Family Fun March Events!

Family Toddler Open Play!

Time: Fridays all month @ 3pm-5pm

Location: “Third Space” 716 W. Addison St.

Cost: Free!

About: Get out of the cold and take advantage of some indoor fun! This space features a stocked playroom and areas for the adults to relax

 

Rock & Roll for Kids!: The Music of Phish for Kids

Time: March 1, 2020 @ 11am

Location: Thalia Hall 1807 S Allport St.

Cost: $15

About: The Rock and Roll Playhouse uses iconic songs and bands to help children discover movement, stories, and games.

 

Family First Saturdays at Shedd

Time: March 7, 2020 @ 10am-12pm

Location: Chicago Shedd Aquarium 1200 S Lake Shore Dr.

Cost: $29.99 for members/ $49.99 for non-members

About: This hands-on experience will allow your child to learn about animals, work on crafts, and engage in games. The ticket includes the event and admission to the museum.

 

Play for All: Chicago Children’s Museum

Time: March 14, 2020

Location: Chicago Children’s Museum 700 E Grand Ave.

Cost: Free to the first 100 visitors to register (Limit 6 per family)

About: The Chicago Children’s Museum invites children with disabilities and their families to explore the museum on an exciting day full of multi-sensory activities.

 

Northwest Side Irish Parade

Time: March 15, 2020

Location: 6633 W. Raven St. Chicago IL @ 12pm

Cost: Free!

About: This parade and party are kid friendly! Activities range from face paint, to balloon art, to dancing.

 

Photo by, Joshua Reddekopp on Unsplash

Employee Spotlight: Caitlin Chociej, MS, OTR/L

What do you love most about working for PlayWorks Therapy?

One of my favorite things about working for PlayWorks Therapy is having the opportunity to work, connect, and collaborate with such a diverse community of clients, families, therapists, and staff. The warm environment created by every individual provides continual support for clinical and personal growth and self-discovery.

What is your favorite children’s book?

I loved Walt Disney’s 101 Dalmatians. To this day, my mom jokes about how I memorized every word after asking to read it for three months straight and insisted excitedly to “look at all the puppies!” as we drove past cow pastures on the way to and from daycare each day.

What do you enjoy most about living in Chicago?

I love how there is always something to do in this city, from trying new restaurants, exploring diverse neighborhoods, and catching an improv or comedy show, to learning about its historical influence, going to a sports game, or walking along the lake. Opportunities are endless!

What is your favorite childhood memory?

My favorite childhood memories are from family vacations to Cape Cod. Aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins would come together for one week every year, renting the same house on Scusset Beach and spending sunny days swimming in the ocean, searching for sand dollars, playing board games, and eating enough seafood to make our bellies hurt.

Would you rather a mountain or beach vacation?

I’d be equally happy with either! It just depends on whether I’m in the mood for taking in panoramic vistas after a high-energy hike or lounging on the sand with a good book after a day spent swimming and snorkeling.

Share a proud “therapy moment” with one of your clients.

There are so many proud moments that I’ve shared with clients and their families since becoming an OT. One moment that stands out was when a little boy diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder noticed me walk into his classroom, smiled, and ran across the room to give me a hug. It was the first time he initiated eye contact and engagement in almost six months of working together.

What is your hometown?

I grew up in Naples, New York.

What do you like to do in your free time?

My favorite thing to do in my free time is travel, whether a few states away to see family or across the globe to experience new cultures! I also love to read, spend time with friends, and cuddle with my kitten, Penelope.

What is your favorite therapy toy?

My favorite therapy toy is Play-Doh as it encourages imagination and creativity while targeting a variety of developmental skills. Homemade options that modify color, smell, and texture also allow for fun sensory exploration.

Share a fun fact about yourself.

I spent 11 years throughout high school and college participating in a performance-based activity called winterguard. We danced a choreographed routine to music while spinning flags, rifles, and sabres in a different themed show each year.

Caitlin Chociej, MS, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist

Language Milestones: School-Age Children

As your child grows, their understanding of language, use of language, and ability to use language to interact socially with family and friends will continue to expand and become more complex. It can often be difficult to know what language skills you should be looking and when you should expect them to be developed. The chart below outlines general milestones for language development in regards to receptive-language, expressive-language, and pragmatic-language.  If you have any concerns regarding your child’s language skills, please contact your speech-language pathologist.

