Easy Homemade Pokemon Trainer Belts

Ever since the kids and I made DIY pokeballs, they have been throwing them around the house trying to capture their little Pokemon figures. Usually, K is trying to carry as many pokeballs as he can manage in his little hands.

So I decided to make the kids their own easy homemade Pokemon trainer belts to hold their pokeballs. Plus, now they can feel like a legit Pokemon trainer with these pokeballs easily accessible for Pokemon battles around the house.

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How to Make a Pokemon Trainer Belt for Kids

The inspiration for this project is Fireflies & Mudpies' epic dart belt hack for kids. I remember seeing it a few months ago and knew it would be perfect for making Pokemon trainer belts. However, I couldn't find any packing tape in my house so I used clear contact paper instead.

I simply cut a strip of contact paper and wrapped it around the boys' waists. Just make sure the sticky side is out! Then our DIY pokeballs stick right to the contact paper.

Super easy, right?

There is one downside, however. The colors of the homemade pokeballs peel off and stick to the contact paper. So you may need to touch up the pokeballs with some Sharpies afterwards. Not a huge deal since it literally takes seconds to touch them up.

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Pokemon Apps for Kids

Pokemon Apps for Kids

It's no secret that we like Pokemon around here.

In fact, both boys live and breathe Pokemon at the moment and have since last summer.

J sleeps with his giant Pikachu from Build-A-Bear every night, while K cuddles with his "baby Pikachu" that we won at West Edmonton Mall's Galaxyland earlier this summer. And there's not a day that goes by where tiny Pokemon figures hang out on our kitchen table while we eat.

So when my husband surprised me with an iPad back in May, we, naturally, had to check out what was available in terms of Pokemon apps for kids. If your kids are just getting into Pokemon due to the popularity of Pokemon Go, then you must check out these other apps too!

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Pokemon Apps for Kids

1. Pokemon Shuffle

One of J's favorite games, Pokemon Shuffle is a puzzle game similar to like Bejeweled, but instead of lining up jewels, you line up Pokemon heads to battle an opposing Pokemon. Tons of fun and the music is catchy!

2. Camp Pokemon

This app is so much fun! It allows kids to hunt for Pokemon, throw pokeballs, and play a variety of other Pokemon games.

3. Pokemon Go 

Get outside and collect Pokemon in the wild! Such a great way to get active with the kids.

4. Pokemon Trading Card Game

If your kid is a fan of playing the physical card game, then they'll love the online version as well! I also recommend using this app to learn how to play the game. So if your kid is just starting out and wants to learn all the rules, then playing the online app is the best way to learn!

5. Pokemon TV

Just like the name suggests, this app is a giant collection of Pokemon TV episodes.

6. Guide for Pokedex

Although this app is not an official Pokemon Company app, it is still a nice app for Pokemon fans. It is basically an app version of the entire Pokedex so kids can scroll through and learn about their favorite Pokemon.

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Speech Apps for Kids to Work on Classifying, Associations, & Categorizing

The ability to categorize and classify objects is an important language skill. It helps with vocabulary, comprehension, and expressive speech skills, for instance.

Since comprehension difficulties and expressive speech delays are a common feature of hyperlexic kids, it is a good idea to build their classification and categorization skills in order to improve their comprehension and encourage expressive language. This list of speech apps for kids focuses specifically on making those connections between objects.

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Apps for Kids to Work on Classifying & Categorizing Objects

1. Category Therapy 

I really like how this app starts off by focusing on concrete categories and then moves to subcategories and abstract categories. It offers four different games to play for each level of difficulty and covers tons of different categories. You can try the free lite version first.

2. Let's Name Things Fun Deck 

A flashcards style app with bright and colorful illustrations, this app presents a category for kids to name things that fit within it.

3. Early Child Education Associations Game 

Simply drag and drop the things that go together in this bright and colorful app!

4. Describe it to Me

This app is a must have because it covers so many different skills, including identifying categories of objects.

5. Autism & PPD Associations

This app uses short scenarios to help kids making associations between objects to figure out what goes together. It is complimented by a quick animation when kids pick the right answer.

6. Autism & PPD Categories 

Similar to the above Autism & PDD Associations app, this app uses short scenarios to help kids practice categories.

7. Categories Learning Center

Another great app from Smarty Ears that uses a variety of games to practice categorizing objects.

8. Go-Togethers 

As the name suggests, this app focuses on pairing words that go together in semantic associations. We love Smarty Ears apps, but haven't tried this particular one yet. It does look like a great app though.

9. Associations from I Can Do Apps, LLC 

This app uses five different activities to work on building associations and it uses bright photographs.

10. Categories from I Can Do Apps, LLC

Similar to the associations app above, but focuses on choosing the correct categories for the objects in the photographs. It also uses five different activities to practice this skill.

