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Fun in the Sun With Outdoor Therapy Activities
Fun in the Sun With Outdoor Therapy Activities 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

The weather is warming up, and summer is just around the corner! This can only mean one thing… it’s time to have some fun in the sun with your little ones! Being able to spend some time outside as a family is so special, and believe it or not, there are many fantastic outdoor activities that work on your child’s developmental skills. Whether you’re looking to run around and burn some energy, cool down with water play, or enjoy what nature has to offer, we have you covered. Ready to get started? Here are some of our favorite outdoor therapy activities that allow your family to have some fun in the sun:

Water the Plants: An excellent way to cool down in the hot sun is to have your child help you water the plants using a spray bottle. Walk around the yard with your little one and have them use their fine motor skills to squeeze the spray bottle and water any flowers and trees that they see. To incorporate your child’s speech, talk about what you’re doing and ask them to try and describe what the plant looks like, such as what color it is, how tall it is, the shape of the plant, etc.

Nature Scavenger Hunt: This next activity is one we always recommend families try out during the summer months. Start by grabbing a piece of paper and writing down a list of 5-10 things your child will need to find outside. For example, you may ask them to find something green, a small rock, a flower, etc. Now, your child will have to run around and use their gross motor skills to perform actions such as bending down and reaching high in the sky to collect the objects on the list. Once they’ve found everything, consider rewarding them with a refreshing treat.

Summertime Relay Race: Get ready to burn off some energy and get moving with a summertime relay race! With this activity, you’ll need to set up some fun obstacles that you and your child will have to complete. For example, you could have your child challenge their balance by having them jump over a sprinkler or walk across a chalk-drawn beam. They can even practice their fine motor skills by squeezing a squirt gun to try and hit a target. The possibilities are endless!

Beach Sensory Bin: If the heat becomes too much and you want to bring the fun inside, you and your child can make a beach sensory bin together. Start by gathering a container, some graham crackers, a pack of blue jello, and any small sea animal toys you have. Now, ask your child to use their fine motor skills to crush up the graham crackers to make sand, and let them assist you in making the blue jello to use as the ocean. Finally, pour the “sand” into one side of the bin and the “ocean water” into the other, and watch as your child uses their imagination to play for hours on end.

Follow us on our social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest) all month for more fun in the sun activities, tips, resources, and more! Additionally, please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time to discuss if your child would benefit from pediatric therapy. Our team is here to support you and your child in any way we can.

Games to Try During Better Hearing and Speech Month
Games to Try During Better Hearing and Speech Month 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

May is Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM), which brings awareness to those living with communication disorders and some of the challenges they face throughout their daily lives. Each year, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) chooses a theme. In 2023, the theme is “Building a Strong Foundation”. One way you can help your child build a strong foundation is by incorporating speech therapy skills into your day-to-day activities. It does not have to be difficult. In fact, it can be fun.  

This year, in honor of BHSM, we wanted to share some games that you can try with your little one. Not only are these games interactive for your family, but they will allow you to incorporate speech therapy techniques while playing with your child. It’s a winning combination!

Guess the Chalk Drawing

Grab some chalk and get ready to use your imagination! Go outside and start by drawing an object using the chalk. Now, have your child use their speech to try and guess what you’re drawing. Once your little one has correctly guessed the object, switch roles and have them use their fine motor skills to draw an object. If your little one gets stuck while guessing, they can ask questions to help them figure out what you drew.  

Matching Opposites

This game is the perfect way for your child to work on their speech while also learning about opposites. Take a piece of paper and write down 10 pairs of words that are opposites (for example,  cat and dog, up and down, hot and cold, etc.). Now, cut out each word and have your child use their fine motor skills to draw a picture on the back of each paper to match the word on the front. Once they’re done drawing, have your little one match the opposites, and use their speech to say what the opposites are. 

