hide-n-(sensory)-seeking

We seem to loose a lot of playing cards around here, which means we often have at least one incomplete deck just laying around not getting used. So I have taken a hand full of the number cards and combined them with decorator beads, which we also have dozens of all over the place, to make a simple matching/counting activity. Kit already loves lining up these beads and sorting them, so I think she will enjoy using them to place one on each shape on the cards. Then we can count them together. For the big kids we can use these as math flash cards to practice adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing, and even a good visual aide for fractions.

Three and a half sheets of construction paper and a lot of stickers! I folded the sheets in half and drew two letters on each half, book style. I marked a starting point for each letter with a starter sticker. The idea is for Kit to outline each letter with stickers. Though I don't expect her to do them all in one sitting. Even just one letter requires a good amount of concentration, so these are great to pull out to work on a letter or two, and then put away for later.

Here is a more challenging variation of yesterday's Busy Bag. More, larger, and greater variety of shapes give more options and challenge.  Again I took pictures of some arrangements I made to act as ideas or a template, but with this combo of shapes there are nearly endless possibilities of combinations. Two circles, four small squares, four small long rectangles, one large rectangle, and one medium rectangle make up this Busy Bag.

This Busy Bag can be a matching game and free play. Two circles, a triangle, a rectangle, and four small squares. Arrange in different combinations to make animals and bugs! I took pictures in order to put them in the bag to act as a guide or matching game, but for the kiddos whose imagination wanders, they are free to arrange their very own masterpieces! This one is good for younger kids or those who need a lighter challenge.

Bubble wrap and toy trucks. That's all this one is. Except it's tons more as well! For little kids like Kit, they might need help learning to push the trucks hard enough to pop the bubbles. But this is a great activity to promote large muscle building, to satisfy deep pressure input, to satisfy sound seekers, and to vent some frustrations as well. I discovered that the matchbox cars don't seem to have enough clearance needed to get the wheels to pop the bubbles. But the trucks did much better. We are going to try monster trucks and our play dough rolling pins as well! 

So this is a very easy, basically no cost, reusable activity for kids of varying ages. It requires only 3-4 basic supplies. 1. Any kind of liquid/school glue. I used white Elmer's, but gel glue probably works just as well, and I've read many posts about using hot glue as well. But this was really simple and I didn't have to dig out my hot glue gun. 2. Card-stock, index cards, or cardboard. (This is optional, but much more durable than putting the glue on plain paper.) 3. Crayons 4. Paper Draw a design on the card-stock, keeping in mind that glue spreads, so keep it simple and roomy.  Then go over outline with glue. I did this myself to save time and because my kids were all sleeping. But this can easily be done by big kids with decent motor skills, especially if the patterns are simple.  I let them dry overnight, and even then a few places has run together and weren't quite dry by morning, but after a few more hours they were ready...

So I found This post on Pintrest. Which then had a link in it to This post. And then my brain basically shut down because of of awesomeness overload. So now I have a whole list of bags I want to make, and I already made a few, and I'll share them as I go in case you need ideas too! This is especially perfect timing since we are starting Preschool with Kit here at home next week. Hopefully a little more carefully scheduled day, including lots of sensory diet activities, will help keep us making progress after we part ways with our wonderful OT, Miss V, next month. More on that later. But needless to say... :( We are going to miss her very much!

So here is one of the activities I put together for a Busy Bag.  I got a bag of these buttons several months ago from Walmart. We use them in a variety of ways from math counters to sorting to stringing.  This was easy and quick to trace a variety of them onto construction paper. I'm going to laminate it so that it will stay durable for a while. We'll see if Kit likes this idea as much as me. Happy Weekend!