The Therapy Center for Children

Popsicle Stick Christmas Trees https://onelittleproject.com/popsicle-stick-christmas-tre/

Happy Weekend Peeps <3

How cute and creative is this? May you find many moments that make you smile today. Christmas Love and Hugs

A 2018 study by Dauch and colleagues tested whether the number of toys placed in a child's play environment has an impact on the quality of play for toddlers. Q...uality of play is measured by how long a child stays focused on one toy and how they can use their imagination to play with that toy in different ways. Dauch reminds us that Piaget's cognitive-developmental theory (1952) states that children acquire #knowledge as they #explore, #manipulate, and #imitate the environment around them. Attention plays a huge role in play by keeping a child engaged. Contrarily, distractions can cause a child to lose focus and become disinterested in play as well. Too many toys in the environment or TV playing in the background are some of the significant distractors that can shorten the duration of play with a single toy. A total of 36 toddlers between the ages of 18-30 months were tested by letting them play with various toys. Toys were divided into four categories and designated as battery operated or not: Educational: Toys that may teach a concept such as shapes, colours, or counting. Pretend: Toys that suggest themed play scenarios for ‘as if' play. Action: Toys that can be activated through manipulation or toys that encourage exploration/ activity on the part of the toddler i.e. building, stacking, opening, twisting. Vehicles: Toys that have wheels that promote play through the toddlers ability to push the toy. Two play conditions were compared, 1) a 4-toy play session and 2) a 16-toy play session. During a child's play session of 30 min, researchers evaluated the following 1) how often they played with each toy, 2) how long they played with each toy, and 3) the different ways they played with each toy. Researchers found that in the condition with only 4 toys, children played with fewer toys, stayed focused longer on the toy they selected and played with that toy in various ways. This means that the quality of play was greater when there were only 4 toys in a child's environment. Essentially, when given a few toys, the toddlers played with them in more varied ways and for longer periods of time. Although we may have a lot of toys for our children, this study emphasizes the importance of having only a few toys available at a time in their play environment - so don't get rid of all your toys! This study suggests 4 toys, however you can have a toy rotation and keep the rest of the toys in a closet or storage area. This helps create an aspect of novelty for a child and sparks their interest and curiosity in their toys since they have not been in their environment for a while. Create a space or a room that is safe for your child to explore, has no distractions such as TV and has only a few toys available for play. When creating a playroom or a play area, ask yourself the following questions: 1. Do I have some toys from the different categories: educational, pretend, action and vehicles? 2. Are toys at my child's eye level? Having toys or books at eye level allows children to develop independence and follows the Montessori playroom guidelines. 3. Have I limited battery operated toys if I have children under 2? 4. Do I have open-ended toys such as wooden blocks, animal figurines or pretend play items? 5. Have I allowed an area dedicated to quiet time to either read or play in a sensory bin? 6. Does my child have a creative space in their playroom? It is through children's early childhood experiences, when the brain is rapidly developing, that we have the opportunity to support learning through a child's natural curiosity and imaginative play. From birth through age 5, children's brains are literally forming the complex web of synapses that last throughout their lives, and greatly impact their social, emotional, physical and cognitive performance as adults. One of the best ways to nurture the development is with open-ended play. Open-ended play materials allow children to make choices, express their creativity and support their independence. Open-ended materials by definition do not have a pre-determined use. A block can be a car, phone, doll's chair, ice-cream bar or any number of other things in play. It is through these experiences that children are able to learn best. A few examples of open-ended toys include: Blocks of all shapes and sizes, including blocks that connect like Legos; magnetic blocks; geometric building materials. Art supplies including paper, paint, markers and scissors Play silks or large pieces of fabric and blankets. Sand and water play baskets. Nature items such as sea shells and pine cones. When choosing toys for your child, ask yourself if the toy allows them to make choices about their play or tells them how to play. Be intentional about providing children with toys that let them make choices about play, and support them in strengthening their cognitive, language and social skills in the process. As you watch your child figure out how to build the tallest block tower ever, you could be watching a future engineer begin to work out solutions to building skyscrapers, or an architect working on their first building design. The options are endless! https://thegracefulolive.com//children-need-open-ended-to/ https://www.google.com//the-less-toys-in-a-childs-environm https://static1.squarespace.com//DauchImwalleOcasioMetz201 #neurochild #play #lifelonglearning

Build-A-Snowman Winter Sensory Bag ages 2+ Such a fun, winter, sensory activity that takes only a few minutes to set up! Full details: https://www.raisingdragons.com/build-a-snowman-winter-sens/

Spending time on his or her belly (aka tummy time ) is an important part of an infant s motor and cognitive development. While a child is awake, it's important to spend some part of the day on her/his belly. This not only gives your baby a different view of the world, but it also encourages her/him to lift the head (which is vital for strengthening the muscles of the neck and upper back). Your baby needs those muscles later on for rolling over, sitting, and crawling.

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‘I CAN DO ANYTHING’: Sofia Sanchez, a 7-year-old with Down syndrome adopted by a California family with the help of the Reece's Rainbow organization, is taking her optimistic message that Down syndrome won't stop her to the world. John Donvan reports. #AmericaStrong

Game such as red light ,green light 1,2,3; musical chairs.. what games do you use? https://theanonymousot.com//executive-functioning-in-the-/