Ten days ’til Christmas! Planning simple holiday themed activities helps to channel some of that palpable energy. The trick is to keep the projects simple. When kids’ sensory systems are overloaded with multi-colored lights, never-ending Christmas music and constantly changing routines, they don’t need any motor planning challenges. Activities that incorporate easy to do steps […]
I have been making gingerbread houses as a holiday celebration activity with the students for many years and it has become almost legendary. The children are thrilled. While it looks like all fun (and is!), I glean a great deal of information from this holiday activity. Benefits: I use the activity as an assessment of each […]
We are approaching the most heavily traveled season on the year. Along with the joys of visiting family and friends, we often struggle through traffic jams of mammoth proportions. Whether facing flying delays or miles of crawling traffic, when kids are in tow, the frustration and anxiety can multiply. No matter whether you take a […]
Benefits: When the push pin is held correctly, the muscles required for grasping a pencil are strengthened. Both hands are used, thereby building the habit to use two hands while working. Visual attention is required to make sure the pin is exactly on the line. Dots should be close together, so simple spatial planning/reasoning is […]
I try to maximize on the exuberance children exude as Halloween approaches. The late Stanley Greenspan said, “Kids need to become emotionally involved to learn.” No better way to teach challenging skills and concepts than wrapping them in a cloak (no dagger) of intrigue, a touch of “scary” and fun! So I teach kids to […]
Leaf Collecting is a time honored tradition of childhood. Shuffling though piles of leaves and searching for the most beautiful specimens can be a delight for children. Bending over to pick up each spied treasure and making a bouquet of the collection can easily fill an afternoon. Here are some benefits of leaf collecting: Visual focus: […]
Come Join me in New York! The pages of this website are filled with ideas on how and why sensory motor play helps children learn, behave and generally lead healthier, happier lives. I am happy to announce that I will be giving a day long intensive workshop in NY this November at Bank Street College […]
Each year at the Truro Community Children’s Garden, an animal is selected as the featured “pet” for the year. The nascent gardeners learn about them, draw pictures of them and feature them in garden displays as the season draws to a close. Last year the children selected chickens. They learned about the obvious benefit of […]
When discussing our collective experiences in growing a Children’s Garden at the Truro Central School, a second grader summed it up by stating, “I like making food.” The students participated in the process of planting seeds, amending and tending to the soil, weeding and best of all, harvesting delicious food. Along the way, they acquired […]
As the school year ends, parents and teachers are always asking me how to help their children with handwriting. Especially as the “Summer Activities” get doled out. I can’t think of a bigger kill joy than asking a six year old to sit inside and copiously copy letters and complete hand writing drills. Moving the […]
The School Garden is thriving and the students want to broadcast their success! What better way than to make signs that add color and easy to read labels so all can see and enjoy the fruits of their labor. We decided to have the older grades embark on this project, giving them the opportunity to […]