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.
SENSORY Min-Mod Readiness Level Activities Start the Series. The other Readiness Activities to follow include:
The Above topics are also covered for Mod-Severe Readiness Levels
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!
Sensory Boxes
o Set up and make Sensory Boxes (Click Link for different sensory boxes you can make - all found right here at TheraPlay4Kids.com)
1. Promote helping touch and pick up different products, fruits, vegetables, cold items, paper products, etc
2. Let your child help put the items in the cart (even if they are not going to eat that item later, you are exposing them to different shapes/weights/ texture/ temperature / and interaction with products which maybe over time will give them enough curiosity to actually taste or eat that item later on
3. Let them push the shopping cart
4. Let them help unload the cart at checkout
5. Let them help load the car and then later help carry packages into the house
6. Let them feel the different textures among the hard vegetables (potatoes, oranges, apples, kiwi, cabbage, etc)
7. Call their attention to the different colors, sizes, how you can cook it or make it (for example a potato could be baked, mashed, fried, sliced, served with cheese, and so on); educate as you go; making a food interesting may help in your child attempting to taste or eat it later
8. Ask your child to pick out 1 food that they will try later
9. Ask your child to help plan what you will make for lunch or dinner (whether it is a bowl of cereal or chicken nuggets or something more involved, get their participation in planning the food they will eat later). If they are non-verbal, encourage their pointing or making their choices known to you (“Which one of these 2 do you want?” as example)
When clothes shopping
1. Encourage them to touch the different fabrics you encounter
2. Ask them to help put items in the cart
3. Ask for help and to carry items for you
4. If they will not try on the item (clothes or shoes) in the store you may ask them to tell you what is their favorite color or style (and ask why that one if they are able to tell you)
5. Let them look at themselves in the dressing mirror just holding the item, or when wearing if they will; it’s all about exposure and providing as varied an experience as possible
6. Have your child help you go through their dresser or closet and organize the best you can; What are their favorite clothes? What do they not wear ever? Help them to make a pile of clothes to donate, then go with you to drop them off. Encourage participation even if it is only being in the room with you while you do the sorting of clothes.
Make Gelatin A Fun Sensory Taste-Testing Experience
1. Mix up some gelatin (one color, or a variety) and when it is cooled but not set, let your child drop in small plastic or rubbery toys
2. Once the gelatin sets, have your child dig in to remove all of the items; have them use a spoon or fork if they cannot tolerate touching the gelatin - Play “find the treasure” with the set gelatin
3. Since it is edible encourage your child to lick their fingers or even take small bites
4. Try different colors and flavors
5. Try dropping in some small cut-up pieces of fruit or vegetables instead of non-edible items and see if they may take a taste as they pull them out of the gelatin
6. Use molds, small cups or containers, construction blocks, etc to pour gelatin in to form shapes, different sized pieces
7. Drop gelatin chunks into a small basin of water for water play - let your child break them up by squeezing, poking, squishing the pieces in the water bath
8. Pour gelatin into a shallow layer onto a rimmed cookie sheet or large rectangular baking dish - once set, let your child use cookie cutters to make shapes; Fun to cut, pull out, and then eat!
9. Let your child use utensils if they do not want to touch the gelatin; let them cut the blocks up into slices or cubes with supervision; let them try and cut them up using safety scissors if they will (use of 2 hands and touching!)
10. Supervise for choking hazards at all times!
11. If you keep for any reason, refrigerate and then only keep for a day or two
Sensory Garden Play Time
1. Help plant small flowers in a pot
2. Help to dig in the dirt outside, using gardening tools, big wooden spoons, plastic pails and containers
3. Make mud-pies – use water and bagged dirt or soil if you want; add small sticks, twigs, pebbles, and leaves to the mixture for increased texture play
4. Scoop and transfer dirt from one container to another
5. Cut flowers growing out in the yard and bring in to put into a vase; encourage them to smell the flowers, feel the leaves, pour water into vase
6. Collect twigs, leaves, pebbles, handfuls of dirt or sand; use small containers or shoe box to carry in
7. Glue your nature walk finds onto a big piece of cardboard or construction paper
8. Cover a piece of construction paper with a glue stick or smear out glue all over the paper then have your child sprinkle (or pour) clean sand to cover the paper; let dry then let your child run their hand over the page feeling the sandy texture; add some glitter for pizazz!
9. Take a paper towel tube or toilet paper tube and have your child stuff leaves and twigs into the tube, stuffing as much as they can into the tube
10. Encourage just plain old rolling around in the grass and yard
11. Fill up a wagon with leaves, rocks, sticks, and even some dirt to pull across the yard to “dump” in another area
12. If your child does not want to touch anything, try letting them wear gloves or using a trowel or other garden tools
13. If they cannot tolerate handling any items, encourage them to watch you, and encourage talking about what you are doing, moving, planting, or working on
Sensory Baking Activities
1. Encourage any and all participation!
2. Mix up cookie dough or bread dough encouraging them to use their hands or utensils
3. While you prepare a meal let them do their part, even if it is breaking fresh green beans, tearing lettuce, snapping carrots, mixing ingredients; they can use utensils and even if they can only help for a couple seconds that’s a start!
4. Let them ice a cup cake, a cookie, or a cracker – ask them for help!
5. Let them help gather the items you need and experience holding and carrying different weights, shapes, and textures, experience stretching and reaching high/low to get items for you
6. Encourage taste tasting with you - if they cannot tolerate or resist, just let them experience seeing the foods, seeing you (and anyone else) eat, and have a few bite-sized pieces near for possible touch and taste
7. Make a sensory box of foods they can play with (dry noodles of different sizes and shapes, lentils, beans, split peas, rice); in a separate bowl let them play with cooked spaghetti – supervise for choking hazards! You can make a Non-Edible sensory food box as well as an Edible sensory food box! Supervise for choking hazards!
8. Ask for help in setting the table, and in cleaning off the table (carrying different weighted items, reach, stretch, planning where items go on the table, and the whole process of making a meal and setting it all up are great self help skills to develop and grow!)
9. Even if you know they are not going to taste or eat what you are making, you are giving them the opportunity to experience the activity, to take part in baking, serving, set up, and to give them active exposure to daily routine tasks
Sensory Messy Play Time
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
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, 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
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 by clicking active link)
14. Jump in mud puddles! Roll in them, lay in them, whatever your child will tolerate! Dirt will wash off but the experience and memories will last forever (just don’t push or force muddy messy play as you do not want those memories and experience to be traumatic!)
15. Spread finger paints onto a tarp outside and encourage your child to slide through, roll over, and just get covered! If they are not able to manage this total immersion into messy play, even getting a toe into the finger paint is a start!
16. Keep clean up materials at the ready in case you need to clean the mess off your child in a hurry
Sensory Based Arts and Crafts
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.