Texas Focus 2007
The World on a String:
Connecting through the
Expanded Core Curriculum
Wiggle, Jiggle, Squirm and Worm:
Let's Get Moving
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
1:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Good Toys for Blind Kids: Suggestions From ParentsCompiled and Distributed by the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
This list is made up of regular toys that can be purchased through local shops or toy stores. The age categories were those suggested by the parents, not the manufacturer. Please check the package for recommended age levels before you buy a toy. We encourage parents of blind children to send us more suggestions of toys to add to this list.
Two Years and Up
BALLS / Balls on spindlesPhysioballs (or any large balls)
Gertie Balls (soft and easy for little hands to grasp)
BLOCKS and PUZZELS / Stacking toys
Nesting toys
Peg boards
Magnetic blocks
Bristle blocks
Mega Blocks
Wooden Braille blocks
Shape toys in graduated sizes that fit into a base
Wooden puzzles with knobs
Lauri puzzles
Duplo Blocks
Waffle Blocks
Velcro Blocks
Large cardboard blocks
DOLLS and KITCHEN TOYS / Lauri Lacing Bears
My Buddy doll (good for practicing zipping, buttoning, etc.)
Play Sink and dishes
Play oven and skillet by Fisher-Price
Little people and school house by Fisher-Price
Velcro fruits and vegetables with plastic or wooden knife
MUSICAL and TALKING TOYS / Music and story tapes
Floor Piano (a soft mat with "keys" you step on)
Talking toys
Golden Sound Story Books
Musical instruments
Plastic music boxes with easy to turn knobs
Tomy and Shelcore action, noise, and music toys
Sparkling Symphony Gym
Sight, Sound, and Touch Bugs by Fisher-Price (they sing and wiggle)
1-2-3 Sing-Along Puppy
Kick and Play Piano
MISCELLANEOUS TOYS / Play Doh Fun Factory (also use with cookie cutters, small rolling pin, plastic knife)
Scented markers
The Wonderhorse Spring Action Riding Horse
Workbench by Fisher-Price
Sit and Spin by Today's Kids
Garage by Fisher-Price
Wooden train and tracks
Beauty Salon by Fisher-Price
Riding toys
Trampoline with handle
Happy Vehicles
Five Years and Up
BALLS / Bounce BallZoomball
Rocketball
Bumble Ball
GAMES / Klix
Magna-Doodle
Slinky
Tongue Twisters
Yo-Yo
Numberite
Laurie Fraction Kit and other puzzles
Unifeix cubes
Fraction Stax
Chinese Checkers
Connect Four
TicTacToe
K'nex
Hi Ho Cherrio
LiteBrite
Feel and Find Braille Puzzle
MISCELLANEOUS TOYS / Scented playdough
Scented markers
Scented crayons
Wooden nuts and bolts kit
Multi-links (building kit)
Magnetic letters and numbers with Braille on them by Playskool
Thuderbat
Clay craft kits by DAS
Elmer's Puff Paint marker
Pretty, Pretty Princess
Animal pagers by Fisher-Price
Toy computers
Jump rope
Scooter (the 4-wheeled, low to the ground)
Bubblin'Spa (an inflatable pool with jets of bubbles)
Jeep Junior (a riding toy)
Sizzle 'n Glow Grill
MUSICAL and TALKING TOYS / What's That Sound?
Taking toys
Electronic music keyboard
Speak and Spell
Scannin' Talkin' Check Out Center
Nine Years and Up
BALLS / Hop-a-Roo (large bouncing ball to sit on)Nerf Whistle Ball
GAMES / Bop It!
Wooden or plastic puzzle of the U.S.A.
