Outdoor Fun In The Holidays

Not everyone is able to get away over the holidays but you and your children can still have fun together in the great outdoors.  Yes, even in your backyard.

If you haven’t tried out the Scooter Board, now is the time.  This is a great toy that helps children learn to balance and co-ordinate their limbs for movement.  The child sits or kneels on the board and holds onto the handles at either side.  Then using the movement of their bodies, they make the scooter move.  It’s fun and it’s safe.

Find a smooth surface and play Animal Croquet.  This is a favourite with many children.  The set contains 4 wooden animal shaped free standing hoops, a pair of wooden mallets with four wooden balls and a tree for the finishing post.  How good are you at croquet?  You might need some practice in secret, first!

Catch and Stick Monster Mitts help your child develop hand-eye coordination while they play.  The mitts are over-sized and have an adjustable strap on the back so they are easy to do up.  The mitts also have a Velcro front surface so the tennis ball sticks to them.  It’s great for building confidence and for removing the fear of the ball.

Finally, see who can throw the right bean bag and land it in the basket. The Shape Bean Bag set can be used just to practice throwing into a target but because it has different shapes and colours you can add an extra dimension to the game. 

Once the children have mastered the art of tossing the bean bag into the basket or hoop (whatever your chosen target) you can try level two and introduce colours, e.g. “throw the red bean bag.”  The third level involves shape, e.g. “throw the square bean bag.”

There are many games you can play outside with your children.  Take the time to do it because you will remember the fun you had forever.

Animal Quoits

What a great way to learn about distance and co-ordination all while having loads of fun. These animal quoits are really cute with their big, bright eyes and sweet faces. The set consists of 3 animal stands – a frog, bee and ladybug, and six rope rings.

To play the game your child throws the rings towards the stand with the aim of landing the ring right over the animals head. The child who lands most rings on the stand is the winner.

We don’t worry about who wins and who loses. We play just to see how many we can land around the stands. We start with the stands reasonably close and then gradually extend the distance. You can choose the distance to suit your child’s age and game experience.

While the weather is cool, this is a fun game to play indoors. As the weather warms you can take the game outdoors and enjoy the sun while you play. It’s a game that suits the whole family and is suitable for children aged 3 and up. The stands are 15cm high and the rope rings have an 11cm diameter.

The pack is presented in a wooden box which is perfect for storage and travel and which would make a fabulous gift.

Get your throwing hand ready!

Taking Sensory Development Outside

Going outdoors can be a great adventure for anyone of any age as there is so much to do and to get involved with. For children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) there can be some significant benefits because it can aid with sensory development as they can examine, interact and explore with the environment.

Going for a walk through a local park or even bushland and being able to smell the difference fragrances from flowers and plants, holding branches or leaves and feeling the different textures is a great experience plus an ideal form of cardiovascular exercise.

Kicking a soccer or football, throwing and catching a tennis ball or passing a rugby ball are all perfect ways to help develop coordination. Often if your child is undertaking any form of occupational therapy many of these activities can assist with the program.

Some parks also have animals that can be fed such as ducks or even fish if there is a lake. Even down at the beach you are sure to encounter seagulls that will be hungry and this can be a great way to interact with wildlife. If at the beach, the added benefit is the interaction with the salt water, the sand as well as being out in the sun. Being able to build sand castles is also a great activity and allows the imagination to be applied as they construct their creation.

Always be conscious of the abilities of your child and adjust the activity accordingly. Also, as they may be easily distracted or just curious, they may find dangerous situations in the most placid of places so of course you need to keep your eye on them all the time. In some cases and depending on your child, you may even be able to use these circumstances to teach and raise their awareness of dangerous and safety issues when outdoors.

The outdoors is a fun place to be and it is full of textural and sensory things to explore.