Sensory Bins

I tried sensory bins awhile ago with B and he just wasn't that into them. He would throw the stuff or dump the bin. He never really wanted to explore what was in there. Now that he is becoming more of a seeker, I thought I would give the bins another try. I don't have the time or patience to put bins together so I order them on Etsy. (Gotta love Etsy, right?) OMG there are so many to choose from! I have ordered 3 so far: Mickey Mouse, construction, and tractors. The tractor one is on the way so we haven't tried it yet.

Here is the Mickey sensory bin. B liked putting the white beans in the cups and putting the pom poms on the tray. He pulled out all of the characters and pictures and named them.

B loves the construction sensory bin but he definitely put his on spin on it. The first time I put it out, he took all of the construction vehicles out and played with them. Didn't touch anything else in the bin.

The next time I got the construction  sensory bin out, B pulled out everything except the beans. He made a road and drove his cars on it. Then he put the rocks into the white PVC tubes. I love to see his creative play!!

Food Play

B is a picky eater! I read that sensory kids will be more likely to eat different foods if you let them play with it first. So I have been experimenting with that. So far we have done spaghetti, pudding, and whipped cream. He ate all of it while he was playing with it! (Not at the same time! That would be gross! LOL) He not only ate it, he loved it!! I know if I had put a bowl of spaghetti on the table, he would not have touched it!! Same thing if I had offered him pudding or whipped cream.

I tried putting a little sauce on the spaghetti hoping B would still eat it. Nope! That is ok. I still feel like we made huge progress!

                                                                          Pudding!

                                            I added neon food coloring to the whipped cream.

Milk Painting

B is a very picky eater so I have been trying to come up with sensory activities that involve food. I'm hoping that playing with food will make him more comfortable to try new foods. I saw milk painting on Share and Remember and it looked like fun! I mixed the milk and the food coloring. I tried to get B to use a q-tip to paint the bread, but of course he just wanted to pour it out and roll his cars through it. So that is what we did!! If I was to do this again, I would do it outside. I wasn't expecting it to get so messy! LOL

Sandbox

Since sand is such a highly tactile material, we decided to get a sandbox for B.  When we saw this one, we knew it would be perfect! He can roll his cars and trucks on the cover and use the crane. He loves it! It is a great sensory experience for him as he explores his tense of touch.  I plan on adding water to the sand some days to give the sand a different texture. Since B loves cars, I bought some road signs that we can add to the sand and we can use blocks to flatten out the sand for roads. B likes to sit in the sandbox so we decided to get him a bigger one as well. That way he can roll around in it and really feel the sand all over his body.

Soapy Water Play

My son loves to play in the water! When it isn't warm enough to fill up his pool, we do water play in a small plastic tub. B loves to wash his cars and trucks. I decided to give him some toy dishes to wash and a sponge. Using a sponge gave him an added touch stimulation. He kept asking for more soap and more cold water. I guess that means he liked it!

Sensory Play Dough

I hunted around on Pinterest and found some awesome recipes for sensory play dough. I have worked with kids for over 20 years and have never made homemade play dough! How is that possible?! It is super easy to make! I love that you can add whatever you want to it. I made 3 kinds: cocoa powder, all spice with cloves, and cinnamon with cinnamon sticks. B loves all three. Here is the where I found the recipe. I plan on making play dough with beads next. 

Ball Pit

I have noticed that some OTs use ball pits for sensory therapy. I remembered how much B loved the ball pit at The Jungle. We literally had to drag him out of there! Since we have 3 blow up pools, I figured we could turn one into a ball pit. I got 200 balls at Toys R Us for $20. B loves it!!

Frozen shaving cream

Don't you love cheap and easy activities that keep your kids entertained for a long time?!  We did frozen shaving cream. Who would have thought to freeze shaving cream?! Got the idea from Growing a Jeweled Rose. B loved it! At first he just stuck his cars in it. Then he slowly began to put his hands in. I think he liked the cold. After awhile, he started to rub it all over his arms. He made quite the mess which I loved!! He let me put some on his back. He then decided to smear some all over Baby Sister! LOL So glad he had fun with it!!

Baby Sister had fun playing with the frozen shaving cream too!!

Something is off...

For awhile now, my husband and I have suspected something was off with B. He has meltdowns about the most ridiculous things. He cried the first time he touched grass and play dough. He hated the parachute at Gymboree. He hates taking baths and is a very picky eater! Once his clothes are on, he refuses to take them off. He also will not wear rainboots or a raincoat.

We were hoping he would outgrow it. Recently, we came to the conclusion that there was something more serious going on and we needed to get professional help. This is where we are now in our process of getting B diagnosed. Although he doesn't have an official diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder, there is no doubt in our minds that is what he has. We have talked to multiple professionals who feel the same way. So along with a new name, this blog will now have a new focus, the ups and downs of having a child with sensory processing issues.

image courtesy of http://communicationstationspeechtx.blogspot.com/

Goop!!

Where do you look when you are trying to find sensory rich activities? Why Pinterest of course! I found this awesome blog that has every kind of play recipe you can think of. Last weekend we made goop. I accidentally made it a little watery but I think B liked it better that way. He started out just playing in it with his hands. He put it all over his arms. Then he had to roll his cars in it. Later he had to get in the container of goo. He played with it for hours!!