Snow Day Fun!
This blizzard has its pro’s and con’s; adults got their workouts in with all the shoveling, even if they were also target practice for little ones making snowballs. As we’re getting our buried cars out of the driveway, we might want to spend the rest of our times indoors. But when it comes to kids, it can be their favorite part of winter! Snow brings a new set of activities and creativity that doesn’t come so often in the tri-state area. It’s also a plus when kids can make a mess outside and keep it outside for a little while.
Here’s a list to get you started:
Snowman with sticks and stones- You can always go traditional with an old hat and carrot, or you can make it a part of the challenge to find things in the backyard as additions. Finding stones and branches to make eyes, limbs and hair.
Backyard Ice Sculptures- All you need is a water bottle, ice cube trays, water and food coloring. Mix the water and food coloring in a bottle and let them freeze. Once frozen, you can gather the colored ice gems to make sculptures in the yard.
Maple Syrup Snow Candy- This requires some cleaner snow beds; but if you boil maple syrup and pour it onto a bed of snow, it’ll turn to taffy! Use wooden popsicle sticks to keep the maple syrup on and eat.
Snow Sensory Bin- Gather some of your child’s favorite toys and place them in a bin of snow to keep track of them.
Paint the snow- Exactly what you think, use paintbrushes and the lawn is their landscape! You can even adapt with food dye drops and do a more abstract colors scheme.
Homemade Bird Feeders- Use some orange peel halves, fill with snow and put some bird feeder at the top!
I hope these help you get creative! As always, we’re here for your questions, please email smplytherapy@gmail.com.
Reuse and Recyclables to Make Your Child Able!
How many of us know about the child that receives a thought-fully planned present; only to find that little one playing with the box? Kids love using items in new ways! It also helps with things that are already in your home for a budget friendly activity, helping your family learn in the process.
Benefits to recycling:
Reduces waste
Conserves natural resources
Increases economic security
Prevents pollution
Saves energy
Supports American manufacturing
Helps create jobs
But, can you believe the recycling rate is only 35% (in the country)!
Here is a site to help with the basics: https://www.epa.gov/recycle/recycling-basics
Did you know recycling just 10 plastic bottles saves enough energy to power a laptop for more than 25 hours? Raising consciousness is important for all ages, to help our future. A study found that with increasing age and cognitive maturity, children's responses showed a marked change toward more awareness of, and more feelings of responsibility toward, conserving earth's resources if taught about it from a young age.
Some ideas for combining using reusable items for games and activities for fun:
Action Cube
Materials:
Cube shaped tissue boxes (As many as you like; the more you have, the fewer times you'll need to change the content of the sides of the dice)
Newspaper
Cardboard from a cereal box or similar box
Solid color paper (construction paper or brown paper bags)
A 4" x 6" photo album with plastic pages that can be cut out of the album – 6 pages needed per die
Scissors
Tape
Preparation:
Fill the tissue box with crumpled newspaper balls.
Cover the opening to the box with a piece of cardboard cut from a cereal box.
Tape the cardboard piece to the opening of the box.
Cover the box with solid color paper.
Cut out 6 pages from the photo album.
Tape one photo album page to each side of the box. These photo album pages allow the content cards to be quickly changed in and out, maximizing time and minimizing storage space. Slip one card into each photo album page on each side of the box.
Super Sock Ball:
Roll a clean sock from the toes toward the top of the sock. When you get to near the top of the sock, turn the last 2" inside out to secure the rest of the sock in a ball shape. For a bigger ball, use two socks.
Super Scoreboard:
Circular plastic container lid
Dry erase marker
Small felt square or an unmatched sock as an eraser
Tip: Use a hole punch to make two holes on opposite sides of the lid. Tie a 16" piece of yarn in each hole. To one piece, attach the eraser; to the other, attach the marker.
Bottle Bowling:
Materials:
Pins
Remove the labels from ten plastic bottles
Add water, dry rice, dry beans, or sand to each bottle to weigh them down and make it easier to stand them up when resetting the pins.
Math tip: Measure and/or weigh the contents added to each bottle or bowling "ball".
Bowling Ball
Each player selects a bowling "ball", choosing from coffee cans, a roll of tape, a ball, or cylindrical container. If needed, add weight to the coffee cans or cylindrical containers to make it easier to knock the pins over.
