Starfish Therapies

A pediatric therapy company operating in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area. We provide physical, occupational, speech and aquatic therapy services in the most beneficial and convenient setting for you and your child, including our clinic, currently located in Burlingame, your home, school or daycare.

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Motor Smart Toys and Tips

January 24, 2010 by Stacy Menz

Hippity Hop: The hippity hop is a great toy although your child needs to be walking already to utilize this toy.  They will get the most bounce from it if they are already jumping however they can have just as much fun just sitting on it and bouncing for some pre-jumping practice.  The bouncing and jumping your kid will do on the hippity hop is great for leg strengthening, cardiovascular endurance, sensory exploration, and balance.

Hopscotch squares: Hopscotch is a fun and social game.  Making a board can be low tech like using chalk on the sidewalk, or can be pre-fabricated and bought in the store, providing the opportunity to play both indoors and outdoors.  Hopscotch also works on jumping with both one and two feet, as well as coordination for how to jump from one foot to two feet and then two feet to one foot.  For beginners they can jump with two feet the whole time which encourages practice of jumping with their feet open and then close, which is a pre-requisite for doing jumping jacks later.  As they advance they get to practice balance by bending down to pick up their place holder and then returning to standing.  Its a lot easier if they are standing on two feet and more of a challenge when they are on one foot.  In addition the jumping and turning 180 degrees at number 10 requires motor planning and balance.

Sit and Spin: The sit and spin provides your child the opportunity to work on arm strength as well as strengthening their trunk muscles including their obliques and abs (just make sure they spin in both directions and not always to one side).  It also works on the muscles of their shoulder blades.  It encourages motor planning and coordination as well as provides opportunities for sensory input.

Twister: Twister can be played as it is intended or you can make your own variations for your kids.  It can help to develop your child’s balance, core muscle strength and coordination.  We will sometimes start with our feet on two circles and then try to see what the furthest circles are that they can reach without collapsing onto the mat.  You can also use it for visual cues for push-ups by using the circles to provide a place for their hands and feet and then see who can get closest to the mat without collapsing.  Its also fun to encourage their imagination by seeing who can create the craziest pose and then hold it the longest!

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Filed Under: Developmental Milestones Tagged With: balance, coordination, education, exercise, gross motor development, jumping, kids, motor planning, Motor Smart Kids, physical therapy, posture, sensory exploration, Starfish Therapies, strengthening, toys

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Our family moved to the bay area 6 years ago, and Starfish Therapies have been a part of our family ever since. Everyone at the clinic is caring and warm. The owner always looks for ways to improve the clinic and the services provided. The therapists are patient, enthusiastic, and know how to motivate the kids to do their best. Even after moving more than an hour away from the clinic, we kept going back to Starfish for intensive therapy sessions every summer! We cannot thank Starfish Therapies enough for helping my daughter to get stronger and to become more independent over the years!”

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  BURLINGAME / MAIN CLINIC
  1541 Old Bayshore Highway
  Burlingame, CA 94010


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  (located in KidSpace)
  3401 Mission St.
  San Francisco, CA 94110


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  3825 El Camino Real
  Palo Alto, CA 94306


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  (located at Sensitive Solutions)
  30 Avenue Portola, Suite 200 C & D
  Half Moon Bay, CA 94018

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