%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 16 0 R 18 0 R ] /Count 3 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 12 0 R /GS2 13 0 R /GS3 14 0 R /GS4 15 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 595.280 841.890] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 1.0.2 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20241122023515+00'00') /ModDate (D:20241122023515+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 595.280 841.890] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 2202 >> stream xXM6ϯ]5!)+9^;8Ua'IxH!@1s} P&]"ׯ_7tGqP]b龬4JtnA FiW{ݨBi寴]N"MČ<]`jer0=o4yM7^$;]AG2am-_$jT֒h%״:tKrhUu9*i`&0O ³^E6G2 kH1`ek=Z"OuŽh%םԣ~й4 Y"8,U' a aHuV6dg{i]s ֝ngAZ{Z(jEBf@5ȥ[Dw/C+q],+|\2 = 4r̭ yG9 d!;V$?C 7g-ī(݄D82#jV1`$wL}}4*GhD#{N?4 IJ$Bx9 xx@DA)HTe,+uZɱ5g)>r4CNl!:XVNtG<D;9a7mM8c D^!LHEcΔDs@d{4n J Vk.!42Jsqqfpi]w}S:8Y2V`Z,oVv(o#|( -C*]q$JJ}yAՃA7?p-:>nl֌ 3pG;\cȽMR+M:*c j(s;3͈'A6ł?u9ߎ>\r1%E%˯K{%XW$ry D1&t6*ŁmAwJp8ms{ƕDB?=ըV9uEk_P„|dA3/@?nD?"Fl0K2{&rtH8Y+6&AμmH㨿YV;ٳzs֔Z}R[,] 8 b]CC1n:!i+dFϔƫz %S#*.r!s nN.ͫ}vGrQi9@q1 tðM$FI2u'QN,1~woZD3] 9CPF5Bdµ'ܖ_ck ZL ,4h&1W\Nps IA.y]Zm^I6."r7^p[ dJ=W0o05P螩;w|<_EOֻ4.H;A7g94O}eY~2GǺdS76 !ILr/YA+W&ZvJ1V/Ml6קMosq} %=@x]w1p>BjB G|?1Tׁۦut:T}wu'kOcjia#Hyiʫ/ǖx&YEIŊτ|?Їo޿K6U ѧlL<7_]E ,ꤽ9/ m3RC5kAw %5OYf9PaBut/6&1dԽ-yE߿lV"D$Num ֔ u_,]Ɩ  endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 13 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 1 >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 16 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 595.280 841.890] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 17 0 R >> endobj 17 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 2427 >> stream xXM۸ϯ*#R8'uZ!"!;$Ad_u TrR~5|>˿nK^͓tے\P%snB;*ީy5niUѺ:ySivƶ~X%V6P'W}}K?^:/e8tl`N}9Nl ګFcgK>v5ֺҴ=T<u]e1O6<^8eM[U;Sמ 1ucֺyHM;?#o{1òv};ƭ6w-ٺ,"n-uKyF}Ȃce 4u:iǑ "ωi2).hi\#!Έ:>()ؙ*X^f{,tt0S'{bhۀ%#bgt҈i/jm;, %[Ɛy[Ì {YGZ9"c-5Ո?\kv}gh;S&q[s Ų*:LYQT걲OHIJ٣Wm9c:9jYa'm/p*4W9u[՞sXV=<&耈M(7 c.R0ZkU<[mֵ=R_{T@4mН-zjZP.e0'OW}kұQj|w{Ru'Dwroܬ9O7jJTAhƔl{׶lh}"A݄ƉFH@rp7r2@7s಺!R\9ڃô =l?Koyaszqfk[R Ч'?齥mm #Z7BZ.Dz8=(S4"q3i?}z:ք VQyy1b[W$"r Tud @8 3Ϥxҍbٹw2> endobj 19 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1224 >> stream xVM6 W8\-|4I$nsh{%bW"7"e/.H^gt="39\?<~gIQ)$q~wN7X|ȱ@읏;6OQc{X,ְ d,J}l~kPY @9qR h0cҎ}cg{į`w)e 9| Zyrt_(D)gUFDc=XcjiN9?EZ"M$V?8Q+ HrPAI`"9:ȃԽ"56ZGUGU Y{;%[5tߎ >A!QIJS@7d{4'8Zn+O!*3VsJo1DIbHZaqbhCT0o(۠\㺇<Ǔ-V„m"rJM8bBVlm,.uHS"OidW |0YNG0^ ۨtp^[9T)9}^S̐PVn7bsxm=?Qq~BNoȇ8kRNoNjna~T,Tt߻ʨYsGܙ#,Y9(e|aj:it;=6RYpkӭCCZ{nȍ :@5@%ngq[h|h92;9ټSL$-X-:ͮCJ8_׬L(q'_(h^Ԕ~1ER-.R3NȽ#ey,Uq(c8Yʜrd`RmοDTQS^)yEUe79ESy|0O*SӺdW8X5$3T&*gzXV+շnCD #ޯ߿Gx?}N oJ-<7c10902df50e3e96af01abb1305078cd>] >> startxref 7621 %%EOF Holiday Toys – Vision Mechanic
Facebook-f Youtube
Explore Activity Library
Home
About
About Dr. Boulet
About Robert Constantine, OTR\L
Continuing Education
Functional Vision Specialist Certification
Course: Prism and the Vestibular System
Course: Physiological Optics – An Introduction to Human Sight and Vision
Course: Pediatric Vision Assessment – Detecting Visual Impediments to Learning and Development
Essential Anatomy of the Visual System
Clinical Notes
Vision & Learning
Press Release
More
YouTube
Contact Us
Facebook-f Twitter Youtube
Uncategorized