20 Questions

This is another game you’ve probably heard of and maybe even played. First, start by thinking of a person, place, or thing. Now, your child will have to try to guess what you’re thinking about by using their speech to ask questions. If your child cannot correctly guess within 20 questions, the game is over! Once your child’s turn is complete, switch roles and have your little one think of something for you to guess.

What Animal Am I?

For this final game, write down 10 different animals on separate pieces of paper, crumple them up, and place them into a bowl. One at a time, ask your child to choose an animal from the bowl and have them use their speech skills to describe the animal to you. Once you have guessed all of the animals, place the paper back into the bowl, and prepare for the next round! In this round, your child will have to use their gross motor skills to act out which animal they are and use their speech to make the noise of that animal.

Follow us on our social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest) throughout May for great tips, resources, and activities dedicated to BHSM.  Should you have questions about speech therapy or any of our other services, do not hesitate to contact us to discuss if your child would benefit from pediatric therapy. Our team is here to support you and your child in any way we can.

3 Occupational Therapy Activities to Try Out This Spring
3 Occupational Therapy Activities to Try Out This Spring 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

April is Occupational Therapy Month, which is such a special time for our entire team. Occupational therapy is an instrumental part of helping children learn and grow, and it can significantly help those who have difficulties performing cognitive, physical, or sensory tasks. To kick off this year’s celebration, we wanted to share 3 occupational therapy activities you can try out with your little ones this spring. These activities will help your child work on their skills and allow you to spend quality time together. Enjoy!

1. Wash the Farm Animals 

Creating an adorable farm animal-themed sensory bin for your little one is very simple. First, grab a container, an unused toothbrush, small plastic farm animal toys, and Oreos. Next, crush the Oreos into a small bowl (this will look like mud), fill the container with water, and get ready for some fun! Your child can roll the animals around in the mud to get them dirty, and then use their fine motor and gross motor skills to clean each animal using the water and toothbrush. You can also have your kiddo work on their speech by asking them to name each animal and make the sound of that animal.

2. Make Paper Flowers

To make some beautiful paper flowers, you will need printer paper, tissue paper, glue, and crayons. To begin, have your child draw a flower on the paper without drawing the petals. Now, have your little one use their fine motor skills to carefully rip the tissue paper into petal-sized pieces and glue each of them onto their flower. Once they’re done, have your child use their speech skills to identify the flower’s color and size.

3. Outdoor Moves

For this final activity, you will need some paper, markers, and a good imagination. Start by cutting out 10 squares, and write down a different movement for your child to perform on each one. For example, you could write, spin around, reach for the sky, hop like a bunny, etc. Place each piece of paper face down on the grass, ask your child select one square at a time, and watch as they use their balance and gross motor skills to perform each move.

Happy Occupational Therapy Month!

Follow us on our social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest) all month for more occupational therapy tips, resources, and activities. As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us anytime to discuss if your child would benefit from pediatric therapy. Our team is here to support you and your child in any way we can.

Our Favorite Books to Read With Your Kiddos During National Reading Awareness Month
Our Favorite Books to Read With Your Kiddos During National Reading Awareness Month 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

National Reading Awareness Month is celebrated throughout March and helps families understand the importance of reading to their children consistently. To get the celebration started this year, our team of therapists carefully selected some fantastic books you can read with your little ones during National Reading Awareness Month and beyond. These books have fun illustrations and meaningful messages and will also help your kiddos work on their therapeutic skills in the process. Enjoy!

Where is Baby’s Belly Button: As you and your child read this adorable book, your little one will need to use their fine motor skills to lift the flaps and identify specific body parts. After reading each page,  you can then ask your child to point to their own body parts. For example, the book may ask, “where’s the baby’s nose?” Once your child lifts the flap and points to the baby’s nose, you can then ask them to point to their own nose!

First 100 Words: First 100 Words is actually a book that contains no words (only images), which helps caregivers use simple language and sounds when engaging with the book. As your child gets a little older, you can begin to talk about the actions that the pictures in the book perform, so that your child is exposed to verbs and can expand their vocabulary.

