12 Animal Walks for Kids Who Crave Sensory Input

Need ideas to get the kids moving? Try these sensory animal walks for kids. They get kids moving and burning off that excess energy!

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Last week we received our first official dump of snow and the cold arctic air came with it. Just like that, we're shoveling snow and bundling up to brave the -30 C wind chills.

Wind chills like that though mean that we can't always spend a lot of time playing outdoors. So it doesn't take long for the kids to get a bit squirrely with our long cold winters.

Thankfully, we can burn off excess energy indoors with these 12 fun animal walks for kids. They're also a great way to provide proprioceptive and vestibular sensory input to my sensory seeking kids.

A version of this post originally appeared on the CBC Parents website.

Why Sensory Animal Walks?

You might be wondering: why do animal walks in the first place?

Well, these silly walks make exercise fun for kids, encouraging them to get creative and engage in some imaginative play, all while burning off excess energy. They're great for rainy or cold winter days or for a quick body break at home or at school.

They are also highly regulating and provide calming sensory input. Specifically, proprioceptive and vestibular sensory input through heavy work (more on that here). In other words, these animal walks help kids receive calming deep pressure to their joints and limbs, help strengthen their sense of balance, and develop body awareness, among many other things.

Animal walks also help develop a child's core strength and muscles.

As an added benefit, animal walks require no additional materials. You simply need some open space, you body, and a little imagination.

Animal Walks for Kids That Will Get the Kids Moving!

You probably remember doing lots of these animal walks yourself when you were a child, but, in case you need some further inspiration, here are 12 animal walks for kids. They'll be moving and giggling in no time!

1. Frog Hop

The frog hop is a classic animal walk that most kids know how to replicate. Simply square like a frog and hop. Or turn it into a game of leap frog if you have more than one child.

2. Seal Slide

Personally, I find the seal slide super challenging as an adult so it's definitely a great challenge for the kids too. To do the seal slide, simply lay on your tummy, push your hands up until your arms are straight, and move across the floor while dragging your legs behind you.

3. Penguin Waddle

Who doesn't love penguins? They're so adorable when they walk. Your kids will love pretending to be a penguin too. To do this animal walk, simply keep your arms tight against the side of your body then gently waddle side to side as you walk.

For an added challenge or twist, try and encourage your kids to walk with a penguin egg on their feet. Place a small ball or stuffed animal on top of their feet and see if your kids can waddle across the room without dropping their egg.

4. Snake Slither

Lay on your tummy and wiggle along the floor like a slithering snake. This exercise requires a lot of energy and strength to slither across the floor. It's also hilarious to watch!

5. Bear Walk

Here's a classic animal walk that you might remember from your childhood. Simply walk on all fours like a bear, keeping your arms and legs fairly straight as you walk.

6. Crab Walk

Another childhood classic! This one involves leaning backwards on all fours and walking around backwards.

7. Kangaroo Jump

Jumping is a great way to burn off loads of energy. To do the kangaroo jump, keep your  legs together, bend the knees a bit, and jump around as high as you can. You could also encourage your kids to hold a stuffed animal in front of them as if they have a kangaroo pouch of their own.

8. Duck Waddle

Your kids will love pretending to be a duck with this simple duck waddle. To do this exercise, squat, tuck your hands into your armpits to make duck wings, and flag your arms as you walk.

9. Donkey Kicks

Donkey kicks are ideal for kids who are extra energetic. Start by getting on all fours. Then simply kick your legs out and up.

For a fun challenge and twist, stack some pillows or cardboard boxes and use your donkey kicks to knock them over.

10. Inchworm Crawl

Move inch by inch with this silly animal walk. To do it, keep your legs straight, bend down, and place your hands on the ground right in front of your feet. Next, walk your hands out in front of you until you get into a pushup-like position. Then walk your feet up to meet your hands all while keeping your arms and legs as straight as possible.

11. Elephant Walk

This walk is all about swinging your long elephant trunk. To form your trunk, put your arms together in front of your body. Then swing your homemade trunk from side to side as you walk. Don't forget to stomp your feet like big elephants as you walk around!

12. One-Legged Flamingo Hops

This animal walk is great for working on balance because it's all about one-legged hops! To do flamingo hops, stand on one leg, hop, and then land one-legged on the opposite leg.

