Tactile Stimulating Acitivites

Indoor Tactile Path

Create a path through your room, house, or classroom

Use duct tape or strong making tape to outline the path

Make sure the path covers carpeted, tile, and wood floors if available

Have the path go through any indoor areas like: sand box, water play pool, trampoline, small balls boxes, indoor cloth tunnels, play houses, etc.

Have certain rest stops on the tactile path which are delivery zones with “post-office” boxes each painted a different color

Use the tactile path for a number of indoor activities

Taking a Dry Swim at Home

Use an imaginary pool to swim in

Use different floor textures to swim on if available

After swimming use a beach towel to dry the child down using deep rubbing down strokes

As you rub each body part name the part or have the child name the part

Follow the leaders on the Path

Animal walk, have the child follow you on the indoor path playing an elephant, horse, alligator, dog, cat etc. walking on all fours as you follow the path and having the child make the sounds of the animal if possible

As you animal walk, now have the animals walk only on three legs rather than the four

Now be snakes and crawl the path hissing as you go

Now become logs which are being rolled along the path

Scooting the Path

Using a scooter board, have the child become the animals while lying forward on the scooter board

Try having the child be the animal lying on back and using the scooter board to get along the path

Have the child be a beetle crawling on scooter board along path

Have the child be a tugboat who is pulled by holding onto a rope you are pulling the child along the path or have the child pull the scooter board with a rope along the path

Large exercise ball activities

Have child lie face forward on ball and roll body on the ball

Have child lie on back on ball and roll body on the ball

Taking a ride on the “sheet slide”

Have child lay face down on the sheet slide and pull the child along the indoor tactile path

Have child lay on back on sheet slide and pull child along the indoor tactile path

Body part erasers

Use carpet squares or carpet samples as a chalk board and using soft chalk (like sidewalk chalk), or oatmeal, sand, aquarium pebbles, write something on the square and then have the child use feet to erase the words written or picture drawn

Do the same thing but this time have the child use hands as an eraser

Do the same thing but this time have the child use elbows as an eraser

Do the same thing but this time have the child use knees as an eraser

Body Chalk Board

Using your hand draw a number, letter, shape, or word on the child’s back and have the child try to guess what it is

Do the same thing but now on the stomach

Do the same thing but now on the bottom of the foot

Do the same thing but now on the palm of the hand

Body Painting

Using a variety of brush types pretend to paint different body parts of the child

Use three, two or one inch house paint brushes

Use large, medium, and small artist brushes

Use pastry, cooking, cleaning brushes

Paint pretend objects on the body, such as freckles on the face, hands, and arms

Paint glasses on the face

Paint various types of clothing on the body

Touch and Feel Box

Cut a hole in a shoe box with a lid on it

Put various types of textures on the floor of the box like carpet, sand paper, tile, wax paper and have the child feel the textures

Put various objects in the box and have the child try to guess what the object is