Material: Beans

Weighted Puck Push

Weighted Puck Push

Steps:

  • Prepare the ‘pucks’ by filling several small Ziplock Bags about 1/4 full with dry Beans or Rice. Seal them tightly.
  • Create a long ‘push stick’ by taping two Paper Rolls together end-to-end with Masking Tape to form a hockey stick.
  • Use Construction Paper and Masking Tape to create a goal on the floor about six feet away from the starting line.
  • Start in a half-kneeling position behind the pucks. Use the push stick to tap and guide one weighted puck at a time toward the goal.
  • Encourage the child to use the stick to sweep the pucks from their left side to their right side to practice Crossing Midline.

Safety Tip:
Ensure the playing area is clear of trip hazards. When using the long stick, remind the child to keep a safe distance from others and always supervise play.

Quiet Scoop Game

Quiet Scoop Game

Steps:

  • Place the bowl full of dry beans on one side of the table and the empty container on the other side.
  • Explain the rule: The child uses the spoon to scoop one bean and tries to carry it over to the container.
  • The child must listen for the ‘Stop Sound’ (the adult rolling the dice nearby). If they hear the dice clatter while moving, they must immediately freeze the spoon in the air.
  • The child must hold the spoon perfectly still until the adult says ‘Go.’ This teaches impulse control and sustained focus.
  • If they spill the bean during the freeze, they must return the bean to the starting bowl and begin the scoop again.
  • Once the container is full, count how many trips were successfully completed before the next round.

Safety Tip:
Due to the use of small beans, constant adult supervision is required throughout the activity. Ensure all beans are collected and stored safely after play to prevent choking hazards.

Treasure Hunt Sensory Bin

This sensory bin activity provides the child with a fun chance to build trust with messy textures through play.

Preparation:

Step 1: Pour sensory bin fillers (cornmeal was used in this photo but you can also use sand, beans, and rice).

Step 2: Hide gems/coins in the sand.

Step 3: Provide tongs for your child to use to retrieve the treasure & place in a separate bowl/treasure box. For an increased challenge, have the child close their eyes and search for the treasure with their hands.

“The Claw”

Preparation:

  1. Take an empty cardboard box (with openings that create handles), and insert a gift wrapping paper tube through the openings.
  2. Tape a long piece of yarn to the gift wrapping paper tube.
  3. Draw a Toy Story Alien & cut it out.
  4. Tape the alien to the other end of the yarn.

Play:

Have the child place both hands toward the ends of gift wrapping paper tube (“The Claw”), to reel in the alien.

Instruct the child to use alternating hands, or both hands at the same time.

To add a challenge, have the child use their non-dominant hand, create a longer line of yarn, or add resistance.

To add resistance, draw and cut out an alien on 2 pieces of paper, place beans on one paper, then staple the other paper on top to seal the beans inside.

Feed Me

In this activity, imagination and creativity are key components.

Begin by drawing the face of a child, a character (clown, robot, princess, etc.), or an animal that the child likes on the shoe box’s cover. Then, cut out the mouth of your figure so that it looks like the figure is opening its mouth. Make sure the opening is big enough so that the child is able to place the small objects through the opening.

Place the cotton balls (see additional ideas for objects below) on the table in front of the child or in a shallow bowl.

Give the tongs to the child and instruct her to hold it with her thumb, pointer, and middle fingers only, while tucking the pinkie and ring fingers into the palm of her hand. Then, ask the child to use the tongs to pick up one object at a time and feed the figure by placing the object into the figure’s open mouth.

This is where creativity comes into play as you can use the child’s imagination to decide what kind of food the cotton balls represent.

If you chose to draw an animal, you can have the cotton balls be the type of food this specific animal eats (i.e. monkey = bananas, dog = bones, bunny = carrots, etc.)

Based on the child’s developmental skills, you can have her draw the figure (can be a very simple figure) and cut the mouth opening independently.

Additional ideas for small objects (depending on the child’s age and abilities): pasta, beads (large and small), beans, cotton swabs, marbles, and Lego