Occupational Therapy in Charlotte

With the return to school and Pre-K, there are bound to be new germs entering your child's world. Keeping toys cleaned regularly is one way to keep down the transfer of illness. A fun way to get your kids involved in the clean up and provide a tactile activity is to set up a "Shaving Cream Car Wash". Tactile activities are great for kids with sensory processing disorders, autism, and ADD.

All you need are small toy cars, popsicle sticks, plastic construction blocks, and small balls; shaving cream, a tray, and a way to clean up and dry off. (Other plastic toys can "take a bath" too.) Kids can use their cars to drive through a carwash that they build out of the blocks. Cars can be used to makes lines, patterns, or letters. You can also make a maze with the blocks for cars to drive through an obstacle course. After you are finished with the drive through, make sure to rinse the cars, dry them, and then put them away!

To increase the tactile experience, increase the amount of shaving cream to provide more contact with the skin, and include extra textures in the mix. To decrease the challenge, use less shaving cream, and provide paper towels within sight to ease anxiety about quick clean up when the shaving cream becomes too much.

This activity was shared from: The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun: Activities for Kids with Sensory Processing Disorder by Carol Kranowitz, M.A. For more great activities in all areas of sensory processing, get your hands on a copy of the book!