This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Oceanview Wooden Swing Set from Leisure Time Products™.
Sensory activities have become a buzzword lately and for a very good reason. Sensory activities are much more than just play dough and rice bins. In fact, sensory activities can occur anywhere and at anytime! What most people don’t realize is that sensory activities help support healthy development in all children and they can be simple and easy to do. With the help of my sponsor, Leisure Time Products™, I have gathered a list of 100 simple everyday sensory activities to support healthy development.
As I mentioned before, sensory activities don’t have to be difficult, time consuming, or even labor intensive. In fact, I am sure you are already including a lot of sensory activities in your day to day routine already.
Did you realize that running around the yard, swinging on the swings, climbing ladders, and scaling the monkey bars are all sensory activities that you can do in your very own backyard? We have always been big proponents of daily outdoor play, which has made us always long for a backyard play set. It was our dream come true when we had the opportunity to get the Oceanview Wooden Swing Set for our own yard!
It took a few hours for the guys to build and install the Oceanview Wooden Swing Set but it was well worth the wait. In fact, my kids basically sat at the window the entire time they were setting up the play set! Each time a new part of the set was added, they would jump for joy, and tell me all of the sensory activities that they were planning to do when the set was finished!
Once the set was completely set up, there was no stopping the kids! They were on their way to play, discover, and explore!
100 Sensory Activitiesfor Home or School
Proprioceptive Sensory Activities
- Proprioceptive Sensory Activities
- Playing on Playground Equipment, like the Oceanview Wooden Swing Set.
- Climb up the 10’ wave slide
- Jump off the swings
- Push siblings on the swing
- Climb the Stairs with a weighted backpack
- Hang from the monkey bars
- Balancing games
- Tight Hugs and Squeezes
- Cardboard Box Race
- One Child in a box and another pulls or pushes them down the hall
- Circuit Training when Stuck Inside
- 10 Wall pushes
- 10 Desk Push ups
- 10 Hand Squeezes
- 10 Second Superman Pose
- Animal Walk Races
- Bear Walk
- Crab Walk
- Worm Crawl
- Wheelbarrow Walks
- Playing on Playground Equipment, like the Oceanview Wooden Swing Set.
Vestibular Sensory Activities
- 100 seconds of spinning
- Movement Madness (can be done as a relay, or circuit, or stations)
- 10 Jumping Jacks
- 10 Arm Spins
- 10 Cartwheels
- 10 Summersaults
- 100 Second Freeze Dance
- Stop the music at 100 second intervals
- 100 Bounces on an Exercise Ball
- Upside Down Ball Toss
- Both Children hang upside down and toss a ball back and forth 100 times
- 100 Swings on the Oceanview Wooden Swing Set
- Hopscotch
- You can make 10 boards (1-10, 11-20, etc)
- Rock and swing in the hammock attached to the Oceanview Wooden Swing Set (or one in your home)
Auditory Sensory Activities
- Play Guess that Animal
- Use 100 different animal sounds
- Listen to 100 seconds of calming sounds
- 100 Shakes of a Maraca
- 100 Seconds of Silence
- Guess that song in 100 seconds
- Sounds Pattern Repeat
- Clap, whistle or hum sets of sounds, child repeats
- Discrimination Sound Game
- Near or Far
- Soft or Loud
- High or Low
- 100 Rhyming words
Visual Sensory Activities
- Shadow Puppet Play
- Make the numbers with your fingers
- Guess animals
- Use 100 pieces to create shadows
- 100 Item Hidden Picture
- Simple sensory bottles
- Play Hide and Go Seek around the Oceanview Wooden Swing Set
- Light Table Play
- Sort 100 shapes
- Build with 100 light blocks
- Light Bright with 100 pegs
- Sensory Bags filled with simple materials
- Scavenger hunts outside in the backyard or around the house
Oral Sensory Activities
- Blow 100 bubbles
- Bubble Gum (Biggest bubble after 100 chews)
- Sailboat Races
- Blow sailboats with a straw
- Cotton Ball Table Fun
- Blow 100 Cotton Balls into a cup
- Blow Painting
- Use a straw to move paint on a paper
- 100 Second Feather Game
- Try to keep a feather in the air for 100 seconds by blowing
- Create 100th day Trail mix
- 10 of each Crunchy/Chewy Items
- Whistle for 1oo seconds
- 100th Day Milkshakes
- Use 10 pieces of 10 frozen Fruits
- Drink through a straw
- Blow on a Recorder for 100 seconds
Tactile Sensory Activities
- Sensory Ball Games
- Roll from Finger tip to Finger tip
- Roll from head to toe
- Sensory Ball Toss
