Show and Tell: Imaginext Play Sets

In the world of toys, it seems that it is a little harder to find good toys for boys that encourage a lot of pretend play and imagination. I started my career working with adults, and it wasn't until I started specializing in working with kids that I realized how important pretend play is. There are so many skills that come from pretend play. Coming up with ideas and being able to express them to others, having abstract thinking, taking on someone else's perspective, learning about emotions, learning about what motivates people to do certain things (figuring out the 'why'), thinking outside of yourself, social problem solving, etc., etc.

Last year I had a friend donate a bunch of toys to my practice, and some of my favorites have been the imaginext play sets. They have also been the favorite of my class full of boys. It's so fun when toys that bring on the imagination bring kids together and play scenarios are created. I loved just sitting back and watching the magic unfold as kids who rarely interacted with others joined the play.

Here are some of the Imaginext play sets. If anything it can give you some ideas of some pretend play scenarios you can build with your kids (even if you don't have the play set).

• Batman
• Superman
• Pirates
• Space shuttle
• Castle
• Wizards
• Firemen
• Monsters

For other pretend play ideas, you can check out of my Pretend Play Amazon Affiliate site, it's kind of a work in progress (meaning I just add things randomly, usually while I'm blogging, so I can show pictures of what I'm talking about). In case you don't want to scroll through all of it, here's kind of a breakdown. 

• Pages 1-4: Puppets
• Pages 4-8: Dress up
• Pages 9-15: Kitchen/Home/Store/Work
• Pages 16-17: Imaginext

In the world of toys, it seems that it is a little harder to find good toys for boys that encourage a lot of pretend play and imagination. I started my career working with adults, and it wasn't until I started specializing in working with kids that I realized how important pretend play is. There are so many skills that come from pretend play. Coming up with ideas and being able to express them to others, having abstract thinking, taking on someone else's perspective, learning about emotions, learning about what motivates people to do certain things (figuring out the 'why'), thinking outside of yourself, social problem solving, etc., etc.

Last year I had a friend donate a bunch of toys to my practice, and some of my favorites have been the imaginext play sets. They have also been the favorite of my class full of boys. It's so fun when toys that bring on the imagination bring kids together and play scenarios are created. I loved just sitting back and watching the magic unfold as kids who rarely interacted with others joined the play.

Here are some of the Imaginext play sets. If anything it can give you some ideas of some pretend play scenarios you can build with your kids (even if you don't have the play set).

• Batman
• Superman
• Pirates
• Space shuttle
• Castle
• Wizards
• Firemen
• Monsters

For other pretend play ideas, you can check out of my Pretend Play Amazon Affiliate site, it's kind of a work in progress (meaning I just add things randomly, usually while I'm blogging, so I can show pictures of what I'm talking about). In case you don't want to scroll through all of it, here's kind of a breakdown. 

• Pages 1-4: Puppets
• Pages 4-8: Dress up
• Pages 9-15: Kitchen/Home/Store/Work
• Pages 16-17: Imaginext

Show and Tell: Dear Santa

Dear Santa by Rod Campbell is a such a great book! It's similar to Dear Zoo, which I also love. The first time I had ever heard of these books I was doing an evaluation on a preschooler with a language delay. I was in the evaluation with a speech therapist and she had brought Dear Zoo along with a communication device that was already programmed to go along with the book. It was so fun to read and for the child to be able to "read" with us. Books like this are great for helping a child learn to use a communication device because there are so many repetitive phrases. It's also great for all kids because they can easily learn to "read" the book with you. I love books where kids can predict what comes next. There's so much you can do with that!

Another activity that I've done with this book in my preschool/kindergarten classes is I've wrapped up similar items and had the kids unwrap them as we read the story. It's fun, engaging, and also works on some nice fine motor skills. So we're hitting language, literacy, fine motor, turn taking, attention, etc.

Here's some of the vocab that is targeted in this book:

• car
• kite
• ball
• tiger (mask)
• paint
• trumpet
• cat
• small
• big
• bouncy
• scary
• messy
• noisy

Dear Santa by Rod Campbell is a such a great book! It's similar to Dear Zoo, which I also love. The first time I had ever heard of these books I was doing an evaluation on a preschooler with a language delay. I was in the evaluation with a speech therapist and she had brought Dear Zoo along with a communication device that was already programmed to go along with the book. It was so fun to read and for the child to be able to "read" with us. Books like this are great for helping a child learn to use a communication device because there are so many repetitive phrases. It's also great for all kids because they can easily learn to "read" the book with you. I love books where kids can predict what comes next. There's so much you can do with that!

Another activity that I've done with this book in my preschool/kindergarten classes is I've wrapped up similar items and had the kids unwrap them as we read the story. It's fun, engaging, and also works on some nice fine motor skills. So we're hitting language, literacy, fine motor, turn taking, attention, etc.

