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Suggested
Activities for Young or Multi-Disabled Blind Children
By
Angelo Montagnino
1.
Opening and closing doors
2.
Carrying objects: one hand, two hands, large and light,
small and heavy, etc.
3.
Crawling (tunnels, over mats, mats on top of obstacles,
up and down ramps, etc.)
4.
Walking trips (over gravel, rocks, grass, sand, dirt,
cement and blacktop, carpet, tile, over logs, up and
down ramps, stairs, puddles, large boulders, logs, chains,
etc.)
5.
Examine and climb trees
6.
Climbing (stairs, climbing equipment, boards, rolled
mats, tables, benches, etc.). Climb up, down, across,
on incline, decline, under, turn, etc.
7.
Swings: Be pushed or twirled, on tummy and seated, push
with hands and feet (if low enough), twirl, sit sideways
(one foot on each side of swing, etc.)
8.
Swing by hands and feet (swung by 2 adults)
9.
Expose to wheel toys
10.
Rocking horse, teeter-totter
11.
Punch ball attached to wrist
12.
Suspend balloon from ceiling so it touches student's
head. Encourage play, tapping turning, holding
13.
Various size and shape balloons—feel, rub on face
and hands, adult makes speech sounds or vibrations on
balloon
14.
Shopping bags or boxes to carry and empty objects out
15.
Sit and twirl in a swivel chair
16.
Tinker toys
17.
Boxes to use as tunnels or to crawl through, feel all
sides, poke fingers through a hole and grab someone's
hand or talk to from outside box
18.
Construct a balance beam from a long, 10-12 inch wide
board, placing it on two very low supports and scoot,
walk or straddle beam
19.
Hang on a suspended rope swing
20.
Roller skate or get a free ride on various types of
wheel vehicles including a tricycle. Pull the vehicle
with a rope, with student on it or doing the pulling
21.
Mat work for simple balances. Place student on hands
and knees, teacher sits and lifts student's legs one
at a time, etc. Simple stunts—roll like a log,
etc.
22.
Ball skills—bouncing, twirling, kicking, rolling
ball against a wall and catch, roll toward a sound (knock
down target)
23.
Sand or sandbox play (you can even use plastic particles
or pebbles). Provide scoop, funnel, shovel, pail, cardboard
rolls, milk carton, spoons, sifters, cans or jars—demonstrate
play
Manipulative
Fun Toys
24.
Toys: Old spinning tops (listen, feel it), Slinky, Jack
in the Box, Fisher Price Peek-a-Boo, etc.
25.
Dance movements to music—walk sideways left and
right, forward and backward, hold hands in a circle
26.
Hop up and down
27.
Hand puppets
28.
Play with large blocks or cubes, foam, coffee cans with
plastic lids, shoe boxes, paper cups, etc.
29.
Inner tubes or tires—roll it, crawl through, walk
on it, jump on or climb in, sit on, step in and out,
line up several tires or tubes or tie together
30.
Water play—large basin or sink or small pool filled
with water and a number of materials or toys: sponges,
boats, rubber duckies. Wash items, including rubbing
and squeezing.
31. Water pistol to squirt self or others, objects such
as balloons or items that will make a sound when water
strikes them, fill a cup, etc.
32.
Wastebasket play—toss a ball or beanbag into it
from one foot, two feet, etc.
33.
Ring toss—use a large hoop or hula hoop, drop it
on target, go through it
34.
Wagon play—fill it up, empty it, get pulled, pull
it, ride on it, push it with one leg
35.
Make a ball out of newspaper
36.
Using various climbing equipment or obstacles—teach
up, down forward, backward, sideways, left, right, around
over, under, on top of, underneath, behind, in front
of, between, in and out
37.
Play "find the missing objects"—crawl around and
find them all over floor, locate hidden objects
38.
Smell and feel shaving cream, clay, whipped cream, krazy
foam, silly string
39.
Body lotion, powders, etc.
40.
Bubbles
41.
Examine and identify textures of food and articles
42.
Examine and identify scents of food and articles
Choose
Activities
1.
Use of knock-down clown type object. Place next to student,
tap or move it against body, encouraging grasping and
knocking
2.