Some Final Notes & Ideas on Doing Animal Walks

Feel free to get creative and let the kids invent their own animal walks too. Maybe they're want to be dinosaurs or horses or sea creatures next. The possibilities are endless!

You could also try doing competitive animal walks. For example, have a crab walk race and see who can cross the finish line first.

Need visuals? Try using this free Google Slides deck of animal walks in teletherapy, at home, or in your classroom.

I hope your kids have fun doing these animal walk exercises!

Indoor Activities for Kids Using Materials You Already Have

A huge collection of indoor activities for kids and boredom buster ideas that make use of materials you likely already have on hand.

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I know that many of us are looking for ways to keep our kids busy and preoccupied indoors right now. And shopping for supplies is not a possibility at the moment.

So the other morning I sent an email to my newsletter subscribers with a variety of indoor activities for kids that made use of supplies that they likely already had on hand, hoping it would be helpful for families during this transition period.

Well, the response was overwhelming.

So here is a fully expanded list of easy indoor activities sorted by material types. From no materials besides your body and using recyclables like cardboard to kitchen supplies and craft sticks, there is something for everybody on this list.

No Materials Required! Just Use Your Body or Hands

You don't need any special materials for these activities (some include a printable to make it easier though!).

1. 12 Animal Walks
2. Feelings Walk
3. 11 Easy Hand Games
4. Pokemon Action Cards (read the prompts from the printable)
5. Arrow Jumping Game (requires printing the arrows)
6. Dance party
7. Go for a walk
8. Yoga
9. Learn sign language and finger spell words (use the free printable ASL alphabet cards to get started)

Cardboard & Other Recyclables

Time to use up whatever recycling you have laying around and get creative! Here are some fun ways to make use of all those Amazon prime boxes, tin cans, and whatnot.

1. Homemade Crayon Rubbing Cards
2. Recycled Alphabet & Number Box
3. Cardboard Box & Crayons Open Ended Process Art
4. Yarn Wrapped Planets (you'll also need yarn, obviously)
5. Homemade Elevator
6. Cardboard Slide
7. Egg Carton Geoboard
8. No Glue, No Tape STEM Challenge with Recyclables
9. 10 Ways to Play With Plastic Individual Sized Fruit Cups
10. Spelling With Tin Can Drums
11. Cardboard Tube Matching Busy Bag Activities
12. Cardboard Box Hurdles (& Other Easy Indoor Ideas)
13. DIY Recycled Building Blocks with Washi Tape (but you could color or decorate with paint instead)

A Roll of Masking Tape

Do you have a roll of painter's tape or masking tape kicking around? Here's what you can do with a roll of tape.

1. 12+ Ways to Play with Tape
2. Tape Letters
3. Make tape resist art: Music Tape Resist Art & Tape Resist Surfboard Art
4. Graphing Activity (just add some toys or craft supplies you have duplicates of)

Pool Noodles

Maybe I'm the only oddball that always seems to have a pool noodle or two kicking around their house, but in case you have one on hand, here's what you can do:

1. DIY Balance Beam
2. Pool Noodles & Rubber Bands
3. DIY Mix & Match Creature Blocks
4. Pool Noodle Phone
5. DIY Pool Noodle Balance Board
6. 12 Olympic Activities Using Pool Noodles
7. Cut up pool noodles and stamp with paint onto paper

Craft Sticks (Colored and/or Plain)

Do you have a stockpile of craft sticks or popsicle sticks in your craft supply? Try these ideas!

1. DIY Activity Jar
2. Sight Word Popsicle Stick Puzzles
3. Tally Marks Busy Bag
4. Tally Marks Math Tray
5. DIY Picture Puzzles
6. Make craft stick roads: Magnetic Roads Busy Bag or DIY Road Play Set
7. Popsicle Stick Push Busy Bag for Toddlers

Blankets, Pillows, Bed Sheets, & Stuffed Animals

Pull the cushions off the couch and round up all the soft things in your house for these ideas!

1. DIY Crash Mat
2. 8 Activities Using Pillows & A Bucket (or Laundry Basket)
3. Bedsheet Parachute
4. Couch Cushion or Pillow Jumping
5. Stuffed Animal Throw
6. Make a fort
7. Pillow fight
8. Sumo wrestling with pillows (just stuff your shirt with a pillow)

Kitchen Supplies

Your kitchen is full of awesome materials that your kids can use for play and learning. From muffin tins and ice cube trays to cookie cutters and canned goods.

