Sensory Activities for Home

Sensory play includes any activity that stimulates your young child's senses: touch, smell, taste, movement, balance, sight and hearing. Sensory activities facilitate exploration and naturally encourage children to use scientific processes while they play, create, investigate and explore

Fun sensory activities you can do at home

  • play in shaving cream

  • draw shapes and letters in shaving cream

  • make sensory bins (rice, beans, pop corn)

  • hide items in the sensory bins

  • play with kinetic sand

  • play dough activities

  • make home made play dough

  • add a scent to your play dough

  • make slime

  • go on a sensory scavenger hunt

  • put several items in a bag and have child identify them by feeling

  • make sensory balloon stress balls

  • set up fun outdoor games including relay races, obstacle courses or ball games

  • make hop scotch with sidewalk chalk

  • do animal walks (bear walk, crab walk, bunny hop)

  • play with corn starch and water on a tray (make letters and shapes)

  • water beads

Calming Activities

Calming strategies are utilized when a student appears anxious or overly excited.

  • calm, rhythmic swinging on platform swing

  • wall push ups

  • Take a quiet walk around the house or outside in the fresh air

  • deep pressure squeezes to head and arms

  • engaging in play with resistant putty play dough

  • practice yoga poses

  • heavy work activities (carry something heavy, push something heavy, pulling)

  • slowly massage to arms and hands with lotion

  • use of calming essential oils

  • playing calming music (classical, rhythmic music)

  • blowing bubbles or other blowing activities

  • Tortilla roll up roll your child up in a blanket (keep head out) pretending to be making a taco. provide nice deep pressure evenly as you talk about adding salsa, cheese, lettuce etc.

  • Blowing Out Birthday Candles – Have your child hold up one hand; their fingers are the “candles”. Count out the five “candles” together. Then blow out each “candle” with a long breath. Curl your finger down slowly while you are blowing.

  • Sticky Hands – Pretend to have “sticky” hands and then press them together. Now push hard for 20 seconds. You can count it out with your child. Now tell your child to slowly allow their hands to come apart and see if they can feel the stickiness. Repeat this sequence two or three times.

  • Stretching – Have your child do simple stretches such as touching their toes and reaching up to the sky on their tip toes.

Alerting Activities

  • Use a mini trampoline

  • make a pile of pillows and have child jump in and crash

  • play in various textured bins

  • add strong scents to play dough or sensory bins

  • shaving cream play

  • use a therapy ball for seated activities

  • play outside ... make an obstacle course, take a nature walk, do hop scotch

  • play balloon volleyball

  • have a "dance party" to favorite music with a strong beat

  • use a wiggle squiggle writer (vibrating pen) to draw a picture