America A Patriotic Primer

Topic: The United States of America

An alphabetical look into the details of what the United States of America is all about. From A to Z, the former second lady {2001-2009} of the United States teaches topics like why we have fireworks on July 4th to what exactly the United State is. Lengthy and good for older Busy Bees unless you read one page per sitting or preview the pages and create your own simple word version. One of Busy Bee NY's personal favorites because Mrs. Cheney knows her stuff; H is for Heroes which happens to include teachers!  


Get ready for Independence Day and purchase this book here.

Otto Goes to the Beach

Book Review
Topic: Summer/Beach/Friends
















Todd Parr strikes again with a fun colored book about a silly dog who goes to the beach. We meet fun Otto and discover that he's like us. Ever have a bad beach day? Well, Otto has a hard time on his own, before finding a friend with the same interests. We learn from the modeled language provided, just what to say when a friend does something that we like to do too. Perfect book for encouraging Busy Bees to make new friends at the beach. 


{BB Tip: Read to children who are nervous about approaching others at the beach.}


Bring Otto to your beach {Click here to purchase}

Summer is here!

Since summer has officially arrived I'm sure you Busy Bees are beaching it up or starting happy hours at 12pm. Which I'm sure you deserve both combined activities to reward yourself for being so busy this academic year. I also would like to relax, but of course I am in fact working since children with special needs are usually seen for 12 months. However, since YOU will be enjoying the nice summer and all that it offers, I will only post possibly once a week. Check back in with the site if you need a good summer idea, book or game to play after you cool down from playing in the sun. Otherwise to all those BUSY BEES out there, see you in September for more ideas!
Xo, BBny

Bubbles

Who doesn't love bubbles?! I personally can't handle when children see the first few bubbles that are blown their way. I love they way they watch the bubbles until they pop on the grass or their pop attack pose. I have tried so many different types of bubbles and have found that Gazillion Bubbles to be the best, plus apparently they have a new show to go along with them. I can't even imagine what it must be like. 
Anyone want to go with? {I have to check it out for research of course}

Buy your Gazillion Bubbles or Tickets for the show here!

Happy Father's Day!

What a fun day. Every year a whole day is scheduled just for Dad! Sitting on the couch with him might not be exciting for you but for the Busy Bee Dad, it might be all he wants to do this Sunday. So why not curl up with the perfect book?
Book Review
Topic: Helpless Daddy

Such a cute and silly book, just like I like them. This animal daddy has trouble doing things the right way, from getting dressed to getting in the car. It reflects a backward take on how daddy's help us. Buy Oh, Daddy! here
Book Review
Topic: Daddy to the rescue!

Through this rhyming book you learn about Busy Buzzy and his donkey dad. They have a nice day at the beach together, but when Buzzy needs dad most, he's always there. A very cute story. Perfect for this hot-weathered-weekend in New York. 

Read at the Beach with Buzzy by clicking here

Happy Father's Day from one Busy Bee to many others! 

{This post is dedicated to two great dads that I've seen both silly and helpful at the beach when it comes to their kids. To my brothers ~ Chris & Scott. Happy Father's Day! XO}

Book Signing!

The popular NYC Occupational Therapist, Graduate School Professor and Author, Kirsten DeBear will be appearing and signing her new book Toby and Tutter, Therapy Dogs at Bank Street Bookstore this Tuesday, June 19th at 5:30.

Click here to reserve your copy now at the Bank Street bookstore. 


Check out Kirsten's other book Be Quiet Marina here.

Sally Goes to the Vet

Book Review
Topic: Vet Visit

Silly Sally* is a Busy Bee and likes to play games just like me and you. In this simple and clearly written book, we get to know Sally and meet friend that she loves to play with. However, during play time she has an accident. We then go with her on her journey to the vet. We get a lesson in how to cope during shots and...well you'll just have to read it. 

A great book for Little Busy Bees who are worried about their furry friends or who are scared of the doctor. 

*{I'm partial to Sally since she looks exactly like my rescue dog, Mickey. I already read this to him and he loved it.}

Go to the vet with Sally

Doc McStuffins

In most effective children's programming, the content is enjoyable for children to watch. It's appropriate, humorous and educational. If you read Nurture Shock {a review from a previous post} then you would know that most television shows for children play out the conflict longer {20 mins} than the solution {5 mins}. Children's brains don't process information quick enough to understand that the problem has been solved, leaving them unsatisfied. It is very important that parents be involved and preview shows that children are watching. 


However, when recently working with a child who has an extremely hard time playing pretend, this LBB came out with "doctor" pretend play, which I later discovered was imitating from the show Doc McStuffins. During this play time he gave a "diagnosis", asked for "tweezers" and belted out a song about having a "check up".No joke! After taking advantage of these new found play skills in this LBB and checking out all the toys we could find, I had a long conversation with dad who let me know that I needed to thank Little Miss Busy Doc McStuffins.  


I thank Disney with all my heart to finally make a cute productive and engaging show that can teach a child appropriate play skills, which in this day and age is extremely hard to find. So if you have a Little Busy Bee that is dying for some TV time, find Doc McStuffins {10AM weekdays on the Disney Channel} and get comfy along side them because it is the sweetest show on right now. 