Here's some of the vocab that is targeted in this book:

• car
• kite
• ball
• tiger (mask)
• paint
• trumpet
• cat
• small
• big
• bouncy
• scary
• messy
• noisy

Show and Tell: Letter School App

I know that whenever I do show and tell, I always say it's my favorite, but this app really is the favorite of all my students. We do Handwriting Without Tears at my school, so this is nice because it has a mode for Handwriting Without Tears. Another thing I love is that it follows the concept of I do it, we do it, you do it. The graphics are great and engaging for the kids so that they want to keep doing it over and over.

When I use Letter School, I generally have the kids learn the prompts and practice on paper or a chalk board first and then follow it up with the app. It's well worth the $5.  Check it out at www.letterschool.com.

I know that whenever I do show and tell, I always say it's my favorite, but this app really is the favorite of all my students. We do Handwriting Without Tears at my school, so this is nice because it has a mode for Handwriting Without Tears. Another thing I love is that it follows the concept of I do it, we do it, you do it. The graphics are great and engaging for the kids so that they want to keep doing it over and over.

When I use Letter School, I generally have the kids learn the prompts and practice on paper or a chalk board first and then follow it up with the app. It's well worth the $5.  Check it out at www.letterschool.com.

Show and Tell: Hyper Dash

If you have a child that's working on learning colors or numbers, this is a great game. I love it because it brings in a lot of movement which a lot of kids need. It's fun, and it's working on those same skills that you can work on sitting in a desk, but it's way more motivating.

For kids who are working on matching colors, you can have cards that have the color on it, and when it says a color, you can hold up that color so your child has a reference. If your child is working on identifying colors, all they have to do is listen to the instructions and it will say which color to find.

You can put the targets close together, or you can make it more difficult by spreading them around the room. There are also different settings to make the game easier or more difficult.

I wish there were more color targets, but for now, the colors include red, blue, green, yellow, and orange.

This toy works on

• following directions
• motor planning
• color identification
• number identification
• math skills
• turn taking
• memory
• speed
• sensory motor

You can order this on my amazon affiliate site, and I'm guessing you can probably get it in some other stores as well.  There is also another version of this game, but it looks like the reviews weren't as good. This is the one I own, so I know I like it :)

If you have a child that's working on learning colors or numbers, this is a great game. I love it because it brings in a lot of movement which a lot of kids need. It's fun, and it's working on those same skills that you can work on sitting in a desk, but it's way more motivating.

For kids who are working on matching colors, you can have cards that have the color on it, and when it says a color, you can hold up that color so your child has a reference. If your child is working on identifying colors, all they have to do is listen to the instructions and it will say which color to find.

You can put the targets close together, or you can make it more difficult by spreading them around the room. There are also different settings to make the game easier or more difficult.

I wish there were more color targets, but for now, the colors include red, blue, green, yellow, and orange.

This toy works on

• following directions
• motor planning
• color identification
• number identification
• math skills
• turn taking
• memory
• speed
• sensory motor

You can order this on my amazon affiliate site, and I'm guessing you can probably get it in some other stores as well.  There is also another version of this game, but it looks like the reviews weren't as good. This is the one I own, so I know I like it :)

Show and Tell: Room on the Broom

Room on the Broom is a great little halloween book by Julia Donaldson. There's so much you can do with this book, I love it.

Here are some skills you can work on with this book:

• Find the rhyming words
• Identifying animals: cat, dog, bird, frog, dragon
• Pretend play: act it out
• Prediction: what animal comes next, who finds the object that is lost, 
• "Reading" the book: let the kids fill in the words. There's great repetition in this book to help with that. Common words are Down!, Yes!, Whoosh!, and Is there room on the broom?
• Searching for items: Do a scavenger hunt while riding a broom
• Obstacle course: As you do the scavenger hunt, add some obstacles for good a good sensory motor activity
• Matching: match the animal to the item they found or to the thing they put in the cauldron
• Helping: Throughout the book, the animals are helping each other. Talk about how your students have helped each other.
• Emotions: happy, sad, scared, angry, surprised, grateful, ashamed, excited. Play charades with emotions.
• Science: Make a magic potion with things that everyone can put in the cauldron. Ask the kids what they would have added to the cauldron.

There's so much more, these are just a few ideas. You can order Room on the Broom at my Amazon Affiliate site. 

Room on the Broom is a great little halloween book by Julia Donaldson. There's so much you can do with this book, I love it.

Here are some skills you can work on with this book:

• Find the rhyming words
• Identifying animals: cat, dog, bird, frog, dragon
• Pretend play: act it out
• Prediction: what animal comes next, who finds the object that is lost, 
• "Reading" the book: let the kids fill in the words. There's great repetition in this book to help with that. Common words are Down!, Yes!, Whoosh!, and Is there room on the broom?
• Searching for items: Do a scavenger hunt while riding a broom
• Obstacle course: As you do the scavenger hunt, add some obstacles for good a good sensory motor activity
• Matching: match the animal to the item they found or to the thing they put in the cauldron
• Helping: Throughout the book, the animals are helping each other. Talk about how your students have helped each other.
• Emotions: happy, sad, scared, angry, surprised, grateful, ashamed, excited. Play charades with emotions.
• Science: Make a magic potion with things that everyone can put in the cauldron. Ask the kids what they would have added to the cauldron.

