It is Day 4 of the Sensory Processing Play Blog Hop! Have you been enjoying all the new sensory activities to try with your children? Check out our Tactile sensory activity we shared on Monday!
Today's Sensory play activities are all about movements involving Proprioceptive Input; in short:
"Proprioceptive input is the performance of tasks that involves heavy resistance
and input to the muscles and joints,
and is essential in helping our bodies assimilate and
process both movement (vestibular) and touch (tactile) information."
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For another great explanation, check out All Things Proprioceptive from Lemon Lime Adventures-- she explains it so much more eloquently than I ever could!
We actually created the activity we are sharing for today's Proprioception Play Activity before I even knew that such movement had its own name! Since Proprioception input is all about "heavy work," which often includes the whole body, our Driveway Scooter Maze is perfect to share with you today!
It is an easy activity to put together that involves plenty of pushing, awareness, and movement of the whole body.
Just need:
- A large flat surface, such as a driveway
- Chalk
- Scooter board
Starting at one end of the driveway, draw out a large scale maze. I kept it simple and had my son follow one line, but that one line was full of waves, twist and turns, and spirals!
Simply have your child sit on the scooter and make his/her way through the driveway maze! You could even make this into a timed activity, by having your child try to beat his/her time it takes to get through the maze. So many other opportunities to learn, too-- but for today, we kept it simple!
I'd also like to mention that this activity could be used as a Vestibular Sensory Activity, too. The Vestibular System deals with balance. To switch this activity up, you could have your child crab -walk the maze, walk like a bear, hang his/her head sideways, etc. [Thanks to Heather at Golden Reflections Blog for sharing!]
*Please note that I am not an OT, nor do I have a child with specific sensory needs-- however, sensory exploration is a part of every child's life; it is how they explore and engage in the world.
Hope you have some time to check out some other Proprioception Sensory Play Activities today being shared as part of the 6 Days of Sensory Play Blog Hop