Pre-School SENSORY Mod-Severe Readiness Activities
Pre-School Sensory – Mod-Severe Readiness Level Activities
Encourage touching, holding, and carrying different items wherever you go and promote active participation – take small steps forward; it’s important to encourage but let the child do what they can tolerate.
Never force a child to touch or feel something they find overstimulating or distressful. Work with what is tolerated and try to expand from there. Begin with less challenging textures and work up towards new and more challenging textures (from firm and dry to wet and sloppy/messy). Give control on what they will touch, if they will only look at, and for how long to your child. Let them stop when ready – not when you feel it is time to stop.
You can work up to any of the activities presented in the Min-Mod Readiness List – small steps, short exposure, give frequent opportunities, encourage and promote without forcing, repeat, repeat, repeat!
The variety of activities and ideas provided here are by no means the only things you can try - personalize, adjust, and modify to fit your lifestyle, and your child’s needs and abilities. Use the suggestions given as a “springboard” to coming up with more ideas you can try.
Giving your child variety, exposure, change, and experience are ALL growth and learning opportunities.
Stay Calm, Have Fun, and Keep Supporting Your Child!
You are on Sensory - Mod-Severe Right Now - Other Topics Linked Below:
Early Fine Motor
Early Fine Motor Grasp
Early Fine Motor 2-Handed Skills New
Self Help Early Skills – Use of Cup
Self Help Early Skills – Use of Spoon
Self Help Early Skills – Dressing
Construction & Creative Building
In addition to the activities found under Min-Mod – Try the following for Mod-Severe readiness issues and concerns:
Sensory Feely Bags
These are fairly easy to make, and easy to make a wide variety of sensory feely bags.
For children who are not happy or comfortable touching squishy, gooey, or messy items, using sensory feely bags are a great CLEAN way for your child to experience sensory play without the full sensory impact.
Sensory Feely Bag Instructions and Ideas on TheraPlay4Kids.com
You can use oils, water, hair gel, thickeners, food coloring, shaving cream, syrup, or gelatin mixed with water, inside the sealed bag, or no liquid at all
Place different objects in each bag which contains liquid (see #4) – ideas include plastic or rubbery animals, building snap blocks, cotton balls, cut up sponges, glitter, buttons, small plastic fish, wooden hearts, game pieces
In bags without added liquid you can use unpopped popcorn, dried lentils or beans, dry noodles of various shapes and sizes, small craft pom-poms, and so on – find smooth items that will not be poking a hole in the bag
Playdough Activities
Use tools to add a “cleaner” experience for your child. Make available a rolling pin, spoons, wooden utensils, cookie cutters, safety scissors, or any of the playdough play tools on the market.
1. Playdough instructions you can make right at home; recipe found at TheraPlay4Kids.com
2. Read all about “Why Playdough? What’s it all Really About?”
3. If they are able to tolerate a more intense slimy sensory experience, then click >>HERE<< for making slime (edible, glowing, sparkly, and slimy!). LINK COMING!
4. You can always modify the activity and make the slimy goo into a sensory feely bag.
Sensory Water Play Activities
You do not need to have a water table for fun water play! You can:
1. Fill a basin or container with water for use at the table, outside, or in the sink
2. Fill a small play pool to sit in, lay in, or reach in to
3. Add some tear-free shampoo or soaps to the water to make bubbles
4. Add unbreakable items to the basin such as cups, toys, sponges, plastic bottles with lids, measuring spoons or cups, non-porous rubbery toys, toys that will float and sink
5. Encourage pouring water from one container to another
6. Encourage splashing water onto themselves
7. Encourage finding items that are weighted on the bottom of the basin without looking
8. Check out the blog on Sensory Water Play for lots of cool wet ideas – TheraPlay4Kids.com
Sensory Sand Play Activities
Like the water play, you do not need a sand play table.
1. Sand boxes are always great, especially if you have a cover to help keep it clean, otherwise, a sand box at the park will work, or large containers filled with play sand
2. Add a variety of small toys and items that your child can use for pretend play
3. Bury items (keep a list!) and then go on a sandy scavenger hunt
4. Bury 10 or so rubber or plastic dinosaurs and smooth rocks then go on a dinosaur dig; if you have pictures of the dinosaurs you are looking for they can match up the dino to their picture as they find them
5. Provide utensils and cups, containers for pouring sand from one spot to another; use plastic shovels and pails for play in the sand
6. If your child cannot yet handle all that sand, try large containers filled with big plastic balls, or smaller containers of noodles, beans, or rice.
