Building Blocks Stories

08/14/2026

🌈✨ WHAT IS OT? BOOK SERIES by Justine Bedocs, OTR/L ✨🌈

Ever wish there was a simple, fun, and visual way to explain Occupational Therapy to kids, parents, and teachers? 💛
That’s exactly what the “What is OT?” book series was created for! 📚✨

This engaging series breaks OT into easy, kid-friendly topics—helping children understand their brain, body, skills, and daily life in a way that actually clicks 🌟

📖 Book 1: What is OT? 🧠
📖 Book 2: Hand Skills 🖐️✏️
📖 Book 3: Brain & Body Skills 💪🧠
📖 Book 4: Hand & Eye Skills 👀🖐️
📖 Book 5: Life Skills 🌟
📖 Book 6: Sensory Skills 🌈
📖 Book 7: Social Emotional Skills 💛🤝

Each book shows how OT builds independence, confidence, and everyday success—one skill at a time ✨

🧠 Brain & Body
🖐️ Hand Skills
👀 Hand-Eye Coordination
🌟 Daily Life Skills
🌈 Sensory Processing
💛 Social Emotional Growth

💡 Perfect for OTs, parents, teachers & kids who want to understand OT better!

📦 Available on Amazon: “What is OT? Justine Bedocs”

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📤 Share with someone who needs OT made simple!

08/14/2026

FINE MOTOR + HANDWRITING STRATEGIES: A THERAPIST-FRIENDLY GUIDE! ✨✏️

I know how much time therapists spend creating parent handouts, finding pictures, explaining tools, and putting together home programs — so I thought I would start sharing some of mine! 💛

My goal is to create resources that therapists can easily share with families and that parents can actually use at home — one less thing on your plate. 🌈

This guide focuses on the skills that support successful handwriting and everyday fine motor development, including:

🌟 Fine motor skills
🌟 Hand strengthening
🌟 Pencil grasp and pencil control
🌟 Visual motor integration
🌟 Visual perceptual skills
🌟 Bilateral coordination
🌟 Weight-bearing and proprioceptive activities
🌟 Handwriting strategies

You’ll also find some of my favorite tools and simple strategies for home, including different pencil grips, the HandyWriter, weighted writing tools, writing slant boards, adapted scissors, visual guides, spacing tools, and activities to strengthen the entire hand. ✋✏️

One of the biggest things I remind families is that handwriting is about so much more than holding a pencil!

Before we expect a child to sit down and write, we want to look at the foundations: shoulder stability, core strength, hand strength, bilateral coordination, visual attention, visual perception, motor planning, and the ability to coordinate what the eyes see with what the hands are doing.

Sometimes the best “handwriting practice” doesn’t involve a pencil at all. 💪🌈

Think:
✨ Animal walks
✨ Wheelbarrow walking
✨ Crawling
✨ Weight-bearing through open hands
✨ Playdough and resistive activities
✨ Clothespins and tongs
✨ Cutting activities
✨ Vertical surface play
✨ Visual scanning and visual perceptual games

SAVE this guide for your therapy toolbox and SHARE it with a parent, teacher, or therapist who could use a few new fine motor and handwriting ideas! 💾📤

These strategies are meant to provide general ideas and are not a substitute for an individualized occupational therapy evaluation when concerns are impacting a child’s participation or development.

08/11/2026

🌈 SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL TOOLBOX FOR PARENTS, TEACHERS & THERAPISTS 🌈

Occupational therapy is personal to me. I truly love what I do, I love the children and families I work with, and I want to help as many people as I can. ❤️

After 25 years as an occupational therapist, I’ve learned there isn’t one strategy that works for every child or every moment. That’s why I created this Social-Emotional Handout & Toolbox for parents, teachers, therapists, caregivers, and anyone supporting children.

It’s filled with quick, practical tools you can reach for in the moment—recognizing body signals, emotional regulation, anxiety and worry, frustration and anger, transitions, flexible thinking, friendships, sensory strategies, movement, calming tools, and repairing after a hard moment.

My hope is that you save it, share it, and use it when a child needs a little extra support. Sometimes having the right tool at the right time can make all the difference. 💛

Please reach out anytime with questions, for additional resources, or if you’d like me to become part of your child’s team. Helping children, families, teachers, and fellow therapists is truly why I love what I do. 🌈

08/06/2026

📚💙 “What Is OT? And What Will I Do There?”

Today I had the sweetest little reading buddy, Stella, help me share my children’s book about occupational therapy! 🥰 And she gave it TWO thumbs up! 👍👍

The main character is my son, Drew, who takes kids along with him to OT and shows them that therapy can be a place to play, learn, practice, grow, and build confidence.

Through Drew’s story, children learn about some of the many things we work on in OT:

✨ Fine & gross motor skills
✨ Visual-motor skills
✨ Dressing & daily living skills
✨ Feeding skills
✨ Sensory processing
✨ Body awareness & motor planning
✨ Executive functioning
✨ Interoception — understanding what our bodies are telling us
✨ Social-emotional skills
✨ Self-regulation & independence

My favorite message of all:

💙 OT is all about helping children become their best, most independent selves.

At OT, children learn:
I am strong. I am capable. And I am ready to do amazing things. 🌟

And according to Stella… it’s definitely a two-thumbs-up read! 👍👍📖

07/04/2026

The ultimate pediatric OT toolkit is finally here.

Perfect for:
-New parents wanting to get ahead.
-Caregivers looking for fresh activity ideas.
-Classrooms needing inclusive resources.

• Covers all 8 core OT areas—Hands, Brain, Eyes, Sensory, Reflexes, Life Skills, Social-Emotional, and more.
• Turns complex therapy concepts into simple, fun, everyday games.
• Gives you the right words to use with teachers, doctors, and therapists.

This is the resource you wish you had years ago. Buy the bundle now and start seeing real change. Need help picking the right book for your child? Justine would love to hear from you—click and connect! https://linktr.ee/buildingblockspedsot

07/03/2026

07/03/2026

Does your child avoid swings, hate bright lights, or struggle with buttons?

Parents of kids aged 3–10 who are often labeled as "picky," "clumsy," or "overly emotional." These books cover the full spectrum of Occupational Therapy—from Sensory Skills to Social-Emotional regulation.

• Learn exactly what's going on—from sensory processing to social-emotional skills.
• Get illustrated, kid-friendly activities that make therapy feel like play.
• Stop guessing and start using expert-backed strategies written by an OT who gets it.

Knowledge is power. Stop guessing and start growing. Order your set today and give your child the support they deserve. Not sure where to begin? Justine is just a message away—ask her anything! https://linktr.ee/buildingblockspedsot

07/02/2026

Stop worrying about your child's milestones. Start understanding them.

Are you watching your toddler struggle with fine motor skills or feeling overwhelmed by "sensory meltdowns"? You don’t need a medical degree to help them thrive; you just need the right roadmap.

• Demystify the "why" behind OT so you finally know what your child needs.
• Get actionable, play-based strategies you can use at home today.
• Build your confidence and turn daily struggles into developmental wins.

Don't wait for a "wait and see" approach to fail your child. Grab the full 8-book OT series now and start making progress today. Have questions? Justine is ready to help—reach out anytime! https://linktr.ee/buildingblockspedsot

07/01/2026

My OT Journey June 29, 2026 By admin My journey to find occupational therapy may have taken a bit longer than others, but I ‘m grateful for each experience that got me to where I am today! For those who don’t know me, my name is Colleen McGuinness and I have been completing my fieldwork rotation...