Questions or concerns?

If you have questions or concerns about your child’s language development, please contact us at info@playworkschicago.com or 773-332-9439.

Claire Hacker MS, CCC-SLP
Speech Language Pathologist

Photo Credit: from Pixabay

What’s So Fine About Fine Motor Coordination?

Do you remember back when you first learned to zip up your own jacket? How about tie your shoes? Write your name for the first time? Color carefully to stay inside the lines? You may not have known it then, but as a child you built many of the fine motor coordination skills you still use every day. When you think of “coordination” you might think of playing sports or swimming, and you would be right! However, when we talk about fine motor skills, we also use the word “coordination” to describe how many different muscles in your hands are working together to accomplish the smallest of movements.

Fine motor coordination involves learning many different skills simultaneously in order to have more control and precision over tools or objects in order to be accurate. These skills include having strength in the small muscles within your hand and fingers, developing a good grasp on tools, moving items around your hand without dropping them, and developing precise targeting. As your child practices these skills, he/she will refine these skills to help learn the foundational skills in many different areas of development. In general, large motor skills (stability of the head, core, controlled limb movements), become more consistently accurate before fine motor skills.

What skills should my child have now?

  • Around 12 months: Pulling off socks, starts to finger feed self with small table foods, can use a spoon to dip, grasps objects of different sizes, uses their whole hand to grasp around writing utensils, places and releases small objects down on a flat surface
  • Around 24 months: Pulling off untied shoes, can use a fork to pierce food, and a spoon efficiently to transfer food, shows an interest in scissors but may not be able to open and close them with one hand, may use a pronated (thumb side of hand down) grasp on writing utensils, they are starting to pick up small items and tuck them into their palm, they are starting to place items from the inside of their palm down by passing them to the finger tips, they consistently rotate items 90 degrees using just their finger pads (such as when taking the top off a small twist top jar)
  • Around 36 months: Unbuttoning large buttons on a jacket, pulling on socks with some help, can open and close scissors, and snip through paper, may continue to use a pronated (thumb side of hand down) grasp on writing utensils
  • Around 3rd birthday: Putting shoes with Velcro fasteners, putting on socks, zipping and unzipping a jacket (help putting both sides together at bottom), buttons large buttons on a jacket, starts to use scissors to cut through paper, over the next year practices pushing scissors forward to cut on a line, starts using a three-finger grasp that is looser and their arms and shoulder move lots when coloring
  • Around 4th birthday: Able to put together jackets that have a snap or hook fastener, some snaps on pants, zipping jacket independently, puts on shoes (needs help with tying laces), can put a belt through loops, pushes scissors to cut out simple shapes, over the next year starts cutting curved lines and circles, your child continues to get more efficient and accurate with drawing with their three-finger grasp, they are able to separate two pieces of paper by rubbing their fingers together
  • Around 5th birthday: Can tie knots, improved accuracy with scissors, the child uses a dynamic grasp (three fingers on utensil near the tip, their shoulder/arm are stable, their fingers and wrist are controlling movements, they are more accurate and efficient with this grasp, they can adjust their grasp on a pencil by moving it between their fingers
  • Around 6th birthday: Can tie a bow, independently manage shoes, other clothing fasteners, can cut more complex figures, they can flip a pencil around to reach the eraser without picking up and moving the pencil, they can pick up small items sequentially while holding other small items in their hands

My child isn’t ready to tie their shoes or write yet; why do these skills matter now?

Fine motor coordination skills are built over a long period of time, and gradually get more complex as a child gets older. Foundational skills in this area, such as grasping tools and moving small items from the palm to tips of the fingers, are key for later important skills such as writing, typing, cutting, money management, using utensils to eat, tying shoes, and managing fasteners on clothing. A child may become successful and efficient with navigating these skills as they continue to develop other skills through play and participation in daily routines.

Why do occupational therapists work on these skills?

Occupational therapists focus on these skills because they are a part of our daily living skills, from putting toothpaste on our toothbrush, to getting dressed, to participating in school, and feeding ourselves! Children use their fine motor coordination skills during daily living activities, in education, and in play, all areas which are covered by the domain of occupational therapy! During an occupational therapy evaluation, a therapist would look more in depth at your child’s fine motor coordination skills for their age.

What can I do?