There's so much more, these are just a few ideas. You can order Room on the Broom at my Amazon Affiliate site. 

Show And Tell: Lights Go On

This is just a simple little song to help with cause and effect, and the concepts of on and off.  I like to use the touch lights that you can usually get at the dollar store.  With those you can work on some motor skills as well, like hand strength, bringing hands to midline, thumb opposition, bilateral coordination, etc.

You can use all different kinds of lights when singing this little song, including lamps, flashlights, night lights, christmas lights, lava lamps, bedroom lights, etc.

You could really change this song to introduce a lot of opposite concepts.

Here are the words I made up for the on and off concept:

Lights go on and lights go off
Lights go on
Lights go off
Lights go on and lights go off
On and Off

Joy Mano
Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant
Early Intervention for Kids with Autism




photo credit: DELLipo™ via photopin cc

This is just a simple little song to help with cause and effect, and the concepts of on and off.  I like to use the touch lights that you can usually get at the dollar store.  With those you can work on some motor skills as well, like hand strength, bringing hands to midline, thumb opposition, bilateral coordination, etc.

You can use all different kinds of lights when singing this little song, including lamps, flashlights, night lights, christmas lights, lava lamps, bedroom lights, etc.

You could really change this song to introduce a lot of opposite concepts.

Here are the words I made up for the on and off concept:

Lights go on and lights go off
Lights go on
Lights go off
Lights go on and lights go off
On and Off

Joy Mano
Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant
Early Intervention for Kids with Autism




photo credit: DELLipo™ via photopin cc

Show And Tell: Hog Wild Poppers

My sister, who is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist, called me one day to tell me about these awesome toys she just got.  They sounded like fun, so I got on amazon, and bought a couple.  They're called Hog Wild Poppers.

Clear Horizons Academy, the school I am going to start teaching at in Fall 2013, asked if I would come and do a pre-writing activity with some of the kids so that they could see my teaching style.  I decided to use the popper toys as a fun activity.

To get ready for the activity, I made some shapes and put them on manila folders.  You could do letters, numbers, word recognition, nouns, verbs, anything you're working on with receptive language really.  If you fold the back part of the folder up, it makes for a nice little stand.

I showed the kids the folders, and I had them trace the shapes with their fingers.  Then I set them up as targets.  I would tell them what shapes to hit, and they would try to hit them with the poppers.  Some kids needed the activity adapted more than others, but it's easy to do.

There's so many different activities you could do with these, and I think it would be fun for kids that are older than preschool as well.

So here are just some of the reasons why these toys are so awesome, and how they can help with child development.

• First, who doesn't love shooting balls across the room.  They're engaging and fun, and can keep the kids attention.
• Color/Shape identification
• Making choices-I had them choose which color ball they wanted, and which animal they wanted to use
• Taking Turns-We took turns shooting the balls
• Fine Motor Strength
• Squeezing the poppers to strengthen hands
• Manipulating small objects (balls) 
• Thumb Opposition
• Squeezing the poppers
• Crossing midline
• Placing objects of the opposite side of the body for them to reach for (some kids had a hard time crossing midline, so I would purposely do a little playful obstruction and make them reach a couple times across midline before I would give them the ball, especially if they would switch hands when I crossed midline)
• Tracing large shapes
• Pinser Grasp
• Picking up the small balls and placing them in the poppers
• Finger Isolation
• Tracing shapes with their pointer finger
• Using one finger to push the ball in place
• Eye-hand coordination
• Hitting a target with the ball using the poppers
• Bilateral Coordination
• Squeezing the poppers with both hands
• Holding the popper with one hand while putting the ball in with the other
• Upper Body Strength
• Laying on their tummies while playing the game
• Motor Sequencing
• Following the sequence of events to hit the targets
• Getting the ball
• Putting it in the popper
• Aiming at a target
• Squeezing the animal to shoot the popper

Some warnings:  

• This toy is not meant for kids under 3, it has small parts.  
• Some kids will look at the toy while squeezing it, it shoots pretty hard, so you'll want to be careful of that.  Especially for kids who don't quite understand cause and effect.

Here's a list of some of the different poppers I found on Amazon.  Hope you have fun!

• Pig
• Cow
• Penguin
• Dog
• Bear
• Dinosaur
• Fish
• Moose
• Panda
• Shark
• Bunny
• Monkey
• Santa Pig
• Pirate
• Noise Making Popper (Dog)
• Orange Monster
• Blue Monster
• Green Monster 1
• Green Monster 2

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Childhood Services for Kids With Autism

My sister, who is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist, called me one day to tell me about these awesome toys she just got.  They sounded like fun, so I got on amazon, and bought a couple.  They're called Hog Wild Poppers.

Clear Horizons Academy, the school I am going to start teaching at in Fall 2013, asked if I would come and do a pre-writing activity with some of the kids so that they could see my teaching style.  I decided to use the popper toys as a fun activity.

To get ready for the activity, I made some shapes and put them on manila folders.  You could do letters, numbers, word recognition, nouns, verbs, anything you're working on with receptive language really.  If you fold the back part of the folder up, it makes for a nice little stand.

