Outdoor Sensory Diet Activities for the Backyard

So often, kids are sent home from therapy with a sensory diet of specific activities and sensory tools that are prescribed for certain sensory processing needs. When a therapist creates a home exercise program, they do their best to ensure carryover through small lists of activities, parent education, and 
motivating activities that are based on the child’s interests and personal goals.


If you are looking for more outdoor sensory diet activities that can be used in the backyard or as part of a home program, these occupational therapy activities will be a huge help!

We’ve all seen home programs that are just not used at home! Between all of the things that need doing in the home, it is hard to do that one extra task that is a home exercise program…even when it’s a sensory diet strategy that can help everything else. 


So, using sensory diet tools within the context of environments or activities that are deeply meaningful to a family and child such as play that is already happening, can be the meaningful and motivating strategy to actually get that sensory diet task completed. And it benefits the child along with the whole family. 


These sensory diet activities are those that can be included into backyard play. That may look like independent play by the child or it might mean family time on a Sunday afternoon. Use these outdoor sensory diet activities in the backyard to as sensory tools that double as playtime for the child while he/she learns and grows… or to meet the sensory needs of the child while creating memories and enjoying time together!


Disclaimer: When therapists develop a specific and highly individualized sensory diet, it’s not just throwing together a day filled with sensory input. A sensory diet  is a specific set of sensory tools used to meet and address certain needs of the individual based on sensory need and strategizing. Each of the sensory diet activities above should meet specific needs of the child. Every child is different so applying sensory input to one child may look very different than that of another. Parents should use the tactics below along with your child’s occupational therapist.

Bakyard Sensory Diet Activities

Slide down a hill on cardboard
Grass sensory bin
Use a magnifying glass to inspect the grass and dirt
Mud kitchen
Roll down hills
Animal walks with barefeet
Create nature “soup” with grass, flower petals, sticks, etc.
Pick flowers
Cartwheels and tumbling on the grass (barefoot or with shoes!)
Water Table with nature
Cartwheel or tumbling 
Target games
Bean bag games
Relay races
Hide and seek games
Simon Says games
Tag 
Bell parade
Kazoo sound hunt
Listening for birds or animals
Record backyard sounds and playback the recording. Try to recognize and name the sound and where it was located in the yard.
Fill containers with items from the backyard.  Shake plastic containers or even paper bags with the items and see if your child can name the objects.
Play Marco Polo in the yard!

Create with recycled materials and make arts, crafts, and activities.

Pull plastic ware out of the cupboards and sort the lids onto the containers.

Mix colors with food coloring in water.

Blow bubbles

Jump rope

Play Kickball

Throw a book picnic: grab snacks, a blanket, and a pile of books and head outside.

Dress up with old fancy dresses and clothes from mom’s closet (then throw them in a bag and donate!)

Bake

Poke holes in a cardboard box and push pipe cleaners through the holes

Bowl with recycled plastic waterbottles

Act out a favorite nursery rhyme

Play Pizza Tag: one person is “it” and chases the others.  Players run from “it” and can stay safe from being tagged by naming pizza toppings and touching the ground.

Put dollhouses or play sets into a bin of shredded paper.

Play hide and seek

Climb trees

Watch and draw clouds

Tell stories where one person starts a story and each person adds a sentence to continue the story.  Write it down and illustrate your story!

Make and deliver lemonade to neighbors

Go birdwatching

Make creative firefly catchers and then catch the fireflies that night.

Play charades

Act out a favorite book

Create with finger paints (make your own with flour, water, and food coloring or washable paint!)

Sing songs

Turn on music and dance

Pick flowers and give them to neighbors

Make crafts. Have an art show and invite friends.

Create a spatial concepts map

Spin in circles.
Swing side to side on a swing set.
Hang upside down from swing set equipment.
Swing on a hammock.
Backyard dance party.  Encourage lots of whole body movements and spinning.
Cartwheels
Tumbles
Hopscotch
Play Leapfrog
Mini trampoline (or the big sized-trampoline)

Catch a ball while standing, sitting, swinging, rolling a ball, catching between legs, etc.
Hit a tennis racket at a target including bubbles, falling leaves, large balls, small rubber balls, and balloons
Catch butterflies in a net
Bubble pop, including popping bubbles with a toe, knee, foot, head, finger, or elbow

goop

play dough

shaving cream

backyard messy play date

paper mache

Backyard Sensory Diet Equipment

Make a bin of outdoor toys that are readily available in your garage or storage area so that sensory play experiences are at your family’s fingertips. 
Hoola Hoops
Jump Ropes
Balls
Bat
Tennis Racket
Butterfly Net
Baby Swimming Pool
Tarp or Slip and Slide
Water Hose
Scoops and cups
Sidewalk chalk
Bike
Scooter
Skateboard
Cardboard
Target or net
Shovels
Buckets
Play wheelbarrow
Swingset
Climbing structure
Flashlight
Magnifying glass
Cones
Bubbles
Bean bags

Accommodations for addressing sensory needs in the backyard

For kids with sensory needs, it can be overwhelming to have an open space full of sights, sounds, scents, and textures. Honking horns, barking dogs, and other sounds that frequent the backyard or lawn can be too much for the child with sensory sensitivities. Try these accommodations for addressing sensory needs in backyard play:

Wear shoes instead of sandals or bear feet

Proprioceptive input such as firm touch to the shoulders

Calming vestibular sensory input such as side to side or forward-front slow swinging

Throw and play catch with a weighted ball 

Bucket of water to rinse hands if child is sensitive to messy hands or dirt

Sheltered area if child is sensitive to wind blowing on skin

Wear a lightweight wind jacket

Hat with brim to reduce bright light or intense light in eyes or on face

Sunscreen with firm touch before going outdoors

Wear sunglasses

Wear headphones to reduce background noise

Be aware of freshly cut grass which as a strong scent

Wear thin gloves for gardening activities

More about outdoor sensory diet activities

Sensory diets and specific sensory input or sensory challenges are a big part of addressing sensory needs of children who struggle with sensory processing issues. Incorporating a schedule of sensory input (sensory diet) into a lifestyle of naturally occuring and meaningful activities is so very valuable for the child with sensory needs. 

That’s why I’ve worked to create a book on creating an authentic and meaningful sensory lifestyle that addresses sensory needs. The book is now released as a digital e-book or softcover print book, available on Amazon. 

The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook walks you through sensory diet creation, set-up, and carry through. Not only that, but the book helps you take a sensory diet and weave it into a sensory lifestyle that supports the needs of a child with sensory processing challenges and the whole family.

Get The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook here.