Holiday Toys

December 4, 2011
by
DrB

 

Holiday Toys: Have Fun and Build Vision

We all grow following the same path, beginning from when sperm meets egg, through gestation, birth, and beyond. As we grow, we learn, without even trying. It’s a natural and spontaneous process that defines us as intelligent beings (not the only ones on the planet, but ranking pretty high in the animal intelligence ranks.)

Learning also follows a set pattern. We begin with simple sensory and motor experiences and build upon these to produce more complex physical behaviours. Eventually, knowledge of the physical world and interactions with it become represented in the mind as persistent ‘thought’ and the child then learns to manipulate these mental representations of the world without having to actually reach out and touch it. These basic mental skills evolve, allowing for more complex concrete thought (visualizing real objects interacting, such as what happens if I push my plate off my high chair table). Eventually, concrete thought leads to more abstract thinking, such as having visual patterns representing concrete objects; for example, a visual signal (‘C’ ‘A’ ’T’) representing that furry purring thing rubbing up against your leg. But it all starts with basic sensory and motor experiences – if these basic experiences are not in place or insufficient, what is built upon them will also be lacking. Like in a house or skyscraper, the foundation, or core, of the structure allows for stability in what is built upon it. Furthermore, strong foundations allow for more expansive growth of the structures laid upon them. In other words, one cannot expect to erect the Taj Mahal (literally or mentally) on an incomplete or inadequate foundation.

This is why infant play is so important and why the toys we select influence future reading ability. When children are exposed to toys appropriate to their level of development, they will learn the key foundational skills required to acquire more advanced concrete and abstract skills later. If we rush past one stage and don’t allow it to develop fully, we run the risk of limiting and impeding the development of more advanced skills. Parents often fall prey to electronic toys (in particular) that seem marvelously intriguing and promise to prepare children for school and reading, but in reality only serve to confuse young minds by starving them of the foundational activities they require. A child might well learn to recognize ‘CAT’ as the ‘word picture’ that goes with a picture of a cat, but this is not reading. He must learn, later, that ‘CAT’ is not just another picture but an abstract representation of a real thing. There is an important difference here; learning to recognize a shape of a word is not the same as understanding what the word is, let alone how the printed word works.

This holiday season represents another opportunity to focus on the importance of what I will call ‘foundational toys’, that is, toys that help children develop the skills they need to succeed in school. My best advice is to avoid toys that are far removed from the physical reality of the world until the child is well into elementary. While video games seem an easy target, some games have great ‘physics engines’ that very accurately simulate real world physical interactions that are simply not practical to reproduce at home. One of my favourite games to develop muscle coordination in hands as well as general balance skills is an iPhone app called ‘Labyrinth 3D’. It looks, sounds, and functions like an old wooden labyrinth maze through which the player must move a steel ball by tilting the game to and fro in order to get from the start to the finish.

