National Occcupational Therapy Month

Be sure to check our Facebook page and Twitter feeds for more fun with OT’s in celebration of National Occupational Therapy month!

Max, Alphie and Geoffrey!

That’s right!  Max, Alphie and Geoffrey are back together!  We are so excited that you can find Max and Alphie playing with Geoffrey at select Toys R Us stores across the U.S.!! (Or just click on over to toyrus.com to find items also!)  You can see a full list of participating store on our website.

Can you find Fundanoodle products at Toys R Us?  If so, snap a picture and post on our Facebook page, you could win a Fundanoodle prize pack!! Ready, set, go!

Sweet Sale!!!

Max and Alphie are so excited to let you know that all of the FUNDANOODLE products are ON SALE until 2-17-13. Hurry over….don’t forget to order the new cursive book for the older ones and the math books for everyone!

Max & Alphie Celebrate National Handwriting Day!

Hip Hip Hooray! Today is National Handwriting Day!

Look at these kiddos celebrating National Handwriting Day!  How are you celebrating?  Go to our Facebook page and share with us for a chance to win!

Therapist Thursday: Let it snow! Let it snow!!! Part 1

 by: Amy Bumgarner, OTR/L

This is part one of a Therapist Thursday blog about fun sensory and fine motor activities. Whether or not you have the white stuff on the ground, let’s talk about ways to bring S-N-O-W inside!   This activities are great if you have little ones home under-the-weather, are going stir crazy indoors or just do not get the chance to see the snow for real! Who’s ready to play in the snow????

*Pour some salt on a cookie sheet and let your kids have fun drawing pictures, practicing letters, or writing words.  This provides a great sensory experience and a different way to get those hands ready for writing.

*Insta-Snow! Buy this product online here, at a dollar store, or in a toy store, and have snow in minutes! To make it feel more like snow use super cold water in the mixture.  Then, let your kids have fun digging for treasures (e.g. bouncy balls, jacks, Little People, miniature animals, coins etc.) in the snow, scooping the snow from one container to another (provide different sizes for added challenge) an, or writing in the snow.

*A sensory bin with snow balls!  Fill a plastic bin with cotton balls and then add some fun trinkets (cookie cutters, glitter, colored pom poms, ornaments, small figurines) and some scoops (an ice cream scoop is fun).  Let your child have fun playing in the snow village.    See what he or she can find in the sensory bin and then ask your child to create a story from the items discovered!

And you didn’t even have to put on a snowsuit to have this much fun in the snow!

Don’t forget to come….

 

Play the “Write” Way

 

Don’t Forget!

Fundanoodle is on sale now at zulily.com!!  Quick, zip over and get in on the deals!

Sensory Fun in the Summer Part 2

By: Amy Bumgarner

Here are two  more ways to enjoy the summer and incorporate some sensory fun!

• Movement – Swing, swing, swing! Or, enjoy a day trip to the amusement park. Riding bikes and scooters is great movement too! On hot days, a sit-n-spin is fun too! Also, pull out the old pillows and comforters and let your kids get creative and make an indoor obstacle course.

• Hearing – Play “Can you guess that song (or sound)?” Get creative with your kids favorite songs, and play a short segment and see if they can keep singing the song or tell you what song it is. Enjoy listening to sounds of nature, and discuss the different sounds at night or during the day.

 

Therapist’s Thursday | Scissors Skills: Part 1

By: Michelle Yoder

Today we are beginning a 3-part series on scissor skills. We will give you ideas on how to help your child get ready to cut, snip and actually cutting lines.

Many parents are nervous about their preschoolers using scissors, and then to avoid introducing their preschooler to cutting. However, snipping with scissors should be a breeze for most three year olds, so find a child-safe pair of scissors (like Fundanoodle’s! ) and let your preschooler get snipping! Using scissors requires skills. To be successful with them, your child must have developed appropriate strength and bilateral coordination skills to hold and open and close the scissors with one hand while the other hand holds and turns the paper.

Try these activities to help improve your child’s hand strength and muscles for cutting:

1. Preschool songs with hand gestures such as the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” are great for “walking the fingers up”.
2. Have your child touch each finger to his or her thumb and then reverse back to the thumb.
3. With both palms flat on a table, have your child spread his or her fingers wide open and then together, and then back open, all while keeping the palms flat on the table.
4. Use tweezers, clothespins or tongs to pick up small pom-poms or cereal pieces and place in an ice cube tray or muffin tin.