His Treasured Princess: Here's How We Play

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Here's How We Play - A Halloween Sensory Game

So, we have these GREAT Halloween Sensory Boxes (see my last couple of posts) and I thought it would be fun to come up with a way for Kylie to work on her counting skills while also becoming familiar and comfortable with more sticky types of sensory things. (this will help her be more comfortable in other areas of her life such as feeding, on the playground, self-care and in crafting scenarios)

To accomplish this goal, I came up with a simple game to help her work on these skills while still having fun!

I used the following supplies:
*Standard size muffin tin (I chose one with 6 wells vs 12 so it wouldn't be as overwhelming (at first) for her. As her skills increase, so will her endurance and then we might jump to the 12 wells so it is more challenging)

*Dice (be sure to have one for each well of your muffin tin)

*Something to hold your dice (I chose a felt pumpkin purse)

I found all these items at Dollar Tree, but most families will probably have things they can use already in their homes.

The game is really, really simple:
- Have your child roll one die into the muffin tin.

- Have your child count the number of dots on the top of the dice.

- Then have your child transfer the items one at a time from your Icky Sticky Halloween Sensory Box (we transferred the eyeballs) into that well of the muffin tin. (The other items in the box will cling creating resistance and will require your child's finger muscles to work harder to hold on to the item. This is great small motor exercise.)

Note: Give your child the option of using their fingers or tongs. They might not be ready to actually have physical contact with the sticky items, but as they get faster at the game they may care less or have less anxiety about the textures of the items and be more willing to use their fingers.

Here is Kylie in action: