As I look back on the years with the blessing of Tristan, I am amazed that the amount of our particpation in family activities has increased! Honestly, for a long time, the list was short. Church, McDonald’s, parks, and two hours at a family gathering. That was all we could muster the energy to do outside our home. Our home was our sanctuary to manage Tristan.
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Practical Tip #49 — 60 Minutes at a Children’s Museum
For as long as I can remember, Tristan has always been curious and likes to touch everything. One of our favorite places to take Tristan is a Hand’s On Museum called Curious Kids’ Museum in St. Joseph, Michigan.
Continue readingPractical Tip #44 Surviving Winter Months
When my boys were very young, someone gave our family an inside swing. Both my boys loved it. It was great for rainy and snowy days when the kids couldn’t go outside to play. We used this item for years.
Practical Tip #38 – Bubble Bubble Pop!
For an outdoor sensory activity try a bubble machine! As you can see from the picture our son loves it! This activity can be a little messy, but it’s all clean fun!
Practical Tip#37- Magical Nighttime Fun!
Brian and I decided to tackle a new activity with Tristan. I found an activity on-line called a “Glow in the Dark Easter Egg Hunt.” I thought what a fun idea! This would be a good night-time sensory activity.
I know doing any activity requires pre-planning. I gathered all the supplies and was ready for Tristan’s home weekend visit!
We waited for it to get dark…. Then I quickly prepared the eggs in another room while Brian entertained Tristan. The eggs were ready to go in a paper bag.
Brian sneaked out the front door with the paper bag. He returned a few minutes later.
I looked out the window.
24 Eggs scattered in the front yard.
I handed Tristan a basket and said, “We are going to the front yard to pick up eggs!”
He put on his coat, and we walked out the front door.
It looked magical!
We explained to him what the game was. (finding eggs and putting them into the basket) He enjoyed the activity searching for the eggs.
It took about 20 minutes for him to pick them all up. (I had high hopes of this being a color sorting activity for him to enjoy, but honestly when they glow they are all yellow.)
Back inside we went…
When we came into the house, he opened each egg. When he turned off the battery tea light, then he could see what color the egg was. He seemed to enjoy this color guessing activity!
This was a win-win activity!
Since he functions at a toddler/pre-school level, we will enjoy this for several more weekends.
This idea came from the website smartschoolhouse.com.
Practical Tip #34 – Shaving Cream to the Rescue!
My son is a sensory seeker meaning he is always trying to get a lot of sensory input.
Shaving cream works great for a sensory activity!
The Practical Side of Autism 