1. Muffin Tin Geoboard
2. 7 More Muffin Tin Boredom Buster Activities
3. Drawing with Cookie Cutters
4. Cookie cutters into play dough
5. Dip cookie cutters into washable paint and stamp onto paper
6. Paper Plate Alphabet Scavenger Hunt
7. Paper Plate Spinner (we did months of the year, but you can make it for any topic)
8. 12 Ways to Play with a Bag of Ice
9. Sorting with Ice Cube Trays: Example 1 & Example 2
10. Stack canned goods or make towers
11. Stretch rubber bands around cans (similar to this)
12. Grab some bowls and wooden spoons and make drums

Tissue Paper

I personally like to reuse tissue paper from birthday and Christmas gifts so I have an ongoing collection in our storage room. Here are some fun ways to use it to keep the kids busy:

1. Tissue Paper Ripping Sensory Bin
2. Ocean Themed Sensory Bin
3. Bleeding tissue paper art: Shamrock & Easter egg
4. DIY Confetti Drop - maybe to celebrate when we're out of isolation?
5. Suncatcher Crafts (if you happen to have contact paper on hand, which you may not have, then scroll down to the suncatchers section)

Printer, Paper, & Ink!

Just print to play and learn with these handy dandy free printables.

1. DIY Pokemon Cards Template
2. Pokeball Coloring Sheets
3. Hundreds of I Spy Games for Kids
4. Scrabble Math Printables
5. Barrier Games for Speech & Language
6. ASL Sign Language Alphabet Cards
7. ASL Sign Language Number Cards

What Else Do You Have on Hand?

And finally, here's the catch-all category!

• Scarves: Scarf Weaving & Scarf Sensory Bin

• Flashlight: 5 Flashlight Games

• LEGO: LEGO Activities

• Mega Bloks: Numeracy Activities & Literacy Activities

• Whiteboard: 10 Games to Play on a Whiteboard

• Dry erase markers & a large window or mirror: Tracing Letters on Mirrors

• Exercise ball: 8 Gross Motor Activities Using an Exercise Ball

• A box of pencils or colored pencils: Easy Boredom Busters Using Pencils

• Rubber bands: 15 Fine Motor Activities Using Rubber Bands

• Straws: DIY Skipping Rope Made from Straws & Oral Motor Races

• Perler beads: Perler Bead Patterns (scroll to the Perler Beads section)

• Kinetic Sand: Kinetic Sand Activities

• Water beads: Water Bead Activities

• Magnetic tiles: Magnetic Tiles Ideas

Phew! I hope you find this huge list helpful!

Other Resources You'll Love

Sensory Bins for Kids

Boredom Buster Activities for Kids

100s of Activities for Kids

Valentine's Day Gross Motor Balance Activity

Looking for Valentine gross motor activities for preschool? Try this simple gross motor balance activity!

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We've been doing a lot of Valentine's themed gross motor activities lately, including this simple heart themed gross motor balance activity. 

It's really low prep, making it a perfect boredom buster for cold winter days. And trust me, in Saskatchewan we get a lot of cold winter days! Days where the temperatures plummet to -40 C or colder and it's simply too cold to play outdoors.

So if you find yourself trapped indoors because your car won't start or you just don't feel like braving the cold, then this low prep Valentine's themed boredom buster is perfect for you. 

The kids can even help you set it up and keep their bodies moving!

Heart Balance Game: A Simple Valentine Gross Motor Activity

I already mentioned that this activity is low prep and you don't need much in terms of materials.

And while this activity is intended to work on balance and gross motor movements, there is a fine motor learning component to it as well. You'll just have to read the full post over on CBC Parents to get the full details.

{Click here to read about this activity at CBC Parents.}

Valentine's Day Gross Motor Activities

This collection of gross motor Valentine's Day activities for kids is so fun and so inexpensive. All you need is something from the dollar store!

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With my oldest back in school, I'm trying to avoid falling into a rut again with my four year old. He really doesn't like to play at home without his best buddy, so it's hard to find activities that he will actually engage in.

So after dropping J off at school, we made a quick stop at the dollar store to find some fresh inspiration.

