Summer is here! There are so many great activities to do when the weather is sunny and warm. Here are some fun activities for children with special needs that can help them improve their social, motor, and cognitive skills. If you have any fun activities you would like to share with other special-needs parents who read this blog, please feel free to leave a comment below.
- Dig for worms
This is a great exercise to improve a child with special needs’ fine motor skills. Re-home the worms next to that seedling you planted. The child can have fun getting their hands dirty while helping your garden.
2. Build a “fairy house.”
Create a miniature “fairy house” outside with your own yard’s twigs, pebbles, pine cones, bark, leaves, and any other materials you can find in your backyard. This is a fun and creative activity that your special-needs child will love.
- Hide and Go Seek
Play hide-and-go-seek outside in your yard or on a playground with your child to teach them how to remain calm while looking for you. This will definitely help in crowded real-world social settings in the future.
- Paint with ice cubes –
This is an easy and original activity recommended by occupational therapists for sensory integration. All you do is mix watercolor paint with water, fill an ice-cube tray (any shape), and freeze. After this, you can apply the cube paints on paper and even fabric.
- Make fruit kabobs –
An excellent summer sensory activity that is tasty, too! Dice your child’s favorite fruit (apples, bananas, strawberries, etc.), then help your child slide the pieces onto a skewer or popsicle stick to enjoy.
- Create fresh lemonade
There is nothing like fresh lemonade in the summer. Help your child cut 1 cup of lemon juice (5-6 lemons), measure ½ cup of sugar, and measure 4 cups of water. Place these in the blender and serve over ice. It will be worth the preparation
- Pick some flowers
This is a great pay-it-forward activity. Have you and your child pick any flowers you can find in the yard or at a park (dandelions and clovers are OK), and once they are all collected, have them give the “bouquet” to someone who isn’t expecting them. It will make that person’s day and encourage social interaction for the child.
- Go to a playground in a different neighborhood
This is an overlooked activity that can have a great benefit on the child. Instead of going to the same playground, take a longer walk or drive to one in a different part of town. They may have a play pieces that allow them to work on different motor skills, they can meet new children for exciting social interaction,s and explore new parts of their social setting
- Cloud watching
Lie in the grass and look at the clouds. Take turns looking for shapes, animals, pictures, or anything else you can find in the clouds as they move and sway. This is a great mental exercise for you and your child.
- Go under a sensory-friendly sprinkler
The streams from lawn sprinklers may be too strong for kids with sensory issues, but some special sprinklers are light—and yes, they wiggle all over the place. These easily attach to a water hose and provide hours of fun.
Originally posted on Achieve Beyond.
