My students need a variety of activities and items for gross motor sensory play. Having these items readily available in our classroom each day will improve student gross motor skills!
My class is a group of 7 students with Autism, in Kindergarten and 1st grade, with many of them having different sensory needs. They arrive each day full of energy and smiles, ready to explore and learn!
My students come to school each day full of energy and ready to move!
We do a daily morning walk around campus to help release some of the energy, but sometimes my students need something more active. Just yesterday, our Occupational Therapist set up an obstacle course for our group OT session. The students LOVED it. They followed all of her directions and did very well staying to the order of obstacles she had set up. They were rockstars! I immediately thought how amazing it would be to do a gross motor activity like this in the mornings in place of our walk.
My Project
I have a very active group of Kindergarten and 1st graders. As our Occupational Therapist is only at our campus a couple days each week, it is very difficult to borrow these type of items from her when she is at her different sites. Having these items in our classroom will allow students to continue working on their gross motor skills and give them a variety of activities to do so. Using these items in obstacle courses also provides opportunity for students work on following directions, practicing waiting, and encouraging exploration all while having fun! These items will also make for fun and active "indoor recess" as the rainy season approaches!
The number puzzle/hopscotch mat will allow my students to practicing numbers and counting while incorporating gross motor movements such as jumping on one or two feet.
The sensory mats will provide a sensory experience while following along in the order of an obstacle course. The stepping stones will challenge my students balance and improve overall muscle strength. The scooter board is for students to push themselves in a prone position to improve their posture and core strength as well as visual perception and focus. The yoga cards will be a calm down strategy after the obstacle course for students. Yoga will help my students develop body awareness while bringing them to a calm state to begin our next task.
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