I showed the kids the folders, and I had them trace the shapes with their fingers.  Then I set them up as targets.  I would tell them what shapes to hit, and they would try to hit them with the poppers.  Some kids needed the activity adapted more than others, but it's easy to do.

There's so many different activities you could do with these, and I think it would be fun for kids that are older than preschool as well.

So here are just some of the reasons why these toys are so awesome, and how they can help with child development.

• First, who doesn't love shooting balls across the room.  They're engaging and fun, and can keep the kids attention.
• Color/Shape identification
• Making choices-I had them choose which color ball they wanted, and which animal they wanted to use
• Taking Turns-We took turns shooting the balls
• Fine Motor Strength
• Squeezing the poppers to strengthen hands
• Manipulating small objects (balls) 
• Thumb Opposition
• Squeezing the poppers
• Crossing midline
• Placing objects of the opposite side of the body for them to reach for (some kids had a hard time crossing midline, so I would purposely do a little playful obstruction and make them reach a couple times across midline before I would give them the ball, especially if they would switch hands when I crossed midline)
• Tracing large shapes
• Pinser Grasp
• Picking up the small balls and placing them in the poppers
• Finger Isolation
• Tracing shapes with their pointer finger
• Using one finger to push the ball in place
• Eye-hand coordination
• Hitting a target with the ball using the poppers
• Bilateral Coordination
• Squeezing the poppers with both hands
• Holding the popper with one hand while putting the ball in with the other
• Upper Body Strength
• Laying on their tummies while playing the game
• Motor Sequencing
• Following the sequence of events to hit the targets
• Getting the ball
• Putting it in the popper
• Aiming at a target
• Squeezing the animal to shoot the popper

Some warnings:  

• This toy is not meant for kids under 3, it has small parts.  
• Some kids will look at the toy while squeezing it, it shoots pretty hard, so you'll want to be careful of that.  Especially for kids who don't quite understand cause and effect.

Here's a list of some of the different poppers I found on Amazon.  Hope you have fun!

• Pig
• Cow
• Penguin
• Dog
• Bear
• Dinosaur
• Fish
• Moose
• Panda
• Shark
• Bunny
• Monkey
• Santa Pig
• Pirate
• Noise Making Popper (Dog)
• Orange Monster
• Blue Monster
• Green Monster 1
• Green Monster 2

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Childhood Services for Kids With Autism

Show And Tell -- Tip Tip Dig Dig

Happy Show And Tell Day!

First off, I love Emma Garcia's books.  They're so much fun.  One of the reasons I fell in love with her books is because my students loved them so much.  Many of my students who didn't usually participate in circle time would imitate all the actions for this book.  It's so simple, it has good repetitive lines the kids could repeat, and nice action words that could be acted out.

A lot of kids with autism love cars or trucks, so this Tip Tip Dig Dig is kind of perfect as far as an attention getter.  If you are working on imitation skills, this book is motivating.  If you are working on actions words, it's also a good one.

A couple other Emma Garcia books that I love are Toot Toot Beep Beep, and Tap Tap Bang Bang.  Check them out!

Joy Mano
Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant
Early Intervention for Kids with Autism

Happy Show And Tell Day!

First off, I love Emma Garcia's books.  They're so much fun.  One of the reasons I fell in love with her books is because my students loved them so much.  Many of my students who didn't usually participate in circle time would imitate all the actions for this book.  It's so simple, it has good repetitive lines the kids could repeat, and nice action words that could be acted out.

A lot of kids with autism love cars or trucks, so this Tip Tip Dig Dig is kind of perfect as far as an attention getter.  If you are working on imitation skills, this book is motivating.  If you are working on actions words, it's also a good one.

A couple other Emma Garcia books that I love are Toot Toot Beep Beep, and Tap Tap Bang Bang.  Check them out!

Joy Mano
Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant
Early Intervention for Kids with Autism

Show and Tell -- Duck Duck Moose Apps

If you haven't tried the Duck Duck Moose Apps, you really should.  They are great for kids.  With familiar tunes, great animations, and interactive activities how could you go wrong?

Here's more reasons why I love the Duck Duck Moose Apps.

• Great cause and effect applications
• Counting games
• A lot of actions that you can talk about with your child while he's playing.  "Hey! You made him jump!" "He's climbing his web."  Etc.
• You can sing with it, or sing alone with the accompaniment
• You can record your child singing it
• Kids love it and stay engaged with the learning activities

Try some out if you haven't already.  They are between $0.99 and $1.99.

If you haven't tried the Duck Duck Moose Apps, you really should.  They are great for kids.  With familiar tunes, great animations, and interactive activities how could you go wrong?

Here's more reasons why I love the Duck Duck Moose Apps.

• Great cause and effect applications
• Counting games
• A lot of actions that you can talk about with your child while he's playing.  "Hey! You made him jump!" "He's climbing his web."  Etc.
• You can sing with it, or sing alone with the accompaniment
• You can record your child singing it
• Kids love it and stay engaged with the learning activities

Try some out if you haven't already.  They are between $0.99 and $1.99.

