Sensory Play for a Rainy Day

The Occupational Therapy Department at Franciscan Children’s promotes participation in activities or occupations that are meaningful to our patients. If you have questions, or to refer your child for an Occupational Therapy session, please call (617) 254-3800, ext. 4820 or email info@franciscanchildrens.org.

The Occupational Therapy program at Franciscan Children’s helps children to participate in their everyday routine to their fullest ability. For children, play is a major component of this routine.

Our Occupational Therapists are uniquely qualified to address children’s sensory processing, functional upper extremity, visual motor, fine motor, visual perceptual, and cognitive skills as they relate to participation in play. We asked them to share some of their favorite and creative play ideas that provide sensory input when outdoor activities are not available.

Check out the list below for their suggestions!

• Finger painting/printing in sensory materials – Have kids use their fingers to draw/print in materials such as sand, pudding, rice, shaving cream, foam soap, or flour. Using these materials to draw provides increased tactile input. Also, using these sensory materials to print letters provides increased feedback for kids struggling to recall and print letters accurately!
• Create sensory bins – Fill plastic bins with macaroni, beans, or sand and bury various sized objects (e.g., marbles, rocks, toy cars, etc.) for kids to find. This activity provides an opportunity for tactile exploration and also works on grasping different sized items!
• Create an obstacle course or “Household Olympics” game – Use materials around the house to create activities that give kids the up and down, side to side, forward and back, and spinning movements (also known as vestibular input) they are craving while cooped up inside. Examples include:

– Jumping onto cushions/pillows
– Hopping over something small
– Using a Sit and Spin
– Jumping up to reach a target positioned on the wall
– Running through tunnels of cushions/pillows
– Wheel-barrow or crab walking from one room to the next
– Relay races where kids can run bean bags or other household items from one bucket to another

Use a timer and/or create a scoreboard to make these activities more challenging and exciting for kids!

• Build an indoor fort – Use pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, night lights, etc. to create a cozy space where kids can hang out! Having kids help to construct the fort involves pushing, pulling, climbing and crawling, all of which provide kids with increased input to their joints, which can help keep them stay calm and attend better.
• Have the kids help make Oobleck, Play-doh, or clay – These recipes are easy to make using basic baking materials, and manipulating them works on hand strengthening and provides increased tactile input to the hands. Pulling small items such as beads out of these materials helps to facilitate a pincher grasp. Get creative and have kids mold things out of the Play-doh or clay!
• Baking – Have children help with baking cookies! Stirring, kneading, and rolling out the dough provides kids with increased input to upper extremity joints. This input can be calming and also helps to build upper body strength.
• Have the kids help you with heavy work activities around the house – Believe it or not, many household activities can provide kids with increased input to their joints and help keep them calm! Activities can include laundry (pushing/pulling baskets of clothes, loading and unloading the washer and dryer), vacuuming (have kids help push the vacuum around the house), and carrying non-breakable groceries.

These ideas are a great way to keep kids busy indoors on a rainy day indoors, and work on important sensory skills while having fun!