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Kids Play Smarter

Maximizing your child's play with purposeful activities

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You are here: Home / Archives for academic activities

7 Uses for Left Over Candy

October 25, 2016 by Amy Smith

Transform left over candy from the holidays into motivating kids' games that improve fine motor and academic skills.

Think about all candy your child accumulates at parties surrounding birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Easter. Yep, when you buy bulk candy the only … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fine Motor Activities, Therapist's Tips Tagged With: academic activities, fine motor activities, Holidays

Applesauce Etch-O-Sketch

October 1, 2016 by Amy Smith

Teach your child shapes, letters, and numbers with this hands-on applesauce etch-o-sketch activity. Grab some applesauce and get to learning today!

Motivating children to learn new academic concepts like letters, numbers, words, and shapes can be challenging.  You may have tried using worksheets and notecards, but those methods … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fine Motor Activities Tagged With: academic activities, learning activities, preschool

Nature’s Treasure Hunt

September 19, 2016 by Amy Smith

Outdoor activity that encourages kids to hunt for nature's treasures while getting exercise and boosting math and science skills

With all the recent popularity of the Pokemon Go game, it is easy to see that people really enjoy walking around when they are looking for things to find. This nature's treasure hunt … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Gross Motor Activities Tagged With: academic activities, outdoor activity, science

Money Saving Therapy Swaps

September 13, 2016 by Amy Smith

Save money when purchasing pediatric therapy equipment with these tips from an occupational therapist!

There are several sensory tools or "tricks of the trade" that therapists often use to help kids succeed in the classroom and at home, including things like increasing attention span and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Handwriting Help, Sensory Regulation, Therapist's Tips Tagged With: academic activities, Saving money, sensory regulation activities

Academic Benefits of Playgrounds

August 11, 2016 by Amy Smith

Playgrounds offer academic benefits like improving handwriting and classroom performance.

We all know that playgrounds are amazing places for children to run around, get exercise, and play with their friends. But, did you know that when kids play on a playground, they are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Gross Motor Activities, Handwriting Help Tagged With: academic activities, learning activities, playgrounds

5 Hacks for Happier Homework

July 19, 2016 by Amy Smith

Is homework a dreaded deed each night at your home for both you and your child? Do you feel like you are constantly nagging at your child to "sit down and get to work"? If so, you are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Handwriting Help, Sensory Regulation Tagged With: academic activities, homework help, school activities

Jump and Learn

April 7, 2016 by Amy Smith

Want to learn a great way to spice up learning, especially with how to read and spelling practice? Try this jump and learn game! It's simple to set up and it's actually a much more … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Gross Motor Activities, Sensory Regulation Tagged With: academic activities, gross motor activities, learning games, preschool

Welcome to Kids Play Smarter

Amy Smith I am an occupational therapist with over 10 years of experience working with children. I created this website to offer parents, teachers, and therapists FREE ideas, strategies, and activities that they can do with their children to improve their fine and gross motor skills, handwriting, academic learning, and regulate their sensory system all while "playing" (just playing smarter)! Read More…

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