Show and Tell--Play Food

PLAY FOOD

There are so many reasons why play food is great.  First it's something that the child has hopefully seen and possibly experienced first hand.  We're talking imitation skills here.  Because a child usually has first hand experience watching his mom (or dad) prepare food, he/she is able to have an idea of what to do with this food.  This is where pretend comes in.  First it will just be imitating the motor actions, but then it can turn into thematic play.

This particular food is great because it also incorporates fine motor skills.

So here's my list of things to do with play food in random order (aka, however it comes to my mind)

• Have a picnic
• Feed stuffed animals or puppets
• Play the "like it"/"don't like it" game.  Make funny faces as your child "feeds" you, and over exaggerate when you like it or don't like it.  Then do the same thing with the puppets
• Match the pieces of food that go together
• Match the food to pictures of the food
• Categorize the food
• Cut the food and prepare a meal
• Be a waiter and take the child's order or vice versa
• Make a stew
• Set the table before you eat
• Have a tea party
• Plant the food in a sandbox or sensory table

PLAY FOOD

There are so many reasons why play food is great.  First it's something that the child has hopefully seen and possibly experienced first hand.  We're talking imitation skills here.  Because a child usually has first hand experience watching his mom (or dad) prepare food, he/she is able to have an idea of what to do with this food.  This is where pretend comes in.  First it will just be imitating the motor actions, but then it can turn into thematic play.

This particular food is great because it also incorporates fine motor skills.

So here's my list of things to do with play food in random order (aka, however it comes to my mind)

• Have a picnic
• Feed stuffed animals or puppets
• Play the "like it"/"don't like it" game.  Make funny faces as your child "feeds" you, and over exaggerate when you like it or don't like it.  Then do the same thing with the puppets
• Match the pieces of food that go together
• Match the food to pictures of the food
• Categorize the food
• Cut the food and prepare a meal
• Be a waiter and take the child's order or vice versa
• Make a stew
• Set the table before you eat
• Have a tea party
• Plant the food in a sandbox or sensory table

Show and Tell - TOMY Gears

The TOMY Gearation Building Toy has always been a favorite in my preschool class.  Yes, you have to be careful because it can also turn into a toy that some kiddos will turn into a self-stimming toy, but overall it's a great toy.  This isn't necessarily a great toy for "following a child's lead" or PLAY Project, but I still like it for other reasons.

Reasons I like this toy:

• You can make different designs/connections with the gears.
• Some of the gears do fun things like make noises or have parts that flip.
• It can be a great reinforcer by giving one piece at a time when you're doing more discrete trial type teaching.
• You can give a child a choice between two pieces.
• You can hoard the gears and work on requesting by the child.
• You can take pictures of the gears, and then do a matching game where the child has to find the matching piece to put on.
• You have to do some problem solving if not all the gears are moving.

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Intervention Services for Children with Autism

The TOMY Gearation Building Toy has always been a favorite in my preschool class.  Yes, you have to be careful because it can also turn into a toy that some kiddos will turn into a self-stimming toy, but overall it's a great toy.  This isn't necessarily a great toy for "following a child's lead" or PLAY Project, but I still like it for other reasons.

Reasons I like this toy:

• You can make different designs/connections with the gears.
• Some of the gears do fun things like make noises or have parts that flip.
• It can be a great reinforcer by giving one piece at a time when you're doing more discrete trial type teaching.
• You can give a child a choice between two pieces.
• You can hoard the gears and work on requesting by the child.
• You can take pictures of the gears, and then do a matching game where the child has to find the matching piece to put on.
• You have to do some problem solving if not all the gears are moving.

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Intervention Services for Children with Autism

Show and Tell -- Where is the green sheep?

I just love this book.  I know that's what I say about everything I share on Fridays, but that's what Show and Tell is all about right?  Sharing the things you love.

Where is the green sheep? or as my class would say it "WHERE IS THE GREEN SHEEP?!?"

This is a book about opposites, you see all the sheep of different sizes, in different places, and doing different things.  I love the repetition of this book, I always think repetition is great for the little ones because it brings consistency and also then the kids can participate.

Throughout the book, the question remains "Where is the green sheep?"

Here are a few simple activity ideas that you can do with this book.  I have included some ideas that can be used with kids who are unable to speak, but that you want to encourage participation with.

• Teach them a gesture of raising their hands and shrugging their shoulders every time you say "Where is the green sheep?"
• Use a BIGmak type button and record a child's voice saying "Where is the green sheep?" then every time you get to that part of the book, you can pause and wait for the child to press the button as they help you "read."
• You can have a picture of a green sheep on a popsicle stick, and every time you come to that part of the book, the children can raise their pictures.
• You can pass out pictures of all the different sheep and as you come to each sheep in the book the kids can put their picture on the board.
• You can do a file folder game of the different sheep.
• You can hide the green sheep somewhere in the room and play hide and seek with it.
• You can assign a child to be the green sheep, and that child gets to go hide while everyone else tries to find him/her.
• You can make sheep out of play-doh, and then describe what everyone's sheep are doing or what they look like.
• You can work on prepositions and put the green sheep in different places (in the box, on the chair, under the table, etc.)