Trouble by Milton Bradley
Table Air Hockey
Large print playing cards and holder (also in Braille)
Dominoes
Taxi sound game by Golden Books
MISCELLANEOUS TOYS / Walkie-Talkies
Remote control cars or helicopters
Foil Art Set (makes raised drawings on foil)
Fisher Price Camera (shaped like the old View Master so you can place it easily over your eyes)
Hula hoop
Spinning tops
Legos
Train Set
Tandem bike
Cap gun
MUSICAL and TALKING TOYS / Music boxes
EDUCATIONAL TOYS / National Geographic Really Wild Animals
GeoSafari World
Volcano kit
Crystal kit
Note: Some of the Fisher Price toys can be purchased from a Shop-at-Home Catalog. To order the catalog call (800) 747-8697
Future ReflectionsFall 2001
Toy Ideas for Blind Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers
by Terri Connolly
and Jill Brody
Editor’s Note: A special thanks to Terri Connolly of the VIPS program in Louisville, and Jill Brody of the Blind Children’s Center in Los Angeles for responding to my request for toy ideas from those who work professionally with our very youngest blind and visually impaired children. The material they sent, which I edited to eliminate duplication and to ensure better flow and readability, is presented below. By the way, I urge all readers to send me toy and game ideas and resources so I can share them with our readers in future issues. Please don’t assume I already know about them. You can send suggestions or articles to me by mail or email:
(Mrs.) Barbara Cheadle, Editor
Future Reflections
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, Maryland 212--0
From...
Terri Connolly, Early Interventionist, Visually Impaired Preschool Services, Louisville, KY:
Every child is unique, so I can’t say that any particular toy is the most wonderful for all children who have a visual impairment. More important than a specific toy are the qualities of a toy and how it is used.
Gaining balance in movement is especially important for our youngest ones as they prepare to explore their environment. Vision certainly can entice a child to move out into the world, but sounds can also be motivating. Toys can help.
Music boxes or windup toys coming toward the child from a distance may help perk-up attention to an approaching object. In the same way, a toy that rolls away should have a sound so the child can remember where it went. There are several balls with electronic sounds that don’t roll very far. A ball with a sound that continues to play is very helpful for seek-and-find.
The following are also fun: textured balls, high back toddler swing (outdoors), electronic Hasbro® SitnSpin with music and lights, large push and bump toys like cars, trucks, and walking push toys. Lots of climbing (under close supervision) and sliding is also great.
Many of the VTech toys available through Toys “R” Us and other specialty toy stores are wonderful for reinforcing visual awareness with music and lights activated by the simple push of a button. There are several with themes such as nursery rhymes, environmental sounds, and animal sounds. The nice thing is that you can choose to activate music or words depending on the interest of the child. Some of my favorites are: Little Smart Learning Center, Nursery Rhyme Land, and voice-activated Crib Kaleidoscope with short or long play.
Slumbertime Soother by Fisher-Price® is a crib toy that activates lights and sounds by remote control. This can be very helpful for a child whose movements are restricted or weak. With this toy you can reinforce looking for, or at, the toy by activating it yourself. All young children with some vision enjoy mirror play, but watch out for glare. Use in diffused lighting.
Some decorative items for a room are helpful for increasing visual awareness. For example, consider slowly spinning lamp-lights that reflect designs on the wall or ceiling in a dimly lit room.
Other toys I recommend are: Fisher-Price® Kick ’n Play piano, the Child Guidance® Lullaby Lambs, Tyco® Musical Starlights, Snake Light by Black and Decker®, Select-n-Go RC Car by Little Tykes, the Sparkling Symphony Gym, Toddler Piano, Fischer Price Sparkling Symphony Stacker, the Dancin’ Jitter Bug, and Baby TOMY® Happy Shapes.
From...
Jill Brody, M.A. OTR,
Blind Children’s Center,
Los Angeles, CA:
The right toy for any child should be interesting, exciting, and fun. A child will be encouraged by the right toy to explore its many properties – touch it, listen to the sounds it makes, use it to produce other sounds (by banging for example), watch what it does, play with it with another person – and learn many things from interacting with it. The wrong toy can be boring; if it does not match the child’s developmental level it will not provide enough positive feedback to hold the child’s interest. If it is too difficult for him or her to manipulate or to process in a meaningful manner, it can be frustrating as well.