Score cards
Cut cereal box or granola bar boxes into index card size score cards.
Table Tennis:
Paddles (2): hard plastic lid (example: thick circular plastic lid (plastic coffee lid), foil pie plate) Ping Pong ball: examples: ping pong ball, crumpled paper ball or mismatched sock ball (2 Clean mismatched socks folded into a ball)
Table: a large box or a table
Tape (example: masking tape, painters tape)
Net: small cardboard items taped together (example: travel toothpaste boxes, paper towel rolls, jewelry boxes, small cereal boxes, etc)
Timer: electronic timer or homemade sand timer
Scoreboard
Containers of various sizes: tissue boxes, shoe boxes, large plastic tubs (examples: whipped topping)
2 action cubes
Hockey:
Hockey sticks: paper towel rolls, wrapping paper tubes, or mailing tubes
Hockey puck: small wide plastic container (example: margarine or soft cheese spread) or small thick plastic lid (minimum storage!) (Activity #1: 1 puck, Activity #2: 8-10 pucks) or lids (hard plastic- economy/wholesale pretzel/cracker/snack, coffee lid, ice cream lid)
Goal: 2 goals for Activity #1 and 3, 2-4 goals for Activity #2.
Option #1: 2 Liter Bottles (2), paper towel roll or wrapping paper tube (1), tape. (Tip: fill liters with a little water to weight down if needed)
Option #2: large shoe box or printer paper box turn on it’s side or upside down with a goal cut out of one side
Timer: electronic timer or sand timer
References:
Recycle Bin Bonanza: References: Amy Schlessman PT, DPT, DHS
Ardoy, D. N., et al. "A Physical Education trial improves adolescents' cognitive performance and academic achievement: the EDUFIT study." Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports 24.1 (2014).
Becker, Derek R., et al. "Physical activity, self-regulation, and early academic achievement in preschool children." Early Education & Development 25.1 (2014): 56-70.
Lees, Caitlin, and Jessica Hopkins. "Peer reviewed: effect of aerobic exercise on cognition, academic achievement, and psychosocial function in children: a systematic review of randomized control trials." Preventing chronic disease 10 (2013)
United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Recycling Basics.” Available at: https://www.epa.gov/recycle/recycling-basics. Accessed: June 13, 2018. United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Learning and Teaching about the Environment” Available at: https://www.epa.gov/students. Accessed: June 13, 2018. United States Environmental Protection Agency. “President's Environmental Youth Award” Available at:https://www.epa.gov/education/presidents-environmental-youth-award. Accessed: June 13, 2018. United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Resources for Students and Educators” Available at: https://www.epa.gov/recycle/reduce-reuse-recycle-resources-students-andeducators. Accessed: June 13, 2018. Witt, Susan D., and Katherine P. Kimple. "‘How does your garden grow?’Teaching preschool children about the environment." Early Child Development and Care 178.1 (2008): 41-48.
Take It Outside
Play is so important in Occupational Therapy Treatment, strong evidence supports play as a huge factor for health, development, and well being (Lester & Russell, 2010). We’re not just talking about playing on a soccer team, or participating in a group art class; we’re talking about intrinsically motivated play that’s child driven. It’s about how the child engages with others naturally and the experience of play as the driver of learning. It also shouldn’t stop at primary school.
Children today spend far less time outdoors than prior generations did. This is affecting children’s healthy sensory development, restricting movement opportunities.
Impacts of Less Play Time
Many teachers have reported decreased attention.
Posture is changing; Physical Therapists and Chiropractors are seeing preadolescent posturing with rounded curvature, and back problems. This may be due to different factors; limited core strength and back strength to keep body upright, kids are spending more time seated, which affects gait and posture, they’re also looking at screens more often.
Another thing teachers are reporting; kids falling out of chairs, clumsiness and bumping into other kids. Shedding light on possibly reduces body awareness and coordination.
Also, a rise in anxiety and depression.
There used to be more imaginative play, now it’s more structured, making it difficult to play outdoors, and access nature. Outdoor play is becoming more of a priority due to covid related limitations, and hopefully this opens new doors to making it more accessible for kids.
