sensory smart kids, heavy work, and lemonade 🍋

September 2025 NewsletterHi read,How's the new school year been for you? We are settling into new rhythms and routines at OKOT and hope you are too! This time of year can always feel a little hectic with all the changes, so here are some helpful tips

September 2025 Newsletter Hi read, How's the new school year been for you? We are settling into new rhythms and routines at OKOT and hope you are too! This time of year can always feel a little hectic with all the changes, so here are some helpful tips to support you in daily life with your child. ☀️ Recommended Resource-of-the-Month: Our team loves the book Raising a Sensory Smart Child by Lindsey Biel and Nancy Peske. This book offers practical ideas for understanding your child's sensory needs and ways to support them at home and school. It is a helpful guide for families looking to better support their child's unique way of experiencing the world. 💚 OT Tip-of-the-Month for More Joy & Ease in Daily Life Heavy work can be a powerful tool for self-regulation for adults and kids. Heavy work means activities that involve pushing, pulling, lifting, or carrying. These activities give deep pressure input to the body. They can help children feel calm, focused, and ready to learn. Try adding heavy work to your child's daily routine. This could be carrying groceries, pushing a wagon, or doing animal walks. These movements help with body awareness and self-regulation and make transitions and school days easier. When your child feels "out of control" or "super high energy" always remember: try HEAVY WORK! 🌳 OKOT Story A lot of times in our digitized daily lives nowadays, children don't have opportunities to build strength through heavy work activities. At OKOT, we always try to build in more heavy work opportunities by using "old-fashioned" hand tools whenever possible. One thing you can try in the kitchen is making lemonade with a hand-squeeze lemon juicer. The kids always LOVE this activity in our groups and the pressure it requires is great for regulating their nervous systems. The best part is drinking the lemonade afterwards…we recommend sweetening with honey or maple syrup for the added nutrients those natural sweeteners have. So good! 😋  OKOT SERVICE UPDATES   🌳 East Bay, CA Groups 2 spots left for 3-4 year olds in Tilden on Monday, 3:30-5:15  The rest of our East Bay groups are FULL.    🌴 San Francisco, CA Groups 1 spot on Tuesday in McLaren Park for 7-9 year olds, 3:45-5:15 2 spots on Thursday in McLaren Park for 6-8 year olds, 3:45-5:15 The rest of our San Francisco groups are FULL.   🌲 Madison, WI Groups  2 spots left on Monday at Token Creek for 8-10 year olds, 3:45-5:30 All other Madison groups are FULL. Apply here to secure your spot or join the waitlist for future openings. We may open more groups in January based on our waitlist numbers.   Individual OT 🌱 Apply here for one-on-one occupational therapy for your child in any of our locations.   If you have already applied, current applications are being reviewed and spots offered based on availability and needs of the child and group.    Cheers, Laura & all of us at OKOT Apply Now 2930 Domingo Avenue #1092 Berkeley, California 94705, USA Unsubscribe or Manage Preferences here. No hard feelings!