The "Doc" is a little girl who mimics her mother's job as a doctor. But Little Busy Doc McStuffins is limited to patients so she uses her own toys, gives them a diagnosis and then treats them. Did I mention that it's the sweetest show ever?


Get to know her and let your LBB know that they can dream to be anything but that they can start with a little pretend play. 

Play, Watch & Get to know Doc here!

When I Feel Good about Myself

Book Review

Topic: Self-Esteem!

This delicious feel-good book is great for Little Busy Bees who are down on themselves or others. The sweet animal character from When I Feel Good about Myself  uses herself as an example to portray that it actually does feel good to help others! She also stresses that it's OKAY to be different, a friend and a helper. Everyone will feel good after reading this. 


Feel good & own this book

Summer Doesn't mean a Vacation from Education

Being a Busy Bee means I'm always on the go and I'm constantly seeking out great educational treasures. Today I saw a sign that read - "Summer doesn't mean a vacation from education". Which I couldn't agree with more. I love the saying and it pretty much sums up my career choice. Children with special needs benefit from year round support in order to best suit their educational needs and prepare for the more intense school year right around the corner. 


This treasure come from an advertisement from a learning center for Kumon. Ever heard of it? I'm obsessed with their educational materials. This past year, I used a few books with a Little Busy Bee of mine. The books are titled Are you ready for Kindergarten? Each book has it's own topic with specific tasks: Scissor Skills, Math Skills and Verbal Skills. I used all of them and loved them. They start off slow and get harder as you go. 
{Busy Bee Tip: During the Math & Verbal skills books - giving your LBB a choice to use either crayons, pens, markers, etc. lets them have a little fun while they work. Also, if they make a mistake so what, let the teachers handle the dirty work. Isn't it enough that they are actually sitting and writing/cutting/counting/drawing?}


Then, in a toy store I came across these: 













Perfect for practicing how to write numbers. The bid cards have dots on one side and the other has very clear start and stop points for the tracing. Such a great idea and can be used in so many ways. Great for summer days and easy to pack. 


These Kumon educational materials can be found on Amazon or at Barnes & Noble. 
Thinking of checking out a center or know someone who might want to, Find a KUMON center near you by clicking here.

Mean Soup

Book Review
Topic: Bad Day/Frustrated

In MEAN SOUP A Little Busy Bee has a rough day and comes home crabby. Mom makes him feel better by being silly and creatively helping him get his frustrations out. With cartoon-like illustrations and simple language this book gets it's point across loud and clear. A fun book to use for reading comprehension also.  


To enjoy some Mean Soup click here

SHE DID IT!

Book Review
Topic: Sisters, Manners

My best friend just had her second baby girl and while I was recently searching for books at my local library I came across this gem and thought about what it would be like to have a sister. Then I stopped quickly thereafter...I think that my 1 older brother was just enough for Little Busy Bee me to handle. However, I have so much fun with my girlfriends that I just couldn't imagine them all being my sisters...Or could I? 


This amusing book has great detailed illustrations and simple rhyming language. It's awfully silly, from throwing mud to mom sitting in a jelly covered chair. Highly recommended for any set of sisters. And if I did have my friends as sisters, we would absolutely have been able to pull together a fantastic team and get back on mom's good side, just like these gals do. 


To own SHE DID IT! click here

Zingo!

Zingo! is sort of like an updated version of the good old Bingo game. This more updated "game with ZING" has plain black and white pictures, which are hard to find when it comes to working with children. Not everything needs to be multi-colored and visually over stimulating. I love that the pictures are colorless and think the designers did a great job. 


I first used this game with a Little Busy Bee who had a hard time with articulation. While we played this LBB did a great job and worked so hard on getting the words out, in order to be one step closer to winning. {whoever says it first after it comes out, gets to add it to their board.} 


This game is perfect for children to practice a variety of skills; expressive language, listening, taking turns, organizing skills and patience. It's fun to fill up and to "wait until everyone wins" kind of game. However, it's good to teach winning & losing. It's okay to lose or to win. It's just a game and games are for fun! 


Buy Zingo here!

The Get Well Soon Book

Topic: Medicine Makes Us Better

When Little Busy Bees get sick, they are the saddest little creatures on Earth. However, when liquid-help comes in a little bottle, it's a battle to get them to take a sip. Out of nowhere they become fierce and powerful fighting off the evil liquid...However this book is a great tool. It shows a variety of animals that go through "bad times". From a turtle getting squashed by an elephant to a  dragon sneezing fire on himself, shows LLBs that it's not just them going through a rough patch. 

I hope your LBB feels better.

Get Well Soon!

I Call My Hand Gentle

Book Review
Topic: Manners

What a sweet little book to teach rules and what we can do with our hands. I read this book with a few Little Busy Bees and they had a great time measuring their hands with the one inside. After reading the book we then discussed it and did some comprehension work. Great illustrations with simple language makes this book great for LBBs who are learning about rules, manners or who aren't using their "gentles". 

Own the book