11. Factory of Categories 

This app uses four different activities to practice categories: choosing the correct category, naming the category, picking the odd one out, and selecting one more similar item to match the category.

12. Categories with Splingo 

This app encourages kids to drag and drop items into the correct category. We haven't specifically tried this app out, but we love their other app Pronouns with Splingo (find out more here).

13. Name That Category Fun Deck 

Another flashcards style app with bright and colorful illustrations. Bundle up and save on this Name That Category app bundle.

14. Autism iHelp - Sorting 

Clean and simple app for encouraging kids to practice their sorting skills with drag and drop functionality.

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Social Skills Apps for Kids

Children with autism and hyperlexia need to be taught social skills and the hidden rules of different social scenarios directly.

We like to build these skills through reading, play, social stories, and apps. It is important to use visuals to support social skill learning. Here are some of our favorite social skills apps for kids with autism and hyperlexia.

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Social Skills Apps for Kids

1. Autism & PDD Stories & Language Activities Social Skills

We love these apps! Not only do they go over different social scenarios, but they focus on building comprehension skills. There are various apps available such as:

• Social Skills with Friends
• Social Skills at School
• Social Skills in the Community
• Social Skills with Family
• Social Skills at Home

2. Choiceworks

Choiceworks is a must have app, in my opinion! You can create visual schedules for your child that are supported by visual and audio features. You can also add timers to the schedule. There is also features to support calm down and self-regulation strategies, as well as timers to make waiting less difficult for kids. Great app! Bundle up and save to get this app and Choiceworks Calendar.

3. Choiceworks Calendar

Love this app as much as the regular Choiceworks app, but focuses more on a calendar mode. You can create an entire month of visual schedules for kids to include appointments, holidays, special events, and more! Bundle up and save to get this app and Choiceworks.

4. Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame

This free app focuses on building self regulation skills through video and interactive tasks. Your child will learn calm down breathing from this app and practice making plans for handling overwhelming situations.

5. Social Stories Creator and Library

This app has a great collection of social stories and even gives you the ability to create your own. Each social story includes images, text, and audio for multi-sensory learning. There is an option to also break down the story into its specific rules to reinforce the main parts of the stories.

6. Autism iHelp - Emotions 

This app uses real photos of people and the written word to reinforce different emotions. Pretty basic, but I do like the simplicity of it.

7. Emotions: Flashcards to Learn to Recognize Feelings and Emotions 

This emotions app offers a few different ways to play: flashcards, matching, and picking the correct emotion. I also like the odd one out games. The app uses real photos of children and adults. The only thing I wish it had was the emotion written out below the photo to support the spoken words.

8. The Social Express II 

J used this app a lot when he was doing occupational therapy and really enjoyed it. It uses videos to help kids learn and practice social rules. It is a subscription based app though, so it is a bit expensive for my liking, but still a great app for working on social skills.

9. Look at Me (android only) 

A free app that is available for android devices only. It focuses on building eye contact skills.

10. Time In: Smart timer to visualize the passage of time 

This app allows you to create step by step visual scripts for tasks such as brushing teeth, eating lunch, etc. As the name of the app implies, it is also a visual timer. The timer also features calming classical music.

11. Let's Be Social: Social Skills Development 

This app has lots of lessons and quizzes to help kids learn social skills. You can also create your own lessons.

12. Model Me Going Places 2 

This free app features narrated photo social stories (video modeling) for going to the hairdresser, going to the mall, going to the doctor, going to the playground, going to the grocery store, and going to the restaurant.

13. Social Norms 

This app has over 50 illustrated social stories and allows you to create individualized stories. We haven't tried this one out yet, but it looks really great!

14. Look in my Eyes: Train Engineer for iPad

This app is a good one for little train lovers! It focuses on building eye contact skills. Again, we haven't tried this one out ourselves, as J isn't really into trains, but it looks like a fun app.

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Speech Apps for Kids to Work on Expressive Language & Conversation Skills

One of the biggest hurdles for J was building his conversation skills and expressive speech. He rarely initiated conversations, which is common in children with hyperlexia. However, he has made huge improvements in this area over the past two years.

One way that we have been helping him with these skills is by using speech apps to work on expressive language and conversation skills.

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Expressive Language Apps for Kids

Conversation Therapy

This app is more like visual conversation starters for kids. It uses photos and offers conversation prompts based on those photos. You can try the free lite version first.

Conversation Planner

Simple lessons that explain how conversations work, including identifying a talking partner and identifying conversation goals of oneself and the talking partner. It is really helpful for explaining the hidden rules of conversation.

Describe it To Me

This app is a must have for kids with hyperlexia or autism who are struggling with their expressive speech. It focuses on building expressive speech and vocabulary by examining the function, parts, categories, and more of different items.

Language Lab: Spin & Speak

This app works on conversation skills and social skills with its bright and colorful board game format.

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