Peek-a-Who?: We just know that your little one is going to love Peek-a-Who. While reading this fun and interactive book, your child will have to guess what object or character is hiding under the flaps while learning simple rhyming words in the process. One other great thing about this book is that it’s predictable, which helps kids anticipate and learn the routine of the book. 

Making Faces: A First Book of Emotions: This is the perfect book to help your little one start learning and understanding expressions and emotions. While reading the book together, you can teach your child emotion words while practicing those words with emotions. For example, being silly and naming it silly, being sad and naming it sad, being sleepy and naming it sleepy, etc. This is a simple way to emphasize early social-emotional skills.

Keep an eye on our social media (Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest) all month long as we share more books we love. Additionally, if you would like to discuss if your child could benefit from pediatric therapy, please don’t hesitate to contact our team. We are here to support your family and child in any way we can.

Celebrating International Play Therapy Week With At-Home Activities
Celebrating International Play Therapy Week With At-Home Activities 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

February 5-11 is International Play Therapy Week, and we cannot wait to celebrate! Children thrive when they learn through play, and in fact, it’s been proven that people learn best from experiences that are joyful and that connect play to their lives. Additionally, play therapy is an excellent way to have some fun with your kiddos while also working on their therapy goals in the process. Ready to get the party started? From building a wooden block house to playing stuffed animal doctor and more – here are some at-home play therapy activities that we know you and your little ones will love.

Superhero Search

Your child’s stuffed animals are missing, and it’s their job to find them! First, you will need to go around the house and hide each stuffed animal (make sure they are in places your child can reach!) Now, it’s time for your kiddo to be a superhero and save the day! Your little one will have to use their balance and gross motor skills to crouch down and reach up high to save their furry friends. Once they’ve found each stuffed animal, switch roles and have your child hide the stuffed animals for you to find!

Stuff Animal Doctor (we recommend the Doctor’s Kit Play Set from Melissa & Doug for this activity)

For this activity, your child will have to use their gross motor skills to treat their stuffed animal using items from the Doctor’s Kit Play Set, while also utilizing their speech to tell you how their patient is feeling. If your child says that their stuffed animal is scared, this could indicate that your little one may be afraid of going to the doctor. In this case, you can explain to your little one why going to the doctor isn’t scary and that doctors are there to help people feel better.

Build a Wooden Block House

For our final play therapy activity, you and your child will need to work together to build a wooden block house for their toys. Have your little one use their fine motor skills to pick up the blocks and carefully stack them on top of each other, and once the house is built, they can use it to play pretend with their toys. Furthermore, you can work on your child’s speech by asking them to identify each letter or number on the blocks.

Happy International Play Therapy Week! Be sure to check out our social media (Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest) all February long as we share activities, toys we love, and so much more. If you would like to discuss if your child could benefit from pediatric therapy, please don’t hesitate to contact our team. We are here to support your family and child in any way that we can.

3 Ways to Work on Your Child’s Therapy Without the Added Stress
3 Ways to Work on Your Child’s Therapy Without the Added Stress 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

Parents are some of the hardest-working people in the entire world. You wear so many different hats and are always trying to juggle your home life, work, and for some of you, school. But in reality, finding time to fit everything in can become overwhelming and could ultimately lead to you being stressed out.

To help take some of that pressure off your shoulders, we wanted to share some ways that you can work on your child’s therapy without the added stress. Believe it or not, there are many different ways to incorporate your child’s therapy into your everyday routine. Our hope is that you are able to use some of these ideas in your daily life so that you can work on your child’s therapy without worry.

Do a Family Workout

Partaking in a family workout with your kiddos is an excellent stress reliever. To begin, grab some blank pieces of paper, and work with your child to brainstorm some exercises (jumping jacks, pushups, etc.). Write down each exercise on a different piece of paper, lay them on the ground, and let the fun begin! Your child will have to use their balance to bend down and select an exercise, then you and your little one will have to use your gross motor skills to complete that exercise! Repeat until you’ve completed the whole workout!