7. Always supervise when small choking hazards are in use!
8. Check out the Sensory Messy Play – Sand Play by clicking >>HERE<< on TheraPlay4Kids.com - LINK COMING!
Sensory Texture Rubs
Provide a variety of experiences where your child can touch or rub different textures against their skin. Once your child tolerates one texture, move on to the next, as well as combine textures
1. Start with the back of the hand where there are fewer sensory nerve endings than on the palm of the hand
2. Provide loofahs, textured wash cloths, plastic dish scrubbies, sensory brushes, plastic nail brushes, variety of sponges to touch and brush their hand, arm, leg, foot, back with – use as tolerated and stop when child seems anxious, fearful, or overwhelmed
3. Dry and damp washcloths to rub on arms and legs, back, face (soft to rough and high-pile textures)
4. Try dry and then damp, then wet and slippery soaps (liquid and bar soap) to wash hands or face, working up to using the sink or sitting in the tub with some water to use
5. Vary soaps – add soap with texture (oatmeal bars, loofah soaps)
6. Work up to rubbing and wiping shaving cream, shaving gel (unscented works great) on hands, arms, legs, back
7. Try massages over your child’s clothing, or through a weighted blanket or vest
Making Sensory Boxes
The following pages deal specifically with different types of sensory boxes. Please Click and Go! For more specific information on each of these:
1. Tactile / Touch Sensory Box
2. Auditory / Hearing Sensory Box
3. Vision / Visual Sensory Box
4. Olfactory / Smell and Oral Motor Sensory Box
5. Travel Sensory Box
6. Sensory Seek and Find Rice Box
Sensory Messy Play Activities
1. Use plastic covers, small tarp, plasti-coated table cloth or shower curtain for quick messy clean up (a dollar store has a good selection to use)
2. Wear aprons or play clothes that can stand the mess!
3. Shaving Cream (unscented for those with “smell issues”) to spread out and around with hands and feet
4. Homemade slime (click HERE for Slimy ideas) - Link coming soon!
5. Jelly or jam to spread around – sticky to be sure, but if they happen to lick their fingers then they’ll get a sweet treat! Jelly is smooth, and jam will have more texture with small pieces of the fruit in it. Totally messy and totally edible.
6. Spread out the peanut butter, almond butter, Nutella, or sesame butter! Let them smear it around, spoon it out, fill cups with it, spread it on bread or a cracker; let them use their hands and taste test as they go! Try smooth or chunky for a different sensory experience! You don’t need the whole jar – just enough to be able to smear it and play in it.
7. Make a sloppy to firm (vary the texture) “paste” using oatmeal (not instant) with water, spreading and smooshing, and squishing around on your plastic protector or plasti-coated table cloth
8. Squeeze out some syrup or honey and let them play in it, paint with it (using a brush or cut up sponge), taste test it
9. Sensory Papier Mache Activity (Blog right here on TheraPlay4Kids.com)
10. Finger Paints – paint paper, paint themselves; use of fingers and/or brushes; encourage making their own special creation just for you
11. Face Painting – use child safe / face friendly paints – take a picture for your child to see before you wipe it all off (if they can tolerate it that long)
12. Check out Blog on MESSY PLAY here on TheraPlay4Kids.com
13. A CLEAN Messy activity is playing in a Sensory Rice Box (See info and directions HERE)
Sensory Based Arts and Craft Activities
1. Any arts and crafts activity will do! Supervise for safety, appropriate use of materials, and to join in on the fun!
2. Look for recommended age levels on projects
3. Let them make their own creations with paper plates, finger paint, glitter, glue, felt, ribbons, stickers and the like.
4. Make a Sensory Discovery Bottle (See BLOG here on TheraPlay4Kids.com)
5. See Creative Purposeful Play Blog on TheraPlay4Kids.com
6. Sensory Papier Mache Activity (See BLOG on TheraPlay4Kids.com)
