Sensory activities are a wonderful way for your child to explore and learn. As summer draws to a close, the warm weather is going to continue for awhile. Just because school is around the corner doesn’t mean the last few weeks before the fall weather comes in can’t be spent having fun. It’s the best time for some outdoor sensory activities — the mess stays outside instead of inside!

Summer months are always good to spend time outside with your children, the warm weather and playful atmosphere definitely add to the experience. So, if perhaps you want to engage in some sensory based activities, whether it be because your child has sensory processing issues or you would just like to try them out, here are some fun sensory activities.

Rice – Sensory Therapists love rice, it’s a fantastic tool to engage in a little bit of tactile fun. This is usually for younger children since it tends not to hold the attention of older kids for too long, but should be fun for you and your toddler. Just find a large container, fill it with dry rice, and add a few toys and cups to the mix. Moving your hands in the rice as though it were liquid creates a fun, strange, kinesthetic sensation that’s great for younger kids to experience in order to increase fine motor skills. Try and add some color to the rice too for even more fun.

Finger-painting – While a bit messy (or depending on the child, a LOT messy), finger painting is recommended because of ‘tactile kinesthetics’ which is a fancy way of saying that the sensation of paint combined with the motion of painting create a nice experience for the children participating. Combined with the ‘all sensory’ experience of being outside is very helpful. Just clean thoroughly!”

Sandbox – This one works for a lot of the same reasons that the rice does. However, if your child is overly responsive sand might not be a great pick. Being at the beach is similarly effective, mixing sand and water to be able to mold different shapes, running your hands through it, different toys, tons of things you can do!

Shaving Cream – Shaving Cream is another messy one, but it’s easy to clean up and lots of fun. Find a smooth surface and just put a decent sized dollop on it for instant fun! The texture of it is really what does the trick here, and rubbing it around and rubbing your hands together in it helps more with being tactile. Just be careful to watch that it’s not ingested.


Sensory Bins– This is always fun, but summer has a way of making everything better. Usually these bins just contain things you’d find in a ‘sensory corner’, things with various textures, interesting toys, maybe some form of liquid, water beads, anything to engage that part of the brain, really. Just be careful not to put in too much, because oversensitive or overactive kids might be overwhelmed. But if that’s not the case, be creative!

For further reading:
https://yogaloreandmore.com/gak-recipe/

https://yogaloreandmore.com/sensory-activity-shaving-cream/

If you are concerned about your child regarding sensory processing, please consult your pediatrician or an occupational therapist who specializes in sensory therapy and children.