SENSORY SMART SNACKING

Here are some sensory smart snacks for school-aged children:

• Crunchy and chewy foods help make kids more alert by engaging their senses.
• Sipping or sucking can help organize and calm children.
• Fresh fruits and vegetables,whole grains and calcium rich foods make them healthy overall.

Sensory Smart Snack Ideas:

• Pears 
• Apples
• Cucumbers
• Carrot sticks
• Celery sticks
• Dried fruit (Cherries, apricots, mangos, and raisins)
• Orange wedges
• Rice cakes
• Granola bars
• Graham crackers
• Fruit leather
• Low fat yogurt with a straw
• Applesauce with a straw
• Cheese sticks and chunks of cheese
• Whole grain cereal and crackers
• Popcorn
• Chewy whole grain bagels
• 7 grain chips
• Bagel chips 

EXERCISES FOR SELF-REGULATION AND CALMING

 If your child struggles with emotions, anxiety, attention and focus, here are some calming activities to help support self-regulation:

• Frog Jumps-Hop, hop, back and forth like a frog
• Bear Walks-Hands and feet on the floor, hips high-walk left and right
• Gorilla Shuffle-Sink into a low sumo squat, with hands on the floor, shuffle around the room. 
• Starfish Jumps-Jumping jacks as fast as you can, with your arms and legs opened wide. 
• Cheetah Run-Run in place, as fast as you can. Just like the fastest animal in the Sahara
• Crab Walk-Sit and place your palms flat on the floor behind you near your hips. Lift up off the ground and crawl. 
• Elephant Stomps -March in place lifting your knees as high as you can and stomping the ground as hard as you can. 

STRATEGIES FOR SELF-REGULATION AND CALMING

• Deep Breaths 
• Blow into your hands
• Place your hands in your pockets
• Make a fist then relax hands
• Ask for a hug
• Count to 5 

PLAY TIME HEAVY WORK ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

Heavy work activities can be integrated into play time. Alot of games and activities that your child is already doing on a playground can be classified as heavy work.   Here are some play time suggestions:

• Climb a tree
• Push someone on a swing
• Play on a teeter totter or seesaw
• Build a fort
• Obstacle course
• Pillow fight
• Pull a wagon or sled filled with objects or with a person riding in it
• Play catch with bean bags
• Play catch with a large ball
• Climb up a slide
• Monkey bars
• Climb at the playground (ladders, rock walls, domes, etc.)
• Carry a pile of books
• Play statue (adult stands as straight as possible and child tries to push adult)
• Carry a bucket of water or sand
• Push a bobo doll or punching bag
• Play tug of war (you can use a rope, blanket, scarf)
• Resistance cycling (adult or child face each other, put feet together, and pedal)
• Push a door (adult puts resistance on a door while child tries to push the door closed)
• Hand pushing game (adult and child place hands together and push back and forth)
• Dig in the dirt, garden, or sandbox
• Do pushups
• Squish, knead, and play with play dough or silly putty or theraputty
• Ride a scooter board on your tummy and use hands to move