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4 Tips For Reading With Your Little Ones During National Reading Awareness Month
4 Tips For Reading With Your Little Ones During National Reading Awareness Month 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

Reading is essential to learning and growing and opens up a world of imagination. Taking time to read with your child is a great way to spend quality moments together and helps your child fall in love with books. In this blog, we will share four tips for reading with your little one in honor of National Reading Awareness Month. We hope these tips will help make reading fun and engaging for your child while also helping them develop essential skills that will benefit them for years to come.  We also think these simple tips will make reading time less stressful for parents, which is a huge win.

1. Start Slow: When you first start to read with your child, you do not need to read the book word for word. Instead, begin by flipping through a few pages and see how your child’s tolerance is. You can do this by starting with just a few minutes of reading at night and then working up to 10-15 minutes. It’s important to understand that kids have limited patience and can only handle so much reading at a time. It’s OK if you only get 5 minutes in one night and a bit more the next. Take your time, and know a little goes a long way. 

2. Tell the Story Using Pictures: Young children may have a tough time following along with the story in the book you’re reading. To help with this, try to tell the story the picture is sharing. For example, you could point to the picture on the page and describe it by saying things such as, “Uh oh, he looks like he’s hurt, and his mommy is going to give him a kiss on his owie to feel better.” Even better, ask your child what they think is happening in the picture and what they think will happen next. 

3. Choose Books With Animals: There are many great children’s books out there, and it can be challenging to decide which books to get for your kiddos. But some of our favorite types of books to purchase are books that contain animals. When you read animal-based books to your children, they can work on identifying and making the sounds of each animal. One book we love is the Touch and Feel Farm Animals book, which contains cute animals and multiple textures for your child to touch.

4. Have Your Kids Point Out Things On the Page: One easy way to get your child involved during story time is to ask your little one to point out simple, familiar objects on the page. For example, you can ask your child, “Where is the ball?” let them point, then model back to them by saying, “Ball.” 

Happy National Reading Awareness Month! Follow us on our social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest) all month for more reading tips, books we love, and more! Additionally, 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.

Stress-Free Ways to Incorporate Your Child’s Therapy Into Your Daily Routine
Stress-Free Ways to Incorporate Your Child’s Therapy Into Your Daily Routine 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

Parents work so hard to juggle numerous hats. Between going to work, taking care of your little ones, and managing everything else life throws your way, finding time to work on your child’s therapy goals can be challenging. That’s why we always recommend you try to incorporate your child’s therapy into your daily routine. In doing so, not only will you be able to reduce your stress, but you’ll also get the opportunity to help your child improve their developmental skills. Our hope is that fitting your child’s therapy into your everyday life will make it easier on you and take some of that added pressure off your shoulders. 

Have Your Child Help Clean Up the House

Asking your child to help you clean up the house teaches them the importance of helping others and gives them a sense of responsibility. Here are some easy ways to incorporate therapy into your cleaning routine:

  • Have your child bend down to pick up their toys and toss them into a basket.
  • Ask them to sort laundry into bins and then push the laundry bins across the room.
  • Have them climb up onto a chair or step stool to help you wipe down tables and counters or wash some dishes.

Work On Your Child’s Skills During Bathtime

Bath time is an excellent opportunity to work on your child’s fine motor and language skills. If you’re interested in incorporating your child’s therapy into their bath time routine, here are some activities you can introduce to your child that we know they’ll enjoy:

  • Incorporate nesting cups into your bath routine. Have your child practice pouring water from one cup into another cup or stack them on the side of the tub. 
  • Place different colored ducks on the edge of the bathtub and ask your child to count them and identify the color of each duck.
  • Make art together! Draw on the bathtub walls using bathtub markers. 

Read a Bedtime Story Together

When your little one is ready to go to sleep, perform their nighttime routine, let them choose a book, and tuck them into bed. Then, as you read the book, stop occasionally and ask your child to identify different objects on the page. Once you are done with the story, ask your child some questions, such as how the story made them feel and what their favorite part was.