We ended up coming home with a package of felt hearts and spending hours playing and moving with them. The end result is this set of Valentine's Day gross motor activities.

There's zero prep (score!) involved here. Just tons of gross motor play, which is exactly the type of activity my four year old K needed!

Valentine Gross Motor Activities for Preschoolers: What You'll Need

Here's what you'll need for these Valentine's Day themed gross motor games:

• Large felt hearts (or similar) from the dollar store - You could substitute foam hearts, paper hearts, or even cut out your own heart shapes from felt.

When I picked up a package of felt hearts from our trip to the dollar store, I didn't really know what I was going to do with them. But I figured that I would eventually come up with something.

Obviously I did. You're reading about it after all!

What I loved even more though was that my son created his own fun variations of my original idea.

Easy, Peasy Gross Motor Activities for Valentine's Day Using a Package of Hearts

To play, we started off by scattering the hearts on the floor. We set them a fair distance apart to encourage jumping and large steps. 

For extra fun, I told my four year old that the carpet was lava and he had to only touch the hearts. He's really into the whole "the floor is lava" stage of childhood so he loved this suggestion of mine.

Then, instead of stepping from heart to heart, we varied things up. He tried hopping on one foot from heart to heart. Then he practiced double footed jumps, like below.

Another way to play is to move from heart to heart on all fours, only letting one body part touch a heart at a time. Kind of like a moving game of Twister, I guess? Anyway, it was a great way to stretch the body and get my son moving. You can see it in action in the video that's included elsewhere in this post.

Even More Valentine's Day Gross Motor Activities to Try

Finally, here are some other ways to play with these felt hearts:

• Arrange the hearts in a snake-like shape to create a game board. Roll a die and use your feet as game board pieces to move from the start to the finish line.

• Arrange the hearts to make a hopscotch game. You could label the hearts with numbers if you wish. 

• Make a tic tac toe grid on the floor using tape. Play tic tac toe with the felt hearts instead of X's and O's. One person uses one color of hearts while the other person uses the other color. 

• Arrange the felt hearts into a tight grid, sort of like a Twister game board. Then grab a die. Depending on what number you roll on the die, that's what body part you place somewhere on the hearts. You can only use one body part per heart though! We used the following:

• Roll a 1 = Place your head on a heart

• Roll a 2 = Place your left hand on a heart

• Roll a 3 = Place your right hand on a heart

• Roll a 4 = Place your left foot on a heart

• Roll a 5 = Lift your head up from the hearts

• Roll a 6 = Kid's choice

Regardless of what variation you try, your toddlers and preschoolers are going to have a blast with these Valentine's Day gross motor activities. Which variation will you try first?

DIY Crash Pad {An Easy No Sew Sensory Hack}

DIY crash pad tutorial. Find out how to make a crash mat using materials you have around your home. No sewing involved either!

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I have been wanting to make a gigantic crash mat for my kids for quite some time. However, the thought of sewing a large piece of fabric and hunting down enough foam to stuff it with seemed too daunting. It also sounds ridiculously expensive! 

But I finally came up with the perfect inexpensive solution for making your own homemade crash mat.

It's frugal to make because you likely already have everything on hand to make it. Ready to find out how to make it?

Why Crash Mats are Great for Kids with Autism & Sensory Processing Disorder

Crash mats are great for kids, especially those with autism and/or sensory processing disorder, because it provides lots of proprioceptive input and deep pressure.

It's also a great way to burn off excess energy when the kids are stuck indoors. Jump. Crash. Repeat.

But if you have ever priced out a crash mat (like this one), then you know they're super expensive! And I'm entirely too cheap to buy one, so I came up with this perfect DIY alternative. There's no sewing involved too (bonus, right?).

Homemade Crash Pad: What You'll Need

Do you use a duvet on any of the beds in your house? Well, then you are ready to go!

To make this no sew DIY crash mat, you will need to gather as many of the following supplies as possible:

• Duvet cover (ours is queen sized) that is sealed with a zipper (similar to this one) - required material

• Duvet(s)

• Pillows

• Body pillow

• Large comforters, blankets, or fluffy towels

• Large stuffed animals (avoid ones with any plastic parts)

• Bean bag chairs

In the past, we have always just piled up stuffed animals, pillows, and blankets to make a giant crash mat. The problem with this method, however, is that all the materials shift, meaning we would constantly have to readjust the items.

