Special Needs Parenting

You will need black construction paper, washable glue, shredded paper of various colors, and a small plastic bowl.

Begin by talking with your child about the colors of the paper. Point to each sheet as you say the name of the colors. Then ask your child to give you the paper as you ask for that color. Give me the red paper. Give me the yellow paper. Continue until he has given you all of the colors.

Next use a paper shredder to shred all of the colored paper. Use the kind of shredder that cuts the paper into long strips. Only the black paper will not be shredded. Regardless of the age of your child, the paper shredding step should be done by an adult.

Put one color of the shredded paper in a small plastic bowl. Put your hands in the bowl as you talk about the paper and model tactile tolerance. It feels dry. It is stringy. The paper is long.

Encourage your child to repeat the steps by putting his hands in the bowl.

Let your child put some glue in one spot on the paper. Help him add shredded paper of one of the colors. Talk about the fireworks you saw. Were they loud? Which color was best?

Repeat the above step, adding one color of paper fireworks at a time.