Grandview Kids

Every Child And Youth Living Life At Their Full Potential

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Ways to Incorporate Occupational Therapy Into Daily Routines/Tasks at Home

Adrian Polidano

Hand strengthening and grasp

Bath time

  • Squeezing sponges or wringing out washcloth during bath
  • Playing with squirt toys at bath time

Housekeeping

  • Squeezing spray bottles to help water plants or clean table/counter tops
  • Crumpling paper and folding up boxes for recycling
  • Lifting, carrying or dragging a full toy bin or laundry bin with handles
  • Squeezing clothes pegs to hang up towels/clothing items to dry
  • Pulling linens off the bed

Meal Prep/ Mealtime

  • Helping with kneading cookie/bread dough when making baked goods
  • Using kitchen tongs to help serve food at mealtime
  • Scooping out mashed potatoes or cooked rice onto family member’s plates
Picture of a person kneading dough.

Outdoor time

  • Doing animal walks on the grass e.g. bear, crab, seal etc.
  • Storing and translating small rocks/pebbles from palm to finger pads to throw rocks into the lake

Pre-printing and printing

Bath time

  • Drawing and/or printing with soap or soap crayons on the wall

Housekeeping

  • Helping to hand write the grocery list

Meal prep/ Mealtime

  • Making letters out of cooked spaghetti noodles
  • Printing out meal menu or drawing items for a meal and posting it on the fridge

Outdoor time

  • Finding sticks in the park and making letters with them, or drawing letters in gravel/sandbox using a stick
  • Forming letters or drawing a picture using rocks
  • Sidewalk chalk

Self care

Bath time

  • Participating in dressing and undressing
  • Participating in scrubbing body with a loofah and body wash, or washing hair

Housekeeping

  • Using a toothbrush to scrub objects clean
  • Grooming toys such as doll’s hair

Meal/Meal prep

  • Playing tea party with dolls i.e. setting up plates, serving snacks
  • Participating in cooking activities

Outdoor time

  • Participation in dressing and undressing to go outside
  • Putting snacks into a container or zip lock bag
  • Making mini sandwiches
  • Filling up a water bottle

Miscellaneous

  • Take advantage of the time you have at home for potty training

Executive functioning/organization

Bath time

  • Set up a bath towel, clothing to be changed into, and bath toys
  • Follow a routine or part of a routine – i.e. lay out clean clothes, bathe, get dressed, place dirty clothes in the hamper, brush teeth

Housekeeping

  • Encourage making their own bed each morning
  • Doing and folding laundry, sorting then putting them back in the respective drawers
  • Sorting the garbage, recycling and compost
  • Vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, wiping windows/mirrors
Child's clothes folded on table

Meal prep/mealtime

  • Gather and organize ingredients for a recipe
  • Assisting with set up and clean up of all meals  

Outdoor time

  • Set up instructions for a scavenger hunt
  • Plan a route to the park
  • Build a figure using sticks and rocks
  • Build a fort or set up an obstacle course

Self-regulation/sensory-based activities

Bath time

  • Blowing bubbles during bath time
  • Wading through the bath water
  • Filling and pouring water with a pail

Housekeeping

  • Taking out the garbage/recycling/compost
  • Carrying the laundry basket to the laundry machine

Meal prep/mealtime

  • Stirring cake, pancake, cake/cookie batter
  • Eating a crunchy snack
  • Sipping liquids from a straw

Outdoor

  • Running
  • Biking
  • Scootering
  • Playing catch
  • Handball
  • Kicking a soccer ball
  • Street hockey

Miscellaneous

  • Climbing stairs
  • Playing Simon stays
  • Rough-housing with parent or sibling
  • Making an obstacle course
  • Having a dance party
  • Tortilla roll in a blanket (with supervision)

The College of Nurses wrote to nurses across Ontario this week:

It’s a special year for nurses around the world, with May 12 marking 200 years since the birth of Florence Nightingale. Well known as the founder of modern nursing, her vision for nursing professionals in the 19th century is still very much alive today. Leadership, collaboration, compassion and a commitment to patient care and well-being were values Nightingale upheld and instilled in her nursing students. These values, remain central within the complexity of care today, with nurses applying their knowledge and judgment, along with scientific evidence, to their professional practice.

In honour of the 200th anniversary of Nightingale’s birth, the World Health Organization has declared 2020 the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife. This year-long effort celebrates the work of nurses and midwives and highlights the challenging conditions they often face, making it particularly meaningful during a global pandemic. Times like this also remind us of the value of teamwork across all health care professions.