We needed something that would hold all the items in one place.

The solution?

A duvet cover that zips closed!

How to Make a Crash Mat

Simply unzip the duvet cover and stuff it as full as you can with everything soft and fluffy in your house.

We used primarily pillows, fleece blankets, two bean bag chairs, a body pillow, and a large stuffed tiger that is bigger than I am!

Fun tip: You can even make it into a scavenger hunt and encourage the kids to help you locate everything you could use.

Making Your Own Crash Mat is a Great Heavy Work Activity Too!

Stuffing the duvet cover is a great heavy work activity for kids too because they have to climb inside the duvet cover with a large item and stuff it into the corners.

Another fun tip: the duvet cover makes a fun fort! I held the opening of the duvet up so that the boys could climb in and out to fill it up. 

Once it's full, simply zip it closed and let the kids crash! It worked perfectly!

Other Sensory Hacks You'll Love

DIY Lycra Sensory Bed Sheet Tutorial

Homemade Sensory Tunnel

Homemade Stretchy Resistance Bands

11 Fun Hand Games Your Kids Will Love

Looking for fun hand games for kids? Try one of these hand games! They're perfect games to play when bored or with friends and include classic games like rock paper scissors.

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A lot of kids struggle with waiting in line or lengthy waits in the waiting room for appointments. They might be trying to grab things off the shelf while you wait to check out. They might beg to watch something on your phone or complain about being bored. They might get restless and fidgety and just need something for their hands to do.

Some days you can only keep them preoccupied for so long. Or until the snacks run out...So sometimes you need something to keep them busy and distracted. Something quick. Something easy. Well, that's where these hand games come in. Dare I say they're handy? Hahaha...see what I did there? 

The best part is that these fun hand games require nothing more than two sets of hands (although you can play some of these games with more than two players!). They're perfect games for on the go or for when you get (unexpectedly) stuck somewhere with a long wait.

Hand Games for Kids to Play When Bored or to Play With Friends

All of these games for kids require two players (minimum) and use just their hands to play. They're called hand games for a reason...So no fancy materials are required!

These games are perfect for kids to play when bored, especially while waiting in line, waiting at the doctor's office, riding in a shopping cart, etc. They can also play these hand games with friends at school, during recess, on bus rides, and whatnot. I remember playing a lot of these myself during recesses as a kid. They're great for kids of all ages, even toddlers can play most of them.

Here are 11 of our favorite hand games to play:

1. Easy, Peasy Hand Stacking Games

You can play this game with as many kids as you'd like: two, three, four...or more! To play, you simply take turns stacking one hand (palm down) on top of the other person's hand, going higher and higher and alternating your right hand and left hand. 

Whoever's hand is on the bottom of the stack removes their hand and places it on top of the stack. Then whoever's hand is now on the bottom goes next. You keep repeating and stacking hands until you can no longer reach the top.

You can also play this game backwards. That means that the hand that's on top of the stack goes first. They remove their hand from the top of the stack and add it to the bottom. Then whoever's hand is now on top goes next and so on.

Another variation is the double stack. In this variation, try stacking both hands at the same time (one on top of the other), alternating turns with the other player(s) until you can no longer reach the top. 

2. Fist Stacking Game - A Fun Game for Two or More Players!

This game is similar to the hand stacking game above. However, instead of stacking hands, you will stack fists. Just like the title implies, right?

To play, each player makes a fist with each hand and takes turn stacking their fists higher and higher, alternating right and left. Whoever's fist is at the bottom of the stack goes next and play continues until you can't reach any higher. 

You can also try playing the game backwards by stacking downwards. Or try stacking your two fists at the same time (just stack your own fists on top of each other).

3. Make Your Own Secret Handshakes

My kids became obsessed with secret handshakes quite a few months ago and they make for a fun hand game to play. You can either come up with your own secret handshakes or search YouTube for some awesome secret handshake ideas (we like the ones from GoNoodle).

Then once you've invented your top secret handshake, you can practice it on the go. Keep it simple with a few hand slaps, high fives, and wiggly fingers. Or make it elaborate with crazy hand movements or even some full body movements as well.

4. Rock, Paper, Scissors

No list of hand games for kids would be complete without this classic hand game!

