Partner Storytelling

Brothers Reading

Cutie Pie and Hubby were having fun playing by making up a story together the other night. I think making up stories is a great way to encourage reading (it's not really that far of a stretch), growing the imagination in all sorts of ways!

Cutie Pie was in charge of all of the details and telling Hubby what would happen next based on what Hubby said he'd want to do. Hubby was a character and could only ask questions about what was around him. This really brought out Cutie Pie's imagination! (creativity, processes, imagination)

Their story involved Hubby being a knight in a castle and needing to rescue a person trapped in a net being held in place by a friendly bear. Through a series of questions and actions Hubby had discovered the castle was surrounded by fields, but the bear was in a tree on the other side of the village. Hubby ultimately became a rescuer and was given a feast in exchange, however he had to obtain his own food!

I love the way questions like where am I, what is around me, what am I'm trying to do and what am I looking at (among many others) can result in an intricately woven story as told by a 6 year old and his Daddy!

What a great activity to have in your arsenal for long waits, car rides and any time you need a little distraction or imaginary play. Can't you see this happening while playing with dolls or driving little cars around or building with LEGOs!

I'd love to hear the adventures you and your child experience this way!

Giant Yoda

If you ever see a LEGO building event in your area, your kids would love it! To ease your frustration a little bit, though, you might want to consider taking them on a Friday!

The local mall was having a one-year celebration and a Master Lego Builder was on hand to build an 8 foot tall Yoda in recognition. I thought "Field Trip!"

My 4 year old wasn't as interested as 6 year old Cutie Pie. We set ourselves up at a table in front of bins of bricks and followed the instruction sheets before us.

In all we made 3 large bricks that were then placed on a pile of other bricks that were being used one by one to build the bottom of Yoda's robe. (coordination, fine motor) 

In exchange for their help the boys were rewarded with a certificate saying they helped. They were very excited!

Encouraging Writing - fine motor visual motor activities we like

As I posted yesterday about the fine motor visual motor activities suggested by 6 year old Cutie Pie's OT, today I'm sharing the fun 'Vision Activities' suggested.

Pop balloons
Balloon volleyball
Flashlight tag (catching each others circle of light)
Flashlight object search
Water balloon catch
Pouring water back and forth using containers with different size mouths
Play high five while looking into each others eyes, not at the hands

Cutie Pie's favorites from this list are pouring water and flashlight tag (catching each others light circles) the best.

*Disclaimer: These ideas are not totally my own. I have been given some resources by the Occupational Therapists at my child's school to help with his handwriting at home, unfortunately not all came with sources attached. I'm simply sharing these ideas in hopes that by seeing how they are helping my child they can help you or encourage you to seek help if you feel it is needed for your child.

Encourage Writing - Fine Motor Visual Motor Activities

*Disclaimer: These ideas are not totally my own. I have been given some resources by the Occupational Therapists at my child's school to help with his handwriting at home, unfortunately not all came with sources attached. I'm simply sharing these ideas in hopes that by seeing how they are helping my child they can help you or encourage you to seek help if you feel it is needed for your child.

The occupational therapist at Cutie Pie's school sent home a summer kit meant to keep kiddos working on their OT and writing skills throughout the summer.

Playing Pool - Number and Color Recognition

Counting. Recognizing numbers and colors.

Each day after gymnastics class (posted about yesterday) Sweet Pea and another little boy would have fun at the pool table in the public game room at the recreation center. Only the pool balls were on the table, no cues, but the other mom and I still kept a close eye on the boys' fingers.

Playing with pool balls was really fun! Not only did the boys have fun simply rolling the balls trying to hit other balls and get them into the pockets (coordination) they also practiced number recognition! You can't get much simpler than that!

Another day when Sweet Pea and I were at the recreation center for another class we stopped in the game room and had fun with the pool table. This time I challenged him to tasks like rolling the blue and white ball to hit the yellow ball, or the 7 ball to hit the 3 ball. He had a blast, and for me just one playing at the table was a little more relaxing, although we still watched the fingers!