Tools and Tactics for Sensory Seekers

It's the beginning of the NEW YEAR!  At this point, you are halfway through the school year (go ahead- do a dance, pat yourself on the back, perhaps drink a glass of wine to celebrate)!  We will return to school after the holiday break and have a brief amount of "honeymoon" time with our students before tools and tactics need to be put into place, once again, to help our sensory seekers and squirmers to succeed.  And this year, my classroom is chock full of these types of learners.  Like most teachers, I am willing to try almost anything in order to benefit my students.  At the same time, it is important that the methods implemented are reasonable, effective, and sustainable.  I have provided a small, yet detailed list below of a few tools and tactics that have been easy to create, implement, and are effective for all students.  Of course, there are GOBS of resources related to sensory seekers.  Use what you can from this page and please share your knowledge and tools!

"Bubble seats"- A student favorite

Our school is part of a university and is open for tours and observations.  When teacher candidates or teachers from other schools tour my classroom, the most asked about thing is what my students call the "bubble seat".

When I moved from teaching 3rd to teaching 1st grade (a grade I never expected to teach), I almost immediately began researching tools to use for my continuously active students.  As I perused Pinterest and various blogs, I noticed some teachers using fitness balls as students' work spots, a research-based strategy for improving a student's motivation and attention span.  I couldn't deny that this was a fabulous idea, however, all I could picture in my 1st grade classroom was exercise balls rolling everywhere.  So I continued my search for something similar and came across a few Pinterest posts that show bouncing balls stuffed inside crates.  You may find this effective...  I have about 3 broken crates that say otherwise.  So, I was left with my creative mind and the ideas I had acquired and began inventing-ish.  ​

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These have been a student favorite for the past several years in my classroom.  Students are excited to sit in something other than a traditional chair and are able to move in ways they can't in other chairs.  These bubble seats require students to maintain balance by keeping both feet on the floor.  They are able to remain focused and on task for longer periods of time.  My sensory seekers are also able to bounce gently without distracting themselves or peers.  Of course, it is imperative to discuss bubble seats thoroughly through guided discovery and interactive modeling.  We even create an anchor chart listing expectations for the bubble seats.  In my classroom, students are allowed to move the seats to various locations in the classroom when working with partners, etc., but they must move them back to the respective locations afterward.  ​

So, how are these created?  EASY!  

Here are the materials needed:

• 55cm-65cm Fitness Ball- You can spend between $5 and $10 to purchase fitness balls at Walmart and MANY other stores.  However, I scored about 10 fitness balls simply by reaching out to parents.  One parent sent a set of 4 brand new fitness balls that he found at the local thrift store.  Another sent the fitness ball she rarely used.  And a few others actually purchased fitness balls out of pure graciousness.
• 5 Gallon Bucket- I purchased 5 gallon buckets from Lowes.  These were a STEAL at just about $3 each!  

Here are the steps:  

1. IF you want to cover any logos on the buckets, you may want to score, prime, and paint them first.  You also may want to remove the handle on the bucket (the handle can be quite noisy).  If not, continue to the next steps...
2. If you have a carpeted classroom, this step is optional.  My classroom is mostly tiled with a few large rug spots.  Because the plastic bucket can slip on tile, I decided to line the bottom edge with plastic dip coating.  It is easy to apply and doesn't take much to accomplish the task.  You may find other ways to prevent slipping that are less time consuming.  If so, please share!
3. Inflate the fitness ball just enough to make it pliable.  Do not plug the ball just yet.
4. Begin stuffing the ball in the bucket.  Once you have a desired amount of the ball showing on top (the "bubble"), you can start to inflate, CONTINUOUSLY stuffing and inflating until the top is evenly rounded.  This can be tricky, but becomes easier after you've mastered the first two bubble seats.

And VOILA!  You and your students can begin enjoying the benefits of bubble seats!  If you try them out, let me know how it goes and share any questions, ideas, or strategies that have been beneficial.

