Sensory and creative play activities including many for those who are disabled and/or neurodivergent.
Learning & Development
fine motor skills
boosts imagination,
improves social, play, communication and observation skills
sparks curiosity
develops hand-eye coordination
improves focus and attention
supports emotional regulation
turn-taking
stress-relief
fun!
& creates opportunities for CONNECTION
Senses stimulated: SIGHT, SOUND & TOUCH
This is an activity I've played with my boys since they were toddlers: mirror prints!
It's so simple, once again, and such brilliant fun; that peel to reveal is just magic every time! We take this one step further sometimes by leaving the paintings to dry then taking a black marker and finding animals, objects, shapes or features within the marks and lines of the prints.
Approximate preparation time: 10 minutes
Suggested minimum age: 2 years (supervised due to potential choking on small parts.)
What You Need:
Thick paper or thin card
Paints (we used poster paints for this play session but now the boys are older we use acrylic as the colour is more vibrant)
Marker pen
Scissors to cut the outline of your creations
How To Play:
Prepare your space. Tough top trays are great for this activity otherwise just lay down a wipe clean cloth or layers of newspaper to protect your surface.
You can either leave the paint neat in their containers or have fun colour mixing with your kids before you start. Bear in mind that the marbling and mixing of the colours as your fold and press the page over is part of the fun.
Gather paintbrushes or scraping tools to apply the paint, or if your paints are in squirty-top bottles you can pour straight onto the paper.
Encourage the artist not to overload the paper (much as it's tempting!) as when you fold and press the paint will push surprisingly far and you want some white edges to your paper to create outline shapes. A little paint goes a long way!
You can create a random collection of dots and sweeps of paint and see what results you get (our favourite!)
Or you can paint half an image/shape onto one side (don't let the paint dry though or it won't print to the other side - paint quickly! Be relaxed and free with it!)
Fold the paper in half and press the paint around for a few seconds - not for too long or pressing too hard as it might start to bleed through if you're using lighter paper.
THIS IS THE GOOD BIT!PEEL AND REVEAL!
Allow the paint to dry and look together to find shapes, objects, animals or features in the painting.
Use your marker to define what you see.
Cut out your design
If you want, these can make really fun totem pole-inspired artworks if you stack one on top of the other and tack to a wall or door.
If any of you reading this already play in this way and would like to share with me, please do send me an email - I love to hear about how you're all playing with your kids.
I'll end with this:
Silliness keeps the heart young - so get into it!