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!!