Dear Reader,
I still feel like the time since Christmas has just flown by and here we are, the second week into the new year. We had a pretty bad storm and had a few days of being snowed in while they sorted out the roads and the highways, and my kiddos caught a bug, so we’ve been crummily crammed together this week instead of enjoying the extra time. That means finding lots of keep-busy activities for my active kids! In a bout of desperation, I handed my preschooler these pipe cleaners and showed her how to make spirals with them.
I only sat down with her for a minute or 2 and played and then I went back to trying to catch up on laundry from sick kids. I didn’t know how long she’d actually stay occupied with it but she sat there by where I was folding for a decent amount of time while I oohed and awed at each completed spiral.
I think it helped that I had different textures of pipe cleaners in my bag. Some were softer, some were tinselly and sparkled. It filled a sensory need in that way. But mostly, she just liked the satisfying nature of creating the spiral. It gave her brain a chance to just chill and reset. Plus, since we missed OT, it was a great activity to work on her grip and manipulation.
After the little brain break, she moved on and played a lot nicer with her sisters, plus I got my laundry done without having to go break up some grumpy overstimulated kids that really need to feel better. Hope you have a good week!
