So what if you are a child at school, and life hasn’t yet taught you about all the “normal” and “acceptable” ways to fidget. So at school maybe  you chew on your collar or shirt sleeve, impulsively leave your seat, fall out of your chair, rock back in a chair, doodle, bite your finger nails, have a hard time sitting with your class during morning meeting on the floor. To some people these ways of trying to focus attention are perceived as annoying, and sometimes attention getting behaviors. So as more teachers and educators recognize that these are warning signs that a child is trying to pay attention, fidget toys have become a mainstay in many classrooms.  Many people have found that if kids are provided with a more appropriate way to fidget, with strict rules and regulations on what is an acceptable way to use these great toys in a classroom setting, kids can actually use these small toys to help them focus their attention on learning. Though the tricky part is, what sensory experiences I like, might be very different from what another person likes, so here are some great items that have a lot of different sensory attributes.

Aside from those hard to squeeze stress balls, here are some of my favorite fidget toys. These toys are not recommended for children under the age of 3.

The first 3 choices are from Tangle Creations. The original Tangle Jr. is a fidget with a series of interlocking pieces that can be pulled apart and put back together. It is also fun to twist and turn on it’s own, without pulling the pieces apart.

Tangle Jr. Hairy - 

The Tangle Jr. Hairy, places a soft, hair like covering over the Tangle Jr. for added sensory awareness, but still allowing smooth twisting and turning.

Tangle Jr. – Textured -

This Tangle Jr. has pieces that are grooved, bumpy and textured.

Tangle Jr. – Fuzzies -

Instead of having grooves and bumps, this fidget is covered in a soft, fuzzy texture.

Orbo by Popular Playthings/Plasmart -

Use your fingers to push the balls back inside the Orbo and mix them up. Then use your brain and finger strength to match the colors back up again! Though when the balls click into place, they are kind of loud, so best to not use this toy in real quiet situations.

Wikki Stix

These different colored, wax covered strings of yarn can be cut, squished, twisted, squeezed and molded. One Wikki Stix can be easily placed in your child’s pocket  or wrapped around the end of a pencil so they can fidget with it very indiscreetly. They are non-toxic and do not contain latex or other allergens. Pictured here are Super Wikki Stix, but these can be purchased in a variety of sizes.

Tangle Creations, PlaSmart and Wikki Stix provided free samples to facilitate this review. The opinions are my own.

In the Mega pack I reviewed were a few foam shapes (guitar, peace sign, butterfly, moon and a star), as well as different colored fabric squares. First the child chooses a foam shape. Next they place it on top of the yellow crunch art foam block. Using the blue, Crunch Art tool, they simply push the colored fabric square where ever they desire, into the foam block.  This is not an easy activity for kid’s with weaker hands, and it’s great as an alternative to help develop the smaller muscles of the hand in a fun way.  Want to put your fabric square in a different location? No problem, just pull it out and replace the same fabric square in a different location.  The only downfall is that there was only one tool in the pack, so if you have more than one child, they would have to share the tool or get creative with designing their picture while the other person crunches away. It’s very cost effective, starting with some smaller sets at $5.99, this set retails at $10.99. It’s recommended for ages 4 and up.

Want an even better way to help your children develop a more mature pencil grasp, place the yellow crunch art foam block resting on an 2 inch three ring binder turned sideways. A slanted surface helps the fingers remain in a better position, that promotes a more mature grasp pattern needed for endurance writing. Encourage your children to delicately hold the tool with their fingertips, rather than having a death grip and pounding away. For kid’s that have difficulty with planning, let them trace the outer foam shapes onto a piece of paper and have them pre-draw their design on a piece of paper and then use it as a guide to finish the plan to completion.

Little Kids Inc provided crunch art free to facilitate a review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Many children have a variety of learning disabilities that make it challenging for them to organize their thoughts and handwrite them effectively on paper with good legibility. Some children, after years of occupational therapy, due to a variety of disabilities and reasons, still have difficulty with the coordination of their fingers for typing. Typically at the middle school level, we make recommendations to teachers and parents for children to begin to access technology as an alternative form of written communication.