Why the Outdoors is Great
Nature is a great sensory experience; once you step outside, the wind is blowing, the sun, rain, or snow all stimulate different senses. Even reflecting on the ground; walking indoors is flat (predictable), outdoors the ground is uneven (unpredictable). Adjusting your body and how you process sensory stimulation is important for development. It allows for a calm but alert state for optimal organization of the sensory system. Even the environment is naturally calming; blue, green, brown in nature, which are scientifically proven to help feed at ease. Sounds typically played at a spa or are water, wind, things that calm us down. Some smells of trees will actually reduce cortisol levels in your brain, inducing calm. Being outdoors, constantly assessing your environment, creates a calming but alert state. Classrooms and clinics are typically filled with posters, many children in one place, and it may be disorganizing, this might provide some respite for children to learn. On average parents report 4-6 hours playing outside about 30 years ago, digging in dirt, playing with friends. Research shows that 48 mins is now the time for average outdoor play.
Biophysical Reactions to Play
Vestibular system: Research in the US says children sit 9 hours a day in a constant seated upright position (that’s Pre-pandemic). Children need to move frequently throughout the day to help move fluid in the inner ear, to stimulate the vestibular system; helping kids know their body in space. It makes them safer to have a well developed vestibular system. Climbing rocks or spinning shouldn’t be limited, it may reduce development and integration of the vestibular system. Behavioral optometrists support this; reporting movement helps with visual skills for reading and writing. It’s as if stimulation of the vestibular system turns the brain on for learning. Go upside down and climb trees, challenge the vestibular system to support activity regulation for learning in the classroom. Roll up and down the hills! Sledding! Mudslides! Tree climbing! Spinning/swings!
Proprioceptive system: This system is suffering for children when on devices. Resistance to joints and muscles are not being stimulated. This is how we develop understanding on how to hold a baby chick gently, use of appropriate pressure for writing, or playing tag without pushing too hard on other children. Shoveling, building dams, digging in dirt, carrying heavy buckets all give stimulation. Building fort is a favorite; kids love building a space for themselves.
Warning: This may not be natural at first. You may send your kids outside to play and the result may only be using the stick for digging, then coming back inside. But the next time they might realize they can write with the stick in dirt, and also use it for building a fort like they saw another kid did. This develops over time, but they may benefit from making it child driven, building on their ideas with increased creativity and using a different skill. Use the environment as inspiration, but allow the child to initiate play.
Additional Thoughts...
If a child relies on adults for ideas, it may result in not being an independent problem solver. Instead, allow the child to interact with others and get creative on their own for a more interactive play. Outside has a more full body engagement of the senses. Nature provides unpredictable sensory challenges to provide more learning and adaptability for changes in sensory experiences.
Children learn best through play; for social skills, emotional regulation. Child directed play allows for children to learn how to solve their own problems without help, and allows for socioemotional learning to build relationships. Let them dive deep into play; 20 minute recess doesn’t allow for it and there needs to be more opportunities for self-directed play.
Home Ideas: Promote outdoor play with setting up loose parts stones, tree cookies, bricks, fabric, logs, wood planks, gutters, pallets, baskets, egg crates, tires, dishware, tarps, buckets, junk in your basement, stainless steel bowls and plates, sleds, boxes, duct tape. How many parents have seen a child open a new toy, and play with the new box more? Let them be creative with a budget friendly option!
If you have additional questions or want to know more on how to implement more play, schedule a time for a free 30 minute consultation.
References:
Hanscom, A. (2016). Balanced and barefoot: How unrestricted outdoor play makes for strong, confident, and capable children. New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
Lester, S. and Russell, W. (2010). Children’s right to play: An examination of the importance of play in the lives of children worldwide. The Hague: Bernard van Leer Foundation
Mielonen, A., & Paterson, W. (2009). Developing literacy through play. Journal of Inquiry & Action in Education, 3 (1), 2009.
Savina, E. (2014). Does play promote self-regulation in children? Early Child Development and Care, 184:11, 1692-1705
Schunk, D. H. (1987). Peer models and children's behavioral change. Review of Educational Research, 57, 149-174. 3
The Therapeutic Benefits of Outdoor Play Recorded June 4, 2020 Presenter: Angela Hanscom, MOT, OTR/L OccupationalTherapy.com Course #4756