Sensory Activities

Proprioceptive Sensory Learning Activities Balance walk along masking tape on floor: • Straight • Zig Zigs Tight hugs administered by a trusted adult. Sensory Circuit Activities: • Wall pushes • Burpees • Push ups • Hand Squeezes • Superhero poses • Animal Walks

Vestibular Sensory Learning Activities Imitate head positions Sway in time with chill out music Back and forth rowing Spinning (10 seconds in each direction) Skipping Jumping Jacks Arm Spins Hopscotch Scooter rides Trampoline

Auditory Sensory Learning Activities Guess the sounds: • Animals • Vehicles • Instruments Make a rain tube Bottle blowing Guess the song intro – Use favorite cartoon theme tunes. Follow a drum beat – use biscuit tin or saucepan with wooden spoon Follow a clap pattern Discrimination Sound Game make a sound and see if the child can work out if it is: • Near or Far • Soft or Loud • High or Low

Visual Sensory Learning Activities Drop & watch bouncy balls Color mixing Light Activities: • Shadow Puppet Play • Make numbers with your fingers • Guess animals from silhouette • Tray and guess shapes from silhouette Find items of interest in a picture/Find self in pictures Sensory bottles Sort boxes shape/size Pile and knock down boxes/tower building Pull colorful fabric slowly from a bag

Oral Sensory Learning Activities Blowing: • Bubbles • Boats with straws • Cotton Balls • Paint • Feathers • Whistles • Sequins • Glitter • Confetti Food Fun: • Crunchy/Chewy Items – Alternate • Smooth, rough foods • Milkshakes • Frozen Fruits • Drink through a straw • Cut vegetables into strips • Smoothies – blend and taste • Ask questions like, “Which food here tastes salty? Which ones are sweet? • Color cubes (cut food into cubes and sort by color i.e cucumbers, apples.) • Mashing foods, ripe pears, potatoes, grapes

Tactile Sensory Learning Activities This can include essential hygiene routines such as hand washing etc. Sensory Ball Games: • Squeeze • Throw/roll into bucket • Different textured balls – Wrap in paper, cling film, tin foil • Roll from head to toe and back • Bounce • Roll in playdough to make patterns • Splat into paint and roll/throw onto paper

Touch and Texture Sensory Learning Ideas Put objects in a box and feel/guess Sandpaper shape cut outs Tearing paper (either to glue onto something, or just to tear up) Crumpling newspaper Sponges- Get out bowls and a sponge to transfer water from one bowl to the other. Play-dough Bubble wrap popping Tin foil sculpting or squishing Shaving foam art Sand art – glue and sand and glitter Fizzy water play (bath bombs) Water play – using bottles, sprays and tubes. Stress balls Goop/slime manipulation Hay play – hide items in hay or straw (allergies allowing)

Fine Motor Sensory Learning Activities Use rubber gloves to make dots Cotton buds to make dots Use stick to trace letters/mark making Cutting with scissors paper, straws Ten Tweezer games • Move items into different pots • Pick items out of slime • Pick items out of water • Put items into a pattern • Feed the dog • Feed toy spiders to a frog • Put beads into a bottle • Bean number matching game Ice Excavations (freeze objects in ice) Retrieve items from shaving foam Hole punch colored paper then use to blow/for art Trace letters and numbers in sand Use a pipette to drop liquid watercolors/food coloring onto paper Clothespin Number Match

Body Awareness Sensory Activities Sensory Ball throw/roll Which hand is hiding the object? Obstacle Course Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Self-Regulation Sensory Ideas For Anxious Children Breathing activities for anxiety. • Blow out the candle • Blow the windmill • Smelling a flower • Open a window • What can you smell game • Blow up a balloon Make faces in the mirror • Monkey • Monster • Martian • Tense all face muscles • Relax all face muscles Count backwards Count to 5 with a deep breath Put beans/dried peas/rice in a balloon Fiddle toys Follow simple lego instructions Make a Calm Down Jar Guess the smell: • Spices (mix with water to avoid sneezing) • Fruit • Vegetables

Handwriting Ideas

Create letters using play dough and alphabet cookie cutters. Encourage them to pretend their index finger is a rocket and show them how to “write” letters in the sky. Turn off all the lights and have them use a flashlight to “write” their letters on the wall. Use cooked spaghetti noodles to create letter formations. Don’t want to cook spaghetti noodles? Long pieces of string or shoelaces work well, too! Practice writing letters using a small dry-erase board and dry-erase markers OR use those same markers on a mirror. My kids love writing on mirrors! You could do a similar activity in the bath tub – using bath time crayons! Line up dinosaurs, superhero figures, race cars, etc. to create a variety of letter shapes. Work with siblings to create letter formations – using their bodies! Set a timer to see how quickly they can make it happen! Let them chest bump each other when they’re done – Not a good idea for your kids? Okay. I get it. Safety first, of course. An adult calls out a letter, and the child searches for it in a bowl of [dry] alphabet cereal (I’ve seen alphabet crackers available in stores, too!), and as soon as the letter is found, the Alphabet Monster eats it! Note: Your child gets to be the alphabet monster! ha! “Write” letters in shaving cream, pudding, whipped cream, salt, sugar, sand, paint, etc. We like to take this activity outside!