Posted by
Heather Laurie in Thursday, February 25th 2010
Need some ideas to start off your sensory diets? Try some of these…
–This can include fun things like an obstacle course. crawling under the table on their belly to crab walking across the kitchen floor, then jumping into a all the couch cushions piled on the floor, then up again and 10 jumping jacks while singing (like the alphabet of other learning material such as adding, subtracting you name it now is the time to reinforce!) Finally laying on the floor and have mom slowly roll an exercise ball up their legs then arms (not belly, chest of head) flip over and roll firmly down back , legs and arms.
–crunchy foods during homeschooling to keep focus and lessen talking
–swaddling in blankets, then like a caterpillar have them push out of it.
–shaving cream in a cookie sheet, for those kids who hate things on their hands, you can make dots around the sheet and have your child draw with their finger lines between them. Or write letters, make pictures etc.
–office chairs are great, spin 10 times right then stop and spin 10 times left. The key is to keep the two sides equal.
–remember the wheelbarrow? Where you hold your child’s feet and they push up with their hands and walk around. That provides wonderful input to joints!
–Use ear plugs, ear muffs or a hoodie to block out some of the noise
–hoodie’s, sunglasses and hats are good visual blockers too!
–watch for sales on the rash guard clothes, the tight shirts and shorts that surfer’s wear. A seeker will love the solid input, you can even hide them under clothes.
–use a medicine week box to have several small scented items in. Then smell each one. This can help accustom a child to smelling district smells or learning to enjoy pleasant smells.
–Use smecils (scented pencils) to help focus a child that is smell oriented.
–loop scissors do not require a lot of contact on the hand, so defensive children can tolerate them better.
–Use music to set a mood of help block out distractions.
–stikki wix are fun and clean for the defensive child that hates to get their hands dirty
–for the child that is not writing are drawing well use stencils to provide an instant sucessful picture.
–weighted vests, blankets, wrist band etc are very affective (one note of caution, it is easy to over estimate the weight so ask your OT about what weight works for your child)
–sitting on an exercise ball can help get the wiggles out through their legs while you get to work with the head 
Check out the links post Sensory Links In the books section are two of my all time favorites for sensory kids. Out of Syn Child and Out of Sync Child at Play. If your money is tight and can only get one book on sensory needs get Out of Sync Child at Play. My is worn with numerous bookmarks. Over the years as the children’s needs have changed so have the fun activities we use.
I am going to keep adding on this list will grow. Do you have an idea to add? Please leave a comment and get it added!
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