OT Activity of the Day:
"Herding sheep"
Target Age Range: 4 and up
Providing regulating input on a daily basis can be key for some families with a child who's sensory system may require more attention. For these families, I often suggest movement right after school, or making sure that a child has adequate movement breaks throughout the day. A question I often get is how to then calm a child after they have jumped in pillows for 5 minutes or run around the house 10 times? Good question! Deep breathing is a very effective strategy to couple with a movement break. This helps the child organize their body and mind and effectively process the input their body just received.
Want a fun way to do this? Grab a straw, some paper, and either poms or cotton balls. You can pretend the cotton balls or poms are sheep, or goats, or pigs, or whatever your child wants, and then spread them around on a hard surface like a hardwood or kitchen floor. Next give your child the straw and have them use their breath to "herd" the animals into their home.
Another idea for the competitive child is to have a cotton ball race! All you need is a starting and finish line, the rest is about the same. Enjoy!