Core strength and fine motor skills are both critical for a child’s development and learning. One specific fine motor skill that deserves special attention is scissors skills. Using scissors is not the be-all-end-all of a child’s success in school! However, it is important that children master the ability to use scissors not only so they [...]
Family
Fine motor skill development is the ‘meat and potatoes’ of Occupational Therapy and the number one reason for referral. Generally, “fine motor” refers to the refined skills of the hands and fingers. It encompasses the use of different tools in daily life (eating utensils, writing utensils, keyboard, etc.) and basically anything that you do with [...]
This is Oz (Ozzy), one of our rescue cats, and this pretty much sums it up. With the colder weather and the snow, the cats have all been inside for most of their days and (only 1 week into winter) they are already showing signs of cabin fever. It’s going to be a long winter…
Before I became a parent, I was an Occupational Therapist, working with children and people of all ages with special needs since 1993, and as a pediatric Occupational Therapist (OT) since 2002. For children, their “occupations” are play and school. This is how they learn, grow, and develop. Once I had my own children, my [...]
This November 20th will mark 20 years that National Child’s Day has been nationally celebrated in Canada. This date marks the occasion when Canada adopted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), spelling out the basic human rights for children and youth. Generations of Hope assists Alberta couples struggling with the [...]
My daughter recently turned three and as I planned her party, I knew I wanted to incorporate some of our family’s eco-friendly practices in to the details. As I thought about party favours, I knew I didn’t want to do the traditional loot bag with a few trinkets inside that likely get played with a [...]
Teaching your kids about credit at an early age can help them understand more about money matters down the road. Children are curious creatures and they understand more at their young age than we tend to give them ‘credit‘ for. So just like good values and moral behaviour, why not start talking about how to [...]
To the collective sigh of relief from parents everywhere, school started up this week in Edmonton and with this came supplies, backpacks, and new clothes. Kingsway Mall has started a great conversation over on their website about back-to-school style and they have some fantastic video clips of their interviews to share with you. I do [...]
By the time I was in grade three, I was already attending my third school. We weren’t a military family. My parents moved a lot due to life or financial circumstances. I swore that when I had children I would never do that to them ….. never tempt fate to question you, because it certainly [...]
I know I am not alone in wanting my children to learn how to contribute to household tasks, but lately I have been finding it faster and easier just to do it myself. I have pinned different tips and techniques from for chore systems from Pinterest and, starting when my oldest son was 3, tried [...]
The back to school madness is in full swing around our household. So much so that I have an overflowing handful of ‘BTS’ (as those in the know are calling it on Twitter) posts ready to go up. It is really important to me to get this post up first before I begin. I am [...]