Pillow Mountain Delivery Service
Build a ‘Pillow Mountain’ obstacle path across your living room floor using 5-8 pillows. Arrange them so your child must step or jump carefully between them without touching the floor.
Skill: Proprioception
Proprioception is how your body knows what position it is in. It is the sense that enables us to know where the different parts of our body are, how they are moving, and how much strength our muscles need to use. Our muscles, joints, and skin all contain sensory receptors that contribute to proprioceptive input.
Sticky Pom-Pom Push
Steps:
- Prepare your ‘sticky canvas’ by securing long strips of masking tape to a wall or a safe vertical surface (like a refrigerator or door). The key is to place the tape so the sticky side faces OUT toward the child.
- Place a basket or container of pom-poms next to the child. Encourage them to pick up the pom-poms using their thumb and fingertips (pincer control).
- Ask your child to stick the pom-poms onto the tape, using a firm push to make sure they stick. Challenge them to reach up, down, and across their body to fill the entire sticky surface!
- When finished, the child can peel the pom-poms off the tape, which provides great resistance and further works those intrinsic hand muscles.
Safety Tip:
Ensure the child is supervised, especially when reaching up high. Make sure the tape is placed at an appropriate height where the child is not required to over-extend dangerously.
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.
Beach Cup
This beach cup activity provides the child with a fun chance to build trust with new food items through play and creating.
You can substitute the different ingredients to make your own creation.
Preparation:
Step 1: Squeeze or scoop blue yogurt into a clear cup.
Step 2: Take 2 graham crackers and place them into a ziploc bag. Have the child squeeze, scrunch, and smash the graham crackers into “sand like” pieces.
Step 3: Pour the graham crackers on top of the yogurt.
Step 4: Ask your child to identify characteristics of food item, using their other senses. Provide them with the language to build that connection with the food in their brain.
Is it crunchy?
Is it smooth?
What does it smell like?
Step 5: Top off with an umbrella.
Tip: Cut off the pointed bottom part of the toothpick or assist as needed. Don’t forget the spoon!
Farmer’s Market
This Farmer’s Market guessing-game provides the child with a fun chance to build trust with new food items, without the pressure of eating it all, in an allotted amount of time.
Preparation:
Step 1: Grab a blindfold or bandana. Gather food items (here, we chose a food item that corresponded with every color of the rainbow). Use familiar food items & unfamiliar food items.
Step 2: Have your child put on the blindfold or bandana. Place each food item on a plate.
Step 3: Put the plates in front of the child, one at a time.
Step 4: Ask your child to identify characteristics of food item, using their other senses. Provide them with the language to build that connection with the food in their brain.
- Is it heavy or light?
- Is it smooth, waxy, prickly?
- Does it smell fresh or sweet?
- What shape is it?
- Is it squishy or firm?
Step 5: Have them give their best guess. Assist them as necessary. Have them open their eyes to see if the food matched their guess.
Step 6: Teach them how to cut, peel apart, or even color with the food item.
If they interact with new foods for the first time, consider this a win! If this encourages them to smell or taste new foods – consider this a win, too!
Tips:
- If this may be overwhelming for your child, reverse the roles. Have them give you a food item to identify. Verbalize your observations. This models confidence with interacting with new foods and provides them with the language to describe new foods.
- Have them ask you 3 questions about each food item, in order to incorporate problem-solving skills. Perhaps they will ask you, “Where do you see this food item grow?” “What color is the food item?” “When do we usually eat it?”
Enjoy!