencil learning is not for everyone so this can be used as a guide that you add fun activities and experiments to in order to support attention, focus and retained learning!
These are the items for now, short and sweet but I will continue to share if these posts are helpful for anyone! 🙂 Feel free to share your favourite items in the comments too so we can expand our tools together!
Be Your Own Sunshine 