Wordless Wednesday #310 - Zoob creations

 

OT Toys worth playing with and another give-away from Toy Kingdom

Little Miss has been playing with three OT Toys from the Toy Kingdom OT campaign.
Toy Kingdom have identified a few guidelines on choosing OT toys, and also have compiled a list of OT toys that's available in their stores across South Africa. I have shared previously about how I have changed my mind completely about occupational therapy, and that I think it has worth for all children. Especially when they start with school!

It makes a lot of sense to have creative toys in the home. Dana Katz, a registered occupational therapist, believes that moderation and responsible use is key when talking about too much screen time for children. To counter excessive screen time children of all ages should be playing with traditional toys and play actively and independently inside and outside.

Little Miss chose the following from the OT toys available at Toy Kingdom. We based our selection on her age, and what she can use for a couple of years!

ZOOB

Zoob building set

The building set pieces are able to move after the kids have put them together. Children are able to play and manipulate their creations!

Little Miss was so excited when we got this, because she knows it already from school. She said she wanted to kiss it five times! (Definitely worth buying it!)

Anti-Virus from Smart Games

This IQ building set develops logical thinking skills, encourages strategic planning. It also develops visual and spatial perception. The game has 60 challenges on 5 levels.

Little Miss enjoys it and I know we are going to use for quite a while!

Grammar Wise from Chalk & Chuckles

We selected Grammar Wise from the Chalk and Chuckles series. It claims to exercise your colour and language muscles at the same time.

As Little Miss's home language is not English, this is still a bit advanced for her. But she is beginning to read English at school, and we are definitely going to use this in future!

She made a few good choices!

Give-away

There is another R750 gift voucher up for grabs for one reader of this blog. 

It is unfortunately only open to South African readers.

The Rafflecopter starts on 26 April, and ends on 3 May at 12 am.
(The list of OT Toys from Toy Kingdom is saved in Google Drive.)

You are welcome to submit all the  Rafflecopter prompts for more entries, but one prompt will also give you an entry. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.

We got R1500 to spend on OT toys at Toy Kingdom. 

Invite to an OT Workshop at Toy Kingdom

The first give-away for the OT Toy give voucher at Toy Kingdom ends tonight at midnight on the blog! Make sure you get your vote in!

Toy Kingdom is running an OT Campaign, and as part of the campaign they are launching OT Workshops in some of their shops. Check out Toys that Teach Workshop in Sandton City on Thursday 12H00-14H00 and RSVP as soon as possible as space is limited!!

Parents of children who are identified with development issues, do not always know what they can do to help. It is my view that all children need some help in one area or another of development, and it does not hurt to have toys that help children to participate successfully in their environment.

The workshop, which will be hosted by OT therapist, Stefanie Kruger, will focus on the following:

• Definition of OT and when or if to take your child for an assessment?
• Why is there an increased need for OT today? (Electronics, schooling, etc?)
• Which skills need to be mastered in early development, and what are the consequences later in life if the development did not take place?
• How to choose educational and traditional toys that help in assisting with development?
• How to balance between screen time and traditional play and when it interferes with development?

Guidelines on choosing OT Toys and a give-away from Toy Kingdom

I don't know why I was so apprehensive about occupational therapy earlier? We did the school readiness assessments that highlighted some issues that needed to be addressed. I was questioning "How much therapy is needed when there was no need in the first place?" (Ha! Laughing at myself now!) But we did the sessions with Little Miss, until the final OT therapy, and I know we definitely did the right thing! Little Miss is doing very well at school!

Our kids do not get to play as much as they should any more, and they spend far too much time with electronic devices and watching television. A recent research publication in Britain identified that 25% of children aged 2-5 years have smartphones, while 56% are aged 10-13 years. More scary results of studies in the US revealed that over a third of children under the age of 1 year are using smart devices.

I would not mind taking my child for more OT therapy sessions. The OT therapist never used the same OT toy or technique with each session. I was amazed with the variety of toys she had available.

I am extremely pleased to hear that Toy Kingdom places strong importance on using educational toys to help children develop the skills needed to participate in their environment.
Grant Webster, COO of Toy Kingdom, says “Keeping traditional educational toys in the home for playtime is becoming increasingly important in this day and age of electronic devices, so that children can still spend time developing the basic skills associated with play.”

There are different types of toys that can assist in a child’s development at home.


Guidelines of what sorts of toys are suitable to assist in building skills:


Toys that encourage problem solving

Children’s motor and problem solving skills should be encouraged, as it gives them a chance to try and figure things out for themselves.
Examples: Lego and building blocks
Toys that will help build strength in children’s hands. (Prerequisite for writing)
Example play dough scissors.

A ZOOB creation by Little Miss

Smart Logic Game - Anti-Virus

Things that feel ‘weird’
Toys with sticky or slimy surfaces help children to experiment with texture.


Toys that require the use of both hands
Using both hands well can help with colouring, cutting and writing.
Examples: Winds up toys; simply tossing and catching a ball.


Toys that encourage pretend play
Fantasy and play stimulate creativity as well as social skills in children.
Example: Toy Kingdom’s Shopkins range is a perfect set-up for children to play with pretend food and enjoy make-believe scenarios.