Here are some wonderful book recommendations that you can enjoy reading with your little ones.

Happy New Year from Pediatric Therapy Network! Keep an eye on our social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest) all January long for more recommendations on stress-free ways to work on your child’s therapy during your daily routine. We will also be sharing tips, activities, resources, and more! Also, please don’t hesitate to contact us anytime to discuss if your child would benefit from pediatric therapy. We’re here to support you and your kiddos in any way we can.

Celebrating Parent Appreciation Day With Relaxing Activities That Work on Your Child’s Skills
Celebrating Parent Appreciation Day With Relaxing Activities That Work on Your Child’s Skills 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

Although we are always so appreciative of our PTN parents, we love getting the opportunity to show our gratitude for each of you on Parent Appreciation Day. This year, Parent Appreciation Day is on July 23rd, and to celebrate, we wanted to share some activities that you can partake in with your children that also allow you to relax and unwind. From trying family yoga to gardening together and more – here are some relaxing activities that also work on your child’s skills. Enjoy!

Family Yoga

An excellent way to relax and get moving is to partake in family yoga. Yoga is a great way to exercise while relaxing your mind, body, and soul. Not to mention, yoga is perfect for working on your child’s gross motor skills and balance. If you have done yoga in the past, fantastic! Use your knowledge to guide your child through some simple yoga poses. But if you’ve never done yoga, this family yoga video is easy for your whole family to follow.

Play a Board Game

Another easy way to relax while working on your child’s skills is to play a board game together. Board games are a great way to spend quality time with one another, and believe it or not, many board games are great for working on your child’s skills. Although there are many board games to choose from, one we highly recommend is Candy Land. Candy Land helps your child work on color recognition and counting, and also allows them to work on their fine motor skills when rolling the dice and while moving their game piece around the board. 

Garden Together

One final activity to do with your little ones is to get outside and garden together! Gardening is very calming and a great way to bond with your kiddos. First, get a pot, fill it with some dirt, and dig a hole in the dirt. Now, have your child use their fine motor skills to grasp the seeds and place them into the hole, and then ask them to use their gross motor skills to pick up the watering can and water the seeds. Now, you and your little one can watch the plant grow and appreciate your hard work!

We wish you all a very happy Parent Appreciation Day! Be sure to follow us on our social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest) all July long as we continue to celebrate our amazing PTN parents and share some fun activities, tips, and more! Also, 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.

How to Incorporate Therapy Into Your Child’s School Routine
How to Incorporate Therapy Into Your Child’s School Routine 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

Believe it or not, sending your little ones back to school is just around the corner (trust us, we can’t believe it’s that time of year, either!) This means that it’s time to start getting all of your child’s school supplies ready and start preparing them for their school routine.

Transitioning from summertime fun to going back to school can be tricky, and you may find it difficult at times to fit in your child’s therapy. But we’re here to tell you that it’s actually quite simple to incorporate therapy into your child’s everyday school routine. From doing yoga to using a bedtime chart and more – here’s how to incorporate therapy into your child’s school routine:

Do Some Morning Yoga: Participating in a family yoga session each morning is an excellent way to work on your child’s balance and coordination. Take 5-10 minutes before your child goes to school and follow along with a family-friendly yoga video. This will allow you and your child to spend time together doing a healthy activity and set you both up for an excellent start to the day.

Give Your Little One a Healthy Snack: If you send your child to school with a snack or lunch, be sure to pack them an orange or clementine. Why, you may ask? Well, once your little one is ready to eat, they’ll have to carefully peel the fruit, helping them develop their fine motor skills. Plus, they’ll get to enjoy something nutritious and delicious!

Ask About Your Child’s Day: Incorporating speech therapy into your child’s schooltime routine is as simple as asking them about their day. While you and your family sit down for dinner, ask your child to describe three things that happened during school and how each of those events made them feel. You could even ask your child questions such as their favorite part about school, what they enjoy doing during recess, and one thing they learned that day.