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Personal rug space

A large portion of our instructional time takes place in our meeting area, where students might sit around the perimeter or gather close on the area of the large rug.  For some students, this can be a difficult task to manage.  Sensory seekers and more active students often need boundaries and ways to identify personal space around them.  Otherwise, they are likely to seek out nearby objects, including peers surrounding him or her.  Therefore, I often put out one or two small rugs on the larger meeting area rug and designate this as a space for recognizing personal boundaries.  The rug shown is textured and easily moveable.  In our classroom, the students and I might use this as a work space as well.  It helps us define an area appropriate for spreading out tools and materials during work times.  

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Visual Tools

​Visual tools are often seen used with students on the autism spectrum or with autistic tendencies.  I began using this with one student in my classroom but am now finding them helpful for many others.  The cue cards shown below are used to help remind students of expectations, mostly during whole group instructional times.  I have placed the two cards most used at the top of the deck, if you will, including a "Good job" card.  Keep in mind that the more cards you include, the more difficult this will be to implement.  I wear the cards all day and, while it took a while to use them consistently, it now feels like second nature.  To implement visual cue cards, I simply state the child's name or give a respectful signal the child and I have agreed upon to gain her attention, then flash the card in respect to his current behavior.  I try as best I can to use the card offering praise twice as often as the others (I'll be honest- this is VERY difficult at times).  My students have responded very well to these visual cue cards.  Victories N' Autism, a site dedicated to sharing strategies and tools helpful for children with ASD, has a set of visual cue cards available for download.  You may decide to create your own set, if you're a DIYer :). 

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Weighted Bag

Sensory seekers are often unable to maintain body control and may seem anxious or tense at times.  Weighted blankets or lap pads can help calm these students, whether they are angry, overly stimulated, or seeking out physical touch.  

Our lap pad is available for any student to use and is introduced like any other tool in the classroom- through interactive modeling.  We set very clear expectations for using the lap pad and continue to revisit and practice frequently.  Students understand that their peers may need the lap pad more than them and that the teacher may ask a student to get the lap pad.  Our lap pad is housed in a central location with other calming tools students might use.  In that location, we also have charted expectations for lap pad use.

Lap pads or weighted blankets can be purchased online here or here.  OR follow this link to find a tutorial on making your own weighted lap pad.

This is my own child, my guinea pig ;)...  Not quite sure what the face is all about...  We'll pretend she's mesmerized by some amazing teaching going on, haha!

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• Independent Work Times- The more active students in my classroom often experience difficulty maintaining stamina during independent work times.  A 5 or 10 minute timer is placed near these students, although still out of reach.  If the student has successfully worked independently, he may then meet with a partner, get a drink of water, go to the restroom, etc., and then start the timer again.

Sand Timers

I have thoroughly enjoyed the benefits of using sand timers in the classroom.  We use them several different ways and the list increases as the school year progresses.  The inexpensive sand timers pictured here can be purchased online at Lakeshore Learning.  Here are a few ways sand timers are used in my classroom:

• Take a Break Chair- When students "take a break" in our classroom (a positive time-out), it can be difficult for some to manage the time spent there to regain self control.  To help with this, we have put out two or three timers (no more than 3 minutes) from which students might choose when they take a break.  Although students make this choice, the teacher is continuing to monitor and ensure that appropriate choices are being made.  There also may be specific students that use the timers instead of all students.

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• Restroom Time- We are fortunate enough to have restrooms located within the classroom.  It allows us to monitor more closely.  At the same time, let's face it, a teacher is CONSTANTLY engaged in,... well,... teaching!  It can be difficult to ensure that a student takes care of business and returns to learning as quickly as possible.  And our younger students are seemingly unaware of the extensive time they are spending in the restroom.  A timer can help them see just that.  A few of my students are required to turn the timer when they go to the restroom.  Their goal is to finish using the restroom, wash their hands, and return to their work spot before the sand timer has finished.  My two students that currently use the sand timer for this purpose add a tally mark on their own tally chart and watch the tallies grow from day to day.  Go HERE to download!  You may find other ways to keep students intrinsically motivated.

You can find this document by following this link!

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 The most important thing to remember when attempting to implement any of these strategies or tools is to teach explicitly, review expectations thoroughly, MODEL, MODEL, MODEL, and allow students to PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.  Share your positive and helpful thoughts or questions below!