When a child has a sensory loss, it can be challenging to find toys that are both appealing and functional. Many manufactured toys rely on visual properties, such as color, design, or lights to provide interest for children. These kinds of toys are often quite appealing to adults as well. However, for children with significant visual impairments, a toy with an appeal which is primarily visual, is not going to be motivating for extended play, although it may be manipulated briefly.
When choosing toys for children with visual impairments it can be helpful to ask the following questions:
—Does this toy have an appeal that is not primarily visual?
—Can it be manipulated by the child?
—Is it the right size for a preschooler to pick up and/or play with?
—Does it make any sound (especially important for young children)?
—Can the child make something happen by playing with the toy independently?
—Can the toy “grow” with the child and still be interesting in a year?
—Does the child have any functional vision, and if so, does a particular toy have lights or color contrasts that would be meaningful to him?
—Can the play value of the toy include more than one person (rolling or throwing a ball back and forth, taking turns activating a sound, or putting different parts together)?
—Does the toy have different textures for tactile appeal?
—Is the toy safe for the child?
—Is The Toy appropriate for the child’s developmental (not chronological) age?
After determining the appropriate developmental level and value of a specific toy, one might assess the purpose of introducing this toy to a child:
—Can she learn something by playing with it?
—Does it target specific skills?
—Does it help develop stageappropriate play skills?
—Can it be adapted so that it can be used for more than just a short time?
It is also important to remember that toys should provide pleasure and be FUN!
There are many great toys (and some playthings which are not really toys) available to parents and professionals. A few which have been particularly motivating and valuable to use in a therapeutic setting are listed below. They have been categorized according to approximate introductory developmental age levels, although each child’s readiness must be individually determined. There are, of course, many more which are not listed. Several of the following toys and activities can be utilized through several developmental levels.
Birth to 6 months:
Lightweight rattles which make noise easily when activated by the child. Crib mobile with movement, light, and sound. Clutch balls and balls with bells inside (safely sealed). Plastic “slinky” toys. Baby “gyms” from which toys can be hung for exploration. Wrist and ankle “bracelets” for babies.
6 to 12 months:
Windup musical toys. Soft blocks. Easily- activated causeandeffect sound/light toys. Fisher-Price® Sparkling Symphony stacking stars. A variety of different-sized and -shaped blocks to grasp and bang together.
12 to 18 months:
Vibrating toys: soft ones such as Tickle Me ElmoTM and plastic vibrating animals. Plastic containers for inandout play with small toys. Blocks. Popup toys. Toy pianos and xylophones. Push and pull toys.
18 months to 24 months;
Riding toys (not tricycles). Toy “shopping carts” or wagons to push or pull. Dolls and stuffed animals. Medium-sized cars that make noise when wheeled on the floor. Nobbie® and Koosh® balls, which are easy to grasp and throw. Books with textures, sounds, or Braille text. Talking books for young children. See-’n-Say toys with animal sounds or words.
2 to 3 years:
Dramatic play toys such as play dishes and silverware, pots and pans, brooms, telephones. Sponges, cups, and funnels for water and sand play. Beads and string. Beginning puzzles with easily defined shapes and knobs for grasping. Puttogether construction toys, such as Duplos, Lincoln Logs, and blocks. Rapper Snappers – bendable, stretchable tubes that link together and provide proprioceptive input as well as bilateral coordination practice. Riding toys, tricycles, “Big Wheels,” and other child-sized play-cars with pedals. Play dough (commercial and homemade). Tactile materials in large containers such as dry rice, cornmeal, dry oatmeal, Cheerios, etc. Peg boards and pegs. Shape sorters. Art materials such as paints, finger paint, crayons, chalk, markers, etc.
