DIY sensory space

[Froglet]

Hi all,

I am looking for inspiration! My class this year is very very different to classes I've had before.  I want to create a sensory space where children can re-regulate but also a good space for me to provide learning activities for them to access an alternative curriculum. I am lucky enough to have an alcove/area to one side of my classroom which I want to use for this but need it to be no/low cost as the only budget is from my pocket. There are several children in my class who need to fiddle and fidget and need support with sitting on a chair. Some 'tappers' (have got a ridiculous number of broken pencils already), some who need big/heavy movements - lots of throwing of things and pulling out of heavy boxes of books goes on.

Some ideas I've come up with already:

- nuts and bolts hot glued to make 'spinny' fidget toys

- bags filled with magazines to make heavy things to be lifted from one place to another

- I've seen a lovely idea using a pool noodle to make a moving footrest using a pool noodle - I'm thinking about using pipe lagging but am not sure how to attach to chair legs at the moment

- strips of soft/furry/stretch fabric for fiddle toys.

Any ideas/suggestions at all very gratefully received. I want to use half-term to re-set and re-group and come back with new strategies and fighting fit!

[sunnyday]

A weighted blanket?

Velcro strips?

Bubble wrap?

Do you have a school/class newsletter - could you put out a request for items?

One of my 'fiddlers' loved an old fashioned spinning top ...

We need fm on the case - bet she would have loads of ideas

Will keep thinking!

[Helen]

Would a bike chain and padlock be any good? 

[SueFinanceManager]

I quite like squidgy/malleable objects as a fiddle aid so sometime fiddle with a lump of bluetack but can see you would not want that stuck all over the carpet but homemade bean bags filled with any out of date rice or dry beans you might have in the back of your cupboard 

small see through containers/bottles filled (and then the lids glued into place) filled with glitter or sequins or sand and some slightly larger particles/stones so they can try and shake move to separate the sand from the stones 

Old rubik cube 

swatches of different texture materials

 

[Froglet]

On 24/10/2023 at 13:11, Helen said:

Would a bike chain and padlock be any good? 

Do you mean to unlock or just ‘wiggle’

On 24/10/2023 at 14:14, SueFinanceManager said:

I quite like squidgy/malleable objects as a fiddle aid so sometime fiddle with a lump of bluetack but can see you would not want that stuck all over the carpet but homemade bean bags filled with any out of date rice or dry beans you might have in the back of your cupboard 

 

To be honest, blu tack would be preferable to some of the things which have been stuck to my carpet recently! I love this idea and the bottle one especially.

 

On 23/10/2023 at 13:31, sunnyday said:

A weighted blanket?

Velcro strips?

Bubble wrap?

Are the Velcro strips to stroke or to do something else with? I’m guessing both the soft and the spiky sides would work?

[sunnyday]

Velcro strips to 'undo' if you see what I mean - hmm that's not a good explanation really 

[SueFinanceManager]

On 25/10/2023 at 08:03, Froglet said:

To be honest, blu tack would be preferable to some of the things which have been stuck to my carpet recently! I love this idea and the bottle one especially.

🤢😆

[Froglet]

On 25/10/2023 at 08:59, sunnyday said:

Velcro strips to 'undo' if you see what I mean - hmm that's not a good explanation really 

I think I do - like children’s shoes but not attend to anything!

[sunnyday]

On 25/10/2023 at 10:50, Froglet said:

I think I do - like children’s shoes but not attend to anything!

Yep! that's it exactly!

[Helen]

The bike chain I thought would be good to just stroke and wiggle and generally investigate each link. Padlock- if you get one where you spin the dials to get the correct number for unlocking, that could be a satisfying fiddle, too. 🙂

[finleysmaid]

Well here i am ...no pressure then ! Favourite fidget toys ....balloons filled with flour. Make sure they are good quality and latex free

Hygiene gloves filled with lots of different things...from shaving foam to pasta ...the sky's the limit whatever you have around.

Calming bottles full of water glitter and PVA glue ...or oil and water and colourings. Plastic bottles work well and we super glue the tops

we have a lot of old Mc Donalds toys maybe ask around...often good for spinning or winding up 

Things out of xmas crackers like little metal puzzles

You can often find things in the poundland type shops like pool noodles ....You can cut up and use like an abacus on strings.

Strips of bubblewrap 

Sorry wrote this the other day and then computer stopped working ! 

 

[Froglet]

Thank you FM. Great ideas. I am going to do some serious thinking and planning tomorrow then will go in and transform my space.