FUNdamentals and Building Blocks

FUNdamentals and Building Blocks A pediatric occupational therapy and speech therapy practice located in Falls Church, VA and Washington, DC.

FUNdamentals and Building Blocks Therapy is a pediatric occupational therapy and speech therapy office who has been providing play based therapy for children with a variety of developmental differences for the past 15 years. They have two locations, one in Falls Church, VA and the other in Washington, DC.

Our final Olympic event, figure skating! Today we’re going to practice drawing squares and writing our name and numbers....
02/23/2022

Our final Olympic event, figure skating! Today we’re going to practice drawing squares and writing our name and numbers.

We’re also going to be working on executive functioning skills like sequencing, short term recall and some gross motor coordination!

Today’s Olympic event is “bobsledding”! We’re using the scooter board to scoot up and down the hall to match pictures!A ...
02/16/2022

Today’s Olympic event is “bobsledding”! We’re using the scooter board to scoot up and down the hall to match pictures!

A fun way to talk about the Olympics, build strength, and enjoy some sensory input!

Setting up for more Olympics! Today we’re doing finger hockey!This can be done several ways:1. Place the cup upright and...
02/09/2022

Setting up for more Olympics! Today we’re doing finger hockey!

This can be done several ways:
1. Place the cup upright and use tongs to place the “puck” inside.
2. Lay the cup on it’s side and use a finger flick to get the “puck” inside!

Our Winter Sensory Kit is now available in both the Falls Church and DC offices. Pick up yours today!!
02/08/2022

Our Winter Sensory Kit is now available in both the Falls Church and DC offices. Pick up yours today!!

Here’s how we’re curling today!We put a piece of paper in the “house” and whatever color the ball lands on, the child ge...
02/08/2022

Here’s how we’re curling today!

We put a piece of paper in the “house” and whatever color the ball lands on, the child gets to feed the matching fly to the frog.

The frog is from Froggy Feeding Fun and is a great way to build hand strength in your child’s hand. Plus, using the broom to brush the balls to the “house” is excellent practice for those bilateral coordination skills.

Both of these skills are foundational skills to writing!

Starting off this Olympic week one with some color matching/fine motor curling! Did you know that the target in curling ...
02/02/2022

Starting off this Olympic week one with some color matching/fine motor curling!

Did you know that the target in curling is called the house?? I didn’t! Today we’ll be using the broom to push the balls to the house and then match the colors to the appropriate bolts!

Join us this February as we break down some Olympic events and adjust them for all age groups!

Hey everyone! We are looking to hire a full time speech therapist to work with our EI and clinic based populations. If y...
02/01/2022

Hey everyone!

We are looking to hire a full time speech therapist to work with our EI and clinic based populations.

If you, or anyone you know, are a pediatric speech therapist and are interested in more information, please contact Melissa Grant at OTcanbeFUN@gmail.com!

Go USA!! It’s time for the Olympics here at FUNdamentals and Building Blocks. There are four events (all events target s...
02/01/2022

Go USA!!

It’s time for the Olympics here at FUNdamentals and Building Blocks. There are four events (all events target speech and OT skills) and at the end the participants, who complete all four events, receive a medal!

Follow along as we highlight the events and complete them at home for some Olympic fun!

We had such success with our diaper and baby wipe drive, we decided to help again! This time, we’re holding a children’s...
01/25/2022

We had such success with our diaper and baby wipe drive, we decided to help again! This time, we’re holding a children’s sock and underwear drive for Homestretch, an organization in Falls Church that helps families in need.

Starting Monday, the 31st of January and running until Friday, the 11th of February please bring in newly purchased children’s socks or underwear to either the Falls Church or DC offices.

Thanks so much for all your help and support!

Milestone Monday!Let’s talk about regulation programs. The number one question we, as OTs, get asked is when will my chi...
01/24/2022

Milestone Monday!

Let’s talk about regulation programs. The number one question we, as OTs, get asked is when will my child be able to control their emotions/body by themselves?? This is a great question and here’s the answer!

Most children do not develop the ability to independently control their emotions, or their bodies, until BETWEEN the ages of 7-10 years old. Some are sooner and some are later, but what we need before a child can do this independently is the ability to self reflect and that is a skill not present until later.