Dragon Dictate software is not only a great way for adults to improve their productivity, but a fabulous alternative for students with either learning or physical disabilities to be able to effectively communicate their thoughts in an organized way so that others can read their creative ideas. Not to mention that once the students get the idea of the software program, they may be able to complete their work assignments much faster than typical. Wouldn’t it be easier for you as a parent to find a faster alternative for your child who could more happily and independently complete their homework?  Many kids are more efficient at telling you their thoughts, but can get roadblocked by the motor skills of handwriting. As a result, they often choose to take short cuts in their work to accommodate for their disabilities and as educators we know they might not always be working to their fullest potential.

I did complete this review using the Dragon dictate software. So I will have to admit, it has been an adjustment to get used to speaking out loud without a template- when for many years I’ve been used to organizing my thoughts in a typed way. However, as long as you follow through with the calibration of the microphone, I have been very impressed with the accuracy of what has been typed, as well as the speed at which it is typed. After you download the software, to calibrate the microphone system you need to read lengthy passages, which could pose a challenge for those kids with a reading disability. However, this software is intuitive and over time we have been able to utilize this program successfully.

There are also two modes with the dictation software – dictation mode and command mode. Command mode will literally run your computer without the need to even touch the mouse. With a simple command you can open, close and access all sorts of programs. Though I wasn’t all that successful myself transitioning back and forth between each mode and there is definitely a learning curve to remembering and using the commands appropriately, I did see some nice video’s on the Nuance website demonstrating the capabilities of this awesome software.

Being that I am very busy with working full time, raising a family and creating this blog, I am hopeful that I can learn to dictate more effectively – so at the very least I can use it to quickly create my blogposts. I do wish I had used this when Gavin was an infant while I tried to learn to type fast while using the one free hand I had available! If you decide to purchase this product for our use, please be aware there is a Windows version and a MAC version.

Nuance provided this copy of Dragon Dictate free to facilitate a review. The opinions expressed in this blog post are my own.

The Fisher-Price iXL Learning System is a portable, hand held learning tool for children ages 3 – 7. This is a combination device! It will play downloaded music, store individual photos, read digital story books and allows children to practice writing letters, words and numbers on the notepad. The drawing stylus allows children to draw and stamp on their own download pictures. There are learning games that promote academic skills of reading comprehension, counting, creativity, phonics, math, vocabulary and spelling. Even better, there is a headphone jack (though headphones are not included), so this is a great portable device for travel. An internet connection and computer operating system (Windows or MAC) is required to download the pictures, music and additional software. Other educational software programs with character licenses such as Dora, Sponge Bob, Disney Princess, Handy Manny, and Toy Story 3 can be downloaded on to the device. The basic device is rather simplistic and I would recommend purchasing some additional titles for your children to learn and explore from to keep their interest. You will need to install computer software to download additional titles and also access printable learning activities.

Fisher-Price provided the iXL free to facilitate this review. The opinions in this blog post are purely the bloggers own.

Review of Toy Story 3 game called Woody’s Run Around Round-up. For ages 3 and up. Price: $34.95 at www.wildplanet.com .

Baby Goes Pro speaks w/ ToyQueen in NY at ToyFair

Gigi Fernandez and Valerie Stern developed Baby Goes Pro. Gigi is a two time olympic gold medalist in tennis. She has two year old twins and wanted a creative way to introduce her children to sports. Baby Goes Pro introduces young children to sports like tennis, golf, baseball, basketball and soccer.

Through repetition, sing a long songs and music, the movements of the sports are provided in video format to children. Abbreviated movements are provided, paired with the verbal direction so that when the child goes to play, for example, soccer, they have heard the words and seen the movements. Children can watch, which helps them break down the motor skills so they can generalize skills with success to the activity on the field. This product also encourages parents to get out and move with their children,.

Leapfrog Tag Junior is a great way to foster the love of learning and reading for 2-3 year olds. The Tag Jr. set comes with the book pal and a board book. 5 different books can be downloaded to the same book pal through the use of a USB cord that comes in the package. The software is Macintosh or Windows compatible. The book pal is easy for young 2-3 year olds to hold due to it’s size. Wand the book pal over the pages to promote interactive learning. If you wand it over the words, it will read the words. You can also place it over different pictures like, for example, the sun. It assists with learning vocabulary, preposition development, rhyming words, and colors. It is also interactive in that it may ask the child to find different pictures. Find the the Tag Jr. at www.leapfrog.com

