Back to school preparation

Ok, I know it seemed REALLY short and you are not quite ready for it to end, but, summer is almost over and the kids will soon be going back to school.  Usually by this time of summer I start to hear moms starting to say that it's time for the kids to get back to school because the kids are starting to drive their moms crazy. While summer is fun and unscheduled (for the most part), kids need structure and to know what to expect each day. About this time of the summer, siblings start to argue and fight more (too much together time) and parents get tired of entertaining the kids all day.  August seems to be the time for school prep.  Parents take their kids to the stores to shop for school supplies and clothes.  Kids get lists of all the things they will need for the year.  But, it's not just buying supplies that parents need to do to get their kids ready to go back to school- it's getting the kids themselves ready, too.

It's only a couple of weeks until the kids are back in school, and it is time to get their bodies adjusted again to the early to bed, early to rise routine of school.  Typically, parents allow their kids some slack in the bedtime and morning routines over the summer.  That's ok, but now it's time to get them ready to achieve in school.  Don't go cold turkey on the first day of school- start now to make  their bedtime earlier.  Wake your child up earlier in the morning, gradually getting close to the time he/she will need to get up for school.   It will take a couple of weeks to do this so start now.

Make an Ocean

Make an ocean!  Have your child paint a couple of pieces of paper and staple them together to make an ocean.  Then have your child draw fish and crabs and other ocean creatures.  Color or paint them, cut them out  and glue them on the water.  He/she will have his/her own ocean to hang up in his/her room.  Be creative and make all kinds of sea life.  You could look at ocean books to give your child some ideas.

How do I teach my child to blow his/her nose?

This is a question we, as OT's, frequently are asked.  Children get runny or goopy noses a lot and rarely like having their noses wiped.  Parents and teachers get frustrated with the chasing and wiping routine and wonder "when does a child learn to blow their own nose?".  Blowing a nose is a rather abstract concept and difficult to teach.  You can tell a child over and over to "blow out your nose" and even demonstrate the concept repeatedly, but some children just don't get it.  So, how do we teach children to blow their noses?  First, blowing is a learned concept and needs to be taught to the child before we can work on blowing out the nose.  Try showing the child how to blow out of his/her mouth first.  Rip up small pieces of paper (great fine motor activity, as well) and have your child blow them off the table using his/her mouth, or even a straw.  Blow out birthday candles (with direct supervision) or get a pin wheel and have your child blow it.  Every time, use the word "blow" so that your child starts to associate the word with the action.
Once your child gets the concept of "blow", we can move on to blowing out the nose.  Play the blow the paper game again, but have your child clamp his/her teeth together to blow.  You can help keep his/her mouth closed with your finger or use some tape to keep his/her lips closed.  Tell your child to "blow out your nose".  It may take many attempts and several days/weeks before your child finally is able to get air to pass through his/her nose, so don't give up easily!  The end result will be worth the effort.  Remember to give lots of praise and even cheer your child's effort.

Painting with squirt bottles/guns

It's still summer, so get outside and have fun!  Here's a great and creative idea for painting.  Use a squirt bottle, or squirt gun.  Just add food coloring to the water and have your child squirt at a piece of paper.  We first attempted to squirt on pavement, but the color didn't show up.  You could try adding a lot of food coloring to see if that would make the color show on pavement, or just hang up some paper.  It's great for hand strengthening to have your child squeezing the bottle/gun and the kids think it's great. 

Thunderstorm Schmuderstorm

As one of my kids was traumatized by falling trees when he was walking home with my husband just prior to a thunderstorm when he was 6, I have loads of personal ideas surrounding this issue.  Happy to report that 4 years later he is able to camp out with Cub Scouts during a storm unscathed!  Here are a few general articles discussing the subject:

Kids Health from Nemours - Thunderstorms
Parents Magazine article

Teach them the science...
Judging Lightning Distance by Thunder

Make a 'thunder and lightning kit' that may include flashlights, things to build a fort, special glow sticks, art, etc.  Have the kids help decide what goes in it.  Only get it out when there is thunder and lightning. My son is a Star Wars fan so calling him a Storm Trooper helped!

Have your child do creative art to help express his fears, free painting at an easel or on large paper taped to the wall is very therapeutic!  Some kids like to talk about why they used certain colors or how painting made them feel.  Putting together a social story about what is happening and what you are going to do when it happens is also a good strategy.

Try visualization techniques... have your child who is fearful close his eyes and pretend to put all his bad/scary feelings into a cloud, then take a deep breath and visualize blowing the cloud away.  Deep breathing is calming.

Make sure to provide physical contact if your child wants it, even if you think they're too old to be scared of storms!

Make books come to life

Kids love to hear stories, and most parents read books to their kids often.  So, have your books come to life.  Here, we read the story "Rainbow Fish" and then did a craft related to the book.  Older kids can cut out their fish and then cut out their fish "scales".  Younger kids can either rip the scales or simply glue them on the fish.  Find some really shiny scales (we used tin foil) to put on the fish.  If really ambitious, your child can make many rainbow fish to hang from his/her ceiling. 

Painting with Toothbrushes

This is a great idea for many reasons.  Roll out a long piece of paper.  Have your child lay on their stomach to paint.  This provides great weight bearing through the upper extremities for strengthening.  In this pictures, some of the children are using paint brushes, and some are using tooth brushes.  Try using old toothbrushes for a different way to paint.  The kids will find it fun.  This is a great social activity, as well, if doing it in a group.  The kids will need to share and are able to talk to each other while they paint.  Older kids can collaborate on the picture they would like to draw, then divvy up the work.