This doesn’t mean we can’t modify these programs for those young ones. It’ll just mean that for kids who are 7 and under they will just need more guidance and support from their parents and teachers.

Fine Motor Friday!Today we’re using some golf tees, a box, and pom poms to make snowflakes!!This can be done in several ...
01/21/2022

Fine Motor Friday!

Today we’re using some golf tees, a box, and pom poms to make snowflakes!!

This can be done in several ways and each of these ways targets your child’s fine motor development😊.

1. Set up the golf tee design beforehand and just have your child place the pom poms carefully on top.

2. You can make dots on the box and have your child poke the golf tees through first and then place the pom poms carefully on top.

3. You can have you child positioned in high kneel or half kneel to work on core strength.

4. I made a snowflake, but you can build letters, numbers, basic shapes, etc.

Happy Friday!

Throwback Thursday! Today we’re throwing it back to our snowflake letter challenge!This is a fun way to work on balance ...
01/20/2022

Throwback Thursday!

Today we’re throwing it back to our snowflake letter challenge!

This is a fun way to work on balance (walking on the painter’s tape) as well as letter identification and matching (using the white “letter snowballs” to match on the large painters tape snowflake).

You can spell simple words (and then write them if that’s in the wheelhouse for your child), go through the alphabet, or call out letters at random!

A great throwback for this snow day!

Scavenger color hunt, but make it winter themed!Scavenger hunts are great for a number of reasons. 1. You can use tongs ...
01/19/2022

Scavenger color hunt, but make it winter themed!

Scavenger hunts are great for a number of reasons.

1. You can use tongs to collect items (fine motor strength and manipulation).
2. This can be great for color matching and sorting.
3. This is a great visual scanning and visual discrimination.
4. This is a great way to get up and moving. You can use items like a scooter board to explore the space for added input!

Want to know my secret weapon to getting things done in the kitchen AND entertaining my kids? I keep old towels and a sh...
01/18/2022

Want to know my secret weapon to getting things done in the kitchen AND entertaining my kids?

I keep old towels and a shallow plastic under the bed container (no clue where the lid went so to the kids it goes!) in the kitchen.

This way I can easily fill it with things like an inch of water, snow, and shaving cream to keep the kiddos busy (they will add things like cars, kitchen spatulas, and small figurines to help them explore the fun). I keep my 6 month old away from the shaving cream, but she loves to join big brother (2yo) with things like water and snow.

Tip!! I always lay the towels down first and then place the bin on top, makes for easy clean up and captures any splashes or mess that may fall out over the side.

Happy Sensory Play!

A snowy sensory box! All you need is a plastic container, some snow, and all the fine motor manipulatives you want!Perfe...
01/08/2022

A snowy sensory box! All you need is a plastic container, some snow, and all the fine motor manipulatives you want!

Perfect for those little ones!

Happy Milestone Monday!Who's ready for target practice?? As children get older their coordination improves. Between the ...
12/20/2021

Happy Milestone Monday!

Who's ready for target practice?? As children get older their coordination improves. Between the ages of 5-6, kids begin to be able to throw a ball and hit a target fairly consistently!

To practice this skill, break down the task as necessary. Model the task and even talk through the act of throwing, i.e. "bend elbow," "pull arm back," etc. To start, you can ball up paper and practice throwing inside against a wall.

For our more advanced throwers, you can use a soft ball or a fidget ball!

We Love to Read Wednesday!Both the "big" family and "very little" snow globe family are wishing for snow. As your childr...
12/15/2021

We Love to Read Wednesday!

Both the "big" family and "very little" snow globe family are wishing for snow. As your children anticipate a winter snow, this book is great for comparing and contrasting the different families' lives. It will be sure to spark your child's imagination...What would it be like to live in a snow globe?!

Milestone Monday!Did you know that between the ages of 3-4 children begin to answer who, what and where questions? This ...
12/13/2021

Milestone Monday!

Did you know that between the ages of 3-4 children begin to answer who, what and where questions? This can be an exciting time for them as they start to process and respond to questions about their environment. Some great activities to practice this new skill are to ask about scenes in a book or in your day to day life. Showing them that "who" is a person, "what" is a thing and "where" is a place can also be helpful!

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Oakton, VA

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm
Friday 9am - 6pm

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