How the brain organizes information from the senses, like touch, sound, and movement. Good processing helps a child feel calm, focus in a busy room, and react appropriately to their environment.
Fill a container with water up to the midline and put inside small floating objects (i.e. ice molds, fish toys, etc.).
Have the child use the tongs to catch the objects in the water and take them out of the water.
You may want to have some paper towels ready for this activity as it might get a bit wet.
Draw (or depending on the child’s developmental skills, have the child trace or independently draw) a large rectangle on the paper bag (use the blank side if the paper bag has a design or picture on it) and ask the child to cut it out.
Fill the squirt bottle with water and have the child spray water all over the cut out rectangle. Encourage the child to utilize his thumb, index finger, and middle finger to press on the handle of the squirt bottle. Once the paper is moist, ask the child to use both hands and squeeze the paper into a little ball (have him squeeze as much as possible and drain out as much liquid as possible).
Then, ask the child to open up the paper and use both hands to flatten the paper back to a rectangle shape.
Allow the paper to dry up before you start drawing or painting on it. For a rough texture, let the paper dry on a flat surface in the sun. For a smoother texture, you can place the paper between to flat heavy objects.
Once the paper is dry, have the child use markers to draw the outline of the desired picture and use the paint to paint it. To work on pre-writing skills, you can outline lines and/or letters and have the child paint them.
To promote sensory processing and tactile perception, you can have the child use the paper with a rough texture and paint with finger paint.
You will need to use green construction paper (light and/or dark) and assorted small different textured objects (i.e. pom-poms, buttons, small blocks, etc.). You may also want to use different size and color straws.
First, explain to the child that you are going to make a salad. Let the child tear up the pieces of paper using both hands, to make lettuce leaves, and place the pieces in the bowl.
Then, have the child cut the straws into different size pieces and add them to the bowl. Ask the child to add the pom-poms, buttons, blocks, and think of creative things they can be (e.g. red pom-poms for cherry tomatoes, blocks as croutons). Have the child “toss” the salad by hand, allowing him to feel the different textures.
Use the tongs to “serve” the salad. To focus on social skills, ask the child to serve you/other peers/ themselves/co-treating therapists and say things like “more please!”, “no more, thank you”, etc.
Use the construction paper, the pen and the scissors to cut out letters of the alpha-bet. You will need more than 1 of each letter. You can also use pre-cut letters.
Spread the letters on the floor or a mat in a random order. Help the child lay prone on the therapy ball. The child should be able to touch the floor. Instruct the child to use his hands and reach out to grab one letter at a time, then to walk back and place the letter in front of them. After the child gets all the letters he needed, he can spell the word.
You can also use magnetic letters and a magnetic board, or use math equations where the child has to walk out and grab the correct answer.
Help the child cut 4 equal pieces of masking tape. Each piece should be about 3 feet long.
Use the masking tape pieces to make a large tic tac toe board on the floor.
Use the construction paper to cut shapes (each player should have his own shape). You will need 5 pieces of each shape. Let the child help you with a cutting of the shapes.
If working on writing skills, each player can write his name on his shapes.
Instruct the child to lay prone next to the tic tac toe board.
Using the pieces you cut, play the tic tac toe game by placing the pieces while keeping your body prone and reaching with your arms out to place the pieces on the board (i.e. crossing midline).
For grading: instead of writing your name on each shape, you can write your initials or any other word as appropriate.
