Fun with Sensory Play!

Sensory play has become one of the best parts of our day! The options are endless, and it usually involves something ewwy, gooey, or just plain messy.

What is sensory play, and why is it so important? If you want the technical answer, there are plenty of sites that will explain it, but since you're here anyway, I'll keep it brief: Our world is made up of millions of different sights, sounds, textures, tastes, and smells. For most of us, we take these things in stride, and we don't usually think that much about what our senses are taking in as we walk down the street. For many children with Autism, those same sights, sounds, textures, etc, are overwhelming, and can even keep them from functioning in many environments.

Sensory play allows Autistic children (or any child, really) to explore those senses so that through time, they become less overwhelming, and they can process them in a way that is more akin to what the rest of us do naturally.

These activities can be done all day long, and the great part is, you can use items you already have at home! (Disclaimer: You're going to need some old clothes that can get dirty, and plenty of ADULT SUPERVISION.)
Here are some ideas we've used:

-Fill a large plastic storage container with rice or dried beans. Give the kids spoons and small cups, and let them pour back and forth. This is also a great motor skill activity.

-Finger painting doesn't have to be done with paint. You can use shaving cream, pudding, whipped cream, etc. Add some food coloring for even more fun!

- Cooked spaghetti noodles are squishy and great for running through their hands.

- Get out those old boxes of Jell-O you never used (I can't believe anyone would actually eat that stuff by choice, anyway). Make a couple of batches in a baking pan, and hide little plastic bugs or other small objects in it for your kids to find.


- Invest in a sand/water table! You can get these at Toys R Us, Walmart, or many hardware stores, just to name a few. It can be used indoors or outdoors for sand or water. Give them some cups and funnels and let them go wild!
Aaaannnnddd....*cue fanfare*.... Here is my find of the year.

It's called Insta-Snow, and if you live in a warm place
like we do, this is as close as you're going to get to the real thing. Make a few small scoops (just add water), and it becomes a cool, snowy powder. Soooooo awesome!!! My kids spent hours playing with this stuff in a pan at the kitchen table. We hid stones, used animal figures for pretend play, and made hand prints. This jar will make two gallons, but it only takes less than a quarter of the jar for one play session. Buy it on the Insta-Snow website, or on Amazon.com. Be Amazing Insta-Snow Jar

So now that you have some sensory play ideas, go through your pantry and figure out what you already have on hand. You'd be surprised what you'll come up with!