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Sometimes your little one is a little overstimulated…off the wall…spirited…mischievous…whatever you want to call it, these are some of the calming sensory activities that I have found to be effective in calming little ones! Here are some of my favorite calming sensory activities that you may already have at home or are inexpensive to buy:

Water Beads: These are so much fun to squish and feel with your hands. My favorite things to do with water beads are:

1. Scoop and Transfer–Use a soup ladle, a cup, or a large spoon to scoop water beads from one container to another.
2. Sort by Color–Have your child place same colored beads in different cups.
3. Follow Directions– Put the beads in the cup. Hide the beads under the cup. Put two beads on the spoon. Pour the beads fast/slow.
4. Hide Items– Hide small objects in the beads (farm animals, little people, cars, etc.) You can label items, point to items, follow directions with items, answer questions about items.

Music: Kids LOVE music. Some of my favorite ways use music are:

1. Choice Making–Have your child make a choice about which song they want to listen to or sing. You can either ASK THEM (What song do you want to listen to?) GIVE THEM A CHOICE OF TWO (Do you want to listen to Wheels on the Bus or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?) or HAVE THEM POINT TO A PICTURE (A picture of a bus or a picture of a star).
2. Directing the Activity: Have your child say the words STOP or GO to direct you to start and stop the music. You can also direct them to start and stop the music.
3. Talking to Alexa: If you child is able to speak, your child can learn how to ask Alexa for certain songs (Alexa, play Wheels on the Bus).

Sensory Balloons: These are so much fun to make! I used a small funnel to fill them with:

1. Rice
2. Salt
3. Sand
4. Pom Poms
5. Hair Gel
6. Water
7. Corn Starch (My personal favorite!)

Glass Beads: I get these at the Dollar Store and use them to have my son place them on designs, tracing various shapes.

Stickers: Scented stickers, sparkly stickers, or character stickers…little ones love peeling them off and sticking them on paper! For those who cannot yet peel them off, you can peel them off and stick them to the side of the sheet they came on, to make it easier for little ones. Again this activity requires focus and that often has a calming effect on little ones. You can have your child put stickers:

1. Wherever they want on a blank paper.
2. On targeted spots, such as on a picture of a tree, or one on each finger of a hand.
3. On a line or letter. Have your child “trace” lines, similar to the above activity with glass beads.

I hope you find some of these activities helpful in providing calming activities for your little ones. What activities have you found to be calming?

Head over to my Teachers Pay Teachers store if you want to download the choice board above (it’s only $1.00!)