Site of the Day: Alert Program Games

The Alert Program is a system for helping children manage their sensory integration needs by asking "How does your engine run?" and providing strategies for speeding up or slowing down.

Parents can learn about the program through an introductory booklet and leader's guide, but for kids, sometimes fun activities work better than words on a page for getting the message through.

That's where these two new games on the Alert Program site come in. "Alert: Go Fish!" and "Alert Bingo" help kids recognize different states of alertness and different sensory strategies and learn about self-regulation while playing.

The games cost $8 for "Alert: Go Fish!" and $10 for "Alert Bingo," and after paying you can download everything you need to print and play -- no waiting for the postman to drop it off. There are detailed audio instructions to help you with the printing.

With a long Memorial Day weekend and a longer summer vacation coming up quickly, this might be a good time to learn more about the Alert Program yourself and help your kids have some fun with it.