Tuesday, September 28, 2010

OT Tip - Hand Grasp




This week I want to continue something I touched on briefly last week which is how kids hold their writing utensils/pencils. As always, there is an age appropriate sequence that you can go by to see how your child is doing.
So let's start at the beginning. Again these are average ages, every child is different. However if you do suspect your child is behind in their development, please talk to your pediatrician.

  • By age 3.9 months your baby should be able to grasp a rattle or other objects. 
  • By age 5.2 months they reach for objects with their whole arm.
  • By age 10.2 months, they should be able to use a thumb-finger grasp (palmar grasp). 
  • by age 12-15 months they use a palmar supinate grasp. They use their whole arm to color and move the marker/crayon to where they want it on the paper. You will also notice that the writing utensil is at a complete vertical angle.
  •  By 2-3 years old, they move to a digital pronate grasp, which looks like the picture below.
  • By age 3 to 4 they will switch to a static tripod grasp or quadrupod grasp. They hold the writing utensils crudely and use the whole pads of their fingers on the writing utensil. 
Quadrupod Grasp 

 Tripod Grasp 

  • By the time your child hits kindergarten they will use the most mature grasp, the dynamic tripod/quadrupod grasp, when they use the tips of their fingers on the writing utensil and also hold the crayon/pencil more at an angle than vertical, much like an adult grasp. 
Again, these are average ages and every child is different. However this gives you a good idea of what to look for as your child starts to explore the wonderful world of writing!

For more information check out the following links, where I got a lot of my info.

FAQ: Hand Grasp for Writing
Get a Grip: Grasping Patterns in Young Children
All Photo Credit: The Handwriting Doctor



Disclaimer: I am a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant. The advise in these tips is not a replacement for medical advise from a physician or your pediatrician. Please consult their advice if you suspect any medical or developmental issues with your child.  

Corn and Poblano Rajas

  
  
Today is the 50th anniversary of Ted Williams' final game.  The greatest hitter of all time capped off his baseball career by hitting a home run in his final at-bat.  Charles McGrath in the New York Times helps us remember Ted Williams through the eyes of John Updike, who was there on that day and wrote his paean to Williams in Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu.   McGrath focuses on Updike's phrase, "For me, Williams is the classic ballplayer of the game on a hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill."  McGrath believes that Updike identified with Williams, both in their physical similarities, both were were tall and slender, but also as artists committed to their craft.  Updike found the hero in Williams as a "player who always care[s]; who care, that is to say, about themselves and their art."  Although, for McGrath, the difference of Williams "was not between a thing done well and a thing done ill, but between a thing done well and a thing done even better."
    
What does this have to do with a corn poblano cheese mixture recipe from a petite Mexican-American chef from Baja?  McGrath, Updike, Williams, and even Marcella Valladolid in Fresh Mexico all remind us that every day, whether on those hot August weekdays before a small crowd, or on those dark weekday evenings before no one, we have the opportunity to be better.  I took that opportunity, as I try to do regularly as reflected in this blog, to do better at a Sunday afternoon tailgating party.  As with the ancho tequila salsa featured yesterday, I tried to do better than just dogs and brats on the grill by featuring the last of these recipes I tried from Valladolid.  It makes a wonderful feeling for a quesadilla, or even just in a small soft taco shell.  A Mexican theme for the party was surely fun, and pulling off recipes fulfilling, but the combination of new and different made everything special.  The important thing, though, is to feel that feeling of being special, not just for and in front of a crowd, but when you are alone, and no one is looking.  That is the sign of someone devoted to a higher calling in pursuing their craft.  It is also the sign of someone who derives joy from practicing their craft.  None of us will ever be Ted Williams, and few of us will ever be a celebrity chef, but we can all be special to ourselves, and to those around us, because we care and choose to do things better.
    
Ingredients:
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups corn kernels
6 poblano chiles, charred, peeled, seeded and sliced into long strips
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Mexican crema or creme fraiche
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
tortillas
salt/pepper
     
Directions:
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions and soften for 5 minutes.  Add the corn and and chile strips and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the heavy cream and and crema and cook for 8 minutes, gently simmering.  Add the cheese and stir until melted.  Season to taste the mixture with salt and pepper.  Serve with tortillas.
     

jgn cepat melatah!

erm. demam cam makin teruk compare dgn siang td. panas on off, selsema tersumbat2, rase nak jolok gune pam tandas. tekak pun sakit sampai terpakse batuk konon2 nak hilangkan sakit. tp alhamdulilah aku still blh nak on9 ni sbb demam kali ni tak de sakit kepale atau pening. just lemah badan tu adatlah kan.

by the way, baru lepas cek maybank2u.com. dah ade balik duit ak tuh dlm account. WAHAHA. lega dan tenang semula hati ak. yer nnt kalau ak da jd jutawan da ade 15 juta dlm account, ta de la ak menggelabah. tp da ckup mkn ni, tskkk, tlglah biar ak merase duit sdiri. huhu. tp ok lah kan, less than a day, tgk2 dah settle. alhamdulilah!

tp abah dan mama dan namin dan semua ckp, setiap kejadian ada hikmahnya. mama kate jgn nangis lg. mane ta nangis, time g bank tu ak da plan na belanje die org mkn. ak ta nak la pegang cash in hand bebnyk, tkot ape2 jd. camtu plak jdnye. T___T. tambah lg aku ni fobia gle dgn penjahat2 dkt negare kte skrng. ak slalu rase insecure time driving ++ kalau nmpk motor seblah ak. TAKOT!

esok ade shooting. harap2 makin sehat esok pg. tlglahh. waaa. ak tak mau dilihat mcm org yg cari excuse. no! camne nk berjaye cam gtu. kan? Ya Allah ya tuhanku, sehatkanlah tubuh bdn hamba-Mu ini. eh! tubuh badan tak payah, mmg da sihat, sihatkanlah mane2 yg tak sehat ni!

perasan tak sy selalu tulis 'eh salah' and so on. tu bkn buat2, cuma bile tulis blog, sy jrng nak tekan BACKSPACE or DELETE. sbb mmg tulis dgn spontan, on the spot. jd kalau slh tu mmg slh! :)

ok lah. tu je. saje na ingtkan diri sendiri ttg ape yg da di-pelajari hari ni dan semlm. till then!

A few days in the life of this blogger

I‘m just back from wonderful, exciting London, literally last night. I must say, it is nice to see that those autumnal mists and rains haven’t yet struck Istanbul: the sun is in its place and I like it! The day before I went, I was in Eminönü in the Spice Market. How I love that place! Look at this photo and try to guess what these are:


 No, not new potatoes but fresh dates from Jordan! The seller informed me that they should remain for 2 days in the fridge before eating. He gave me one to try and it was a truly delicious taste sensation with a consistency that I would describe as being moist, soft, and creamy.  Very different but worth trying.
But London: first port of call once I had dropped off my case was to zoom off to buy some food for dinner, the nearest place conveniently being M&S. You forget what it looks like. Mmm ,what a mouthwatering selection of food . I made my choices and then had to smile to myself : 3 pork loin dinners,  beautiful crunchy celery such as we don’t get here, a bag of rocket and chard (oh joy, pre-washed!), some cheddar cheese, and lovely fresh raspberries. And no, I didn’t get the cream but instead Greek-style yogurt. Old habits die hard. It’s only when you revisit a place like that, that you realise there are some things that you really quite miss.
Another foodie stop a few days later was the Food Hall at John Lewis on Oxford Street. Amazingly, I had never been there. I know Harrod’s, I know Fortnum’s but  not this one. All I can say is don’t miss it next time you are in London: upmarket food enticingly presented and totally eye-popping.
Fish restaurants in Istanbul are deservedly considered excellent but I suddenly had a yen for good ole English-style fish’n’chips on my last night. Luckily my son lives very near Borough Market where there is a very nice restaurant nestled next to Southwark Cathedral charmingly called Fish.  Fresh cod in batter? Can’t beat it.
Later, the lights in the Cathedral were still on so we wandered round to see if we could visit. There were two men in robes who said it had just been locked. It did cross our minds that in Turkey, they would probably have unlocked it for us.
On the plane yesterday afternoon I had a copy of the Times Weekend to read. It turned out to be one of those very informative ones where every article strikes a chord. What immediately caught my eye was a supplement entitled How to make soup. Following my last blog re lentil soup, I was intrigued. But as my practiced eye scanned the ingredients, my face fell: too many unobtainables such as ham and bacon,chorizo sausage, parsnips, sorrel – I don’t even know what that looks like – split yellow peas, as well as a great deal of coriander which is a new herb here and as such only available sometimes in plastic packets in supermarkets.  There was a nice-sounding soup with dried shiitake mushrooms and I think I have seen them in my local 3M Migros. Not a usual item though.Of course one can substitute here and there but that destroys the integrity of the original recipe. So, unfortunately, nothing for me there. However, with the imminent arrival of pumpkin on the scene here,  I have a delicious creamy red pepper and pumpkin soup recipe up my sleeve that my French cousin Michele made for dinner last week. Watch this space!
 I discarded the supplement and went on with the Travel section which is always a good read. And here what did I see but 2 pages on a super-sounding place in a remote location overlooking Kumlubük bay in the south of Turkey. I have never heard of this bay but apparently it is somewhere near Turunç and right now it is offering a family ‘olive harvest’ week during the UK halfterm holiday. But what further caught my eye was the writer’s lyrical descriptions of the food offered at this place, Dionysos Estate:


'Slivers of cheese with fresh oregano. Raw sea bass with grated tomato. Grilled mushrooms in oil and rosemary. Baby courgettes, barbecued, bathed in oil and dill and served with a dill-spiked yogurt. Roasted red peppers enlivened with chopped basil and slivers of white cheese.'                   


Those of us who live here can easily do this! The ingredients are all the stuff of everyday shopping with an eye to what is available this week. The writer was obviously salivating at the memory but you can produce food like this too. Just go out there and buy the fruit or vegetables even if they seem unfamiliar. The important thing is to try them and try my recipes!


                                          Go on!

DISMA

Aku enggak pernah paham, mengapa hidup menjadi seorang aku begitu sulit. Semakin dewasa, semakin memberat beban pikiranku, jua aku makin kian tak berdaya. Sulit. Semuanya serba sulit. Adakah makna yang harus kuserap nantinya? Mimpi semakin menyekik.
Kadang aku ingin menangis, saat aku bekerja, saat aku belajar, saat aku berpergian, bahkan saat aku tertidur akupun ingin menangis. Beraaat! Dan aku yang masih terlalu muda, masih seumur jagung mereka bilang, sudah harus menanggungnya sendiri. Malang? Apakah iya? Aku kah gadis malang yang sering terdengar dalam dongeng-dongeng? Mungkin. Hanya hembusan nafas jawabku.
Sedikit lagi, semangatku akan patah, namun disaat ini juga aku bernafsu besar merebut mimpi-mimpiku. Sakit Tuhan, sedikit saja aku tersenggol air mata kan menyapa dunia. Sakit Tuhan, hamba-Mu ini masih lugu menerpa nasib yang keras Tuhan. Tuhaaaan. Oh Tuhaaan. Aku gadis malangkah Tuhan? Tuhan beriku jawaban, Tuhaaan.
Baiklah, mulai saat ini panggil aku Disma, menyesuaikan nasibku, gaDis Malang. Ya ya ya. Bermanis-manislah kau namaku. Aku memang gadis yang malang.