I'm sure there are a lot more ideas out there, hopefully this will give you somewhere to start.

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Intervention Services for Children with Autism

I just love this book.  I know that's what I say about everything I share on Fridays, but that's what Show and Tell is all about right?  Sharing the things you love.

Where is the green sheep? or as my class would say it "WHERE IS THE GREEN SHEEP?!?"

This is a book about opposites, you see all the sheep of different sizes, in different places, and doing different things.  I love the repetition of this book, I always think repetition is great for the little ones because it brings consistency and also then the kids can participate.

Throughout the book, the question remains "Where is the green sheep?"

Here are a few simple activity ideas that you can do with this book.  I have included some ideas that can be used with kids who are unable to speak, but that you want to encourage participation with.

• Teach them a gesture of raising their hands and shrugging their shoulders every time you say "Where is the green sheep?"
• Use a BIGmak type button and record a child's voice saying "Where is the green sheep?" then every time you get to that part of the book, you can pause and wait for the child to press the button as they help you "read."
• You can have a picture of a green sheep on a popsicle stick, and every time you come to that part of the book, the children can raise their pictures.
• You can pass out pictures of all the different sheep and as you come to each sheep in the book the kids can put their picture on the board.
• You can do a file folder game of the different sheep.
• You can hide the green sheep somewhere in the room and play hide and seek with it.
• You can assign a child to be the green sheep, and that child gets to go hide while everyone else tries to find him/her.
• You can make sheep out of play-doh, and then describe what everyone's sheep are doing or what they look like.
• You can work on prepositions and put the green sheep in different places (in the box, on the chair, under the table, etc.)

I'm sure there are a lot more ideas out there, hopefully this will give you somewhere to start.

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Intervention Services for Children with Autism

Show And Tell Friday--Mercer Mayer Apps

I love the Mercer Mayer Apps.  First of all, I just love Mercer Mayer books, so it makes sense that I like the app.  However, there are other books I love and really dislike the app, so loving the book isn't always a qualifier.

There are a whole bunch of Little Critter Apps out now.  They have one free book, it's Just Me And My Mom-Lite.  So check that one out first to make sure you like it.

Here are the reasons why I like this app:

• I love the voice that reads it.  I have seen other apps of children's books that use an adult voice that is monotone.  This one is a child's voice, and is full of emotion.
• You can choose to have it read to you, or you can choose to read it on your own.
• The words are highlighted as it is read aloud.
• You can record your own voice reading it if you'd like.
• When you tap on objects in the pictures, it names the object and the word is displayed on the screen.
• There is a little activity throughout the book where you try to find something like a frog, mouse, or spider on each page.

As of today March 8, 2013 (we all know this list will change frequently, and I won't be able to keep it up to date), these are the current Little Critter Books that are Apps.

• All By Myself
• I Just Forgot (on sale as of today for $0.99)
• Just Go To Bed
• Just Grandma And Me
• Just Me And My Mom-Lite (free)
• Just Me And My Puppy (on sale)
• Just A Mess
• The New Baby
• What A Bad Dream (on sale)
• I Was So Mad
• Just Going To The Dentist
• Just Shopping With Mom
• Just For You
• Me Too!
• The New Potty
• When I Get Bigger (on sale)
• Happy Easter, Little Critter (coming soon)
• Just Me And My Little Brother (coming soon)

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Intervention Services for Children With Autism

I love the Mercer Mayer Apps.  First of all, I just love Mercer Mayer books, so it makes sense that I like the app.  However, there are other books I love and really dislike the app, so loving the book isn't always a qualifier.

There are a whole bunch of Little Critter Apps out now.  They have one free book, it's Just Me And My Mom-Lite.  So check that one out first to make sure you like it.

Here are the reasons why I like this app:

• I love the voice that reads it.  I have seen other apps of children's books that use an adult voice that is monotone.  This one is a child's voice, and is full of emotion.
• You can choose to have it read to you, or you can choose to read it on your own.
• The words are highlighted as it is read aloud.
• You can record your own voice reading it if you'd like.
• When you tap on objects in the pictures, it names the object and the word is displayed on the screen.
• There is a little activity throughout the book where you try to find something like a frog, mouse, or spider on each page.

As of today March 8, 2013 (we all know this list will change frequently, and I won't be able to keep it up to date), these are the current Little Critter Books that are Apps.

• All By Myself
• I Just Forgot (on sale as of today for $0.99)
• Just Go To Bed
• Just Grandma And Me
• Just Me And My Mom-Lite (free)
• Just Me And My Puppy (on sale)
• Just A Mess
• The New Baby
• What A Bad Dream (on sale)
• I Was So Mad
• Just Going To The Dentist
• Just Shopping With Mom
• Just For You
• Me Too!
• The New Potty
• When I Get Bigger (on sale)
• Happy Easter, Little Critter (coming soon)
• Just Me And My Little Brother (coming soon)

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Intervention Services for Children With Autism

Show And Tell Friday-Puppets

Today for my show and tell, I would like to share with you the wonderful world of puppets.  You can really find puppets anywhere, as you already know.  Here is a link to my amazon picks where you will find many different puppets.

