Sensory Diet Day

Ever since about 15 months, Pierce has struggled with sensory processing. It used to be that he was over stimulated and hated being dirty, having water poured over his head, or the feel of anything on his hands and feet. With the help of an amazing teacher and team from Birth to three, we had tackled those issues and his speech issues, and were on our way to an integrated child. 

Lately we have noticed that Pierce is now seeking sensory and is becoming very anxious. He needs to know what the plans are for the whole day, and is doing a lot of pinching with his fingers and toes. No matter how much we reassure him that he is an awesome little boy, he worries about him turning into a bad boy.  It breaks my heart every time he asks me if he is a good boy or bad boy, because I feel as if I am not raising a confident child. So, today I decided to do a sensory day. Everything we did today had to do with tactile response. 

The first thing I did was create a sensory tray with his penguins, marbles, fake snow, and soap flakes (have it a nice smell and texture). I added in 2 scoopers, and the boys had a blast. Pierce practiced scooping over an over again, while Carter waddled around the house holding a penguin. It was awesome. 

Next it was time to paint. The first thing we did was paint a canvas after I used painters tape to make the word love. They needed some new art in their room, so why not. Then we took a break so they could have snack, and I could cut up some vegetables to print with. We used green peppers, broccoli, celery, and green paint. Everything had a different texture to it, which Pierce loved but Carter did not. Pierce then was able to finger paint as he smeared pair all over his hands. I mean paint between the fingers and everything. 

The final thing we did before nap, was take advantage of the drizzle making the grass wet and slippery. I had him load up his sled with various weight, and he had a blast pulling it up and down the hill. He tired quickly, and requested some yoga, so we did the yoga DVD to relieve some stress. 

Unfortunately I have no idea if this morning was effective or not, since the poor guy woke up with a temp and belly ache; he finally got what little brother had this past weekend. However, he did go back over to the penguin tray and told me that he wanted to play again. This time we used the marbles and penguins to play soccer; very much like a foose-ball table. We also learned that the mixture of soap flakes and fake snow allows the penguins to slide very well. 

I plan to do more experimenting with this before the school year starts; if doing an overload of sensory in the morning helps him calm down, then I will rewrite every lesson plan that I have. I love my boys so much, and it pains me to see him all anxious and upset over the littlest things. Maybe it is my parenting style, maybe it is just his personality. Whatever the case may be, I hope we can figure it out soon. I love you Pierce. And I love you too Carter.