3 to 5 years:
Many of the above toys, in addition to the following: Music Blocks, which provide both auditory and visual stimulation as well as opportunities for tactile discrimination of basic shapes. Form board and interlocking puzzles. Domino games with raised dots. Tactile Lotto games, either purchased or homemade. Musical instruments. Tape recorders and CD players which children can operate. Interactive games such as “Candyland” and “Chutes & Ladders” adapted for children with visual impairments. Magnetic shapes and letters. Mini-trampolines.
When choosing toys for any child, remember that playing should first be fun. If a particular toy promotes learning new skills or making new associations, then that’s a terrific bonus!
Foreword
The following is the scope and sequence I developed to assist CBI teachers in knowing how to teach community skills, and what is appropriate at what age. It is highly based on orientation rather than techniques as it wasn't written for Visually Impaired. If you add the necessary techniques for O & M as you go along, it can help keep you focused. It also gives you lots of things to teach other than cane skills and crossing streets.
For CBI teachers I use it as a consultation guide, and thus assure my job of being needed for the consultations. It shows how all the skills infuse into the various subject areas that can be used for justification when pulling students from various classes. The little arrows (->) mean the skills continue with a higher level of proficiency. Enjoy!
ORIENTATION & MOBILITY/COMMUNITY-BASEDINSTRUCTION INFUSIONSCOPE AND SEQUENCE CHART
by Karyl Moore
Corpus Christi Independent School District
Scope and Sequence by Subject Area
Communication(Language Arts)
Pre-Kinder/Kinder (0-5) / Elementary (6-11) / Middle School (12-15) / High School (16-21)Names/locates environmental objects. / -> Identifies their purpose. / -> / ->
Describes relationship between environmental objects. / -> Adds entire campus to home/classroom. / -> Adds residential neighborhood. / -> Adds business and work environments.
Follows simple directions to move around environment. / -> / -> Provides a set of directions. / ->
Names all body parts. / -> Identifies body parts of others. / -> Becomes aware of laterality (self and others). / -> Describes position of self and objects spatially.
Identifies non-tangible clues to environmental occurrences. / -> Identifies what they may indicate. / -> Uses clues for orientation or safety/survival. / ->
Speaks on telephone properly. / -> Initiates call. / -> Makes social calls to friends. / -> Makes business calls.
Acknowledges information and asks for assistance. / -> Accepts or refuses aid appropriately. / -> Conducts school/home transactions verbally. / -> Conducts business/work transactions.
Uses verbal manners. / -> / -> / ->
Reads: name, address, and telephone numbers. / -> Begins to add safety/words and signs. / -> Increases vocabulary and reads television guide, magazines, and schedules. / -> Adds telephone book, bus schedule, maps, diagrams, forms.
Numeric Functions(Mathematics)
Pre-Kinder/Kinder (0-5) / Elementary (6-11) / Middle School (12-15) / High School (16-21)Counts/number recognition. / -> One to one correspondences.
-> Concept of sets.
-> Concept of odd/even.
-> Understand indoor number system.
-> Uses telephone/dials. / ->
->
->
->
-> Understands indoor/outdoor number system. / ->
Knows time of daily activities: i.e. breakfast in the morning, lunch at noon, dinner in the evening. / -> Knows specific time of activities.
-> Recognizes time on clock. / ->
-> Follows a schedule. /
-> Creates schedules.
Knows measurement: near/far, big/small, long/short/tall, weight/shape, same/different. / -> Measure to more precise size - why one ball is small/one is large, etc. / -> Functionality of various sizes, time/distance awareness, degrees of turning - 90º, 180º, 360º. / -> Moves to the abstract use of maps and diagrams (lines, arcs, blocks, intersections).
Understands use of money: used to buy things, uses a token system. / -> / -> Uses bills to make purchases and begins to learn value of objects (i.e.: soap - 79¢, shirt - $10). / -> Conducts a variety of transactions involving money.
-> Names directions on a compass. / -> Knows compass directions and what is located in their community in those directions.
Knows all of part of item. / -> Knows what proportion is present. / -> Knows how many equal parts make a whole (simple fractions). / -> Knows how to divide an item between people/packages/days, etc. (budgeting).
