Figgy Developmental Playbook

THE FIGGY DEVELOPMENTAL PLAYBOOK

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THE FIGGY DEVELOPMENT AL PLAYBOOK Parents want what's best for their children. They want them to grow and play, to learn and have fun. Have you ever wondered how you can use The Figgy to target age appropriate developmental milestones? Our product comes highly recommended by speech therapists, occupational therapists, and mental health professionals.

We partnered with DotCom Therapy, the leading therapist founded pediatric teletherapy company, to curate this playbook that walks you step by step through developmental milestones, activities, and therapist insights for using The Figgy to help your child reach their highest potential - while having fun!

Activities are suggested for specific age groups, but in early/preschool years, activities can often be used across multiple ages by increasing difficulty, so feel free to explore suggestions for all ages.

If you have concerns about your child's development, please contact DotCom Therapy to consult with their licensed and certified speech, occupational, and mental health therapy providers.

Scan QR code to access DotCom Therapy's website.

**Developmental Milestones from CDC & American Academy of Pediatrics

18 MONTHS DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL Bring items to you to show you Plays simple pretend (for example, feeding a doll) Likes to hand things to others as play May have temper tantrums May be afraid of strangers Shows affection to familiar people May cling to caregivers in new situations Points to show others something interesting May explore alone but with parent close by

COGNITIVE Knows purpose of ordinary objects (for example: phone = talking, brush = grooming, spoon = eating) Points to get the attention of others Shows interest in a doll or stuffed animal by pretending to feed Points to one body part when named Scribbles on their own Can follow one step verbal commands without any gestures; for example, sits when you say “please sit down”

COMMUNICATION Uses single words Begins to say "no" Points to what they want Retrieves objects from another room when asked Points to a few body parts when asked Responds to their name most of the time when you call it Follows one step, verbal directions

MOVEMENT Walks alone May walk up steps Pulls toys while walking Can help with dressing Drinks from a cup Eats with a spoon May run

"For communication development, at this age we want to engage kids in connective activities.

They are learning how communication works, so not only new words, but the reciprocal nature of communication, how to use communication to meet their needs and participate socially."

-Nicole Pounds M.S. CCC-SLP DotCom Therapy

18 MONTHS FIGGY ACTIVITIES HIDE & SEEK/PEEK-A-BOO Caregiver or child hides behind a Figgy cushion or bolster and then pops out to surprise each other.

Therapist Insight: This activity encourages cognitive skills (e.g., object permanence) but also communication skills such as joint attention, social skills, and reciprocal communication. It is also helpful in developing trust and engagement during influxes of separation anxiety. By building on object permanence, your child will recognize that you always come back!

IMAGINATIVE PLAY Turn your Figgy into a table for a tea party, a house or castle, or set it up as a boat to sail out to sea. Use your imagination!

Therapist Insight: Imaginative play encourages cognitive, communication, and social emotional development. It is rich in new vocabulary and cognitive concepts and encourages emotional connection. It also allows a space to practice important social routines and skills. When playing, be sure to describe actions of you and your child and narrate through your play. Your child's mind is a sponge and even when it feels silly, their receptive language skills are improving.

READING COUCH Set your Figgy up in a couch position (cushions on bottom, bolsters as the back of the couch). Sit down with your child and read age appropriate books with them.

Therapist Insight: Reading to your child at this age encourages early literacy skills and improves vocabulary and cognitive concept development.

2 YEARS DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL Copies others, especially older children and adults Plays near and with the same toys as others Increasingly aware of themself as separate from others Increasingly enthusiastic about company of other children Demonstrates increasing independence Begins to show defiant behavior as a part of expressing/testing independence Increasing episodes of separation anxiety toward midyear, then they fade

COGNITIVE Finds hidden items Sort shapes Plays make believe Builds towers of 4 or more blocks Finds objects even when hidden under two or three covers Begins to sort by shapes and colors

COMMUNICATION Points to objects as they are named Follows simple instructions with 2 steps Recognizes names of familiar people, objects, and body parts Uses 2-3 word phrases Repeats words overheard in conversation

MOVEMENT Climbs furniture without help Walks alone and begins to run Pulls toys behind them while walking Carries large toy or several toys while walking Stands on tiptoe Kicks a ball Walks up and down stairs holding on to support

"Through the ample opportunities for pretend play with The Figgy, your child can practice important social engagements like negotiation, empathy, considering others' perspectives, expression of thoughts, listening to others, role play, and reciprocity; all vital skills for academic and emotional development!"

- Kelly McGuinness M.S., LCSW DotCom Therapy

2 YEARS FIGGY ACTIVITIES TUNNEL CRAWL Connect two cushions and set them up to create a tunnel. Have your child crawl through. To add an additional skill, put the pieces of a shape sorter or puzzle on one side and have them crawl through to get the pieces and then back through to put the puzzle together.

Therapist Insight: Crawling on hands and knees builds core and neck strength and provides deep pressure input. For greater development of skills, put pillows in the tunnel for them to crawl over. This makes the surface uneven requiring them to crawl with their arms and legs separately. The puzzle/shape sorter encourages development of cognitive and fine motor skills.

SEEK & FIND OBJECTS Use the Figgy cushions/bolsters or blankets to hide small toys or pictures for your child. Comment on the items as they are found.

Therapist Insight: This activity encourages cognitive, communication, and social/emotional development. Use a variety of objects to boost vocabulary exposure and talk about the objects (color, size, purpose, etc.)

SIMPLE JUMP BUILD Create a tunnel (same as above). Place the other two cushions on one side to create a landing pad. Encourage your child to climb to the top and jump off onto the landing pad. *To ensure safety, be sure to complete this activity only when clear of other objects in the room and you may also consider putting down other mats, blankets, etc. for cushioning.

Therapist Insight: Climbing builds core strength, provides sensory input, and assists in building coordination needed for advancing skills with dominant and non-dominant hands. To encourage communication, talk about what your child is doing (climbing up, jumping off, etc.).

3 YEARS DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL Understands "mine" and "his/hers/theirs" Copies adults and friends Shows affection for friends without prompting Takes turns in games Shows concern for crying friend Shows a wide range of emotions Separates easily from parent/guardian May get upset with major changes in routine Dresses and undresses independently

COGNITIVE Can work toys with buttons, levers, and moving parts Plays make-believe with dolls, animals, and people Does puzzles with three or four pieces Understands what “two” means Copies a circle with pencil or crayon Turns book pages one at a time Builds towers of more than six blocks Screws and unscrews jar lids or turns door handle

COMMUNICATION Uses 2-4 word phrases Follows instructions with two or three steps Can name most familiar things Understands “in,” “on,” and “under” Says first name, age, and sex Names a friend Says words like “I,” “me,” “we,” and “you” and some plurals (cars, dogs, cats) Speaks clearly enough for strangers to understand most of the time Carries on a conversation using two to three sentences

Movement Climbs well Runs easily Pedals a tricycle (3-wheel bike) Walks up and down stairs, one foot on each step

"Three-year-olds are working on flexing their independence and they are trying to understand who they are. By working with them to try new things and helping them be successful, you can assist them in building self-confidence and self-esteem."

- Dr. Jayna Niblock PhD, OTD, OTR/L, BCP, BCTS DotCom Therapy

3 YEARS FIGGY ACTIVITIES READING FORT Build your favorite Figgy fort and fill it with pillows, blankets, and books.

Using a flashlight or lantern, go inside with your child to read or encourage them to look at books independently.

Therapist Insight: Reading with your child encourages early literacy skills and vocabulary/language development in addition to building connection and social/emotional skills. Reading and spending time in a fort or other small spaces also helps a child develop body awareness leading to increased ability to remain calm and attentive to a task.

OBSTACLE COURSE Use the Figgy to set up a simple obstacle course. Set cushions up to make a tunnel or lay the bolsters on the floor for a balance beam or to jump from one to the next.

Therapist Insight: Completing an obstacle course aids in planning and organization skills in addition to movement development such as core, leg, and arm strength. Jumping and crawling also provides deep pressure sensory input.

FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS Take turns with your child telling each other directions to complete with two or three steps. For example, "crawl through the tunnel and jump over the cushion" or "jump five times and then climb up the fort and jump off."

Therapist Insight: This activity encourages language development and memory skills. By allowing your child to both give and receive directions it encourages receptive and expressive language. If they have trouble remembering, feel free to coach them through the activity and then have them do it by themself. Giving and receiving directions for movement also allows your child to learn to build motor planning or praxis skills and allows them to determine new ways to complete a task they have done before leading to increased flexibility when done successfully.

