Its Road Safety Week here and we are sharing our quick and easy DIY sensory Play sessions for families at home. These activities give the opportunity to raise discussions around road safety!
Introduce the concept of road safety as soon as your child begins to comprehend basic instructions. Use simple language and repetition to reinforce key points.
Model Safe Behavior: Children learn by watching adults, so always demonstrate safe pedestrian behavior when walking with them.
Engage in Play: Incorporate road safety themes into playtime activities. Use toy cars, traffic signs, and pedestrian figures to act out scenarios. Make it interactive and fun while subtly teaching them about the importance of staying safe near roads.
Reinforce Rules: Consistently remind your child about road safety rules during everyday activities. Before crossing the road, ask them to repeat the steps: stop, look, and listen. Praise them for remembering and following the rules.
Use Visual Aids: Use visual aids like posters or pictures to illustrate road safety concepts. Display these reminders at home or in the car to reinforce the message consistently.
Encourage Questions: Create an open dialogue about road safety and address any questions or concerns your child may have. Encourage them to ask questions and provide age-appropriate answers to deepen their understanding.
Practice, Practice, Practice: Regularly practice road safety skills during walks or outings. Start in safe environments like parks or sidewalks before gradually introducing more challenging scenarios.
Stay Vigilant: Even as your child grows older, continue to reinforce road safety principles and adapt your approach as they gain more independence. Consistency and patience are key to instilling lifelong habits of caution and awareness near roads.
Sensory Activities for at Home!
Traffic Light Soup:
This is a perfect at home easy set up using a container with water.
Add some foam in colours Red, Yellow and Green cut out in circles and utensils or your choice.
Using the utensils to scoop and pour the water and encourage bubs to catch the colours supports fine motor skills, hand and eye coordination and colour sorting.
2."Safety Cone Obstacle Course":
Set up a mini obstacle course using safety cones, tunnels made of fabric, and cardboard boxes to represent road obstacles. Let the children navigate through the course while emphasizing the importance of looking both ways before crossing, stopping at obstacles, and walking safely. Add fun challenges like hopping over "potholes" (pillows) or balancing on a "sidewalk curb" (a wooden plank).
3" Car Wash"
Set up a container of bubbly water and another container with muddy slime.
Place the vehicles in the muddy slime making tracks and making marks. Then add the vehicles to the wash container for some scrubbing and cleaning in the car wash.
These activities are perfect for promoting gross and fine motor skills, hand and eye coordination, mark making, colour sorting and discussions about the world around us.
Be safe whilst on the roads everybody!
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