DIY HOME PROGRAM

DIY HOME PROGRAM

We hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s DIY projects. We have created this fun home program for you to incorporate all of your new tools and integrate the different sensory systems we discussed. All of our DIY Instructions can be found on our blog. 

Home programs are a vital part of managing your child’s Sensory Integration and a key part of their success. Consistent home program use provides the beneficial exposure and repetition that produces lasting results. Additionally, and maybe most importantly, implementing a home program is a great way to bond with child. That precious one-on-one time is such a valuable way to get to know your child and to show them that you are there.

First, set up your home program stations. Setting the stations up in a sort of loop makes a home program “course”. This allows your child to go through the course multiple times and provides a lot of versatility. If you have an area at home where the stations can remain set up all week that works even better.

Suggested items for this home program:

DIY 2X4 BALANCE BEAM                 BUCKETS OR BOWLS TO TOSS BAGS IN

DIY BEAN BAGS                             TEXTURES: SPONGES, YARN, BRUSHES, SHAVING CREAM, ETC

DIY TACTILE BIN                            SMALL TOYS/NOVELTIES TO HIDE IN THE BIN

DIY OBSTACLE COURSE SUPPLIES:  SIDEWALK CHALK, PAINTER’S/MASKING/DUCT TAPE, CONES

	SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY
1	JUMPING JACKS	BUNNY HOPS	CRAB WALKS	WHEELBARROW WALKS	HOP ON ONE FOOT	FOLLOW THE LEADER	SIDE STEP OR GRAPEVINE
2	SET UP BOWLS OR BUCKETS ALONG THE BEAM TO TOSS THE BAGS INTO AS YOU WALK THE BEAM	TOSS BEAN BAGS ON DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF THE BEAM THEN WALK THE BEAM STEPPING OVER THE BAGS	PLACE BEAN BAGS ALONG ONE SIDE OF THE BEAM. ARMY CRAWL ALONG THAT SIDE OF THE BEAM, TOSSING THE BAGS OVER THE BEAM AS YOU GO	ZIG ZAG HOP (BOTH FEET TOGETHER) OVER THE BEAM UNTIL YOU REACH THE END	SET UP BOWLS OR BUCKETS AT THE END OF THE BEAM (SKEE BALL STYLE) AND PICK UP BAGS ALONG YOUR WAY DOWN THE BEAM TO TOSS IN	WHEELBARROW WALK ALONG THE BALANCE BEAM (HANDS ON BEAM OR ON EACH SIDE OF)	WALK THE BEAM BACKWARD
3	TRADITIONAL HOPSCOTCH	LAY TUMMY DOWN ON BALANCE BEAM AND TOSS BEAN BAGS ONTO HOPSCOTCH SQUARES	HOPSCOTCH ON ONE FOOT	HOPSCOTCH LIKE A BUNNY (ON BOTH FEET)	WALK THE LINES OF THE HOPSCOTCH HEEL-TO-TOE	HOPSCOTCH BACKWARD	HOPSCOTCH WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED *WITH SUPERVISION
4	HIDE X’S & O’S IN A TACTILE BIN AND DIG UNTIL YOU GET 3 IN A ROW	FILL A COOKIE SHEET WITH SHAVING CREAM AND WRITE YOUR NAME IN IT USING EACH FINGER	HIDE COINS IN A TACTILE BIN AND DIG UNTIL YOU GET $1	PULL DIFFERENT ITEMS FROM A BUCKET OR BIN AND IDENTIFY THEM WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED	HIDE LETTERS IN A TACTILE BIN AND DIG UNTIL YOU MAKE A WORD	FIND THE “MEATBALLS” (ANY SMALL ITEM) IN A POT OF COOKED PASTA (COOLED)	USE A TURKEY BASTER TO TRANSFER WATER FROM ONE BOWL TO ANOTHER
5	USE CHALK LETTERS TO LILLYPAD HOP YOUR WAY ACROSS A WORD	WALK HEEL-TO-TOE ACROSS A PIECE OF TAPE	BEAR WALK YOUR WAY AROUND THE BEAN BAGS YOU TOSSED OVER THE BEAM	DRAW DIFFERENT SHAPES AND HOP TO MATCHES TO MAKE YOUR WAY ACROSS	JOG BACKWARD THROUGH YOUR OBSTACLES	LOG ROLL, STAYING IN BETWEEN TWO LINES OF CHALK OR TAPE	USE YOUR BEAN BAGS AS “CONES” AND ZIG ZAG YOUR WAY AROUND THEM

For a free printable PDF version of this Home Program, CLICK HERE

SENSORY SYSTEMS: TACTILE

SENSORY SYSTEMS: TACTILE

This is our sense of touch.  It is our largest sensory system and it plays a vital role in human behavior, both physical and mental.  Tactile information goes just about everywhere in the brain.  It’s connections to the limbic system make it very important for bonding and developing relationships with others. Children who are hyperresponsive to touch may be very picky about clothing, food, being touched by others, and getting dirty. Children who are hyporesponsive may seek out excessive touch and have a high pain threshold.  Offering a variety of tactile activities is very important for all children.  Good tactile activities include making letters/shapes out of cooked spaghetti, playing in bins with a variety of textures like sand/rice/beans/birdseed, playing in shaving cream, and playing with playdough.  Also include your child in cooking, especially when they can mix food with their hands such as cookie dough, meatloaf, and rubbing oil on vegetables.  Do not force touch if your child is fearful of it.  Let them watch you first and gradually introduce the idea/activity.  Deep pressure into the hands prior to the tactile activities (wheelbarrow walking and animal walks) can be helpful.

