Category Archives: Activities

More than one way to carve a Pumpkin

Activities

It is October and it’s time to harvest not only pumpkins and apples, but also the sensory experience this time brings. Have you ever broken down all the sensory input that the simple task of carving a pumpkin can provide? If you have the opportunity to go to a farm to pick your own pumpkin, take advantage of it. The experiences that you and your child will share stay with you forever.

Read on for all the ways a trip to pick your own pumpkin is sensational fun.

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Sensory Experiences

Senses

At the Farm

At Home

Visual
  • The leaves changing colors
  • The bright orange pumpkins
  • The roots and vines through the pumpkin patch
  • The blue sky
  • The animals at the farm
  • Browsing through different designs for the pumpkin
  • Tracing the design unto the pumpkin

Tactile
  • Feeling the breeze
  • Touching the Leaves
  • Feeling the grooves on the pumpkin
  • Scooping the pulp
  • Sifting through the pulp to separate the seeds

Auditory (hearing)
  • Shoes crunching the dead leaves and dry ground
  • Tractor on the farm
  • Hearing other people talking
  • The animals making noises
  • Singing Songs as you prepare to carve the pumpkin
  • Listening as the carving tool cuts through the pumpkin

Olfactory (smell)
  • The smell of the hay
  • The smell of the grass
  • Baked goods at the farm
  • The smell of the pumpkin pulp
  • The smell as you bake the pumpkin seeds or other desserts

Proprioceptive
  • Carrying the pumpkin from the patch to the car
  • Climbing up the ladder to go on the hay ride
  • Carry the pumpkin to the table
  • The feeling of carving the pumpkin (this must be done with adult supervision and using the appropriate tools)

Vestibular
  • Going on a hay ride
  • Sitting on a rocking chair while enjoying some of the baked goods

Gustatory (Taste)
  • If the farm has a bakery, get some of their delicious baked goods
  • Bake pumpkin seeds (see recipe below)

Pumpkin Seeds Recipe

  1. Separate the seeds from the pulp.
  2. Rinse and dry the seeds (sometimes they have to dry overnight).
  3. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
  4. Spread pumpkin seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle to taste with the seasonings of your choice. For sweet seeds use Cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar, for salty seeds use garlic powder, salt and pepper.
  5. Toast for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until dry and toasted. Larger seeds may take longer.

For more seasonal activities get Therapro’s Hats Off and On to Scissors Skills– you get to practice scissor skills and make hats for every season. Below are pictures of a Pumpkin Time Hat.

Also see our seasonal writing readiness workbooks and our Pre-writing curriculum enrichment series!

Please share other ideas and ways you can have sensational fun this fall.
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Therapro’s Free Activity of the Month: Straws Galore

Activities, Fine Motor

If you are looking for cost effective and easy to make fine motor activities, you need Therapro’s Second Hand Therapies cards. This set of 40 activity cards features stunning images of activities made from recyclable materials. What we love most about the activity cards is that they are easy to use and show you the difficulty level, the hand function used, and the materials needed. They are perfect for home use or for a classroom group activity.

Below is a sample of Straws Galore, one of the activities in Second Hand Therapies.

When using straws to make jewelry, not only are the kids using fine motor skills, they are practicing their scissor skills, eye hand coordination, color recognition, size differentiation, counting, learning patterns, and so many more skills.

Materials:

  • Straws of varying sizes and colors
  • Yarn, pipe cleaners, or embroidery thread
  • Tweezers
  • Medium-Sized Bowls

Directions:

  1. Hold the straw with your non-dominant hand. Use your dominant hand to cut the straws into small to medium sized pieces. Collect the pieces in a bowl.
  2. String the straw pieces onto yarn or pipe cleaner as though they were beads.
  3. Practice removing the straw pieces using tweezers for pinch strength development.

Variations:

  1. Instead of jewelry make letters with the straws. Have the child spell his name.
  2. Get creative and make animal silhouettes.
  3. Give the child a challenge. What can you make with 3 pieces of straw?
  4. Sprinkle glitter on the bowl containing the straw pieces for an added color fest!
  5. Use different scissors, such as scrapbooking scissors for different edging on your straw pieces.

What did you make with your straws?
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Therapro’s Free Activity of the Month: Make Your Own Goop!

Activities

Therapro’s Sensational Fun activity cards feature over 100 creative and fun sensory activities. The cards were created to encourage safe sensory experiences.

If you are a parent, teacher or therapist who needs sensory activities for the whole family, these cards are perfect for you. Below is a sample of one of the Activities included in Sensational Fun.

Making Goop is a tactile, proprioceptive and kinesthetic feast!

The Goop is solid when squeezed, yet turns to liquid when the hand is opened. The goop is quick and easy to make and provides fascination and tactile stimulation for curious hands.

Materials:

  • 1 cup of cornstarch
  • 1 cup of water
  • Medium plastic bowl
  • Spoons

Directions:

  1. Place one cup of cornstarch into a bowl.
  2. Pour water into the bowl slowly and stir continuously until the cornstarch is fully saturated (you may need more or less water, so add a little water at a time).
  3. The mixture is ready to use once the cornstarch resembles a thick paste and becomes difficult to stir.

CAUTION: DO NOT EAT THE GOOP MIXTURE.

Activities:

  1. Give your child a scoop of goop. When he squeezes the goop tight and then opens his hands, it drips out in unexpected ways! Does it feel cool or warm?
  2. Play charades by making shapes or animals with the goop. Can your child guess what you’ve made? Give him hints: draw details in the goop!
  3. Fill a larger container with goop. Submerge your child’s feet in the goop. What does it feel like? Does it make a sound?
  4. Place the goop on a cookie sheet, have your child spell his name in the goop.
  5. Add food coloring and make colorful goop! Mix food coloring and guess what colors you can make.
  6. Make it an olfactory sensation as well- Add a sprinkle of your favorite Fruit Flavored drink mix (Kool-Aid®)

Have fun! Below are some pictures of our Cherry Scented Goop.

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