Maybe your child has never shown an interest in pretend play, and maybe your child loves to use his/her imagination during play.  Either way, puppets are great for everyone.

I'm sure you can think of ways that puppets can be used in pretend play, so I want to focus on bringing in puppets and pretend play when your child has no interest.

It's important to learn how to play at your child's level, and to essentially follow his/her lead.  When you play too high or too low, developmental progress may be slower.  If you can figure out what your child's intentions are, and you learn to play at his/her level, you will find greater progress.

If you try to make your child participate in thematic play where the puppets have a role to play, and you have a whole story that you are following, you may lose them if they are at a sensory play level.

If your child is at a sensory level of play, think of the activities you already play and that they enjoy, and then just have the puppet be present.  Here are some examples:

Tickling.  Have the puppet tickle them instead of you.  You're in essence playing the same game, it's just that you have a puppet on your hand.  The puppet can talk, but don't have the puppet ask too many questions if your child is not ready for that.

Chase: Have the puppet do the chasing, or have the puppet act scared when it is being chased.

Peek-a-boo/Hide and Seek: Once again, replace yourself with the puppet.

Music: Have the puppet sing songs or do actions instead of you.

You get the idea.  The puppet just becomes another participant in the activities your child already loves.  The child is usually not the one with the puppet at this stage, but he/she is learning about things the puppet can do.  You are modeling for them.  When the pretend transfers over to the child (rather than you always being the puppet) you will find this is a good exercise for theory of mind.

I love puppets because they can be used at all stages of play, and as the child learns and grows, the puppets will too :)

Joy Mano
Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant
Early Intervention Treatment for Children with Autism

Today for my show and tell, I would like to share with you the wonderful world of puppets.  You can really find puppets anywhere, as you already know.  Here is a link to my amazon picks where you will find many different puppets.

Maybe your child has never shown an interest in pretend play, and maybe your child loves to use his/her imagination during play.  Either way, puppets are great for everyone.

I'm sure you can think of ways that puppets can be used in pretend play, so I want to focus on bringing in puppets and pretend play when your child has no interest.

It's important to learn how to play at your child's level, and to essentially follow his/her lead.  When you play too high or too low, developmental progress may be slower.  If you can figure out what your child's intentions are, and you learn to play at his/her level, you will find greater progress.

If you try to make your child participate in thematic play where the puppets have a role to play, and you have a whole story that you are following, you may lose them if they are at a sensory play level.

If your child is at a sensory level of play, think of the activities you already play and that they enjoy, and then just have the puppet be present.  Here are some examples:

Tickling.  Have the puppet tickle them instead of you.  You're in essence playing the same game, it's just that you have a puppet on your hand.  The puppet can talk, but don't have the puppet ask too many questions if your child is not ready for that.

Chase: Have the puppet do the chasing, or have the puppet act scared when it is being chased.

Peek-a-boo/Hide and Seek: Once again, replace yourself with the puppet.

Music: Have the puppet sing songs or do actions instead of you.

You get the idea.  The puppet just becomes another participant in the activities your child already loves.  The child is usually not the one with the puppet at this stage, but he/she is learning about things the puppet can do.  You are modeling for them.  When the pretend transfers over to the child (rather than you always being the puppet) you will find this is a good exercise for theory of mind.

I love puppets because they can be used at all stages of play, and as the child learns and grows, the puppets will too :)

Joy Mano
Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant
Early Intervention Treatment for Children with Autism

Show and Tell Friday - Let Everyone Clap

So I tried to find a youtube video of this song, but they were all too unbearable to watch.  So you can google it if you want, or you can listen a sample of it.  The song is Let Everyone Clap Hands Like Me. I also tried to find out who wrote it, but no luck.

Here's a few reasons why I like this song

• It's simple and repetitive
• Imitation Skills-There's easy actions that go along with it
• It brings in emotions (laughing and crying.) Watching the kids pretend laugh and cry is the best.
• If you're not singing it to the music, you can add your own words and actions to it
• The kids love it

And here are the words to the song

Let everyone clap hands like me
Let everyone clap hands like me
Come on and join into the game
You'll find that it's always the same

Let everyone laugh like me
Let everyone laugh like me
Come on and join into the game
You'll find that it's always the same

Let everyone cry like me
Let everyone cry like me
Come on and join into the game
You'll find that it's always the same

Let everyone sneeze like me
Let everyone sneeze like me
Come on and join into the game
You'll find that it's always the same

Let everyone whistle like me
Let everyone whistle like me
Come on and join into the game
You'll find that it's always the same

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Intervention Treatment for Kids with Autism

photo credit: Angel Kittiyachavalit via photopin cc

So I tried to find a youtube video of this song, but they were all too unbearable to watch.  So you can google it if you want, or you can listen a sample of it.  The song is Let Everyone Clap Hands Like Me. I also tried to find out who wrote it, but no luck.