Prepare Lunch Together

Another way to incorporate your child’s therapy into your daily routine is to prepare lunch together. 

First, have your child use their fine motor skills to stack and build a tasty sandwich. Once that’s complete, gather a few more items that you will enjoy for lunch (cut up fruit or veggies, fruit snacks, etc.) Now, allow your child to utilize their speech by asking them questions about each item. For example, you could have them identify the color, texture, size, and shape of each item. Finally, sit down and enjoy your nutritious and delicious meal together!

It’s Clean-Up Time!

Whenever it’s time to clean up around the house, get your child involved! Have your little one start in their bedroom or playroom and ask them to put their toys away. They will have to use their balance to bend down and pick up the toys, and then carefully place them back in their rightful place. If the toy is soft enough, encourage them to use their gross motor skills to throw the toy back into the bin. Other things your child can do to help you clean are drying dishes, wiping off the table, or even sweeping. If you want to make this something that you and your kiddos do regularly together, you could even consider making them a chore chart!

Happy New Year from all of us at PTN! Follow us on our social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest) all month long for more suggestions on stress-free ways to work on your child’s therapy during your daily routine, as well as great tips, activities, resources, and more! As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time to discuss if your child would benefit from pediatric therapy. Our team is here to support you and your child in any way we can.

Toy Takeover 2022 – Supporting Local Stores and Sharing Toys Your Child Will Love!
Toy Takeover 2022 – Supporting Local Stores and Sharing Toys Your Child Will Love! 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

We hope you’re ready because it’s finally time for one of our favorite parts of the year… Toy Takeover! Each holiday season, our PTN therapists do their research and come up with a list of some fantastic developmental toys that we know your little ones will love. Not only will these toys help your child work on developing their play skills, but you can even purchase some of them at local toy stores around the city.

For Toy Takeover 2022, we wanted to highlight three fantastic toy stores that could really use your love and support this holiday season – Timeless Toys, Building Blocks Toy Store, and Emmerson Toys, Gifts, & Hobbies. Shopping locally helps our city thrive, and these stores will really appreciate your business.

Toy Takeover 2022 List:

Stacking Music Set (Shop Local)

This awesome toy comes with instruments such as a xylophone, drum, rattle, and scratchboard and is sure to keep your kiddos entertained for hours on end. Your child will have to use their balance and coordination skills to create some awesome music and march to the beat. Then, once you and your little one have made some fun beats, have them work on their speech and language skills by creating some silly lyrics!

Infantino Sensory Balls, Blocks & Buddies

One of our favorite toys to make the Toy Takeover list this year is the Infantino Sensory Balls, Blocks, & Buddies set. This set comes with a whopping 20 pieces, all of which can be used to help your child learn colors, shapes, animals, and textures. Your child can also work on their fine and gross motor skills by stacking the blocks or throwing the balls into a basket!

SmartMax My First Safari Animals (Shop Local)

Get ready to get a little silly with the SmartMax My First Safari Animals! Your little one will have to use their fine motor skills, animal recognition, and matching skills to put the cute creatures back together. Once your child has successfully matched all of the animals, let them show off their goofy side by creating their own animal combinations!

LeapFrog Shapes and Sharing Picnic Basket

Challenge your child’s imagination and pretend play by having an indoor picnic! Your little one will have to use their fine motor skills to carefully place the food into the correct hole and use their speech to describe each food’s color, shape, and size. Another great feature of this toy is that the picnic basket speaks and will ask your child to feed it a specific piece of food. 

Wooden Beehives (Shop Local)

The final toy on our list is colorful and a whole lot of fun to play with. Incorporate fine and gross motor play as well as speech and language skills all in one!  Your child can practice gripping and pinching the wooden tweezers and return each bee to its matching hive. Then, have your child work on their counting and color recognition, or encourage them to stand up and stack the hives on top of each other!

