Activities

Sand Play

Benefits for the hyposensitive, hypersensitive and sensory seeker using tactile input

**To be used with a child 3 years or older and under close supervision**

Supplies needed: clean dry sand, water spray bottle, a durable waterproof tray or large Tupperware container, cookie cutters, treasure toys or tokens.

Pour the sand into the tray or Tupperware container, making it about a half inch deep and covering the entire surface. Encourage play in the sand by burying treasure toys or tokens. As the child gets comfortable with the activity, present the water bottle and spray the sand until it is damp and sticky. For the tactile defensive or hyper-responsive child use cookie cutters to create shapes. Grade the activity from the child using the cookie cutter and hands remaining clean to using fingers to create letters, and shapes in the sand. For the sensory seeking child build mounds and hide the treasure toys and have the child use fingers to dig.

Leaf Art

Benefits the tactile hyposensitive child and modifiable for the sensory seeker

**To be used with a child 2.5 years or older and under close supervision**

Supplies needed: finger-paint, chalk, paper plates, construction paper, dry leaves, twigs or small ferns.

Begin the activity by holding a scavenger hunt in the garden for leaves, twigs or small ferns. (Supervise the child as he or she gathers the foliage to steer away from bugs, poisonous plants or garden snakes.) Bring the child back to a table or covered workspace and put the finger paint in paper plates. The tactile defensive child may use a twig as a paint brush or simply drop leaves into the paint. A variation might be to use chalk and with the foliage under the paper, rub the chalk over the surface to create a design. Grade the activity by the amount of mess the child gets on his or her fingers. Encourage the hypo-responsive child to mix the leaves and ferns into the paint with their fingers. The sensory seeking child will require pacing as this activity may be too stimulating.

Paw Prints

Benefits both the tactile and proprioception senses

Recommended for children 2 and up.

Supplies needed: cornstarch, a black poster board or dark colored mat, and a durable surface or mat.

Prepare a durable surface or mat by coating it with cornstarch. Have the child walk over the cornstarch placing both the feet and the hands into it. From the cornstarch have the child step onto the poster board. Encourage the child to continue the sequence and create a pattern of footprints and handprints on the dark colored poster board.

Variations: The hyper-responsive child may need to begin by sifting the cornstarch. Gradually encourage him or her to touch the cornstarch. The hypo-responsive child may need to sit during the activity and coat the feet into a small bucket of cornstarch. For the sensory seeking child, you may have the child hold a pail of sand as he or she is walking back and forth through the textured cornstarch to help with self organization during the activity.

Citrus Balls

Benefits visual attention and motor planning

Recommended for children from 2- 6 years of age.

Supplies needed: fruit of various sizes and textures such as kiwi, oranges, peaches tangerines, lemon, lime, and grapefruit. Also necessary is a blindfold, a blanket, and buckets or pails for categorizing.

To prepare: Find a tree bearing fruit or hide the fruit amongst the garden, or prepare a basket with various size fruits.

Have the child scan the garden for the fruit. Encourage the child to collect the fruit and examine by smell, texture and weight. Play games with the fruit, such as position the child on a blanket on his or her tummy and roll the fruit to you. Have the older child categorize the fruit from heaviest to lightest, categorize colors, play a guessing game by blindfolding the child and having him or her smell and touch the fruit in order to guess what it is. Another variation to increase motor planning skills and for the child who likes to be active is to create an obstacle course. Set up three stations of activities using the fruits as balls (i.e. tossing, rolling and jumping over them).

Squirt Them Down

Benefits visual motor skills, grading of movements, directionality and figure-ground awareness

Recommended for children 4 years and older with good thumb opposition/control

Supplies needed: a hose with a spray nozzle that adjusts to pressure or a water spray gun, plastic cups, or empty juice cans

Prepare by lining up cups or cans at the edge of the grass or along side a section of the garden that needs watering. Have the child aim the hose or water toy at the targets (cups/cans). Grade the activity by decreasing or increasing the distance. Vary the position of the targets, putting some closer than others so that the child has to distinguish between the pressures needed to make the water hit the targets. This is a nice activity to combine with function in an environmental friendly way by teaching a lesson in being mindful of the earth’s resources.