Easter activities for my kids at home

It's almost Easter and we might not be able to do the same things we usually do.  Those of us who may go to Church probably can't and there will be no big family gatherings.  We're not even meant to go out to get things like Easter Eggs or other special items so what are we doing with the kids this Easter?

Sometimes things are too much, or too beautiful for my autistic son

Our kids find the holidays quite difficult. Anthony in particular struggles and says "I don't know what I can do.." quite a lot. It's not for most kids who get bored, it's because he struggles to focus and make decisions. It's part of having autism and ADHD.

Burrowing bunny Easter cupcakes learning activity

There's always plenty of food involved in Easter.  The kids love the Easter egg hunt in the garden and then there are the hundreds of hot cross buns consumed (one of Anthony's favourite snacks that are not available all year round).  This year we're making super easy burrowing bunny cupcakes that will help with their spatial reasoning, motor skills development and include Oreos as a special treat.

Appreciating the talents of others?

Sometimes it can seem as if a child with autism is stuck in their own world. Our son, David, can cut himself off from those around him and enjoy the time he has on his own. Anthony needs this time too but that doesn't mean he can't see what's going on around him or appreciate it.

We were nearly late getting Anthony to school a few days ago. As we arrived I had him set up for the idea that he would probably be going straight through to assembly. When I collected Anthony at the end of the day, he gladly let me know that I had been wrong and there hadn't been an assembly at school that day.  I suddenly thought that perhaps this had something to do with an Easter Parade, but as Anthony was not forthcoming with information I let the questioning slide.

Today I found out that the school had attended a rolling Easter Service at the Church and this is why there had been no assembly. See, I knew it had something to do with Easter, he does after all attend a church associated school. 

One of the girls from Anthony's class was singing at the service. Anthony's teaching assistant told us he had been very good during the service, he had also commented that his friends singing had been just wonderful. So I asked him about it.

He said that he couldn't talk about it. Her singing was just too beautiful to talk about.

Sometimes the emotions through his senses are just too high. In the same way Anthony doesn't want to look at rainbows because they are too beautiful, he attached such appreciation and delight in the memory of this girls singing. 

Isn't that just lovely. It's as if it took his breath away.

What took your breath away recently?

Links
Our blog - Mysteries of memories
Our blog - showing pride in others in Never prouder of last place 

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Dry Sensory Easter Rabbit Craft Activity

Some kids with autism can be sensitive to wet textures or not like mixing dry and wet textures together but still enjoy being creative.  We had great fun with this craft activity at a local group, Me Too & Co, which supports children with additional needs and their siblings.

Dry Sensory Easter Rabbit

Apart from cutting out rabbit shapes from coloured paper this activity is easy to set up.  Choose some different dry textures in bowls, add glue sticks and pens and let your kids have fun.  At Me Too & Co they had:

• Different coloured felt shapes including ovals, rectangles, squares and triangles
• Cotton wool pleats
• Little pom pom balls
• Feathers and
• Tissue string.

Encouraging fine motor stills

If your child has emerging fine motor skills then this is a great activity. Kids will need to use and develop their pincer grip in order to pick up bits of felt and the little pom poms.  If this is challenging, don't worry they can have an easier time with the feathers and tissue string.  

Pulling the cotton wool pleats apart will encourage bilateral motor skills (using both hands together to achieve an outcome).  By placing the bowls of bits around the child you will also encourage them to cross their mid-line when they reach over to grab items.

Using a glue stick may encourage a classic pencil grip but even if not it will still encourage pre-writing movements while you cover the rabbit with sticky glue.

Encouraging Labelling

Different shapes of felt and the different colours of items give you and opportunity to label shapes and colours.  It's also a good opportunity to label textures such as soft cotton wool, crinkly tissue paper or fluffy feathers.

You can also label using makaton, have a look at the Makaton #wetalkmakaton sign of week for helpful ideas.

Jane had a great time at Me Too & Co and I loved her finished rabbit. 

Links

Our blog - Sensory healthy flapjack recipe

Our blog - Gale winds and low sun: Is this what it is like for my autistic sons?