From all of us at Pediatric Therapy Network, happy holidays! To see what other toys made our 2022 Toy Takeover list, follow us on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest), and be sure to sign up for our newsletter. All December long, we will be sharing more toy suggestions, fun tips, resources, and more!

Reasons We Are Thankful For Our PTN Families
Reasons We Are Thankful For Our PTN Families 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

Though there are many holidays that we love celebrating throughout the year, Thanksgiving is one of our favorites. It gives us a chance to express our gratitude and tell you how thankful we are for each of you. We genuinely enjoy working with all of our amazing PTN kids, families, and therapists, and you all are a huge part of why we love what we do.

So, in honor of Thanksgiving this year and to further express our appreciation, we wanted to share some reasons we’re thankful for our PTN families. Enjoy!

You Support Your Little Ones and Our Team: You’re always there to help support your little ones and our team in any way that you can. Your support means the absolute world to us, and we couldn’t do our jobs without your help.

You Have So Much Love For Your Kiddos: Your love and support is essential to your child’s growth and development, and we see how much love you have for your little ones. You are such a bright light in their lives, and your kiddos can feel how much love you have for them.

You Care, and it Shows: You are all so kind and caring, and it absolutely shows. You sincerely care about your kiddos and helping them work on their skills, and that in itself is something so special.

You’re Extremely Hard-Working: You work day in and day out to ensure that you and your family are taken care of. You wear numerous hats, and trust us, your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. Give yourself a pat on the back!

You’re Patient, Even When Times Are Tough: Your little ones are learning new skills, and it takes time to develop these skills. There may be times of frustration throughout this process, but you’re always there supporting your kiddos and showing a lot of patience. 

Your Kindness is Unmatched: Last but certainly not least, our PTN families are all extremely kind. You welcome us into your homes with open arms and are always willing to help in any way possible. Thank you for showing kindness and compassion – it’s something that we’ll never take for granted.

Our PTN families are everything we mentioned above and so much more. You mean the world to us, and we are very excited to continue working with all of you. You make such an impact on your little one’s growth and development, and we couldn’t do our jobs without you.

Check out our social media (Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest) all November long as we show more gratitude for our PTN kids, families, and therapists! As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time to discuss if your child would benefit from pediatric therapy. Our team is here to support you and your child in any way we can.

National Physical Therapy Month
5 Ways Physical Therapists Help Children Grow Stronger & Happier
5 Ways Physical Therapists Help Children Grow Stronger & Happier 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

Every day, we perform physical tasks like going up the stairs, taking a drink of water, and even walking.  These are basic movements that we do not give much thought to because we do them all the time.  However, if you are a parent of a child who has a delay in development or an injury, you know all too well that these “simple” tasks can present some very frustrating challenges.  These are just a small sampling of tasks that pediatric physical therapists (PTs), like the therapists on the PTN team, help families with each and every day.

This is why we feel it’s important to recognize and share that October is National Physical Therapy Month.  During this month, we get to not only celebrate the importance of movement, but also the many dedicated PTs out there who make a big difference in the lives of the patients and families they work with.  With this theme in mind, we want to touch on a few very important ways our team of physical therapists can help your child develop,  achieve incredible physical milestones, and have a better quality of life!

