Sensory boxes for the sensory seeking child.

I’ve told you all before about sensory boxes for your sensory seeking child but today I thought I’d go a little deeper into what kind of sensory boxes we have and use on a daily basis that really helps my child.

Sensory boxes can include lots of different objects such as:

• Cheerios
• beans
• marshmallows
• cotton balls
• noodles
• rice
• “popcorn” (the kind in shipping boxes)
• pieces of fabric
• sand
• Velcro
• water with spoons, cups and straws

Keeping sensory boxes accessible for your child throughout their day will help them realize that they can help themselves when they need to. Playing in these boxes will give them the sensory input they are needing to function normally the rest of the day.

My daughter (2 1/2) plays in hers many times throughout the day and while they can get messy they are 100% worth it afterwards. We keep one larger box with Cheerios in it and sometimes alternate the Cheerios with marshmallows. This gives her two different sensations that keep her interest and give her input.

We also keep a smaller one fulled with beans and some small objects to find and hunt for. This one I tend to keep up high and pull it out either when she asks for it or seems to need it, as she does tend to make a mess all over the floor with the beans.

Usually around dinner time she knows my attention has to be on something besides her and it seems to make her nervous and clingy. To solve this problem a little I tell her she can ‘help me cook’ and give her a bowl of water with a spoon and measuring cup to ‘cook’ with. She feels like she is helping and it keeps her busy so I can get dinner and dishes done. Sometimes I’ll even take her clothes off and let her sit in her diaper on the floor with a casserole dish, cup, spoon, sponge and baby doll or cars, so she can get herself wet, dip her feet in and wash her babies. She gets wet as does the floor but since it is in the kitchen and it’s just water it isn’t a big deal. She really enjoys this activity.

At times when I let her play in water I will give her a straw so she can blow bubbles in the water. Inhaling and exhaling deeply is calming and fun! This week our OT, Laura, brought over some ‘pom pom balls’ and straws and let Little Miss blow them around the room. She not only loved this but it kept her busy for a while and she calmed down enough that she sat there and had fun without being overly clingy to me and let Laura interact with her and bounce her on the yoga ball afterwards with no meltdowns.

As I have been keeping our toys and activities more organized we have taken away a lot of toys and stored them in another room, hidden. We are trying to get her to play with toys in appropriate ways (i.e. pretend play, stacking blocks rather than throwing them, etc.) so we are keeping smaller amounts of toys available until we see her playing correctly and then we will bring something ‘new’ out. In doing this I divided up toys into sections or categories (i.e. pretend play that has dress up stuff and baby doll  stuff and we will alternate with cooking, etc.) the one she plays with the most is dress up and babies, however, her second favorite is her sensory box of goodies.

I keep all kinds of things in this little box:

• a massaging teether
• sensory balls
• magnetic bear
• Play-Doh

And again, we alternate those every now and then.

One of her new favorite activities is getting messy with shaving cream or whip cream at the kitchen table.

This keeps her attention while giving her input and let’s face it….it’s a fun activity! Two things though, if your child tends to put everything in their mouth then whip cream would probably work best so in case they start eating it they won’t get sick. My problem with whip cream though is it gets sticky! I like using the shaving cream because it cleans up very easily. And I have a feeling that if she tried to eat it she wouldn’t like it and would not do it again, but you never know…every child is different. When she plays with the shaving cream we remind her every now and then (if her hand gets close to her mouth) ‘No eat…no mouth…only for your hands…’ and she listens fairly well.

I will do another post soon on some more sensory activities and toys that we use a lot of. I’ll even add some home made toys that you can do quickly, easily and cheaply for your child. Each child is different, play around with different objects and textures to find what your child likes and dislikes. If she doesn’t like the feel of cotton balls then use something else for her sensory box. If she likes beans but wants to eat them then try something else that is ok for her to eat just in case. Play around with things until you find the right fit for your child. 

I’d love to hear some of the sensory activities that you do with your child.  Leave me a comment on which is your favorite.