Accessible Activities - Autumn Edition!
This month, The Nora Project teamed up with Jessie from WE Events Chicago and Rosemary from Hopscotch City to bring our readers some craft and activity ideas that are accessible for a wide range of ages and abilities. With the weather getting colder, we’re all looking for ways to keep kids entertained in activities that are fun, engaging, and maybe even a little educational!
As you’re planning these crafts and activities, keep these tips from Jessie at WE Events in mind:
Keep some supplies on hand to adapt tools or make activities more accessible. All of these not only make activities more adaptable for a range of fine motor levels, but also make it easier to provide hand-under-hand support. Just remember to always ask a child for permission before providing hand-under-hand support.
Vive Foam Tubing - Add this tubing to a variety of craft tools and instruments to provide a wider grip for greater control. You can use it for spoons, scoops, markers etc. to make it easier for kids to hold small items.
Dot markers - While it may be challenging to hold and manipulate a paint brush, dot markers are easier to grip and accessible for all fine motor levels.
Effortless Art Crayons or Palm-Grip Crayons - These types of crayons are useful for those with limited grip ability.
Stampers with large handles - Similarly, these large stampers are easy to grip, so they’re accessible for a range of fine motor levels.
Adapted Scissors - Loop scissors, table-top scissors, or dual training scissors can provide more independent cutting experiences for a child with motor challenges.
Sensory Bins - If these are a challenge, try the adaptations found in this article by Gabriella Volpe.
Give kids a choice! When kids choose a craft or activity that they’re interested in, they’ll enjoy it more.
Let kids test out the supplies before jumping into an activity. Don’t worry if they don’t finish the project. It’s all about the experience and not the final product. The goal is always to have fun!
Keep it simple! Choose crafts and activities that don’t require too many supplies. This can get overwhelming both for adults and for kids. Simple is almost always better.
Now, let’s jump into the activities! Rosemary at Hopscotch City shared lots of fall craft and activity ideas that you can adapt to meet your child’s needs. As always, feel free to reach out to Dr. Janie Avant, The Nora Project’s Inclusion Specialist, for assistance with adapting activities for your child at janie@thenoraproject.ngo
Materials:
Tacky Glue
Large roll of paper or poster board
Collect colorful leaves in your yard or a park and color sort them. Grab a large piece of paper and draw a simplistic rainbow to use as a guide. Add glue to each rainbow arch and start glueing down your leaves. It’s such a fun and easy nature-based craft time! This activity is also great for a wide age-range of children and abilities.
Taste-safe sensory bins are my new favorite thing since I have a one-year-old who wants to do everything her big sister is doing. I love that I don’t have to worry about her putting the “sand” in her mouth since it’s all completely edible and safe! Sensory bin play has so many benefits, and kids love it!
Ingredients:
4 Cups of Cheerios
1 Cup of brown sugar
1 Teaspoon of pumpkin spice seasoning
Orange & black sprinkles
Red food coloring
Small Starbucks cups with lids
How to:
Using a blender, pour in your Cheerios and brown sugar. Blend until you are close to the consistency you’d like. Add in your food coloring and blend some more. Keep adding a little bit of food coloring at a time until you reach your desired color. Pour into your sensory bin and mix in sprinkles and pumpkin spice seasoning.
Pro-tip: When placing your Starbucks order, just ask them for a few extra small cups with lids. In my experience they are usually very happy to do so!
Other substitutes for Cheerios for taste-safe sensory play:
Animal crackers
Graham crackers
Other cereals
Goldfish
Filler: Black Beans
Main Items: Gourds & Faux Leaves
Scooping Items: Tablespoons
Scooping items you can use for sensory bin play that you can find around your house:
Small cups
Teaspoons and tablespoons
Measuring cups
Cupcake tray or silicone cupcake liners
Baby food jars
Play Doh and candy corn play and that’s it! I had my daughter create a little ear of corn by pushing the candy corn into a little roll of Play Doh. She enjoyed it for a minute but then started doing her own thing with the Play Doh - and that’s okay!
Since candy corn is a choking hazard, a simple alternate activity you could do is purchase an ear of corn, dried or fresh, and have your child roll it into the Play Doh and observe the imprints the kernels make. I love simple activities like this and sometimes those are the ones that spark the most creative play!
Rubber Band Pumpkin Painting
Rubber bands
Small/Medium sized pumpkin
Washable Paint
Paintbrushes
Use 4 - 5 thick rubber bands and stretch them around your pumpkin in different ways to create a pattern. Have your child paint the pumpkin. Let it dry, then remove the rubber bands to reveal the abstract design.
Alternatives to paintbrushes:
Use a loofah or a sponge instead of a paintbrush to stamp paint onto the pumpkin.
Finger paint!
Dot paints that Jessie mentioned, linked above.
Roll the pumpkin across a cookie sheet filled with paint.