  1. Get Stronger through Physical Play:  it will probably come as no surprise to you that kids learn a great deal through play.  This is why, during therapeutic sessions, our PTs spend time engaging in activities and games that allow children to have fun while doing physical exercises.  From activities centered around balance, to games that involve using movements and motions that allow your child to strengthen their bodies, play is a great way to help children get stronger.
  2. Moving on Up:  when working with children, our physical therapists will focus on improving movement and mobility.  PTs working with an infant may help parents with tummy time so their child can practice motions and strengthen core muscles.  Other times, our physical therapists may teach kids and families stretches that improve their flexibility, allowing the muscles and joints to bend and move.
  3. Balancing Act:  physical therapists are often called upon to work with young children to improve their balance and coordination.  Sometimes, kids struggle with getting their bodies to move in a coordinated and functional manner which can present challenges with completing everyday activities.  This could prevent a child from being able to do more complex physical tasks as they get older.  By working with a PT and going through thought-out therapeutic exercises and treatment, kids can improve on their coordination and ability to balance, too.
  4. Growing Gross Motor Skills: rolling over, raising arms, pulling up, crawling, and walking all fall under the gross motor skills umbrella.  As you can imagine, these skills are imperative as they allow kids to move freely and do some pretty fun things, like running and jumping.  When children face developmental challenges with gross motor skills, a PT can be of great assistance.  Physical therapists help children learn how to use the larger muscles of their body by incorporating therapeutic techniques that increase both their strength and coordination.
  5. Finessing Fine Motor Skills:  think of all the things you do each day that involve the use of your fingers and hands.  From gripping a cup to take a drink, to writing, your fine motor skills are called upon so you can function through daily life.  Pediatric physical therapists work alongside our OT team to help children improve their fine motor skills through a vast array of structured, therapeutic activities that may include reaching and weight bearing activities to improve shoulder strength or ball play like throwing at a target or playing a game of catch. Each of these fun activities allow children to practice and refine their fine and visual motor skills and improve their dexterity.  

We hope you enjoyed learning more about the many ways in which PTs can help your child improve their physical abilities.  Remember that even though the exercises and activities may just seem physical in nature, your child is slowly working on building their confidence and inner strength too!  This is why so many of the physical therapists on our team often tell us that their jobs are hugely rewarding.  

National Physical Therapy Month!

Celebrate National Teddy Bear Day and Stuffed Animals With These Fun Learning Activities
Celebrate National Teddy Bear Day and Stuffed Animals With These Fun Learning Activities 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

Each year National Teddy Bear Day is celebrated on September 9th. This is one of our most beloved holidays because we know how important stuffed animals are to children. Stuffed animals can turn bad days into good days and help soothe your little ones in their time of need.

To kick off the celebration this year, we wanted to share some fun therapy-based games that include your child’s stuffed animal. These activities can be done together as a family and will allow you to work on your child’s developmental skills. Enjoy!

Hide and Seek: Get ready to go on a hide and seek search! Move around the house and look for a spot to hide your child’s fuzzy friend. Try to hide it in a place where your child will have to use their gross motor skills to find it (in a high or low place, for example). Then, send your child off on their hunt! If they are struggling to find where you hid their stuffed animal, they can work on their speech therapy by asking you questions to help them find it. For example, they could ask, “is it in the room where we eat dinner?” or “is it in the room where I sleep?”.

Guess the Stuffed Animal: If your child has multiple stuffed animals that they love, this is an excellent activity for you to try together. Place the stuffed animals in a row in front of you and your child. Now, ask your child to use their speech and language skills to describe the features of one of the stuffed animals. They could describe the color, shape, texture, size, etc. Now, you will try and guess which stuffed animal they’re talking about. Once you guess correctly, it’s time to reverse roles, and you’ll now have to describe a different stuffed animal to your child.  

Stuffed Animal Fashion Show: The last activity you can partake in with your kiddos is having a stuffed animal fashion show. First, gather some craft pipe cleaners and design colorful clothing for their stuffed animal. Your child will have to use their imagination and fine motor skills to bend and twist the pipe cleaners into some fun fashion pieces. They could make glasses, hats, bracelets, and so much more. Once the outfits are complete, have your child walk their stuffed animal down the runway and show off their creations.

Want even more ideas on how you can help your child play, learn, and grow by using stuffed animals?  Check out our social media (Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest) throughout the month of September as we’ll share even more ideas and imaginative activities. 

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