Rock, paper, scissors is pretty straightforward to play. However, if your kids need help understanding how to play, then this printable social story about how to play rock, paper, scissors might be helpful for them.

Grab a copy of the Rock, Paper, Scissors Social Story

5. Thumb Wars - A Classic Partner Hand Game!

"1, 2, 3, 4, I declare a thumb war!" Oh, how that little chant brings back memories of playing this popular hand game when I was a child. It was also a hand game I excelled at because of my long alien fingers.

To play, you simply link the same hands and fingers together in a fist with the other player and have your thumbs wrestle. The first one to pin the other's thumb wins!

6. High Five Hand Games

For this simple game, one person holds up one or both hands in different positions and encourages the other person to give them a high five (or high ten). The idea here though is to be creative though. Try to use a variety of different positions for your partner to slap your hands. Think beyond up high, down low...too slow!

Possible positions include a high five, low five, high ten, low ten, one hand high and one hand low, two hands really far apart, crisscross high tens, or crisscross low tens. Try to think of new hand positions that are different and/or unusual.

When I play these high five games with my kids, I try to do them rapidly. As soon as they high five or high ten, I switch to a new position. And usually the more ridiculous positions the better as it really gets them giggling! Especially if I do a really wide high ten where I stretch both of my hands out as far as possible. Obviously, my kids cannot reach both hands at the same time since they're still little, so they end up laughing hysterically when I do that.

7. Stella, Ella, Ola Hand Clapping Game & Song

We personally like to play the two player version of this game, the same one that I played as a little girl. There's also a version for multiple players where you sit in a circle and put your hands out to your sides. For this version, you would place your right hand palm up on top of another player's left hand and your left hand palm up below another player's right hand. 

However, for the two player version though, both players hold their left hands up and then join their right hands together. Then, as you sing the song or chant the words to Stella, Ella, Ola, you move the joint right hands back and forth, slapping against the left hands with the beat of the song.

At the end, you have to try to slap the hand that lines up with the final word of the song while the owner of that hand has to avoid getting their hand slapped. If you hit their hand, you win. If they successfully avoid getting hit, they win.

The words that I sang as a child for this hand clapping game are different from what I could find on YouTube or elsewhere, but you could really make up any chant you want.

8. Multiplication Hand Game

To play this game, pretend you are about to play rock, paper, scissors. However, instead of picking rock, paper, or scissors, you display any number of fingers that you want (anything from 0 to 10). The other player picks a random number of fingers to display as well.

Then you try to multiply the two numbers you and your partner have picked as fast as you can. So, if person A holds up five fingers and person B holds up two fingers, then you have to shout ten as fast as you can. It's a quick thinking math hand game!

9. Addition Hand Game

Similar to the multiplication game above, this hand game is all about adding up all the fingers you see instead of multiplying. So, if person A holds up two fingers and person B holds up all ten, then you have to shout twelve as fast as you can. 

We usually start this game off by chanting, "1, 2, 3, add 'em up!" and then displaying a chosen number of fingers. Sometimes we play it as just two players and sometimes we do it as a group hand game with multiple players.

10. Hand Slap Game

To play this game, one player holds both hands flat with palms facing up. The other player places their hands with palms facing down and hovering slightly above the other person's hands.

The player with their hands on the bottom tries to pull their hands out and gently slap the top of the other player's hands, while that player tries to move their hands out of the way before getting slapped. The key is to slap gently! We don't want players to end up with sore red hands here. Although as a child, I'm sure that was always our underlying goal...

11. Sign Language Spelling Bee - A Simple Finger Game

If your kids how to sign the letters of the alphabet in sign language, then this simple hand game is for you!

I happened to teach both of my kids how to sign when they were babies, a skill that came in handy with my hyperlexic son's speech delays, so every so often we like to play this game to keep our ASL signs in tip top shape! Plus, finger spelling (and games like this!) are a great way to build those fine motor skills!

To play this finger game, simply think of a word and then finger spell it in ASL. Then the other player has to try and figure out what word you spelled. If you don't yet know the ASL alphabet, grab these free printable ASL sign language cards to start learning them.

There are tons of other awesome finger games, hand clapping games, and what not out there. But the hand games described above are the ones we do the most often. So don't be afraid to get creative and invent a few of your own as well.