Mailed out some joy

Before Covid when I went into homes I would bring little things here and there that would stay there. Things like Playdough, pompoms, stickers, water beads. At Christmas time I would often do a little craft. Well obviously now I'm all teletherapy and a lot of my families are like an hour and a half away from my house. Some of my houses from each other are on opposite sides of the state. I've delivered some little therapy bags in the past but this wasn't going to work this time. So instead I decided mailing was the way to.

I used small boxes that were actually for baseball cards that my boyfriend picked up for me. I used Pirateship.com to print the labels and I found it fairly simple. All my families got their packages quickly. I sent them out on a Wednesday and my families on Monday had them. I ordered most of the items from Amazon. I was able to fit all my little things in the little boxes and it worked out perfectly. Some families followed directions well and saved the box for therapy.

So what was in my little therapy boxes? First were sticker faces. There were several different animal faces. I ordered a big package so I have some leftovers for another time. These ones seemed winterish. The kids can work on pointing out and identifying the body parts or face parts. It also works on their fine motor skills to do the stickers. I've had one kiddo that just liked to take the stickers on and off. Another tried to do the faces and it was a little off but cute. Unfortunately, another kiddo didn't like it at all. You can't make everyone happy.

The Snowman Ornament craft is something I would have brought for winter. Since it's a snowman, it's not too Christmas in case a family doesn't celebrate Christmas, but all of mine do. It works on labeling and identifying the body parts. Along with labeling some clothing items. It works on fine motor skills like the stickers.

I provided two sizes of pompom balls. I had accidentally bought the small ones the last time I was going to do therapy bags and thought they were too small. Then while working with one of my kids they put small playdough balls in a water bottle and was amused for a long time. I realized the small ones were perfect to fit in an empty water bottle and the big ones in a paper towel roll. It shows families that they don't need expensive toys and can use simple items. One of my kiddos enjoyed sorting the big and little pompoms into the bottle and paper towel roll. We worked on labeling big/little, "put it, fall out, push." Simple and entertained for awhile. Colors and counting could also be worked on.

Playdough is always a must in a therapy box. The sensory of it and fine motor skills. It also works on language, "roll it, smash, squeeze, cut". Also, it's great for imagination play. You can make cookies or snakes. Most of my kids love playdough. Sometimes it brings in the older siblings that have apparently missed playing with their playdough toys.

A small bottle of bubbles is a must for any therapy session. They are the best. When I was in home for therapy, I always had bubbles in my pocket. A cranky kiddo would cheer right up with bubbles. It works on requesting more, saying "bubble, pop". For older kiddos the carrier phrase "I want..." They are usually pretty motivating. The bubbles I accidentally found were long-lasting bubbles, so they didn't pop right away and would land on the floor. They're great. I need to find those again. Almost all my families liked them. I have one kiddo that wasn't a fan of the residue they left on his finger when he popped them. I have another mom that didn't seem so pleased either, oops.

A car is always fun. It can work on pretend play, vocabulary like "go, stop, fast, slow". It can also go in the playdough for some construction pretend play.

I also put a small bag of water beads in the box. The first week we discussed different ways to use the water beads depending on the kiddos sensory needs. One of my kiddos doesn't do well with different textures. Mom put them in a water bottle for them to see them before putting some in a bowl to see if they'll touch it. Most of the families saved it for the second week. Most of the kids found it fun to explore. You can scoop and dump them with measuring cups and spoons. I would usually use those tools when I could bring water beads in home. I had one kiddo that found smashing the water beads to be so much fun.

Even though I can't be with my kiddos in home I am able to still expand their play and now I can help so many more families that wouldn't have had speech services otherwise.