SENSORY SYSTEMS: VESTIBULAR

SENSORY SYTEMS: VESTIBULAR

The vestibular system is our sense of movement and gravity.  This system is important because it is a unifying system which forms the basic relationship of a person to the physical world.  Because gravity is our anchor, all other types of information are processed in reference to basic vestibular information.  Good vestibular processing is key to developing hand dominance, bilateral coordination, balance, and complex motor planning. It supports reading fluency and enables us to sequence components of actions, thoughts, and speech.  Vestibular information also helps us to understand right side up, upside down, left, right, horizontal and vertical which helps us manage both two- and three-dimensional space.  Providing a variety of movement activities helps to develop this system.  Good activities include swinging, log rolling, somersaults, and spinning as tolerated by your child.  If your child seems sensitive to these activities, introduce gently and follow with jumping or other proprioceptive activities.

DIY BALANCE BEAM

DIY 2x4 Balance Beam
Supplies Needed: 2x4" Lumber
Optional Supplies: Paint, Brushes, Sealant

The balance beam is a simple but versatile addition to any home program. A balance beam can be used to work on balance (obviously) as well as core strength, bilateral coordination, visual-vestibular and more. There are so many ways to incorporate the beam into different activities and exercises.

Balance beams can be made from duct tape, lumber, ribbon or chalk. You can increase the difficulty of a beam by raising it off the ground or making it more narrow. We will show you in another blog how to incorporate some fun additions to the beam to target different sensory systems. For now, let's take a look at the DIY 2x4" Balance Beam.

Start with a 2x4" piece of lumber. This can be found at any hardware store and is relatively inexpensive. The lumber can be purchased in different lengths and compositions. For this project, I purchased a piece of Prime Kiln Dried Whitewood Stud Board that was 2 inches x 4 inches by 96 inches for about $3 from The Home Depot. Look for a board with little to no bowing for a more balanced beam.

To make the board a little more fun, I painted one side with a Halloween theme and one side with a Christmas theme. You could paint yours however you like--maybe you want it to match your child's bedroom, or something nature-themed, a favorite character, etc. You can even use the paint to tie in more games. Notice how my beam is broken into sections. These will come in handy later for directional games, numbered steps, etc. If you do decide your paint your board, it's pretty simple, so just have fun with it.

To paint the balance beam, you may need to sand your board if you have any rough edges, chips or splinters. Just grab any fine grit paper and smooth the board out. You will need paints, brushes and some sort of sealant. For my project, I used a combination of cheap acrylic paints from the craft store and paintbrushes from the dollar store. (Note: I used spray paint on the Christmas side as my base coat and it took forever to dry. If I had to do this again, I would stick to the acrylics.) "Pro" tip: You can use a hair dryer between coats to speed up the drying process. It only takes a couple of minutes for the acrylic paints to dry. Once your paint has dried, let it sit over night to cure. Then, cover your balance beam in some sort of sealant to keep the paint from chipping later. You can use polyurethane, clear coat or mod podge. The mod podge worked great for me and can even be purchased at the dollar store. Use a foam brush for a smooth finish.

If you try this easy DIY Balance Beam, be sure to let us know. Click here to post a picture to our Facebook page.

SENSORY SYSTEMS: PROPRIOCEPTION

SENSORY SYSTEMS: PROPRIOCEPTION

Proprioception is one of our senses that we tend to be less educated about.  It is our sense of where our body is in space, including joint position.  It is mostly processed in unconscious areas of our brain, so we don’t often think about it.  We don’t consciously process that we raised our foot up 7 inches and forward 5 inches when we are climbing steps, we just do it.  

We have many joints in our hands, so proprioception is important for fine motor development and control.  Because the information is processed in the lower parts of our brain, it also heavily influences other processes going on there.  It impacts things like self-regulation of behavior and attention.  If there is an issue, it generally lies with under registration of proprioception which results in issues in one or all the above areas.  Helping a child find the “just right” amount of this input is very important.   

Fun ways to provide proprioception would include animal walks, wheelbarrow walks, playing tug-o-war, jumping, hopscotch, playing with weighted objects, and using weighted blankets.  Remember, proprioception can easily part of family chores and discipline.  Have the child carry out garbage, carry in groceries, polish furniture and appliances, and carry laundry baskets.

EASY DIY BEAN BAGS

EASY DIY BEAN BAGS

Last week, we showed you how to make an easy DIY Balance Beam. Here's a cheap and easy way to add a fun activity to the beam. You may even have all of these supplies at home. If not, hit your local dollar store. 

Supplies Needed:

UNCOOKED RICE

SOCKS

Optional Supplies:

FUNNEL

RUBBER BANDS

SCISSORS

BUCKETS OR BOWLS

1. Pour the rice into the foot of the sock. Using a funnel makes this step easier but you can do without it if you like. Using a youth sock works best for a standard sized bean bag. Use enough rice to fill the sock to a "full but workable" consistency. You don't want to overfill it to the point of stiffness. 

2. Tie the tube of the sock in a knot or use rubber bands to close the opening. Make sure you wrap the band enough times to keep it from sliding off of opening.

3. If you have excess fabric at the top, just trim it off using scissors. You can use the excess for a festive wrist band or sensory fidget. 

Line some buckets or bowls along side your balance beam to toss the bags into.

Make bean bags with different texture by exchanging the rice for dried beans, uncooked macaroni noodles, pony beads, etc.

Use painter's tape to put "targets" on the floor to aim the bags at.

The possibilities are endless. If you try this easy DIY, we'd love to hear about it. Let us know on our Facebook Page.