Because toys are so expensive, it is definitely a bonus if it addresses developmental needs as well. Even more so when we can strike a balance between screen time and play time with challenging toys!

Play area at Toy Kingdom

One reader can win a Toy Kingdom voucher of R750 to spend on OT toys available at Toy Kingdom in South Africa. There are 12 stores in South Africa already!

I have saved a list of the OT Toys from Ideal Cycle Toys at Toy Kingdom on Google Drive.
It is only a small selection of the OT toys that are available at Toy Kingdom.
Unfortunately this give-away is only open to South African readers.
The Rafflecopter will close at 12 am on 20 April.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.

We got R1500 to spend on OT toys. A lovely lady Siza helped us at Toy Kingdom Cresta to select. We selected The Smart Logic Game - Anti-Virus, Zoob building pieces and Grammar Wise. I will do a follow-up with these specific toys, with another give-away next week.

Good luck!

Wordless Wednesday #257 - Final OT

Grade 1 - Here we come!

Grade One learner

There is big excitement in our midst. Tomorrow is the Big Day! Tomorrow is the start of a new chapter in the life of Little Miss.

She is going to Grade 1.

We walked this morning past her new class. She could already check it out because the after-care at school had organised two days of holiday care at school this week. It was a good idea to get her familiar with the new after-care, before everything is a new blur tomorrow.

Hubby seems to be more apprehensive about this huge stepping stone. He loves her going into the new phase, but also mourns the end of her being a toddler and a preschooler. His little girl is not as little ...

I do not have the same apprehension, because I love each new phase of her. Maybe also because I went through these stages previously, I am not that upset any more...

But The Student told me I would pinch a tear tomorrow. She says: "You always do!" (I won't! I won't!)

As expected, Little Miss got the go-ahead from the occupational therapist as well as the vision therapist. Not that we would have kept her behind, but we feel more at ease that she will cope this year! I am glad that we took her for the sessions!

She is also going to school without any front teeth. She lost two more teeth and the count is now up to six! She is a true "haasbek", an Afrikaans word for all the front teeth missing!

She practised the whole day on Sunday to jump rope, and by yesterday she was jumping ten counts in a row. She could not understand her sore legs, and told me we had to go to the doctor... (Another accomplishment ticked off!)

The whole family is going with her tomorrow for the first day! We can't wait to see her in full school attire! (Expect a photo!)

 The bag, the clothes, the stationary... everything is ready!

You go, Little Miss! We are sharing your excitement!


Picture taken by Dad yesterday at the OT

Gymnastic Championships - a first

Little Miss has been doing gymnastics since she was 18 months.
There has been ups and downs. We had to deal with a reluctant gymnast about two years back, but the next year she went back with enthusiasm, and she has been going weekly "without a hitch".

(Just sometimes, the sun shines too brightly, or there's a bump, or...
Little Miss does get emotionally sidetracked quite easily! A phase? A preschooler characteristic?)

She did not want to practice her routine, at all, but told us that she was ready!

We had to slot her in with the younger group since we had other plans for the afternoon. She could not compete with the group, but she still got a score and a medal.

Luckily they practiced with the children before the final rounds of the championships.
Of course Little Miss did better while practicing, but she did very well overall.

This was the floor routine:


She got 9.3 for this floor routine, and 8.6 for the jump.
Not bad for a first time.

The MC told us that it was the parents' job to deal with questions about why only some gymnasts get more than one medal...
(We also got the questions!)


For now we will continue with the gymnastics for next year. Little Miss is still enjoying it! We saw with the occupational therapy that the gymnastics has given Little Miss an extra edge!

How much therapy is necessary when there was no need in the first place?

OT play
(photo by Dad)

Little Missy's teachers have never told us that there are any problems. We were not called in to school for any reason. 

Her report cards are very good.

But because she is born in the last month of the year, there is a bit of a worry about her school readiness. I am the guilty party! (l now think that I should have left it!)

We did the school readiness tests at the developmental psychologist and the results did not come back as positive as we expected. I blogged about it already: School readiness results. She referred us to an Occupational Therapist and an Optometrist.

So we are seeing the Occupational Therapist and Little Missy is in occupational therapy every week. We decided to not do tests again, because the OT feels she does not want to test again within six months from the previous testing, and to cut out paying for another round of tests and a report.

The day before yesterday we saw the Optometrist, and although her vision is perfect, she apparently needs glasses to help her eyes relax when she is reading. She also "needs" Visual Therapy to help her before she starts with reading. What is Visual Therapy? (I should have asked, but I was flabbergasted!) 

Luckily Little Missy is besotted with her new glasses, and couldn't wait to use them at school today.

I feel it is all too much! 

To address a problem when there was no problem in the first place?

It is also costing an arm and a leg. (Luckily we have medical aid.)

I would like to know how many children go to one of these assessments and walk out of there without having to go for follow-up therapies? 

Is it not only a big money-making scheme, with referrals keeping them all going? 

For how long are we now going to have to carry on with this?

It is also very disruptive. Little Missy misses a very important hour each week in school because she has to go for OT. Mom and Dad needs to take time off from work to drive her around.

Do we also not place a label on Little Missy for struggling or having issues when there was none before?

Wordless Wednesday #239 - OT fun