Set up an area with beads of all colours, sizes and shapes. Add some containers, scoops or shovels. Set up a table with finger paints in the three primary colours – red, blue and yellow – and some large finger paint paper ( get it here). Allow kids to experiment with mixing colours. 4. Playing with Sound

Have a table with paper and scented markers for a fun creative experience. Buy them here. 19. Feely Bags Make a tightrope by laying out a long rope or a long strip of tape and have children practise being tightrope walkers, carefully placing one foot in front of the other. 34. Twister Let kids explore and play with different tools that aid sight, such as magnifying glasses, binoculars, microscopes, old eyeglasses and sunglasses. 16. Light TableTo select this option, start by going to Settings -> Taskbar -> Tasks -> Change and turn on Place Cursor. First and foremost, before you look for fancy sensory ideas, remember that the good old-fashioned sandpit is the best place for learning.

Through modeling, the communication partner can assist the user to select a context, which are shown on the right hand side. A good place to start could be one of the meal-time contexts, though additional contexts can be chosen by selecting “more contexts” from the top right corner. For example, the communication partner can model by saying, “It is almost time for lunch and I am hungry. I would like to talk about lunch. Breakfast, dinner, lunch!” while pointing at breakfast, dinner, then lunch, while saying the words. Setting up sensory stations in your home or classroom can be a fun way to engage children of all ages in sensory play. Place bags with different textured objects in them and let kids reach into them and guess what the objects are by feeling them. Another example is having a permanent balancing beam in a playground which a child may seldom play on. Set up a temporary outdoor balancing area with all sorts of fun props and most kids would be inspired to give it a go.Prepare a kinetic sand sensory table ( get some sand here). Include some props such as cups, figurines, marbles, toy vehicles and anything else you can think of.

Children are very good at using their imaginations and creating their own play, but providing opportunities for them to “stumble” on new play ideas only deepens their experiences. The garden or playground is also the perfect place for sensory development as kids run, play chasing games and get involved in physical movement that involves learning about directions and speed of movement. 38. Construction Play Lay out several baskets or boxes, clearly labelling what colour they are (wrap the box in coloured paper or lay a coloured napkin in the basket). Respond to what the user is looking at when the curser moves across the screen, making sure to discuss what is happening in the photo at the parts the learner is looking at.

Give it a Try

The word types within each context are colour classified with the Fitzgerald Key. Using these different colours to model good practice is a great way to assist the user become familiar with the words and categories within the context. For example, the communication partner can model by saying, “I want to say ‘pizza. I know that ‘pizza’ is a noun. Those are orange. Let’s look through the orange ones. Cucumber, fruit, pizza!” while pointing at cucumber, fruit, then pizza, while saying the words. We are learning to select core vocabulary using grids and symbols to communicate feelings and needs