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This Month's Specials!
Visit PFOT's Monthly Special Page online to get your favorite products for a discounted price. Just add the item to your shopping cart from our Specials Page and the sale price will be automatically calculated at check out time!
This month's specials include:
Messy Play Idea
Salt Art
Get Ready!
- Group of 2-3 children
- 2 containers of salt
- Sidewalk chalk
- Three 8-oz plastic bottles
- Funnel
- Spoon
- 3 trays
Get Started!
First give each child a tray and a piece of sidewalk chalk. Then pour salt on the tray, almost covering the surface. The child then rubs the chalk across the top of the tray and the salt, just like coloring only hold the chalk horizontally. The salt will hold the chalks color. When you think the salt is colored enough, give the child a plastic bottle and spoon. Each child should scoop the salt with their spoon and pour it into the bottle (You can use a funnel if the child has difficulty with controlling the scoop and pouring movement). It is up to you how you finish these bottles; all one color, share 3 colors, or have each child do more than one color and make a rainbow. When the bottle is full, it can be decorated with stickers, paints, or just keep it plain. This activity is a lot of fun and it works on so many different areas. It does take a little while though, so allow
some time to color enough salt.
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Writing Practice - Story Starter!
We all know that handwriting practice is essential, but it can also be boring and frustrating for both children and adults. So in each issue of “PFOT Tips and Tricks” you’ll find a story starter. It may be a cartoon or sketch with no caption, or an incomplete sentence that needs to be finished. We will also give you some points to be used to spark the students own creativity, hopefully motivating them to extend the practice session. So here’s a story starter… Copy and finish this sentence.
“If I were an animal for a day, I would ...”
Hints to be used only if the writer needs them:
- Who was there? What did they say or do?
- What did you… hear… see…. smell … taste… touch
- How did you feel? How did others feel?
- Then what happened?
- How did it end?
- Would you want to do it again/happen again? Why or why not.
Back to Basics:
New Uses for Old Favorites
Blocks and beads; Balls and bean bags; Scissors and crayons; Pegs and play dough. These low tech toys have always been used to help form the foundation for development. They are probably hiding in your closet or at the back of the play shelf right now. So let’s dust one off and take a new look at activities to do! (Please visit “Tips and Tricks Townsquare” to post and read other ideas.)
Let’s re-visit: Zoo Sticks, Rookie Sticks, Tweezers, and Tongs!!!
Whether you have zoo sticks, rookie sticks, tweezers or tongs you can do all of these activities.
First, what’s the difference between these tools?? Zoo Sticks have an animal on top with long legs to make the tongs. Rookie sticks are long and thin with an “M” shaped top. Each of these are actually children’s chopsticks. Tweezers are available in various types and are going to be smaller with a pointier tip. Some are resistive, some squeeze to open, others squeeze to close. Tongs tend to be larger and thicker with a flat surface, so easier than tweezers or zoo/rookie sticks.
You can use these tools to pick up almost any small object: spiny balls, critter balls, cotton balls, pieces of scrunched paper, pop beads, M&M’s, beads, etc. The child can hold a small container (film canister, or paper towel tube with one end closed up) in the other hand to put the small objects into. Now you’re also working on bilateral hand use and crossing midline!
Other Uses:
- Pick up and place pegs in a pegboard, while copying a pattern or
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Customer Questions
 Question:
What are some good resources to help me understand sensory processing disorder?
Answer:
“ Living Sensationally Understanding Your Senses” by Winnie Dunn was written in 2008. She provides example stories and questionnaires to help identify four major sensory types: Seekers, Bystanders, Avoiders, and Sensors. This book will help you understand the sensory system and how it affects your everyday life.
“Everything SI Book” provides advice to help parents cope with Sensory Integration Disorder. It is written in easy to understand language, explains Occupational Therapy treatments, gives <More>
Shoponline - Selected QuickLinks!
PFOT's products and specials change often to ensure that you have an opportunity to purchase just the right product at an affordable price. Visit our online shopping cart and our Specials pages to stay on top of the deals and products.
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| These materials encourage the use of touch to learn about objects and the environment as well as to help build an understanding of the body and its relation to the world around it. |
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Our Critical Thinking products are selected to help provide focus on building one's ability to analyze, organize, classify, and then generalize information so that meaningful conclusions can be drawn. |
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