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Spec Needs:Outside Ideas

Gross Motor and Social Skills Outside

Jun 25, 2006 Lynn Moore

For kids with special needs, activities near home are great breaks to work into the day. Activities in the community provide opportunities to build social skills.

Take a look at some great outside fun ideas to explore with your child or tween. Each offers great benefits.

Family Activities Near Home

Family activities near home are wonderful little breaks that can be worked into your family's schedule. For some children with special needs, most outside fun will take place near home.

Walk sensory ** gross motor ** verbal
Bike gross motor ** safety
Catch hand-eye coordination ** social skills (taking turns)
Trampoline gross motor ** sensory
Bubbles oral motor ** hand eye coordination
Chalk on the sidewalk hand eye coordination ** art
Read a book under a tree language skills ** literacy
Enjoy a popsicle, watermelon, or ice cream sensory ** oral motor
Watch the stars visual preception ** verbal skills
Watch fireworks visual perception ** verbal skills
Watch fireflies visual tracking ** verbal skills
Watch butterflies, ladybugs, etc. visual tracking ** verbal skills
Fly a kite gross motor ** hand eye coordination
Play in the leaves gross motor ** sensory
Play in the rain gross motor ** sensory
Do flashlight tricks visual tracking**hand eye coordination ** verbal skills
Jump rope gross motor ** social skills
Play hopscotch gross motor ** social skills

Activities in the Community

Activities in the community provide a great break in the day or week. Everyone needs to get away sometimes. As you consider which activities in the community are best for your child consider abilities, challenges, and the wonderful opportunity for social skills that cannot be matched at home.

Playground gross motor ** social skills
Swim gross motor ** sensory ** relaxation
Picnic social skills
Camping sensory ** relaxation
Join a team gross motor ** hand eye coordination ** social skills
Go to a ballgame social skills
Go to a drive in movie relaxation ** verbal skills
Go to a water park sensory ** social skills ** gross motor

My next article:

Outside Games to Try

Note: All activities in this article are ideas. The appropriate choice of specific activities is the responsibility of the parents. Each child has unique needs and restrictions. The author is not responsible for anything resulting from the activity ideas in this article or on this website.

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The copyright of the article Spec Needs:Outside Ideas in Special Needs Parenting is owned by Lynn Moore. Permission to republish Spec Needs:Outside Ideas in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.