4 DIY Items For Toddlers’ Home Activities

Toys are used in Z’s occupational therapy. In an hour’s time, he gets to use about 3-4 different kinds of toys for different activities. So with that, I have been consciously buying toys similar to what he uses in therapy to ensure continuity of his activities at home.

But toys are really expensive. Especially the ones that promote motor skills development. And I also have to keep in mind that I have limited space at home so I really don’t want to hoard a lot of toys. However, there are a lot of things within our homes that can be used to develop fine motor skills. All it takes is a little creativity on our end.

Here’s a few of the things that we use at home to continue Z’s therapy activities at home.

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Stop and Smell the Roses: Raising a Special Needs Child in a Fast-Paced World

Raising a special needs child in this modern world is not easy. I lived a fast-paced life. Cramming 48-hour tasks in a 24-hour day, even sacrificing rest and family time, just to get something done was my norm. I barely had time to appreciate the sunrise nor the sunset or even enjoy a cup of coffee without trying to finish another task. However, I needed to make drastic changes to my fast-paced lifestyle when my son was born.

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Mad Hatter Hat – A DIY Project

I love crafts. When I was a kid, I got interested in needleworks – sewing, crocheting, knitting, embroidery (mostly cross-stitching). I even helped my Mom make small items out of popsicle sticks  – like letter holders, pen holders, and photo frames – which we have sold during community bazaars around Christmas time. In my high school days, I learned how to make friendship bracelets out of embroidery threads and have given some of them to family and friends. And about 6-7 years ago, I tried my hand at beadwork. I bought a lot of beads, strings, and even tools including magazines and books (I scoured these from thrift shops) to start me […]

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A Car Show and a Coffee Date…

It’s been a very busy day for the little boy and I yesterday. We had a full schedule of fun activities to do. 🙂 When I saw the Facebook event for the Philippine International Motor Show, I immediately checked out the schedule and the cost of the tickets. Since it was happening around the payday weekend (whoopee me! 😛 ), I marked the event on my calendar and planned to bring the little boy to see the cars. You see, the little boy is pretty much a car enthusiast, taking after his late Lolo Daddy. It was his first car show event. […]

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Z at 35 Months Old…

It’s been a while since I blogged about Z’s milestones. He’s turning 3 in less than a month’s time (man, where did time go?) and has been working hard to get where he is now. I’ve checked my old posts and the last one I posted about what Z can do was this January. Since then, Z has accomplished quite a lot, I would say. Last June, Z had his consultation with his Development-Pedia. We consult with him every 6 months to check and assess where Z is already in terms of his development. During his November 2015 consultation, at 2 years 3 months […]

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Therapy Sessions: Occupational Therapy

Last April, I blogged about Z’s physical therapy sessions. His PT sessions are now scheduled every Saturday. Well, I still have to get up early since his therapy is still in the mornings but it’s not as stressful as preparing for therapy on Wednesday mornings. However, as of last week, Z started sessions for occupational therapy. Since it is already the start of classes for some schools, therapy sessions were rescheduled so a slot was opened for Z for Monday morning session. I know, good luck with the traffic. Last Monday’s traffic wasn’t so bad though. We don’t really pass by busy thoroughfares so […]

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Things I’ve Learned From My New Normal

Being a workaholic, a happy-go-lucky person then suddenly became a Mom is such a big turn in life. The things you do prior to having the responsibility of raising a kid are things you can no longer do once you do have a kid in tow. You can no longer party the way you did before or leave the house whenever you want to.  No more shopping impulsively just because you were in the mood for it. No more long hours at work just because you are so motivated to get things done before their deadlines. Once you become a Mom, the way you define […]

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Happy Walk 2016

Last Sunday, we attended the Happy Walk event held at the SMX Convention Center. It was our first time to attend the event so I didn’t exactly know what to expect. Last year, I wanted to join, but given the logistics that Z and I had that time, we weren’t able to attend. Happy Walk is an event of Down Syndrome Association of the Philippines, Inc (DSAPI) in partnership with SM Cares, the corporate social responsibility arm of SM Prime Holdings, Inc (SMPHI). This is to raise awareness and promote inclusion for people with Down syndrome. This is held every […]

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Welcome Home, Sweetheart!

We – Z, Yaya Len and I – arrived in the big metro earlier tonight, accompanied by my sis and the van driver. It was a 5-hour relaxed trip with a few heavy traffic jams encountered along the way. We would have arrived earlier but we encountered a glitch with the van arrangement so we got delayed by half a day. All in all, it was good. Since it was already dinner time when we arrived in the big metro, we decided to have dinner first at Megamall before heading home. The little boy was exhausted but had trouble sleeping […]

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Simple Joy…

The last weekend of January, I decided to bring Z to the Children’s Park at Burnham Park. Given that it was a Sunday, there were a lot of people spending time as a family. There were a lot of kids, too, that I find the park a bit too crowded for my taste. However, that afternoon weather was fine – not too chilly, not too warm. It was a good day to spend in the park, so to speak. I let Z ride the swing. Z’s first experience with a swing was during his therapy session. He didn’t like it. […]

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