Other video games that are less representative of the real world, yes, including many so called ‘preschool’, ‘genius’, or ‘early reader’ games can indeed be more harmful than beneficial in the hands of a preschool-aged child who has not yet had the chance to develop an awareness of the physical world. Parents who are interested in encouraging reading skills should sit quietly with their children every night, and read with them. Follow text with your finger occasionally, but do not focus on the task of reading. Rather, focus on the closeness between you, and on the joy of the story. Pick stories that are of interest to the child and that challenge their burgeoning vocabularies.

As for developing the skills necessary for later success in school, consider toys for preschoolers that have some or all of these features:

1. Open-ended toys: Avoid toys that only do a few things. (Lego blocks, seem to all be all like this these days, where you really only build one design, then that’s it; gone are the days when the blocks were so generic, they could become anything). Many games are rather limited in what they do, even though they might seem technologically quite advanced.

2. Spatial reasoning toys/games/books: These can be join the dots, mazes, cut outs, origami, puzzles. My favourites are ‘geoboards’, stacking/building blocks, and parquetry blocks. If you can build it then knock it down, it is a great choice.

3. Gravity toys: Jenga is a great example, so are real handheld mazes where you must move balls around on a track or target by moving only the maze itself, and not manipulating the balls themselves directly. I would also include in this category toys that incorporate fluid movement, such as water, or water and oil games and mazes. Toy trucks and trains, especially if they can carry a load, are great options.

4. Models: Building models (and puzzles) requires great manual dexterity and planning. This can be model planes, cars, boats, or anything. I would also include in this some action figure sets that require painting and set up before play – Warhammer being a good example.

5. Arts and crafts: This can be just about anything that requires the child to plan and execute steps in sequence. Sewing, painting (especially finger painting in young children!), knitting, cutting, pasting, cooking, baking – there are many ways to stimulate the mind while developing visual motor integration skills. Again, this is a terrific way to enjoy your children and help them build important academic and social skills.

6. Balls: There are innumerable games to be played with balls that help develop eye-hand skills and coordination of gross (big, less refined) motor ability. Included in this would be various pre-packaged ball games, including traditional ‘Jacks’ games, or other sports like basketball.

7. Memory games: These are fairly easy to find or create. Children need to develop not only pure memory (as in the classic card game of ‘memory’ where you must pick one card from an array of pairs, then find where the other card is amongst the remaining turned-over cards), but they must also learn to sequence things. For example, the ‘whole in the bottom of the sea’, or ‘the twelve days of Christmas’ require not only memory, but memorizing things in sequence. There are a variety of games of visual memory available commercially.

8. Books: Read to your children every day, whether they actually read or learn any words. As they get older and more able to read on their own, have them read to you. This is a great way to bolster reading and to build confidence.

9. Quiet: Encourage games that require more thought and concentration. Avoid the constant barrage of sight and sound stimulation that comes from the vast majority of computer/video games.

Avoid point and click games in preschoolers. While computer skills are a benefit, they will have plenty of time to learn the mechanics of computers in school. Besides, kids with solid foundational skills will easily adapt the the abstract world of the mouse and keyboard.

build visionchristmasfungiftsholiday
DrB

DrB

You May Also Like

New Book Opens Eyes About Child Vision

October 9, 2024
, , , , , ,

Metronome

December 30, 2023
, , , , , , , , , ,

Michigan Tracking Worksheets

December 29, 2023
, , , , , , , , ,

Michigan Tracking

December 29, 2023
, , , , , , ,

Vision Mechanics: Core Four

December 28, 2023

Rosner Curriculum Design

December 14, 2023

Recommended for you

New Book Opens Eyes About Child Vision

October 9, 2024
by 
, , , , , ,

Metronome

December 30, 2023
by 
, , , , , , , , , ,

Michigan Tracking Worksheets

December 29, 2023
by 
, , , , , , , , ,

Michigan Tracking

December 29, 2023
by 

Activities

New Book Opens Eyes About Child Vision

Metronome

Michigan Tracking Worksheets

Public Education

New Book Opens Eyes About Child Vision

Metronome

Michigan Tracking Worksheets

Clinical

Metronome

Visual Information Processing – Can it really be trained?

Elements of Vision

© 2023 Vision Mechanics.

Facebook-f Youtube