Suspend a balloon or beach ball with string and tape
and sway it back and forth, against face, tap it, rub
it, encourage student to do the same. Possibly insert
rice or other small sound-making item in balloon or
beachball. Turn it, hold it and make speech sounds or
vibrations, rub it on face and hands. Small bells can
be attached to the string.
3.
Suspend a bell or string of bells. Try to stimulate
a reaction to the sound.
4.
Bounce or roll beach ball past student or at student,
or use soft bell ball
5.
Open or close doors with student
6.
Carry or hold objects, one hand or two, vary size and
weight
7.
Crawling and climbing. Roll up a mat, put student on
it, under it. If needed, help student move—roll
off, get on, get out, climb over, etc.
8.
Walking trips (over gravel, rocks, grass, sand, dirt,
cement and blacktop, carpet, tile, over logs, up and
down ramps, stairs, puddles, large boulders, logs, chains,
etc.)
9.
Examine trees, shrubs, stairs, tables, benches, play
equipment. Encourage moving around by self, encourage
use of exploring and trailing with hands.
10. Expose to wheel toys or toys that roll and have
movable parts.
11.
Attach punch balloon with elastic to wrist or ankle.
12.
Expose to rocking horse, teeter-totter, tumble about
(even if only one hand is on it).
13.
Sit and twirl in swivel chair or sit/lie down on a wheeled
vehicle and be pulled, pushed, etc. Include a 3-wheel
vehicle if possible.
14.
Shopping bags and boxes—fill up with items and
take out.
15.
Mat work—place student on hands and knees, teacher
sits and lifts student's legs one at a time, etc. Simple
stunts—roll like a log, etc.
16.
Tinker toy play—construct your own with milk cartons,
wooden spools rolled up with newspaper balls, etc.
17.
Clubhouse box—with a big cardboard box, crawl through
it or sit in it, feel the sides, poke fingers through
the hole and grab a finger, talk to from outside the
box
18.
Balance beam activities
A
regular low balance beam or a long narrow 6-12 inch
wide rectangular board supported by two bases, probably
several inches high.
Walk
forward and backward placing one foot in front of the
other
Walk sideways on the beam
Crawl across
Scoot across
Walk across with one foot on and one foot off balance
beam
Straddle balance beam
Walk up balance beam used as an incline plane (one end
of beam supported by box)
Walk down inclined balance beam.
19.
Play with an inner tube or tire—walk on it, step
in it and out, sit in it, tie it to anything and crawl
through, make a tire swing (several inches off the ground
and lie on it with tummy
20.
Encourage rolling, patting, spinning or just examining
a ball
21.
Encourage sand box play to teach use of hands, shoveling,
scooping, etc.
22.
Toys—old spinning tops (listen, feel it), Slinky,
Jack in the Box, Fisher Price Peek-a-Boo, etc.
23.
Water play—large basin or sink or small pool filled
with water and a number of materials or toys: sponges,
boats, rubber duckies. Wash items, including rubbing
and squeezing.
24. Water pistol to squirt self or others, objects such
as balloons or items that will make a sound when water
strikes them, fill a cup, etc.
25.
Play "find the missing objects"—crawl around and
find them all over floor, locate hidden objects
26.
Smell and feel shave cream, clay, whipped cream, krazy
foam, silly string
27.
Body lotion, powders, etc.
28.
Bubbles: Feel, break, follow
29.
Examine and identify textures of food and articles
30.
Examine and identify scents of food and articles
31.
To music—encourage movement of body parts in many
combinations
32.
Place student on any possible moving apparatus from
a hammock to a rocking chair and provide movement
33.
Pushing—push crumbs, anything with hand, off table
and into a container
34.
Lick a lollipop
35.
Blow a candle, paper strips or balloon tied to a string
36.
Provide as many new experiences and toys as possible
37.
Encourage as much movement in relation to obstacles
as possible. Use verbal terms to left and right, sideways,
around, over, under, on top of, go in, sit in, sit under,
etc.
If
needed, provide sound by tapping or any other means
to assist or motivate in climbing or moving or finding
object to catch, grab, strike, kick, push or throw to
a person or object.
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