The Scribble & Write by Leap Frog is a great educational tool to assist young preschool and elementary school age children in writing upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet. What’s great about this toy is that there is a drawing tool to help children over the age of 3 who are not developmentally ready to write letters, with imitating all the prewriting shapes that are a prerequisite for handwriting such as a vertical line, horizontal line, circle, diagonals, squares and triangles. Children learn to write the letters of the alphabet in Kindergarten. Make sure to discuss with your child’s teacher whether the school’s handwriting curriculum begins with upper or lowercase letters. Developmentally it is easier to complete the uppercase letters first before lowercase letters. Make sure to start with easier letters like L, P, B that incorporate the straight line letters and leave Z, X, Y for the last ones as they include diagonals and are more challenging to imitate. A nice stylus attaches in the back that is thick and easy for small hands to hold. Make sure to encourage your child to watch the formation and listen to the directions before completing it to learn good formation habits. Encourage top to bottom letter formation. Consider holding the toy up in the air, so that it is in a vertical plane as this is also helpful to enhance grasp development.

Can You See What I See? Gamewright game review by ToyQueen. Educational card game that helps you learn how to visually scan images & match.

Fun game to play at school or as a family that works on a child’s fine motor skills to develop coordination, speed and dexterity. Also Incorporates math with simple addition and subtraction based on how many life savers land onto the gameboard.

ShiShuStyle Baby Blanket review discussing self calming techniques and the benefits of a quality blanket for babies. Review provided by Keri WIlmot aka ToyQueen

In creating my own baby registry I have found the Fisher-Price Miracles & Milestones – Animal Friends Musical Gym. It is multi-functional and incorporates a tummy time mat with an activity arch and takes up half the space other floor mats typically need. Not to mention it’s at an affordable price point of under $30, which is a perfect gift price.

Other suggestions to keep in mind with tummy time:

1. Always supervise your baby during tummy time, monitoring to make sure that items such as blankets are not in front of their face obstructing their breathing.

2. I would not recommend scheduling your tummy time right after a mealtime. Make sure your baby has had plenty of time to digest before they have their exercise session or they may vomit, which may continue to provide negative feedback regarding the activity.

3. Monitor how long your child is able to remain on their belly and gradually increase the time, aiming to end the activity when they are happy rather than crying uncontrollably.

4. Place your hand on the small of their back, near their bottom, when they are on their tummy. This provides them with support to their lower body, allowing them to focus on lifting only their heads.

5. Roll up a receiving blanket and place it underneath their shoulders for more stability.

6. Have your spouse, significant other or a sibling lie down on the floor directly in front of them to provide a more interactive form of entertainment.

Leap Frog Fridge Phonics

Excellent toy for children 15 months through elementary school age is Leap Frog Fridge Phonics. The console attaches to any magnetic surface such as a door or refridgerator. Every letter of the alphabet is magnetic, when you place the letter in the console it will tell you the letter and what isolated sound the letter makes. This game is great for working on developing sounds in isolation and for those children that may have articulation disorder with developing isolated sounds. It can also be helpful for young children who are working on their standing balance as they manipulate the pieces while standing at the refrigerator. Fine motor skills are promoted to rotate the pieces into the console. Find this toy at www.leapfrog.com.

Cranium Hullabaloo

Great for children ages 2 through elementary school that like to move to learn and need sensory input on rainy and snowy days is Cranium Hullabaloo. There are 16 different play pads of different shape and color positioned all over the living space. The console will describe how to move from shape to shape by running, jumping, twirling. Great for kids that like to move to learn, crave a lot of sensory input and learning to follow multi-step directions. This educational game for kids from Hasbro can be found at www.cranium.com or www.hasbro.com.

Cranium Cariboo

An excellent game choice for kids ages 24 months through elementary school is Cranium Cariboo. This game is great for turn taking and for households with siblings who are different age ranges. Different balls are placed in the top and they will randomly hide in behind a compartment. Children pick different cards that will cue them to open a specific compartment. Skills addressed are matching, color recognition, letter recognition, and number recognition. When a ball is found, the item is placed on the side compartment, the winner is identified when the treasure chest opens. This game is also great for children who are learning to develop their grasping skills while holding the key, as this is a precursor for handwriting. Cranim Cariboo is an educational game that  can be found at www.cranium.com or www.hasbro.com