How to create your own sensory space at home
Sensory play and activities are vital for helping children with additional needs to develop. But savvy parents are signing up for mainstream baby sensory styled sessions, realising the benefits of sensory play with all babies from birth.
But, you don’t have to commit yourselves to the next ten weeks of pricey sensory sessions when you can wave your own chiffon and turn the lights out in the comfort of your own home. Here are some simple ways we can all jump on the sensory bandwagon without splashing out the cash.
Light and Dark
You can create a simple space by either purchasing your own dark den or using black out blinds to stop light coming into a room. Once you have done this, simple fun and cheap resources are easy to collect.
Sensory rooms in places such as schools tend to have top notch equipment. But things like Fibre Optic Light Harnesses can cost around £250 and cheap ones as low as £40.
A good quality bubble tube with a stable base is also expensive. But for home use, a decent piece of kit can start from as little as £20.
Here are some simple but effective lights from the novelty lighting range at www.findmeagift.com
Prismatic Colour Changing Baton This baton is a very sturdy item which has survived multiple drops by children. It is a good size with a rubber grip for younger ones to hold and easily operated with one button. Also works brilliantly if placed on a high shelf in a darkened room. This is brilliant for dark spaces or late nights with its exciting lights. You can have a disco light show or a calming sensory effect. A really impressive item for such a low price. £8.49
Colour Changing Duck You are never too old for a colour changing duck. This one, as well as being perfect for dark den play, will also float and flash in the water. This gives it two sensory options for the price of one. The. duck will cycle through mesmerising colours. Instead of buying just one duck, buy a collection of them to have a mesmerising family of waterfowl. It stands up well in physical play, but do watch the bottom bulb section which may come out. Not suitable for under threes. £5.49
Colour Changing Egg The egg works in a similar way to the duck though without the option to place in water. With this lovely lamp, you can lock the colour, or have it phase through a cycle of splendid hues. This is the perfect dark den light. It’s not fragile, can be held and looks amazing. £4.99
www.find-me-a-gift.co.uk/gift-ideas/novelty-lighting.html
Do remember that sensory lighting doesn’t all have to be about the dark. White sheets or white dens are also ideal for projector lights.
Cover floors with soft connectible tiles or crash mats to provide a safe soft surface for play. Arrange bendy mirrors and space blankets with cheap glow sticks to create some impressive lighting effects.
For more floor play, Squash Blox from Map Toys, are ideal. These soft square panels can be attached together with Velcro flaps to form imaginative creative structures.
It could be a soft pattern on the floor to explore, or a den, boat, box, rocket, car the possibilities go on and on. One of the best things about this toy is that it is a real space saver. You can create a large structure for active play, then take apart and store flat. The builder set contains 8 38cm Squashblox. Suitable from birth Available on Amazon from £33
Sound and Music
Sound and music are vital for auditory sensory experiences. Because we don’t want to be stuck inside listening to CD players this summer, General Manager at Jo Jingles Caroline Crabb, has provided us with some tips to get you started – creating music in the garden.
As summer has finally arrived, what better place to create your sensory space than in your own back garden? Your garden is a fantastic environment for educational development for your young child or toddler. There is so much to see, so much to hear and so much to smell, feel and experience (most of which we, as adults take very much for granted). But every new experience to a child is a sensory adventure and their sponge-like brains will soak up every ray of sunshine.
Add the sound of music to that sensory experience and you have an abundance of exciting activities awaiting you – and it hasn’t cost you a penny, you haven’t even left home! Music is hugely beneficial for your child’s emotional and social development, helping to focus speech, instill self-confidence and inspire and stimulate your child’s imagination. Recent research has also shown that music and singing can help children with learning difficulties and autism to benefit both physically and emotionally. Babies will imitate sounds and make melodic experimentation, and using simple rhythmic patterns and rhymes like those found in nursery rhymes helps them to develop their ability to make meaningful sounds and eventually words. It’s no accident that some of our most popular rhymes contain lots of repetition of those linguistic building blocks (“Baa Baa Black Sheep” and “Row Row Row your Boat” spring to mind). So when your child is asking you to sing the same song for the hundredth time, just remember how it is helping them with their speech! Try singing summery songs at home such as ‘the sun has got his hat on’ or ‘Dingle, dangle scarecrow’ and use simple actions which are vital for helping children with balance and coordination.
If you listen very carefully you garden is already making its own music, whether it’s the buzzing of the bees, the song of the birds, the sounds of a wind-charm, water feature, lawn mower or even the simple whistle of the wind – these are sounds that you can discuss with your child and attempt to simulate using your own voice (for singing) and your own imagination. For indoor or outdoor fun, you could even invest in some simple percussion instruments – rainmakers, bells, maracas, tambourines, castanets, etc. are all available from local toy shops. Or you could improvise – for example, bang yoghurt pots together, fill a shampoo bottle with dried pasta (and fasten securely) to make a shaker, use two saucepan lids to make a fantastic pair of cymbals! Or use garden items, such as buckets and plastic spades as a great drum.
Try to sing to your child regularly at home. It can be useful to incorporate music into your daily routine – many children love singing at bath time, or will be pacified with a favourite song at nappy change time. Don’t worry if you are not the world’s most competent singer. Your child loves your voice however you think you sound! Just be enthusiastic and they will love it. Songs can also help children learn about the world around them. There are lots of number songs, which help toddlers learn to count. And you can also explore concepts such as colours, animals, transport and even telling the time through song. Playing instruments, dancing, clapping, movement and simple action songs, can also help with your child’s motor skills and develop their general co-ordination.
And finally, as don’t forget the social and emotional benefits which music can provide. Music builds and strengthens bonds of trust and communication between adults and children and involving a child in musical sessions can help to encourage their self-expression and confidence. Put simply, music is fun for both adults and children alike.
The Toddler Instrument Pack contains a strong hand held bean bag, two wings with hoops to put fingers through and a pair of traditional wooden claves. The wings are a welcome addition and better than pom-poms. They are seamed to stop fraying and the light weight polyester fabric is great for billowing in the air. It’s also nice to see and hear the natural sound of the wooden claves included instead of plastic shakers. £10.50
The Baby Instrument Pack has a set of bells set into a plastic grip that is the perfect size for baby hands. Teething babies are also likely to enjoy chewing on the riged plastic handle. Also in this pack are two shakers, one a cuboid and one a cylinder. Again, these are the perfect size for baby hands and don’t have the predictable long rattle handle. £7.50
There is a variety of percussion instruements for youngsters available on the Jo Jingles Wensite. Of course we can’t forget the traditional rattle shaker and this fun enclosed tambourine ladybird.