Ofsted has warned that some early years education providers have “undue concerns” about letting children play outside, climb and run around. These health and safety fears are hindering children’s ability to build up muscular strength and dexterity. Without taking risks, children’s “natural inquisitiveness” is stifled, Ofsted’s annual report said, “In the early years, a crucial part of preparing children for school is developing their muscular…
The Christmas season is a fantastic opportunity to get our little ones involved in some Christmas craft activities at home. For those of us short on time or ideas the shops are full of templates and packs that you can put together at home… here are some lovely craft ideas that have been sent to us by some of our families this year, paper chains,…
1) Gift an experience – so much stuff can feel overwhelming, think about how you could gift an experience, a day out, vouchers to pay for entry to play spaces, trampoline parks and climbing gyms. Swimming, dance or music lessons. What about gym membership for older kids? 2) Hygge stocking stuffers Ideas from Nurture and thrive – have a look at these fantastic ideas 3)…
Thanks so much for this beautiful, simple idea sent to us by one of our families. Have you tried making and using a glitter-filled calm down bottle timer to help your little ones? It’s easy to put a Christmas theme into them by using festive colours and adding seasonal themed sequins or beads. With so many versions on the internet, here is a blog post…
Christmas time in school can be difficult for children with additional needs, changes in routine and new experiences can be hard to manage. Here is some advice from Its a Tink Thing with ideas for helping autistic children to be included in the Christmas play. How to help an autistic child to manage the school Christmas play
Back to school is just around the corner. School can be tricky for young people with sensory integration challenges, and especially those first few weeks in a new schools, classrooms, with new teachers and sometimes new classmates. New uniforms and shoes can be challenging also. Practising these exercises at home over the next 2 weeks may help young people have some ways to reduce anxiety…
Submitted by guest blogger, Ruth OT It’s the summer holidays for most schools in England, including my kid’s schools. I’m well known for my love of messy/ tactile play, and summer holidays and messy play are made to go together. First of all, can I just say that messy play is not just about the sensory input, it’s not a “sensory session”, it’s certainly not…
“Early trauma is stored in the body via the senses, this is why therapy through the senses is effective.” Smith, K BPD and SI 2004 Occupational Therapists are ideally placed to work through play and via the senses to promote the development of healthy neurological pathways and structures; impacting the development of sensory motor skills and abilities that underpin our ability to move, learn, play,…
Submitted by guest blogger, Ruth OT. In my time as a special needs parent, I’ve had a variety of responses to telling people my child has special needs. Some responses have been great, others have left me crying all the way home. Literally. Some have opened up conversations, others have shut them down. I know that those people who have not been so helpful have…
This is a great article about a study Lucy Miller has conducted in a playground. It also talks about Lucy’s motivation to study OT because of personal experiences when she lost her vision, including a summer mentorship to learn from Jean Ayres You can read more here: landscapearchitecturemagazine.org/tag/sensory-integration-disorder/
