5 Activities To Do With A Sheet

Parachute: This one works best with 2 to 4 people, but if it's just you, you can tie the ends of the sheet to a stable surface or tuck it in the couch cushions. Lift it up! Send it down. Capture some kiddos! Encourage them to run through before it comes down.

Language targets: up, down, under, gotcha, let's go!, going up, going down

Swing: You will definitely need 2 adults for this activity, but it's so fun! You should have a soft surface under where the child is swinging in case they fall or get rowdy. I like to wrap the sheet around my wrists quite a few times, let your child find a position that's comfortable and get to swinging!

Language targets: Let's swing, go fast, go slow, stop!, too high!, that's so fun, that's so scary

Burrito: With this particular activity, pay close attention to your child's communication attempts (especially body language and facial expressions). Do they actually like what is happening? If not, stop immediately. If they trust you to wrap them up and look like they're enjoying, keep on wrapping!

Lay your child on top of a spread out sheet or blanket on the ground, bed, or couch. Some kiddos like to have arms out, some arms in. Find what your child likes. Then get to rolling. Make sure they know that you're going to unr0ll them! Use a key phrase to signal that: get me out!! Get out!, etc.

If your child likes pressure, they may love pressure while wrapped up too!

Language targets: Let's roll, get inside, get outta here, let me out, stop!

Goodnight/Wake up:  A lot of my kiddos at the office this week have been loving pretend sleeping under the sheet. I will cover them up, then maybe turn the lights off, wait at least 5 seconds, then say, "Good morning, it's time to play!" or "wake up!" and uncover them. Then we turn the lights back on. Then, I wait for them to show me they want to continue the activity more.

Yes, this is a lot of steps, BUT this is a great activity to encourage beginning pretend play and also gives the child some control of the activity. After I've modeled what we could say in each step of the activity, I let them decide when they want to: go to sleep, wake up, turn off the lights, turn on the lights, etc.

Language targets: go to sleep, wake up, turn off the lights, turn on the lights, good morning, good night, time for bed

Popcorn:  Put anything on top of a sheet and make it bounce/pop like popcorn. Balloons, balls, animal toys, stuffed animals, ANYTHING! Best with 2 adults, or older siblings helping. You can also secure to couch or other sturdy surface.

Language targets: It's gonna pop, wow so high!, look!, it's popping, let's get more, stop, go

IMPORTANT: With all sensory activities where we are touching our kiddos' bodies, we need to make sure we're giving them pause time to show us if they want the activity to stop.