Summer Activities For Kids With Special Needs
It sure has gotten hot outside, hasn’t it? We’re approaching 100 degrees outside, if we haven’t hit it already! That can be too hot for many summer activities for kids.
Many times when we talk about activities with our sensory kids we tend to think that we have to go outside, or we have to go run, or tumble, or go on a jungle gym, or something like that—and those activities are great in the fall or spring, when it’s not over 100!
So let’s talk about some activities we can do when it’s too hot outside.
1. Swimming
This is a great time to go swimming, although you want to make sure it’s not for too long a period of time. And make sure you take water! Hydration is key in this heat. You want to drink a lot if you’re going to be out in the pool area. Sometimes just going out for 30 minutes to an hour is enough.
And … that may be all anyone wants to do outside in this heat! So let’s look at some activities you can do inside. Of course we always think about the movies, but how therapeutic are the movies? Not much. They key is to try to include movement in activities, because that helps our kids to modulate. Here are some ideas for indoor activity:
2. Indoor amusement parks
Outside of your home there are some great indoor jump houses and bounce houses. I call these “indoor amusement parks” because they have trampolines, slides, etc. You can look into some of those things, and sometimes you can buy passes—during these hot seasons if you buy them in bulk you can get them at reasonable prices. Or, some of these places will have an open jump time that you can take advantage of. And this can end up being a social time, as well!
3. Use your house as an inside gym
Your home is also a great resource! It seems like a lot of people forget that. If you have a two-story house (which it seems like almost everyone in the state of Texas does), going up and down the stairs is a great activity! You can pretend to be a different character and crawl up and down the stairs. You can carry things up and down the stairs.
You can slide down hallways if you have long hallways. You can have hippity-hop races down the hallway!
4. Create an obstacle course
Here’s a secret that the therapists use a lot: They create multi-step obstacle courses. You can use basic things you have in your garage, like boxes—kids never have more fun than when they cut out a hole and play in a box! Use the toys you have at home to create stations, and tell the kids: “First I want you to do this activity, and then this other activity.”
Your house has all kinds of possibilities! We recommend talking to a therapist about how to set these activities up. You don’t want to make it too long, or too complicated.
And have fun, without boiling outside in the heat! Do you need specific ideas for your child? Give us a call or shoot over an email.
