Sensory Room at Home

[lotusdebi]

We've decided to create a sensory room as the children's big Xmas gift this year. I'm giving up my office/ the guest bedroom, which has really turned into the junk room, for this endeavor. I've gotten some great ideas from the indoor swings thread, but I could definitely use more!

First, should we keep the bed in the room? Would it be better to keep it, and maybe hang things over it, such as a climbing ladder? Or get rid of it to free up more space?

What kinds of things should I include in the room? Both of my kids are primarily sensory- seekers. They climb and slam into things a lot. They also seem to get a lot out of the swings in OT. DS1 calms down by spinning around in cocoon swing. I don't have tons of money to spend on this, but I do want to do it well so that it's fun and therapeutic, as well as a safe space for the kids to go.

We already have: mini trampoline, small gymnastics mat, bean bag chairs


Here are my ideas so far:

Ekorre Hand Rings http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00041048

Ekorre Rope Ladder http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40054072

Ekorre Swing http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10041670

Svinga http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00065497

Ekorre Swing http://www.amazon.com/Ekorre-Swing-h.../dp/B002XPNMFU

chinup bar

balance board

yoga/ exercise ball

zip line??? (probably not - don't think I have the space or means of making this safe)

scooter boards? (my kids love these in OT)

moon shoes

body sox


What do you think? What else should I look for? I'd love recommendations for inexpensive places to get some of these things as well (besides IKEA - we'll definitely go there!).

Thanks so much for any help you can give me!

[Eyelet]

I think you have some great ideas already. I don't have a specific room set aside just for sensory (lack of space), but we do have lots of sensory toys throughout the house. My son is also a climber, and when he was younger he got a lot of use out of an indoor climbing dome like this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/Childs-Climbing-...#ht_500wt_1156

Another great tool is a large therapy ball like this: http://www.amazon.com/Reebok-75cm-St...884228&sr=1-10

My son also really likes the sensory input from therapy body soxs: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ITCZ1A?...G9TDY07S3PDE3&

[StephandOwen]

We have these body sox and they work great! Works as well as the other body sox, but much cheaper!

[SpottedFoxx]

Ohhh I'm so jealous! I'd love to be able to do this for my son.

How about getting rid of the bed and doing a few different kinds of bean bag chairs?

They have some cool texture paints - maybe you can (if you are artistic - I'm not) make a mural with different types of textures?

[lotusdebi]

Thanks so much for all the urls and ideas!

I'm not artistic at all, so probably won't attempt a mural. I think I will ditch the bed, though. We have two different kinds of bean bag chairs already, but I'm looking forward to moving them to the sensory room! Thanks Spotted Foxx!

I'm definitely getting those body sox from Oriental Trading Co! What a price difference! Thanks Steph!

We had one of those big balls before, and the kids LOVED it! In fact, they loved it to death! I'm definitely getting another one! Thanks, Ixla!

I really appreciate all the help with this!

[hadleys_mom]

I'd probably keep the mattress but just put it on the floor. Its cheaper than getting any type of mat. And my two will play for hours just rolling around on my bed with a ton of pillows. ikea has a very inexpensive rocker/see saw that has been useful for DD. Now she likes to stand on it and balance as she rocks. We have a mini trampoline that we picked up used for cheap and the kids jump from it to the bed. If you have a closet in the room, you could make a quiet, soothing sensory spot. My dd's closet is literally halfway full with pillows and heavy blankets and a box of fidget toys. When life gets to be too much, she buries herself under the pillows and covers and plays with a fidget toy in the dark. Works like a charm to reset her.

[StephandOwen]

Originally Posted by hadleys_mom

If you have a closet in the room, you could make a quiet, soothing sensory spot. My dd's closet is literally halfway full with pillows and heavy blankets and a box of fidget toys. When life gets to be too much, she buries herself under the pillows and covers and plays with a fidget toy in the dark. Works like a charm to reset her.

DS's closet is usually like this too between the months of October to March (his hardest time of the year). The rest of the year he doesn't seem to need it as much. I haven't converted it back to his quiet place yet, but plan to soon.

His also has glow in the dark stars on the walls as well as some of those little push lights on the wall that he can turn on and off for some soft light. He had glow in the dark planets hanging down from a shelf in the closet, but he ripped most of those down I've found him sleeping in here during some of his really rough days.

Some other things you might consider from oriental trading....

sensory stepping stones

tunnel

Scooters

Pop-up tent

[lotusdebi]

Great ideas! Thanks Michele! I may have to use the closet to store some of my things, but if I can steal space in my DH's office, I'll definitely use the closet for a quiet spot. I've been trying to decide on a balance board, but maybe the Ikea seesaw would work better. The mattress on the floor is brilliant! Why didn't I think of that?

The colder months are really rough for my kids too, Steph. Which is why I love the idea of a sensory room so much, and am willing to give up my space to make it happen. I need something to keep my wild things from destroying my house (and my patience) over the winter! You listed a lot of things I was looking at from Oriental Trading after I put the body sox in my cart. Thank you!

[Mittsy]

How about a trampoline? A stepper?