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.
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
OT Katie Yoon 