Sense-ational winter!

Stuck at home with the children in winter?  Paediatric Occupational Therapist Sandra Wagner offer great tips on how to find a fun sensory winter experience for children without stepping a foot outside.

We all know that children learn through their senses and every season offers diverse and rich sensory experiences. Spring has the smell of freshly cut grass, soft hairy buds are growing on tree branches, and a plethora of colours is emerging, leaving our eyes squinting among this bright and shiny inundation of light. After months of curling up inside, children are delighted to remove a few layers of clothing and enthusiastically jump in puddles. Summer rolls in with its sensory rich experiences:  walking barefoot on grass and pebbles, swimming and endless sand play rejoice our children. The colours are luxurious and the fruits are juicy and rich in flavour. Autumn has its graduated palette of deep yellows, shiny golds and fiery reds. We are donning layers and soft, sometimes itchy fabrics, curling up in blankets. The stoves are starting to burn logs to keep houses warm and the smells of pine and cinnamon are everywhere. Outdoor play in milder temperatures encourages children to roll, throw and bury themselves in piles of leaves.  What about winter?  Well, sometimes, winter has snow.

These days, Hamburg has very little snow.  However, some might remember the winter of 2012 when the Alster froze, and walking on the icy lake was allowed. It was therefore a delight, this year, to see a shiny white blanket on the ground - such a welcoming influx of bright light:  in the parks and canals and on the many bikes parked, waiting for warmer days. Of course, aside from the snow, the other winter sensory experience that comes to mind is a runny nose, but I would be frowned upon by fellow occupational therapy professionals if I counted that one.  So, if you are like me and prefer to enjoy the indoors, here are a few other sensory activities that can be enjoyed from the warmth of the house.

Touch

•      If the snow doesn't come to you, create it: to make snow dough, mix 2 cups cornflour (corn starch in US – look for Maizena) with 1/3 to 1/2 of a cup vegetable oil and 3-4 tablespoons silver glitter:  This dough tends to be messy, so better be ready with a scrap tablecloth or tray. Shape the dough into animals or objects. Create a miniature snowman.

•       Order instant snow powder (available online) and create a world of winter with animals, pinecones, acorn shells or small branches of pine to add that delicious smell of winter and hit the sense of smell at the same time.  Instead of instant snow, you can fill a shoe box with cotton balls and rice.

Visual

•      Make a lava lamp - fill a bottle with about two thirds to three-fourths of water, put a couple drops of food colouring in. Try to keep the colour on the lighter side initially to see the bubble effect more clearly. On top of that, fill the rest of the bottle with oil, leaving a good half an inch at the top of the glass. For the final touch and the effect of a lava lamp, pour or spoon salt in the bottle (a couple of generous tablespoons are needed). Slowly, as the bubbles reach the surface, the true effect of the lava lamp appears. 

•      Play with a torch/flashlight in the dark.  Create a quiet environment either by using a sheet around a few couch pillows or chairs.  If you have spare moving cardboard boxes, use a large one to build a “house”. Make shadows or form shapes and letters for guessing games.

•       For the older kids, create a snow globe:  use a large jar and fill it with salt (rather than sugar for obvious reasons:  children will just love dipping their hands in the sugar jar and licking them).  Place a few decorations on top of the salt:  use play-dough and shape a snowman, add a few branches of pine or even create something out of Lego.  Not to be shaken as it'll be open at the top and the items won't be glued like in commercial snow globes!

•       For the younger kids, try this version:  make a round hole into a paper plate and cover it with one layer of freezer bag (you can cut it out prior) or a transparent sheet.  Prepare another paper plate for the backing which the child can decorate with a winter scene or a snowman. Place a few bits of loose cotton or cotton balls and glitter and glue or staple the two plates together with the plate with the transparent sheet on top but opposite each other (see photos).  This one, you can shake a little, but make sure you use strong tape to seal both plates together!  I learned the hard way...

Auditory

•       Play a game of “Simon Says” with a winter Olympic theme:  ice skating, hockey, bobsledding, curling, skiing.

•       Fill a handful of envelopes or small cardboard boxes with coins, beads, paper clips, rice and seal them.  See if the child can shake one and guess what is inside. 

Movement and body awareness

•       Create an indoor obstacle course:  stack pillows, crawl under chairs, walk on hand and feet while using one hand to knock water bottles down (make sure they are tightly sealed!), climb over the cushions from the couch that have been placed on the floor.  For a bonus sensory trick, squeeze long socks between 2 chairs to create a curtain while the child crawls under the chairs.  Have the child wear flippers and pretend to be a penguin while walking on a taped line on the floor creating a path.

•       Sumo wrestling competition:  fill an oversize T-shirt with pillows or large pieces of foam.  Foam might not be something you readily have in your household, but I happen to have gotten rid of some old baby equipment and kept the filling. My husband continues to be surprised by the things I keep for “sensory reasons”! Have the kids, or yourself, attempt to have a sumo competition. You'll feel like you've just shovelled snow for an hour.

Games and Motor planning

•       Make a snowball race game:  place cotton balls at the top of a slanting piece of board or cardboard and let the cotton balls roll down the “ramp”.  Give the child a plastic container and see how many he/she can catch.

•       Find a few cardboard plates and write target points on them:  10 points, 20 points, etc.  Make legs for the targets by attaching a couple of paper clips behind them.  You'll need to unfold the paper clips a little so that they have a right angle and can stabilise the plate.  The plates should be fairly easy to knock down.  Then find or create beanbags (it's winter after all with plenty of time spent inside the house) by sewing a piece of cloth into a square and filling a small freezer bag with rice that you then insert into the square cloth. Alternatively, you can buy them or roll two socks together to form a ball. A pyramid of plastic cups will also work instead of plates and paper clips.

•       Have a snowball fight with socks assembled into a ball two by two. You can also use pompoms if your child has made a stack of those and you just can't knit fashionable winter hats fast enough.

•       Use a fly swatter to play tennis with balloons.  Make sure you hide those precious vases and photo frames out of the way...  you might also have a room that is more sensory proof.  A safer option is to do the same with a game of hockey.  You can use a shoe box as a target. This game provides lots of entertainment for my kids.  

For the creative mind, activities are endless but having a list of them sometimes makes it easy to start the day. Creative children will also love helping to make anything to do with crafts, especially if they can play with them after.    

If all else fails, cozy up inside and wear lots of layers or use heavy blankets to snuggle up. In paediatric occupational therapy, we call this the “hot dog” game!

Occupational Therapy helps people achieve independence in their daily activities or occupations. In the field of paediatrics, the therapist uses his or her expertise to help children gain the skills to participate actively in the occupations that are meaningful to them: play, learning, motor skills, self-care and socialisation. From birth, children's neurological systems develop and process sensory information. Sensory activities are essential as they provide a child with the foundational skills for more mature skills.