Daily Living Skills(Science)
Pre-Kinder/Kinder (0-5) / Elementary (6-11) / Middle School (12-15) / High School (16-21)Identifies body parts. / -> Increases by age. / -> / ->
Position in space of self/others/objects. / -> Increases. / -> Transfers to 2 dimensional (drawings). / -> Ability to make diagrams and maps.
Demonstrates directionality (left, right, front, back, side). / -> Increases. / -> Reverses direction on others (my left side is your right side when facing). / ->
Knows positional concepts (top, bottom, middle, over, under, etc.). / -> Increases. / -> Determines how things may be different but functional. / -> Determines dysfunctional positioning.
Balances self. / -> Balances self and objects. / -> Demonstrates balance, both stationary and in movements. / ->
Recognizes/differences. / -> / -> / ->
Recognizes weather conditions. / -> Describes behavior and appropriate attire. / -> Begins to predict, after listening to weather reports. / -> Dresses and travels in appropriate attire/transportation for the weather.
Recognizes environmental differences: grass, dirt, cement. / -> Acts appropriately in different environments. / -> Selects specific environment for various activities. / -> Uses wide variety of environments.
Places trash in receptacles. / -> Describes behaviors consistent with conservation. / -> Participates in environmental clean up and experiments. / -> Behaves in an environmentally conscientious manner.
Law/Social Interactions(Social Studies)
Pre-Kinder/Kinder (0-5) / Elementary (6-11) / Middle School (12-15) / High School (16-21)Demonstrates awareness of pedestrian/traffic. / -> Describes and transverses residential neighborhoods. / -> Uses traffic controls to transverse semi-business. / -> Travels safely in all types of areas.
Knows different types of service people, i.e., police, firefighters, doctors, etc. / -> Demonstrates how to contact them. / -> Knows when it is appropriate to use their services. / ->
Develops appropriate behavior for a variety of environments. / -> Continues to self-control in those environments. / -> Increases independent access of a variety of environments. / -> Conducts a variety of transactions independently.
Develops awareness of right/wrong behavior. / -> Increases. / -> Increases including more self-control. / -> Displays socially appropriate behavior independently.
Asks for assistance or information from adults. / -> Asks safe strangers. / -> Asks in unfamiliar environments. / -> Enters a business and conducts a transaction independently.
-> Describes a variety of community transportation resources. / -> Accesses assistance with these resources. / -> Travels independently about their community.
Personal/Recreation Skills(Health/Physical Education)
Pre-Kinder/Kinder (0-5) / Elementary (6-11) / Middle School (12-15) / High School (16-21)Knows movement in space: walk, run, jump, leap, gallop. / -> Knows when/where different moves are needed. / -> Develops more sophisticated skill. / -> Uses skills in normal life and sports.
Understands area required for movement. / -> Adds games. / -> Adds dancing and sports. / ->
Knows gross motor exercises. / -> Adds games. / -> Adds dancing and sports. / ->
Sings songs. / -> Listens to music. / -> Identifies types of music. / -> Listens to music for pleasure.
Washes hands/face, cleans up in restroom. / -> Dresses neatly, aware of physical appearance. / -> Demonstrates hair and skin care in personal hygiene. / -> Demonstrates shading, makeup, style.
Makes choice of entertainment: television, movie, music, game, hobby, etc. / -> / -> / ->
Begins food preparation. / -> Increases independence and variety of choices.
Fine Art
Pre-Kinder/Kinder (0-5) / Elementary (6-11) / Middle School (12-15) / High School (16-21)Colors pictures. / -> Draws pictures. / -> Draws abstract pictures. / -> Draws/colors diagrams and maps.
-> Transferees form concrete to abstract. / -> Creates from a concept, appreciates other's art. / -> Appreciates public art displays.
Listen/sing songs. / -> / -> Listens to professional musicians. / -> Identifies various types of music.
-> Becomes aware of cultural differences of art, music, architecture, etc. / -> Attends cultural exhibits.
Resources