A school occupational therapist by day and a wife and mom of 2 by night. Follow me on my journey of learning, loving, and living this crazy blessed life.
With ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) diagnosis on the rise, this article took me by surprise and concerns me. Most parents understand the importance of sleep. We’ll read books about it, set up a bedtime routine, and pat ourselves on our backs when our kids are finally sleep trained. One of the first questions I’ll ask my preschool parents whom I’m interviewing for an evaluation is about their child’s sleep habits and routines since more research shows the impact of a child who is not getting enough sleep. However, what happens if you think your child is getting the right amount of sleep, but it’s their quality of sleep, or lack thereof, that is so bad that it impacts them functionally? Check out this informative article by Your Modern Family in which they describe how they realized their son had a sleep disorder that was masked by an ADHD diagnosis and behavioral issues.
Just when you thought Amazon was done with their deals marathon there’s just a couple more hidden treasures that I found that were worth sharing. These are both lightening and deals of the day, so grab them while you can. Remember these are great products for use either at home, school, or as gifts.
Look at how big and colorful these pieces are…perfect for little preschool hands. Work on shapes, color, and number recognition skills with your 3-5 yr olds with this great set. This is a lightening deal! This is a balance bike for babies ages 10-20 months old. It’s such a cute and more functional alternative to the typical bulky ride on toys. This is also a lightening deal. This is an amazing deal of the day for teachers. This adorable caddy holds 24 blunt edge scissors that have anti-microbial protection, and the best part is the $22.49 price…hurry and snag this set for your class!
Here are the lightening and deals of the day for Day 2 of this shopping bonanza. I’m curious to know what are your best/favorite prime day purchase, so please leave me a comment 😀 Again, I’ll be posting about anything that catches my eye as an OT, a mom, and a girly girl who love fashion and self-care…..here we go!!
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This back pack has been on my personal wishlist, so with it only being $19.18 with an extra $5 off coupon, I have to get it. Never mind that I already have some cute backpack purses, but this is a sale I know I’ll regret passing up. This is a lightening deal, so hurry and snag it.
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This wood block puzzle set is a lightening deal that must be grabbed ASAP. I love how it has shapes, colors, numbers, and stacking rings. Get a set your little and don’t miss this deal.It’s so much fun and magical to watch children enter the world of pretend play when they are provided with the right toys to stoke that imagination. Here’s a lightening deal for an 11 pc set for $14.03.Here’s another get pretend play set that every child needs. It’s amazing how kids know how to use each tool just from what they observe and experience from their doctor visits. This set is 41% off and the deal ends in 2 hrs, so get this 19 pc set for $23.42.
If there ever were a sale of all sales and a Christmas in July, then it would most definitely be called Amazon Prime Day. This year, Amazon decided to extend this crazy shopping timeframe from 1 to 2 days. This means more crazy (and not so crazy) deals that you may or may not have ever known you needed. I will admit that I’ve made several “not so needed” purchases, but most importantly, I’ve been given a chance to get some items that I’ve wanted or needed for my work. I also may have purchased some stocking stuffer gifts for Christmas….with these kind of deals, it was bound to happen.
This year, I have the opportunity to share my finds on this blog, Instagram, and Facebook. My hope in sharing these deals is that it can give folks ideas on different types of toys and therapy activities while saving them some money in the process. For the list of prime deals that I found, both lightening deals and deal of the day, please jump over to my “recommended products” page. I hope you’re able to find some great deals, and if you do, please feel free to comment and let me know what you got, so I can keep it in mind for next year. Happy shopping!!
Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial Not an Amazon Prime member?? No worries, click on the link to get a free 30 day trial membership to access all of the Prime Day deals going on right now.
This set is not a part of the Prime Day Deals, but it’s such a great set for the price!!! I love that there are visual, tactile, and even auditory sensory components to this set.
This is a great deal for a Melissa and Doug set. All of their products stand true to durability and great developmental play opportunities. Join the waitlist and cross for fingers to get this great deal.
This is a great bounce ball and works on strength, endurance, and balance, plus, it’s just fun to play on. Grab yours now!
The green and blue combo is a cheaper price for some reason, so stock up and don’t forget to add some lids to your order so you can take your cups to-go mess free.
