Sensory activities

Children love to learn in a variety of different ways and these can be incorporated into different sensory experiences. Whilst supporting your child with their learning, you can do this using different textures. We are not asking you to buy anything specific, these are ideas if you have them at home.

- Using chalk on the pavement in the garden

- Using play sand to write out words

- Using paint to spell out words

- Counting/multiplying bubbles that are blown into the air

- Playing with water in the garden. Can they make big splashes, little splashes, count the splashes they make.

Sensory Circuits

Your child may have been taking part in Sensory Circuits whilst they were in school. You can replicate this at home, but your child must complete them in the alerting, organising and calming order to have maximum effect.

Each section (alerting, organising and calming) takes about 5 minutes to complete with each activity taking 1-2 minutes. This means that not all activities listed are to be completed in one session - different activities can be done on different days.

Alerting activities - Select from the following list:

Star jumps

Running/fast paced walking in a small lap of the garden

Spotty dogs

Running back and forth across the garden

Step ups -Step up and down the bottom step of the stairs

Organising activities - Select from the following list:

Have a line on the floor (by tape, chalk on the pavement, use a crack in the pavement) for your child to walk along putting one foot in front of the other - a bit like a tight rope artist.

Log roll back and forth along the floor

Bounce a ball up and down using hands alternatively

Balancing on one leg then the swap to the other leg - hold onto a chair if you need to

Calming activities - Select from the following list:

Crawl on your belly along the floor

Ask another member of the family to gently press down on your shoulders. You can state whether the shoulder press is too hard or too soft so they can change it for you.

Wall press ups. Stand vertical to the wall with palms of both hands on the wall and feet flat on the floor. Lean gently towards the wall, bending arms at your elbows and back again.

Fizzy activities

Fizzy activities help with fine and gross motor skills. Here are some activities you can try at home:

• Using washing line pegs, your child can practise putting the washing pegs on the edge of a piece or paper or on the washing line itself.
• Using playdough or something simliar, children to use both hands to roll the playdough into a sausage shape. They can then use the sausage shape to form letters or numbers with. What other shapes can they make? Cube, cuboid, sphere - talk about names of the shapes whilst they are making them.
• Throw and catch a ball with a member of the family. Then progress onto bouncing the ball so it reaches the other person.
• Use a plastic knife and fork to cut up pieces of food.
• Threading thread/wool through beads or buttons.
• Practise tying up shoelaces.
• Scrunching up small pieces of paper and sticking them down.
• Use a plastic fork to scoop up marbles, maltesers, beads and put them into another container.
• Practise fastening buttons on a coat or a shirt.
• Practise fastening a zip on a coat or a hoodie.
• Wonderful walking - try walking forwards, backwards and sideways. Then repeat with little steps and then big steps. Try walking with your eyes closed. Make sure you have a clear space to do this in - we wouldn't want you to bump into anything!
• In the garden make a target. This could be a goal, circle on the floor or a plant pot. See how many balls you can throw into it. You don't have to use balls you can use any other outdoor toys - remember to ask your parents first!
• Move around the house or the garden like a different animal.

Snake - slither across the floor

Butterfly - flutter around the room

Elephant - stomp with both feet

Kangaroo - bounce around

Frog - hop like a frog

Flamingo - stand on one leg

• Hold both arms out at shoulder height. Starting at your finger tips make small circles with them and make the circles bigger and bigger.

Finger isolation activities