Table Time Activity: Crack & Clap Game
Skill Check
This activity targets rhythm, auditory processing, number ID, and sequencing events.
Growing My Skills
Model with your child to clap to the coordinating number they see. To add an additional musical element, use a maraca, cymbal or drum.
Floortime Play Activity: Five Little Monkeys Finger Play
Skill Check
The goal of this activity is to spend time together in a playful, imaginative way. There should be limited structure and a lot of pretending.
Growing My Skills
First prepare materials (cut out monkeys) if time permits and lay on “paper bed.” If these materials are not available, use stuffed animals on the child’s bed.
Play Jumping Monkeys song using monkeys as props to act out the song. Have each monkey “jump” off the bed; gesture calling the doctor/bumping head.
Relaxation Time Activity: I AM Meditation
Skill Check
The goal of this week is to utilize calming music as an everyday relaxation tool.
Growing My Skills
Looking at a kid-centric visual interpretation of a classical music rendition will expose your child to a different type of music.
Comment on “what the music sounds like” or ask your child to label one aspect they saw within this video.
Creative Time Activity: Drinking Straw Pan Flute
Skill Check
The goal of this activity is for your child to use multi-step direction following and fine motor skills to assemble their flute. Once assembled they can use diaphoretic breathing to play their flute.
Growing My Skills
Arrange materials.
Cut all of the straws to a different length. The different lengths can vary but make sure they descend from large to small.
Layout a strip of tape that is about two times the combined width of all of the straws.
Set out all of the straws from the longest to shortest starting from one end of the tape strip.
Wrap the other half of the tape over all of the straws, making sure that it completely covers each straw.
Play your flute!
Movement Time Activity: Freeze Dance
Skill Check
The goal of this week is to work on imitating whole-body movements and listening carefully to dance instructions.
Growing My Skills
Play Freeze Dance at a faster speed (found in settings & playback speed).
Make your own Freeze Dance – have your kiddos follow your movements and listen to when you say ‘freeze’. You can increase the challenge of the dance moves by standing on one leg, moving both legs and arms at the same time, doing multi-step dance moves, etc.
Instead of Freeze Dance, try Simons Says Dance Party! Now your kiddo has to listen to you saying ‘Simon Says’ before doing any moves.
Mealtime Activity: Explore and Share with Food!
Skill Check
The goal of this activity is to increase your child’s tolerance, exploration, and consumption of non-preferred foods.
Growing My Skills
Watch Groovy Joe Ice Cream and Dinosaurs with your child.
Spend time commenting on how Groovy Joe shared ice cream with each of dinosaur’s friends, and how it can be fun to share and eat with friends.
Present your child with a meal, one food at a time, including both preferred and non-preferred foods
With each food presented, allow for your child to explore via touch, smell, and/or taste.
You can narrate the child’s exploration by describing the food’s color, texture, temperature, size, shape, etc.
Model each stage of exploration, including touching, smelling, licking, and ultimately biting.
If your child does not progress up to consumption for a food, that is OK! Tell your child that he can share the (remaining, non-touched) food with you, a nearby stuffed animal, or an “all done” bowl.
This activity allows for feeding targets including increased tolerance, exploration, and ultimately consumption of non-preferred foods.
Language Time Activity: Simon Says
Skill Check
The goal of this week is to provide an opportunity for your child to increase receptive language skills, including following directions, understanding of prepositions, and expressive language skills such as expanded utterances, utilization of prepositions, and descriptive concepts.
Growing My Skills
Watch “Head Shoulders Knees and Toes” with your child. Practice touching each body part along with the video.
Depending on your child’s language understanding, you may need to provide light touch cues or visual modeling to increase successful participation.
After, Play Simon Says with your child, taking turns being Simon and the follower.
You can utilize the same body parts as part of your directions (e.g., “Simon Says, Touch your Head!”), or expand to other single-step directions around your house (e.g., “Simon Says, sit on the couch!”).
Expand beyond this to action words (e.g., “Simon Says, kick the ball!” “Simon Says, jump up and down!”).
Take it a step further if your child is ready and include prepositions or 2-step directions (e.g., “Simon Says, put the doll under the table” “Simon Says, jump up and down, then give me a high five”).
Take turns being “Simon” and allow your child to target the utilization of these concepts expressively.
This activity allows for language targets including following directions, understanding of prepositions, increasing and expanding verbal output to contain higher-level syntactic structure, and descriptive concepts.