  • Play games while picking up small items with kitchen tongs, chopsticks attached at the top with a rubber band and paper, or a straw bent in half to form tongs
  • Snap/button art boards
  • Puzzles with different snaps, buckles, locks to open
  • Read books with flaps to lift up to reveal pictures below
  • Practice tearing paper with your child, crumpling it up between your fingers, and using it in an art project, such as gluing it onto a snowman outline to make it 3-D.
  • Make a paper cup lantern by pushing a paper clip through the side of the cup and place an LED tea light inside
  • String beads or pasta on spaghetti noodles, string, or pipe cleaners
  • Make PlayDoh with salt, flour, and cream of tartar. Roll it into snakes, small balls, build tiny snowmen
  • Let your child practice opening items in the house for food consumption, such as bags of chips, twist off applesauce pouches/water bottles,
  • Tape small animals to a baking sheet and practice pulling the small pieces of tape off
  • Cut a slot in the top of an oats container. Have your child practice placing popsicle sticks in the slot; recreate this activity with Q-tips and a plastic lid with a straw hole, sort coins into different piggy banks
  • Stretch rubber bands around the outside of a small jar
  • Pull pom poms or other small items out of a kitchen whisk
  • Decorate cookies and allow your child to pick up the small sprinkles and push them into the dough
  • Let your child have as much practice as possible with fasteners (snaps, buttons, zippers, and shoe tying)
  • Cut through different layers/thicknesses of paper (tissue paper, paper, paper plates, cardboard)
  • Increase your child’s opportunities to practice writing outside of school by having the child write the score of a game, write letters to family members, write the list of items needed at the store
  • Use a stylus if your child plays games on a device. There are apps to practice coordination while using a stylus such as: iTrace, LetterSchool, Dexteria Jr, Writing Wizard, Trace it/Try it
  • Paint using the ends of Q-tips to make small dots on paper to draw fireworks
  • When recycling boxes, have your child cut the box instead of breaking it down for extra scissor practice
  • Allow your child to practice peeling fruit, picking the stems off the ends of beans, etc.
  • Hide toys in small jars and bottles, and have the child practice getting them out by twisting open the top

Questions or concerns?

If you have questions or concerns about your child’s fine motor coordination, please contact us at info@playworkschicago.com of 773-332-9439

Caroline Stevens, MS, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist

References: Fleming-Castaldy, Rita. (2019). National occupational therapy certification exam review and study guide. 8thedition. Therapyed.

Photo Credit: Markus Spiske via unsplash.com

Valentine’s Craft Ideas!

Valentine’s day is approaching, and love is in the air! Here are a few fun craft ideas for you to make with your littles while working on their language development!

Heart Man:

Supplies:

Red paper, white cardboard, black marker, googly eyes, scissors, glue

Instructions:

  1. Cut out one large heart and four small hearts from the red paper.
  2. Fold the white strips of paper like an accordion. Glue two strips for arms and two strips for legs.
  3. Create a face for your heart man! Glue two googly eyes and draw a mouth!

How to target language?

  1. Expressive language: Talk about body parts when making/gluing the eyes, mouth, legs, and arms.
  2. Receptive language: Following multi-step directions (e.g., “First, put on eyes, then draw mouth”).

Valentine Mailbox

Supplies:

Tissue box, wrapping paper, stickers, markers, candy and/or envelopes

Instructions:

  1. Cover the empty tissue box with wrapping paper.
  2. Decorate your tissue box with stickers, markers, pom poms, etc. Get creative!
  3. Deliver candy and/or Valentine’s cards to other mailboxes!

How to target language?

  1. Expressive language: practice “mail”-related vocabulary, such as card, send, mailman, mailbox, write, letter, and stamp
  2. Receptive language: understanding pronouns (e.g., “put the candy in her mailbox” or “put a card in theirmailbox”)
  3. Pragmatic language: role play social exchanges as you deliver letters to loved ones

Friendship Necklaces:

Supplies:

Craft foam, yarn, scissors, hole punch, beads

Instructions:

  1. Cut a small heart out of the craft foam.
  2. Punch a small hole into the top center of the heart.
  3. Thread a 2-3-foot piece of yarn through the hole.
  4. Add the beads of your choice and tie a knot on the top!

How to target language?

  1. Expressive language: using prepositions (e.g., “on the string,” “in the heart”)
  2. Receptive language: following directions to put different beads on the string

Jill Teitelbaum, MS, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist