Sensory Hammock Games

I love, love, LOVE Chelsea's sensory hammock, which we got from a grant (challenged america) and it has helped out family soooo much!

We use it most often for her to calm down when she is having meltdowns, and it works wonders for getting her to relax!

My little man decided he wanted to help

When we have time, I like doing sensory hammock games!

1. Peekaboo- Not only a fun game for kids, but also is good for using those muscles to pull the opening to the hammock apart and back together!

2. Tornado- great vestibular (balance) experience! Just spin! This can be done in any playground park, if you don't have a hammock. Just spin them around, and for a bonus tracking activity, try to have them quickly look at you after spinning!

3. Knock Down Blocks- good for hand/ eye or hand/ foot coordination! And what kid doesn't like knocking down towers?

4. Hang onto the hammock- Have your child on the outside of the hammock, and hold on, as if you are hanging on a vine.

5. Push/ Catch/ Hit- Put a yoga ball (I used our hoppy ball) into the hammock and push it, work on catching, or just bop it around! Great proprioceptive (body awareness) activity!

6. Pull rope! This is probably the favorite in our house! Use a jump rope, and have the child pull the rope, or you pull the rope and the child hangs on!

7. Hand over Hand. Very similar to the one above, but have the child pull themselves along, doing hand over hand. Such a good full-body activity- uses muscles all over, core, arms, and works the brain too!

8. Blast Off! I didn't get a video for this one. But the idea is for your child to use their feet to shove off your hands (or really anything) and "blast off". This is awesome for motor planning and body awareness!!!