10 Easy To Setup Sensory Activities Part 2
Let’s be real. Sometimes those moments when the kids get home from school can be extra stressful. Having a plan and activities can provide structure and help relieve some of that stress. Written by Cathy Porter
Let’s be real. Sometimes those moments when the kids get home from school can be extra stressful. Having a plan and activities can provide structure and help relieve some of that stress. Cathy Porter shares with us 10 sensory activities that will help provide structure and help your child(ren) decompress after a day of school. If you missed the first 5, you can find them here. These 10 activities are quick to set up, low budget and easy for parents to implement!
6. Checking pens and pencils –this might sound a bit ridiculous but sometimes handing my girls a big handful of colored pens and some scrap paper and asking them to test the pens to see if any need throwing out works really well. It is repetitive, allows for satisfying sorting and some doodling or angry scribbling!
7. Coloring – This is a great go-to in our house. If no coloring book is on hand I grab any paper – or the back of an envelope, draw a tangled loose scribble and invite them to find and create a different pattern in each space that has been created. This can be done with just one pen if need be, they get inventive with dots, dashes, wavy lines…
8. Soft indoor ball – when you need to be quick and easy, and occupy more than one child on the edge at the same time indoor is often needed. A soft, sponge ball (kept with our shoes) can be thrown up the stairs and watched as it gently and methodically bounces back down. It’s not too loud, not too physically demanding and can be repeated over and over. It can also be thrown at a wall and caught over and over. Or can be rolled from person to person. This is very repetitive – and not my personal favorite, but works well some days.
9. Animals –we have pets in our family life, partly because our girls respond to animals so readily. They often bring instant visible calm. Bringing a willing pet to them for a cuddle when they need to regulate is worth all the day to day time it takes to care for them.
10. Marbles – over the years we have grown quite a collection. We keep a whole load in the living room on the bookshelf because they are such a useful sensory activity. They can be played with in water (plastic bowl), or on a tray (lovely sound if a wooden tray or dish), can be sorted into groups, are so tactile. They can be sent down cardboard tubes, or run down the middle of a large open book. They can be sat in amongst on the floor and can be simply fidget things for hands and feet.
What sensory activities does your family enjoy?
Written by Cathy Porter
Cathy Porter is a disciple of Jesus, a mum, ordained and a vicar's wife (in the Church of England), a writer, a creative, a blogger.
Cathy and her husband, Andrew, have 3 children. Her two girls both a diagnosis of ASC. You can follow the ups and downs of family life & faith on her blog: www.clearlynurturing.wordpress.com.
It is Cathy’s heart to encourage families to share in the adventure of faith together, especially families beautifully shaped by ASC. She loves to write stories that make the reader think, ask questions about what we believe, and help the reader to discover what the Bible has to say about God and friendship with him.
10 Easy To Setup Sensory Activities Part 1
In our house that bit of time just after coming back home from school is one of the real trigger points in the day. It’s a tired time of day for everyone, but my girls who have been masking non-stop all through the school day are simply beyond exhausted and in need of decompression and a chance to self-regulate. Written by Cathy Porter
In our house that bit of time just after coming back home from school is one of the real trigger points in the day. It’s a tired time of day for everyone, but my girls who have been masking non-stop all through the school day are simply beyond exhausted and in need of decompression and a chance to self-regulate.
I have found over the years that I need the quickest, easiest, least-stressful-for-me sensory activities on hand to provide us all with the best chance of navigating that hour straight after school. Once food has been offered and toilet break had, these are some of my favorites:
Cornstarch Gloop has the same appeal as slime. It is tactile, absorbing (if your child likes it) can be done in something as small as a cup – which then cannot be shared, which in this circumstance is useful. Simply mix cornstarch with a small amount of cold water and mix. Food coloring or a scent could be added but don’t need to be. Best enjoyed somewhere that can be wiped easily. Don’t dispose of it down the sink, leave to dry and then into the bin.
Sand - in the summer an outdoor sandpit with a cover is wonderful. But in cold or wet weather is not much use. Then I reach for a tray or roasting tin and pour rice or cous cous in which it can be played with, raked, pushed and poured. Toy animals or mini figures can be thrown in if on hand, but in a hurry I raid my kitchen utensils – measuring spoons, jugs, whisks.
Balancing – who can walk around the kitchen only walking on the lines between the tiles? Keep a string or a tape measure handy that can make a line on the hall floor to balance along. I have a fitness balance board kept under a chair in our living room that can be fetched out instantly.
Blankets – We have a selection of differently textured throws and blankets always on our chairs in the living room. They can be sat on, under. Wrapped around or cuddled. Some are furry, some smooth, some thick and heavy. Keeping them there all the time makes them familiar and quickly accessible.
Water – sometimes simply running a sink of water and grabbing some plastic cups and jugs is all that’s needed. In the summer having a water tray or table at the ready outside is great. Other times a cup or pot of water and a paint brush are an easier option – it can ‘paint’ on pavements, walls, driveways, garden chairs and skin (my youngest invariably paints her hands and feet and makes prints on the patio tiles).
To be continued…
Written by Cathy Porter