- Guess that Texture
- Put 100 objects in a box and feel
- Sandpaper Numbers
- Cut #100 into sand paper, trace with fingers
- Sensory Bins
- Colored Rice
- Beans/Lentils
- Shaving Cream Fun
- Sensory Dough
- Foam Dough
- Edible Playdough
- Scented Dough
- Cloud Dough
- TextureScavenger hunt inside or out
- Hand Fidgets
Fine Motor Sensory Activities
- Q-tip Painting
- Use Qtips to make 100 dots
- Cotton Ball Squeeze Relay Game
- Each player uses tweezers to pass 10 cotton balls to the next player
- Write 100 in shaving cream
- Cut the number 100 out and decorate with 100 sequins
- 100th Day Necklace
- String 10 beads of 10 colors
- Use a hole-punch to punch 100 dots
- Trace the number 100 in sand
- Use toothpicks and play dough to make a creation with 100 toothpicks
- 100th Day Dropper Art
- Use a medicine dropper to drop 100 drops of liquid watercolors on a coffee filter
- Clothespin Number Match
- Put numbers 1-100 on clothespins and match them to a number line
Core StrengthActivities
- Circuit Training
- 10 Sit ups
- 10 squats
- 10 crunches
- 10 Bicycle kicks
- 100 Second Poses
- Superman
- Plank
- Stand on one leg
- Tummy time
- Do any of the activities listed on your stomach
- Crawling Obstacle Course Oceanview Wooden Swing Set
- Do pull ups on the monkey bars
- Simple Balance activities
- Simple Yoga Activities for kids
Body Awareness Sensory Activities
- Simon Says
- Have children use number cards to touch parts of their bodies
- Hokey Pokey
- You can adapt it to have children put in certain number of body parts
- Sensory Ball toss
- 100 Person Line Estimating
- Estimate the length a 100 person line would be
- Line children up to measure
- 100th day Hide and Seek
- Hide numbers in a large space
- Obstacle Course
- Body Part Relay Race
- Use different parts of the body to carry a beanbag to the next person
- Sing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
- Body Numbers
- Create numbers by changing their body shape
- Body Word Building
- Spell words by making them with your body
Self-Regulation Sensory Activities for Kids
- Fun Breathing
- Puffer FishBreaths
- Square breaths
- Monster Face
- Squeeze the muscles in your face tight
- Count backwards from 100
- Make Anxiety Sqeeze Ball
- Put 100 beans in a balloon and tie it shut
- Make a Calm Down Jar
- Shake for 100 seconds and watch it for 100 seconds
- Swing on the hammock of the Oceanview Wooden Swing Set
- 100 Day Flower Bouquet
- Pass out flowers to children and have them take deep breathes in through their nose to smell, and let it out through their mouths
- Blow up balloons
- Scent Guess
- Use different items for students to sniff and guess the smell
You might have noticed that many of these activities can be done on a simple playground structure. Why wait until you are at school or at the playground to incorporate some of these activities? We are super excited about our new Oceanview Wooden Swing Set, because now we can make sure that we play outside every single day. We know the importance of play in young children and we try to incorporate that in as much as we do on a daily basis.
We were fortunate enough to have a wonderful installation team set up our Oceanview Wooden Swing Set. We just needed to pick the perfect spot in our yardand they did all the work. It was simply magical. They worked so hard and made sure the play set was perfect for all my kids.
If you have been thinking about adding a play set to your backyard, I would highly recommend the Oceanview Wooden Swing Set! It has all the bells and whistles, solid construction, and hours of sensory activities for your children! Some of my favorite features include:
- An open, airy clubhouse, monkey bars, swings, a 10’ wave slide, staircase, and even a hammock!
- Play time fun in the large upper clubhouse with wide windows and rear curtains
- Challenging monkey bars that lead on to the 5’ high upper deck
- Swinging times with two belt swings and acrobat bar
- Fun 10’ wave slide
- Beautiful staircase
- Comfy hammock under the fort
- Ladder and safety handles
- Upper deck dimensions: 76″ x 52″
- Upper deck height: 5′
- Lumber that is pre-cut, pre-drilled, pre-stained
If you would like to get your own Oceanview Wooden Swing Set you can find one at Sam’s Club or online!
Do you have a favorite resource for sensory activities? I can’t wait to find out! Comment in the section below or let me know on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest what you can’t wait to try!
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Oceanview Wooden Swing Set from Leisure Time Products™.
