Sensory Tray

Owen still has food aversions and we work on them daily. Basically we talk about learning about a food to take some pressure off. There are levels of acceptance, from tolerating it on his plate, to smelling the food. Of course the overall long term goal is to eat it but there is greater success in the short term small strides in acceptance. 

I've worked with a local therapy clinic who offers services in sensory processing disorders for children. It is very complex and hopefully Owen's is just food related.

There are other ways to work on sensory issues... We've done many activities at home but thought I would blog on this one today. 

Sensory bins are easy and cheap ways for children to experience different textures. This is actually great for all kids, sensory issues or not. And, whenever I get it out it is at least an hour of play... Which is also amazing!

I had some old grains in the pantry that were perfect for a rice bin. I think they are rye berries that I tried once and didn't like. 

We have used the old cookie sheet for so many crafts... It is perfect for protecting the table and keeps pens from rolling around.  This is a must for any crafty kid!  

The cookie sheet's walls are a little short. I looked around the garage for something taller. Those plastic tubs for organizing are good but ours were all full. I found an old hospital tub from one of Owen's hospitalization a- perfect and tall walls to attempt to keep the grains in. (Sidenote: I believe uncooked grains to be dangerous to animals, so use caution when indoors and clean up quickly after if your dogs are like ours and eat anything!)

Materials:

Plastic container

Rice or other grain

Food coloring

Vinegar 

Baggies

1. Add desired amount of grain to Baggie. We used about a cup.

2. Add 1/2 tsp of vinegar to Baggie and mix around.

3. Add 3-5 drops of food coloring to Baggie and mix around. This is fun for kids to do.

4. Set out to dry. Took about an hour. 

Previous rice tray was fun but not colored. 

Added cookie cutters for festive diggers.

We resorted to the cookie sheet again. More room for driving cars in the colored "snow".

Finished product was much more fun having colored rice! We poured, hid treasures, and played for a long time! 

Owen prefers dry, crunchy, salty foods so vegetables and fruits are very hard to get into him. Our dehydrator comes in handy. He's not getting a lot of volume here but he's more likely to get a dried mushroom in than a fresh or cooked one! Plus we can make cool faces!