Use a Bedtime Chart: Our final tip is to utilize a bedtime chart. Write down all the things your child has to do before settling into bed, and hang that chart somewhere your child can reach. Then, have your child perform each of these tasks each night, and once they are complete, they can peel off a sticker and place it onto the chart! This will help them become familiar with their bedtime routine while working on their gross motor skills in the process.

Happy back to school! Check out our social media (Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest) all August long as we share back-to-school tips, 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.

Ways to Use Technology to Work on Your Child’s Therapy
Ways to Use Technology to Work on Your Child’s Therapy 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

Summer is just around the corner, which can only mean one thing… Your little ones are out of school and are back at home during the day! While it’s great that your kiddos will be around the house more, it also means that you’ll need to find ways to keep them entertained while also working on their skills in the process. A wonderful way to accomplish this is to utilize the technology around your house. Though we should try to monitor our children’s screen time, technology in small doses can be extremely beneficial and will help keep your little ones entertained. 

From watching educational videos to partaking in family workouts and more – here are some excellent ways to use technology around your house that work on your child’s therapy:

Find Videos on YouTube Kids: YouTube Kids is full of educational videos that will help your little one work on their skills. With YouTube Kids, you can feel comfortable knowing that each video is specifically made for kids and are age-appropriate. Some of our favorite types of videos on the platform include:

  • Fun musical videos that your kiddos can dance to
  • Simple crafts that your child can make
  • Kid’s yoga videos that work on your child’s physical therapy
  • Cute nursery rhymes your child can sing along to

Print Out Pictures: Have your child sit next to you and search for a cute page full of fun objects. For example, you could search for cartoon animals, flowers, or houses. Print out the page, and have your child use their fine motor skills to color each object. Once they’re done coloring, they can cut out each object and use them to play pretend!

Play Games During a Video Call: Set up a time where your child can call up their loved ones (grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.) and have them play fun games during the video call. Some game ideas that are fun for the whole family include:

  • 20 questions
  • Simon Says
  • Charades
  • Pictionary

Partake in a Digital Family Workout: One final way to use technology to help work on your child’s therapy is to partake in a digital family workout. Look online for family-friendly workouts, and select one that looks like you and your little ones will enjoy. Make the workout fun by playing upbeat music in the background, and reward yourselves afterward by eating a delicious and healthy snack!

Follow us on our social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest) all month long for more awesome ways to work on your child’s therapy using technology. We will also be sharing 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 both you and your child in any way that we can.

Bedtime Tips to Help Your Child Fall Asleep More Easily
Bedtime Tips to Help Your Child Fall Asleep More Easily 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

Ensuring that your little ones have a sufficient amount of sleep each night is crucial as it can play a huge factor in their learning and development. Though, we understand that getting your child to perform their bedtime routine is not always the easiest task. Children often get fussy, like to get in and out of bed, and may ask to stay awake “just a few minutes longer.”  We know it can be difficult, and that’s why we wanted to share some of our favorite bedtime tips that will help your child fall asleep more easily. We hope that these tips will make your little one’s nightly routine go a whole lot smoother, and take a little bit of stress off your shoulders.

Give Your Little One a Nightly Bath: One of the first things you may want to incorporate into your child’s nightly routine is bathtime. Not only is taking a bath fun for children, but it can also promote relaxation and you can work on your child’s therapy goals by playing with waterproof toys such as these farm animal bath toys. Ask them to identify each animal one at a time and have them make the noise of that animal. Your child can also work on their hand strength by squeezing the cute toys to shoot the water out of them!

Read a Bedtime Story: Reading your child a bedtime story is an excellent way to help them relax each night. While reading, have your child work on their speech skills by asking them to identify specific colors, animals, and objects on the page. Then at the end of the book, you can continue the conversation by asking them what they enjoyed the most about the story. Our favorite part about this tip is that it allows you to spend some time snuggling your child while also helping them feel calm and relaxed in the process.

