Halloween Tactile Recipes
10.01.2014
Do you know a child that needs the opportunity to explore and create with their fingers and hands? If so, these tactile recipes are the answer! Not only do these Halloween concoctions provide an excellent sensory experience, the other benefits include:
- Tactile- a variety of touch experiences
- Proprioception- stretch, pull, pound & squeeze
- Following verbal & written directions
- Tool use- spoons, cups, pouring, mixing
- Hand strengthening
- Praxis - The opportunity to develop praxis by creating three dimensional Halloween creatures
Those children with decreased hand strength will benefit from the opportunity to mold the dough by using his/her fingers to push, squeeze, and mold against resistance. While making the recipe and creating these seasonal creatures, a child will be developing the hand and finger strength needed to perform their daily routines.
Those children with deficits in tactile sensory discrimination will also benefit from the opportunity to use these Halloween tactile recipes. Tactile discrimination is what affords a child the ability to perform all types of routine fine motor tasks without the need to watch what their fingers are doing. Without the use of ongoing visual monitoring, as a child matures he should be able to accomplish everyday tasks such as shoe tying, buckling a belt, snapping, zipping, and finding coins in their pocket. Even with the use of vision, children with poor tactile discrimination often have difficulty with tasks such as buttoning; his/her fingers may not detect the difference between the hard button and surrounding fabric. With repeated exposure to various tactile experiences (ex: different texture, weight, temperature), a child can refine his/her discrimination abilities.
For those children with tactile over-responsiveness, or what is known as defensiveness, be careful to modify their participation as required. Remember to provide a fun and satisfying experience by engaging such children in a calm, non-threatening manner. For some children, simply viewing the process of combining the ingredients is a major milestone.
Tactile Halloween Ghost, Pumpkin, and Monster Dough FREE Printable Recipes -
Materials:
- 1 cup of table salt
- 1 cup of flour
- ½ cup of water (you may need a little more)
- Medium sized bowl
- Googly Eyes, Pipe Cleaner, Construction Paper,Candy Corn (Monster Horns), and any other manipulatives to decorate your creatures (use your imagination!)
Directions:
1. Mix the table salt and flour together in a bowl.
2. Slowly add the water.
3. Knead the mixture until the dough is moist and doughy.
4. You may need to add a little water if dough is too dry.
5. For softer dough add a little more flour, for coarse dough add a little more salt.
6. Add a couple drops of food coloring to make your monster, ghost, and/or pumpkin colored.
7. Form the ball of dough into a Halloween Ghost, Pumpkin, and/or Monster sculpture (use your imagination!).
8. Add googly eyes, mouth, Horns, and other manipulatives to complete your Halloween Creature!
9. The completed projects will require several hours to air dry.
Let’s enjoy the pleasure of some Halloween fun while giving our children the Tools To Grow!
Tactile Recipes - Free Printable Tactile Halloween Recipes can be found here.
Halloween Resources - Tools to Grow, Inc.'s Halloween Resource Collection can be found here.
Related Topics: Fine Motor Skills, Free Resources , Halloween , Praxis/Motor Planning , Sensory Processing/Self-Regulation