4 YEARS DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL Gains creativity with make-believe play Enjoys doing new things Plays “Mom” and “Dad” Would rather play with other children than by themself Cooperates with other children Often can’t tell what’s real and what’s make-believe Talks about what they are interested in

COGNITIVE Names some colors and some numbers Understands the idea of counting Starts to understand time Remembers parts of a story Understands the idea of “same” and “different” Draws a person with two to four body parts Uses scissors Starts to copy some capital letters Plays board or card games Tells you what they think is going to happen next in a book

COMMUNICATION Tells stories Knows some basic rules of grammar, such as correctly using “he," “she," and "them" Sings a song or says a poem from memory such as the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” or the “Wheels on the Bus” Can say first and last name Can name most objects

Movement Hops and stands on one foot up to two seconds Catches a bounced ball most of the time Pours, cuts with supervision, and mashes own food

"By the time a child is four, familiar people should be able to understand everything that a child is saying. If you still have a very hard time understanding your child's speech you may want to look into a speech therapy evaluation."

-Nicole Pounds M.S. CCC-SLP DotCom Therapy

4 YEARS FIGGY ACTIVITIES SORTING ACTIVITIES Make a pile of objects from around your house (could also do this with laundry!). Put out two to four cushions on the ground and work with your child to sort the items into categories (e.g., color, object type, purpose, etc.).

Therapist Insight: Categorization is a foundational skill for many cognitive, language, and academic concepts. This activity can be adapted to teach colors, same/different, purpose, shape, etc.

PLAY HOUSE Build your favorite Figgy fort and use it as a "house" to pretend play in. Allow your child to choose what role they want to play (mom, dad, baby, puppy, etc). Talk about the things you are doing, bring in additional items from your house to play with, etc.

Therapist Insight: This activity promotes social/emotional skills and language skills in addition to giving a safe place to practice and learn social skills such as empathy.

STORY RETELL Build your favorite Figgy fort to read books in. Ask your child what they think will happen next as you read. Once the book is finished, have your child retell the story or even set up the Figgy as a stage and act out the story.

Therapist Insight: Story retell reinforces early literacy skills, organizational language skills, and vocabulary development. It also gives an opportunity to reinforce and practice skills they learn about while reading.

5 YEARS DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL Wants to please friends Wants to be like friends More likely to agree with rules Likes to sing, dance, and act Can tell what’s real and what’s makebelieve Shows more independence (for example, may visit a next-door neighbor independently [adult supervision is still needed]) Is sometimes demanding and sometimes cooperative

COGNITIVE Counts 10 or more things Can draw a person with at least six body parts Can print some letters or numbers Copies a triangle and other geometric shapes Knows about things used every day, like money and food

COMMUNICATION Speaks very clearly (familiar people should understand 100% of words) Tells a simple story using full sentences Uses future tense; for example, “Grandma will be here.”

Says name and address

MOVEMENT Stands on one foot for 10 seconds or longer Hops; may be able to skip Can do a somersault Uses a fork and spoon and sometimes a table knife Can use the toilet independently Swings and climbs

"Gross motor skills are the building blocks for fine motor, visual motor, cognitive, and social-emotional development as kids learn through exploration and play. The Figgy is a great way to facilitate all of these skill areas within your home for your children."

- Dr. Jayna Niblock PhD, OTD, OTR/L, BCP, BCTS DotCom Therapy

5 YEARS FIGGY ACTIVITIES THE FLOOR IS LAVA Set the Figgy up in a variety of positions around the room.

Pretending that the floor is lava, you and your child move from piece to piece without touching the floor.

Therapist Insight: This activity encourages pretend play, connection, planning, organization, core strength, and balance. By creating obstacles or challenges, you can also assist your child in building problem solving skills and flexibility with ideas.

PUPPET SHOW Connect two Figgy cushions and set them up to make a partition. Have your child hide behind the cushions and use their hands, sock puppets, or toys to put on a puppet show.

Therapist Insight: Puppet shows encourage language development, social skills, story telling, and pretend play. If your child seems hesitant at first, feel free to join them as an "actor" to help guide them.

CALM SPACE Set your Figgy up in couch position or your favorite Figgy fort if your child enjoys being in a smaller space for calming. Lead your child in breathing exercises or provide calming activities such as a book, fidgets, body sock, or container with dry beans.

Therapist Insight: Encourage your child to use this space when they are becoming upset but before they become overwhelmed. Do not force them into the space, but invite them to join you and then engage in calming activities such as breathing. Encourage your child to join in, but don't require it. As a child understands how this assists them in calming and sees you becoming calmer, they will learn to do these skills themselves.