Drum set

I do a lot of our "therapy toy" shopping at our local consignment store. We don't want to be spending a fortune on toys just in case Evan isn't able to use them. I scower the shelves and can usually find some pretty good toys.

This Kawasaki drum set has been wonderful! He is able to push all of the buttons, and slide the bars by himself. In addition to this he "whacks" the various drums to add to the beat. He learns music rhythm and beats and exercises his muscles, all at the same time. It is a great toy!

sand box

For warm weather the sand box outside is wonderful. He digs and lifts and fills and pours. Great therapy, lots of fun!

nerf gun

This nerf gun is sooo fun!!! It is an automatic nerf machine gun and the trigger is sensitive enough for Evan to use on his own. Someone has to help him aim, but this toy is ALOT of fun :-)

(that bright light in the middle of the picture is a bullet coming right at me)

Bubbles

Bubbles are a favorite for most toddlers, but I have noticed some wonderful therapy results with Evan. My friend sent Evan this bubble machine for Evan's birthday last year (or Christmas ... I can't remember) and he loves it. The button is just easy enough for him to push, so he can control when the bubbles are blowing or not. The other great therapy is that he is constantly reaching his arms up to get the bubbles. When we are playing with bubbles he doesn't feel like we are doing therapy :-)

soccer

This discovery came on quite by accident! I had bought this Chinese lantern at Ikea for $5.00 and didn't end up using it in my decorating. It was just sitting on our basement floor and Evan calls to me. When I look up I see him holding it up in the air with his arm. I was amazed to say the least! This Chinese lantern is light enough that he can lift it, and big enough that it still exercises his muscles.

Another added benefit of this glorious discovery?? SOCCER!! We have purchased beach balls and soccer balls, and basketballs for him to push around in his stander, but they all get stuck and then Evan can't move anymore. Because this is paper and wire it doesn't get stuck!! There are different sizes and I imagine all would work. Evan loves to "kick" this ball around and we all chase it!

play time idea

We live in a very cold climate and I would have a hard time figuring out what I could do for playtime during the winter with a child who can't move. Really there is only so much TV that I want him to watch and only so many video games as well. We have our toys, but they can get old too. I came up with a way to totally rig up our basement so that Evan can motor around in his stander and have plenty to entertain him. (We are big into exercise=play) I will do a highlight of the whole basement when we manage to get it organized. In the meantime I wanted to share my idea of "the rice box".

Evan really enjoys the sand box that we have outside. In many ways it is really good exercise for him. We like to "cook" together and he has to muscle the sand around in his different size cups. I had the idea of making an indoor sand box and I do have to say it has been a major hit around our house. I bought a cheap blow up pool and filled it with rice. I chose the blow up pool because I know if Evan falls over he isn't going to hurt himself. I chose rice because it was cheaper than beans and easier to clean up than sand.

It has been so much fun since we set it up. The only thing that I recommend is for owners of cats. Remember to cover it up when it isn't being used, so it doesn't look like a big beautiful kitty litter box :-)