Give yourself some sanity by getting your kids to organize their junk, I mean stuff, in the car. I love the ipad holder in this! I have this one and it’s awesome!! It even works with my pop socket in place. Just adjust your pop socket to be a little bit above the middle of the back of your phone, and then place the magnet under your phone cover on the bottom half of your phone….works perfectly!! A great first musical light up toy for babies!This is a lightening deal for this color set only. It would make a great gift set! Turning pages in a book is a pre-reading milestone that babies can learn. Start off with chunky board books for little fingers to manage easily. ok, this is a tricky one….once you click on the link look for the “view newer model” to get the cheaper price of $49.99 with prime free shipping. This is a great lightening deal so pick up one for yourself and as a gift for a friend. Here is a great sensory filled combo if you have the space for it. This is a great lightening deal at $79.99. Here is a fun way to encourage your picky eaters to finish a full meal. Make eating a game and everyone wins!!Another board book set for babies to toddlers. This is lightening deal at 43% off for $14.21. Also, if you purchase both book sets together, then you can get an extra $5 off with promo code: PRIMEBOOKS19 Here’s a fun book for older kids (grades 1-3) that screams, “take me on a road trip”. This totally awesome book is in my cart right now. This craft set is super cute and will make a great gift or stocking stuffer if you can save it until the holidays. It’s a lightening deal at 47% off so grab a couple sets so you don’t have any regrets 😉 This is not an a Prime Day sale item, but it is on sale right now. I’ve been eyeing this set for a while after seeing posts on it on Instagram…pretty, fun, and educational…can’t beat a combo like that. This is a nice change up from straight-edged tanagram pieces. Another non-Prime Day sale item, but I’d grab a set or two of these real quick in case the price changes as Amazon is known to doing. At $12.90, this is a great deal! Anyone who works as a teacher or therapist in the schools can totally use their own laminator. This is an amazing lightening deal at 63% off of it’s original price!! A great game for older kids…think Tetris, but old school bc you get to manipulate the wooden pieces by hand to make them all fit perfectly into the frame. A great challenge for both older kids and adults!
Imagine all of the fun kids can have playing in this tent wonderland. It comes with a basketball hoop and ball pit too. My favorite part is how much crawling and strengthening kids are getting while having fun. This is a lightening deal.
Here are a couple of popular grips to encourage a tripod grasp. I’ve used both and they work well with specific kids…it’s trial and error to figure out which grip works best for each child. A great toy for littles to work on bimanual hand coordination, color matching, and counting skills. We have toy like this at my preschool and it is super popular!! Again, another lightening deal!
Well, I hate to say it, but it’s that time during summer when the countdown back to school starts. Teachers start planning for classroom and bulletin board decorations and school supplies are purchased and organized.
In all the years that I’ve been a school OT, I get asked every year for consultations about issues w/students’ attention levels. While I love, love, love a beautifully decorated classroom, the downside of an overly decorated classroom is decreased attention by the kids….and, who could blame them. I would enjoy admiring my new, fun-looking classroom too!
Here is an article from the Association For Psychological Science that addresses the issue regarding classroom decor and children’s attention. I know there are certain guidelines and directives that teachers must follow for having a certain number and specific content on their classroom posters, so I know teachers face an uphill battle when trying to meet requirements from admin while personalizing their classrooms into a fun learning environment. This article does not give specific guidelines on what qualifies as an overly decorated classroom; just that there is a relevance to attention levels. There is a helpful picture comparison of the rooms used in the study of a heavily decorated room and bare room to show the contrast. My hope for posting this info is to just give teachers some food for thought about classroom decor and the unanticipated implications it has on attention.Â
Hello!! Thank you so much for joining me on my first blog post. I’m so excited to share my passion for everything related to who I am….so, who am I?? Well, I’m a wife to an amazing husband, a mom to a vivacious teen daughter and spunky son, a follower of Christ, and the main reason that I even started my social media platform and blog….drum roll….you guessed it…an occupational therapist!!! Everything you see on my blog, my Facebook page, and Instagram page will be related to what I know, what I’ve learned, and what I love.
A little history about my professional life…I graduated with a Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy in 2002…seems like a lifetime ago…I began working with adults in inpatient rehab for 3 years before I switched to pediatric occupational therapy in a school setting. That switch was the hardest thing for me at that time, but it was a choice made to foster a better work schedule as my husband and I were planning on building our family. Every day for the first 6 months, I doubted my choice to switch from adults to kids…even in grad school, I swore that I wouldn’t work in pediatrics, and now here I was trying to figure out the workings of children. With the help of an awesome mentor, colleagues, and special education team, I was able to grow in confidence with my skills and now I can’t imagine not ever working with children. I’m so thankful for my medical rehab background and I still love keeping that part of brain challenged, so you may also see some posts related to adult therapy in the future.
I can’t wait to keep sharing my experiences, thoughts, and lessons learned a pediatric occupational therapist, mom, and wife. And, don’t be surprised if I sprinkle in tidbits about lifestyle trends and even about my spiritual journey because that all makes me who I am. Please follow me on FB and IG @otkatieyoon and subscribe to my emails for updated blog posts and happenings. See you soon!
Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.
OT Katie Yoon 