Three things we built to help with development

Here are three simple things my husband built for Presley.  It really helped him to get involved when she was just an infant.  Dads can sometimes feel left out, and he loved building things for her. The first was the crawling track.  We propped it up on one end just to get her moving forward.  Presley was in a onesie so she could feel the material on her and wiggle her way down the track.   It is a great way to show them they can be mobile, plus they are on their belly for tummy time.  You can lower the track as they get stronger and faster so they use more muscles and less gravity.  We learned of the crawling track from a few blogs previous listed and the book: How to Teach Your Child to be Physically Superb by Glenn Doman.  (  http://www.glenndomanonline.com/products/books/how-to-teach-your-baby-to-be-physically-superb.html )  It can also be found on amazon reasonably priced.  We also printed black, white, and red infant stimulation cards to line up on both sides of the track. This was donated to a local therapy group to help other children when we were done.



Next is the activity board.  We just wanted to stimulate Presley's mind, challenge her sensory experiences, and encourage her hands to explore.  So we made a trip to Lowe's to find different things.  My husband took a piece of wood, smoothed the edges and attached everything himself.  It didn't take long and it still entertains Presley and Payton a year later. There is acolorful wheel to spin made out of a coaster, a door bell to practice pushing buttons, faucet knobs to practice turning, colorful beads to slide up and down, a scrub brush with the handle cut off to have a different texture (Presley's favorite as an infant), a closet light she could push to turn on, a mirror, latches, and two stretchy keyrings to pull on.  There is a ruler on the floor to show its size.


 

Finally, I needed a way to organize our program and all the varieties of flashcards, checklists, and equipment.  My wonderful husband again came through with our "therapy board".  It holds everything in one neat, organized spot and I no longer wonder where I left something or if my 3 year old took it to her room to "play" with it.  I highly recommend this if you have the room.  If you are wondering what we have on ours, it is Your Baby Can Read flashcards and books, word cards, a massager, a timer, straw therapy kit, tactile gloves, flashlight, our NACD checklist, a checklist of things we are working on such as songs like "Itsy Bitsy Spider" so the therapists know which ones to reinforce, oral motor pink toothettes, and our Therapuetic Listening program schedule.

As always, please let me know if you have any great suggestions too.  Blessings, Robin