Here's a few reasons why I like this song

• It's simple and repetitive
• Imitation Skills-There's easy actions that go along with it
• It brings in emotions (laughing and crying.) Watching the kids pretend laugh and cry is the best.
• If you're not singing it to the music, you can add your own words and actions to it
• The kids love it

And here are the words to the song

Let everyone clap hands like me
Let everyone clap hands like me
Come on and join into the game
You'll find that it's always the same

Let everyone laugh like me
Let everyone laugh like me
Come on and join into the game
You'll find that it's always the same

Let everyone cry like me
Let everyone cry like me
Come on and join into the game
You'll find that it's always the same

Let everyone sneeze like me
Let everyone sneeze like me
Come on and join into the game
You'll find that it's always the same

Let everyone whistle like me
Let everyone whistle like me
Come on and join into the game
You'll find that it's always the same

Joy Mano

Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant

Early Intervention Treatment for Kids with Autism

photo credit: Angel Kittiyachavalit via photopin cc

Show And Tell Friday - Froggy Gets Dressed

For show and tell today I am sharing a book that I love.  It reminds of the Cosby Show episode when Mr. Huxtable asks Rudy if she needs to go to the bathroom before they put her in her snow clothes.  She says no, so he gets her dressed.  As soon as she's dressed and ready to go out the door she says "I need to go to the bathroom!"  And that's pretty much how it goes with snow clothes :)

This book is great for talking about different articles of clothes.  

Vocabulary includes: boots, socks, mittens, shirt, pants, coat, hat, scarf, and underwear

Activity Ideas:

• Get a felt board to illustrate the story

• If you have a stuffed animal frog, you could find doll clothes to dress him in.

• Your child could pretend to be froggy, and they could act the book out while you read it.  It would be fun to do it in front of a mirror.

Joy Mano
Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant
Early Intervention Treatment for Children With Autism

For show and tell today I am sharing a book that I love.  It reminds of the Cosby Show episode when Mr. Huxtable asks Rudy if she needs to go to the bathroom before they put her in her snow clothes.  She says no, so he gets her dressed.  As soon as she's dressed and ready to go out the door she says "I need to go to the bathroom!"  And that's pretty much how it goes with snow clothes :)

This book is great for talking about different articles of clothes.  

Vocabulary includes: boots, socks, mittens, shirt, pants, coat, hat, scarf, and underwear

Activity Ideas:

• Get a felt board to illustrate the story

• If you have a stuffed animal frog, you could find doll clothes to dress him in.

• Your child could pretend to be froggy, and they could act the book out while you read it.  It would be fun to do it in front of a mirror.

Joy Mano
Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant
Early Intervention Treatment for Children With Autism

Show and Tell Friday - WORD SLAPPS

So, I've decided that Fridays are going to be Show and Tell days.  My Show and Tells are going to probably consist of books, songs, toys, apps, and probably a few random things I want to share.

Today I'm going to share one of my favorite apps that I used in my preschool class for my kiddos working on receptive language.  This is called Word SLapPs.

Here's how it works

• There are 6 different levels, which means you can have an array of 1-6 pictures that the child will choose from.
• You can either have the child read what they are supposed to find, or you can turn on the audio that tells them.
• When the correct picture is chosen it has positive sounds/graphics.
• It will tell you at the end how many were chosen correctly, and which words were missed.

And here's why I love this app.

• You can make your own vocabulary lists.  I either use my ipad camera to take pictures, or get pictures off the web.  It's really easy
• You can use your own audio
• You can turn off the negative sound when the wrong picture is chosen (the negative sounds drive me crazy because usually they're more reinforcing for the kids than the positive sounds)
• You can have it so there is only 1 picture to choose from for those kiddos that are just learning to follow directions to touch or point to...
• It keeps data for you that you can copy at the end of each session
• It's easy to use
• The kids love it

Joy Mano
Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant
Early Intervention Treatment for Children With Autism

So, I've decided that Fridays are going to be Show and Tell days.  My Show and Tells are going to probably consist of books, songs, toys, apps, and probably a few random things I want to share.

Today I'm going to share one of my favorite apps that I used in my preschool class for my kiddos working on receptive language.  This is called Word SLapPs.

Here's how it works

• There are 6 different levels, which means you can have an array of 1-6 pictures that the child will choose from.
• You can either have the child read what they are supposed to find, or you can turn on the audio that tells them.
• When the correct picture is chosen it has positive sounds/graphics.
• It will tell you at the end how many were chosen correctly, and which words were missed.

And here's why I love this app.

• You can make your own vocabulary lists.  I either use my ipad camera to take pictures, or get pictures off the web.  It's really easy
• You can use your own audio
• You can turn off the negative sound when the wrong picture is chosen (the negative sounds drive me crazy because usually they're more reinforcing for the kids than the positive sounds)
• You can have it so there is only 1 picture to choose from for those kiddos that are just learning to follow directions to touch or point to...
• It keeps data for you that you can copy at the end of each session
• It's easy to use
• The kids love it

Joy Mano
Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant
Early Intervention Treatment for Children With Autism