The College of Nurses of Ontario has asked all Registered Nurses to take a moment and share why being a nurse is so meaningful to those of us fortunate to be registered in Ontario

Here is why it is for me:

I have been a Nurse for 32 years.

Grandview Kids CEO Lorraine Sunstrum-Mann in her Graduation photo from nursing school

I have had the honour of practicing in direct care and leadership roles in Trauma, Critical Care, Emergency, General Medicine, Nephrology, Paediatrics and Women’s Programs. I have been a Chief Nursing Officer and now a CEO.  I am often asked if I miss being a nurse and people are usually shocked to know I am still an active Registered Nurse. I explain how nurses practice across many domains ~ research, direct care, education and in my current area of practice, administration. The education and skills required to care for each and every person across settings can be translated to an organization or a population and nurses in administration roles are impacting health policy and health outcomes in significant ways. I LOVE being a nurse. I have enjoyed each domain I have had the privilege of working in. Being the CEO at Grandview Children’s Centre provides the opportunity to bring a nursing perspective to the care and support of the children, youth and families who access the paediatric rehabilitation and other services and programs we offer. That lens combined with the expert physician, health discipline, professional and administration staff across our talented teams makes for a rich, evidence-informed model of care. For 32 years nursing has been a gift in my life, allowing me to meet amazing people like the Grandview families and team.

This nursing week I shout out to all the nurses across the world keeping us safe in this pandemic. May they remain safe too.

Happy Nursing Week. ~ Lorraine

Written by Grandview Kids Speech-Language Therapy Assistant, Kelly

Sharing a book with a preschooler might be a short activity and that’s OK!  

Keep these tips in mind while nurturing a love for reading in your children:

  • Imagine the goal of the experience is sharing rather than teaching or testing.
  • You don’t have to control the experience or finish the book. Holding a book, flipping pages, and pretending to read are all good skills.
  • Let your child pick out the book and let him hold it.
  • Sit face to face with your child so you can respond to the things he points to or talks about.
  • After turning the page or reading a section, wait a few seconds to see what your child shows interest in.
  • Skip the printed words and offer your own grammatical sentences that match the pictures or your child’s interest.   
  • Explain what new words mean by acting them out and relating them to your child’s experiences. This is a good place to talk about new words that express feelings, descriptions, or actions.  Repeat new words several times. 
  • Engage in conversations that the book inspires. Relate ideas and concepts from the book to your child’s own experiences (e.g. “Remember when we went to the zoo…”
  • Revisit favourite stories often. Preschoolers love repetition and the comfort of predictability.

Resource

Visit Hanen.org for more information.

Upon any of your visits to Grandview within the last year, you may have seen a little blue and white robot zooming around our Children’s Centre, and thought to yourself “What was that?” Well, we’re here to formally introduce you to Joy, our iPal robot that came to Grandview in March of 2019!

We received Joy through a partnership with Durham College’s AI Hub and with the support of VTrac Robotics. Joy is a “companion robot” and can be found in settings such as hospitals, libraries, and senior centres. Joy’s name was given to her by a resounding popular vote, which we conducted via a Facebook Poll. The name was put forth by a Grandview mom, who had a daughter who passed away, named Joy.

At Grandview, Joy can be spotted welcoming families arriving for their appointments and acting as a teaching tool in the school. Children awaiting appointments are always excited and curious upon seeing Joy in the waiting room. Some children who come to our centre can be nervous about their appointments, and Joy always does an excellent job of easing children’s nerves and taking their minds off of the visit.

Two children playing with Joy the Robot.

At Campbell Children’s School, Grandview’s collocated educational partner, students have been learning how to program Joy to speak and move around the classroom. Students enjoy singing and dancing with Joy, as well as sitting to listen to one of Joy’s stories. Using robotics as a learning tool has been beneficial to the school and we are excited to continue exploring the possibilities of implementing robotics into other programs here at Grandview!

Watch Joy in action!

To learn a bit more about how Joy works, check out this video we posted to our YouTube channel where, Shaun (Special Education teacher and Technology Lead at Campbell Children’s School), breaks down some of Joy’s key functionalities:

Blog updated in April 2024

As parents, we often want to get as MUCH language out of our kids as possible.  Asking lots of questions seems like a natural way to get them to talk, right? Actually, asking lots of questions may not be the best way to elicit language from your child.

Think about a time where you were required to answer many questions, maybe an interview.  Were you comfortable in the situation?  What about during an exam?  How did it feel when you weren’t quite sure of the answer? Are those situations that you enjoy and seek out? Do you want to stay in an interview or an exam for a long time?

Most people find it uncomfortable to be quizzed.  You may feel pressure to respond “correctly” and may be anxious about what to say or what question will be asked next.

Now think about a time where you felt completely comfortable in a conversation. Maybe you were chatting with your best friend.  What made that conversation so comfortable? Were speaking turns balanced?  Was there a nice mix of questions and comments?

Let’s apply this to interactions with your child. Just as WE find it uncomfortable to be asked many questions (and particular “testing” questions), THEY do too!

So what should we do? Grandview Kids Speech Language Pathologist Alishia Chamney says we should take the pressure off and aim for a balanced conversation.

The first step is to NOTICE what your interaction style is.  Do you ask lots of questions?  Notice the ratio of questions to comments.  Think about how many and what type of questions you are using.  You might find that you’re using lots of “testing” questions (e.g. “What’s this?”, “What does the cow say?”, “Is this a truck?”, “Is he jumping?”).  These might be WH-questions (like who, what, where) or yes/no questions (e.g. “Is that a cow?”).

Now that you’re aware of your question-asking tendencies, it’s time to reduce the number of questions. The easiest way to do that is to change questions into comments.  Instead of asking multiple questions, provide comments based on what the child is doing, seeing, and experiencing. This tells the child that you are truly interested in what they are doing.  All those comments also provide the opportunity for your child to hear language that they might want to use themselves when the pressure is off.

Here are some examples of how to change a question into a comment:

“What’s that?” → “You have a truck” or “I see a truck!”

“What does a cow say?” → “Mooooooo says the cow.”

“Is this a truck?” → “Look I have a blue truck.”

“Is he jumping?” → “He is jumping!” or “He is jumping so high!”

“Is that a cow?” →  “Here is a cow.” 

Should you avoid questions altogether?  No – BUT we want a balanced conversation.  Ask questions when you need to know an answer.  Typically these will be about your child’s preference so you don’t know the answer already (e.g. “Do you want some more bubbles?”, “Are you hungry?”, “Do you want the blue cup or the red cup?”).  Balance the number of questions you ask with the number of comments you make – and keep in mind that questions are “heavier” so you need more comments to balance out a question!

Turning questions into comments will help support your child’s language development.  Children are more likely to stay, play, and learn with you when they are having fun and the pressure is off.  Have fun!

Written by Alishia, Speech-Language Pathologist

Looking for more speech content?

Click the links below for more speech-language pathology content from Grandview Kids clinicians.

In the hopes that warmer weather will be here to stay soon, Grandview Recreation Therapist, Courtney, has created some activity suggestions that you can do outside as a family. All you need is sidewalk chalk! These activities will provide an opportunity for your family to get outside and get active, creative and most importantly have FUN together!

Activity List**

  • Obstacle Course
  • Sidewalk Chalk Maze
  • Tic-Tac-Toe
  • Target Practice

** see photo examples below.

Obstacle Course

  • Draw an obstacle course with your chalk.
  • You can draw zig-zags, loops, twists, as well as “balance” beams to walk on, lines to jump over, shapes to hop/step/dance in, a hopscotch board, actions to complete and so much more!
  • Have your child move through the obstacle course.
  • You can add a competitive element to this activity by timing your child as they move through the course, and then challenging them to try and beat their previous time.
A picture of two children doing a sidewalk chalk obstacle course.

Sidewalk Chalk Maze

  • Draw out a maze using sidewalk chalk with a start and finish point for your child to find their way through, drawing the pathway with different coloured chalk.
  • Make the maze “life size” and have your child move through the maze themselves.
  • You could also bring out toy cars, toy animals or a ball to place at the start line and have your child help them through the maze from start to finish.
A picture of a sidewalk chalk maze

Tic-Tac-Toe

  • Draw a tic-tac-toe game board with chalk – the game can be played multiple ways.
  • Play a game by drawing your X’s and O’s onto the game board.
  • Toss a rock or bean bag (you can also use rolled-up socks or sponges) onto the tic-tac-toe board and wherever it lands is where you draw your X or O. First to get three X’s or O’s in a row wins.
  • Tic-tac-toe Team Race – Draw a START LINE away from the tic-tac-toe board. Each team has one piece of chalk and lines up behind the START line. The first players from each team have to run down to the game board and mark their designated X or O on the game board, run back and hand the chalk off to the next player on their team. The next player does the same, team players take turns until one team has three X’s or O’s in a row!
A picture of a tick-tack-toe sidewalk chalk game.

Target Practice

  • Draw a target with point values with your chalk.
  • Take turns tossing a rock or bean bag onto the target (you can also use rolled-up socks or sponges).
  • Have those playing take three turns each throwing rock or bean bag, adding up their points.
  • Whoever has the most points wins.
  • You could also have each player try to beat their own score each round.
Picture of the target practice game.

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