SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

OUTDOOR SENSORY ACTIVITIES FROM JUDSON CENTER

Summer break may be coming to an end, but there is still so much time left to enjoy the great outdoors! No matter where you live, the outdoors offers the perfect environment to grow, explore, and meet important sensory needs. While many sensory-friendly activities are geared toward children with autism, sensory play is important for children of all ages and abilities.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SENSORY PLAY

Our senses give us important information thousands of times each day. Children use their senses to learn about and explore the world around them. Providing kids with sensory play opportunities every day offers many great benefits. For a child with autism, https:// www.judsoncenter.org/autism/, sensory processing disorder (SPD), or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), meeting sensory needs supports cognitive development, improves emotional regulation, and increases brain function. Simply put, engaging the senses through play helps children learn and grow.

THE BENEFITS OF PLAYING OUTSIDE

According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, playing outdoors is a crucial activity for the growth of healthy children. Regular outdoor play can:

• Improve physical health

• Aid in better sleep

• Build an ability to assess risk and make safe choices

• Encourage a love for science and nature

• Develop new social skills

• Lead to better learning outcomes

MAKE THE MOST OF PLAYTIME

Outdoor sensory activities are not just beneficial, they are also a lot of fun! They build a foundation for a healthier, happier child with new skills to help them thrive. Here are some exciting ideas for you, your children, and your whole family to reap all the benefits of sensory play outside this summer!

1. In the Backyard or at Home

• Plant a garden

Plant wildflowers or an edible garden and bring your children along on a journey of new tastes and smells. Not only is the experience educational, but digging in the dirt, watering flowers, and taste-testing yummy fruits and vegetables make for great sensory activities.

• Roll down a hill

Get over those pesky grass stains because rolling down a hill is a fun sensory activity. The spinning and rotating result in Vestibular Input, a type of movement that causes

the inner ear’s fluid to flow and hit important sensory receptors.

• Get creative with water painting

For a calmer water activity, let the creativity flow with water paints. Fill a container with water and grab paintbrushes of various sizes. Let your child “paint” the driveway, sidewalk, or porch. The warm sun will dry their canvases so they can repeat the fun!

2. At the Playground or Park

• Find a sensory playground

Many playgrounds are built to meet children’s important sensory needs. Look for special playgrounds and structures that allow for a sensory filled visit to swing, jump, balance, music, and nature exploration. Michigan offers numerous options, including Scarlett’s Playground in Commerce, Millennium Park in Grand Rapids and Dad Butler Playfield in Detroit, to name a few.

• Hang from the monkey bars

Most playgrounds and parks have monkey bars or something similar for children to play on. The hard grip and swinging required to traverse the bars are important activities that help improve hand strength and coordination.

• Walk along the beams

Utilize balance beams or the border around a sandbox or play area to help your child practice balance and coordination. If your child is older, you could make the activity more fun by pretending the ground is lava.

3. On a Walk or Hike

• Do a sensory scavenger hunt

Explore the outdoors using all five senses! Whether you’re out on a neighborhood walk or hiking in the woods, kids will have a blast searching for items on their scavenger hunt list. You can create your own or use ours on page 17 or download at: https://www.judsoncenter.org/wp-content/ uploads/Outdoor-Sensory-Scavenger-Hunt-1.pdf

• Collect items for a tactile outdoor sensory activities bin

Help your children build an inventory of sensory items to store and explore when they are outside. While on a walk or a hike, gather flowers, sticks, leaves, acorns, rocks, and other items your kids can use to play with at home.

• Do an animal parade

While on a walk or hike, pretend you’re leading your own parade. Have your kids walk and move like the animal you name. The differences between animal actions like breezy monkey swings, big elephant stomps, and a playful penguin waddle all result in helpful sensory movements.

3. At the Beach or Lake

• Walk in the Sand

Walk with your child at the beach and sink your toes into the sand. Talk about what it feels like to do this on dry sand and wet sand.

• Play buried treasure

Bury sand toys or rocks in the sand and pretend they’re buried treasure. This is a great way to engage your child in sensory play that meets their Proprioceptive Input needs. Proprioception is sensory input children sense in their joints and muscles that tell them where their body is and how it moves. Beach activities like digging in and carrying sand are great examples of this.

• Play beach mummy

Bury your child’s legs and / or torso under the sand. The pressure and weight of the sand offer a unique proprioceptive input to help your child learn and develop. For added fun, see if they can be a beach mummy and rise up by pushing through the sand.

There are endless opportunities for sensory play in the great outdoors! We hope these outdoor sensory activities help make your summer one to remember as you laugh, learn, and grow together with your child.