Trade Screen Time For an Activity That Promotes Relaxation: Tablets, phones, and computers all emit blue light, which interferes with sleep. So instead of handing your little one an electronic device at night, have them partake in an activity that promotes relaxation. You could have your child listen to calming music, work on their fine motor skills by drawing a picture, or suggest that they play pretend with their favorite stuffed animal.

Get Into a Routine: Try to put your child to bed at the same time each night and perform a consistent bedtime routine with them. For example, if you want your child in bed and asleep at 8:00 PM, you may want to begin their bedtime routine at 7:00 PM to ensure that you can fit in all of their bedtime tasks (taking a bath, putting pajamas on, brushing teeth, reading a story, etc.) Get your little one involved and excited to perform their bedtime routine by making them a task chart and getting a sheet of colorful stickers. They can then practice their fine motor skills by peeling a sticker off the sheet and placing it next to each item they’ve performed that night.

Happy Sleep Awareness Week! You can find more great resources and learn more about Sleep Awareness Week by visiting the National Sleep Foundation website. Be sure to keep an eye on our social media (Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest) all month long as we share helpful tips, resources, activities, and more! As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss if your child would benefit from pediatric therapy. Our team is here to support both you and your child in any way that we can.

Stress-Free Ways to Incorporate Therapy Into Your Daily Routine This New Year
Stress-Free Ways to Incorporate Therapy Into Your Daily Routine This New Year 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

From our PTN family to yours – Happy New Year! We have enjoyed working with each of our PTN families this past year and are looking forward to working with you in 2022 and beyond. We understand that the last few years have been a whirlwind full of uncertainties, but we are extremely hopeful for the new year ahead.

To help start off the new year on the right foot, we wanted to take some of the stress and pressure off by sharing some ways that you can easily incorporate your little one’s therapy into your daily routine. Parents are some of the most incredible people in the world and will do anything to help their children succeed. Unfortunately, parents tend to forget at times that they need to take care of their well-being, too. Our hope is that these ideas will help take some of the stress off of your shoulders, while seamlessly allowing you to work on your child’s therapy goals during some of your day-to-day activities:

Take a Trip to the Grocery Store

One way to incorporate your child’s therapy goals into your daily routine is to take them along with you on your next trip to the grocery store. As you walk up and down the store aisles, have your child help to identify, label, or count items that they are placing in the cart, and ask them to describe each item. For example, if you are purchasing some apples, ask your child to describe the color of the apples and then proceed to ask them if they like apples. Finally, give your child some information about the item. In the case of an apple, you could tell them that they’re nutritious and will help make them grow big and strong! Handwriting goals? Have your child help you write out the grocery list ahead of time. 

Sort Laundry

Even if we (as adults) may not like doing laundry, you’ll be surprised at how much your child will enjoy sorting it! Have your little one sit down with your clean laundry pile, and ask them to sort it for you into piles by the color of the clothing item or by the type of clothing item. Another fun thing that you can do during this activity is to ask your child what part of the body each article of clothing goes on and then have them describe their favorite pieces of clothing!  Work on your child’s motor planning and strength by having them climb in and out of the laundry basket.

Get Ready For Bed

Get your child involved during their bedtime routine. First, ask your little one what pajamas they would like to wear and have them help you put them on. Ask questions about their pajama choice, including the color, if they’re soft, and what characters or objects can be seen on the pajamas. Have them practice stair-stepping by offering them a step stool to climb in order to reach the sink when brushing their teeth.  Another thing you can do is have your child pick out what book they want to read for their bedtime story. While reading the book, ask them questions about the book, and then discuss how your child felt about the story at the end. Your little one will love being able to have a say during their nighttime routine.

We know that 2022 will be an incredible year and hope that these activities will make it easier (and less stressful) for you to work with your child on their therapy throughout the day. 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 both you and your child in any way that we can. Here’s to an incredible year ahead!

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