This weighted fidget toy is a calming tool that can be used in the classroom or at home when kids need to calm down and focus to desk work. I love the fine motor benefits that kids get when making this calming fidget toy too. This is another occupational therapy toy that supports needs like attention and self-regulation!
diy weighted toy
You’ll use just a few materials to make this calming tool for boosting attention. The whole class or a group of kids can make them and use them to concentrate and focus in the classroom.
The DIY weighted toy supports sensory needs by offering heavy work through the hands, fingers, and lap if placed on a lap. Heavy work is a calming and organizing means of sensory input that supports sensory needs.
The calming and organizing sensory input in the form of heavy work tasks offer proprioceptive input through the muscles and joints. This input creates resistance input to the muscles and this feedback is ultimately what calms and regulates the sensory system.
A DIY weighted toy like this one supports the proprioceptive system and is a powerful regulator for our overall functioning. By working with the proprioceptive system you can even out disturbances in other sensory systems. You can increase energy levels if you need to and you can reduce high energy levels to help children reach a calm, comfortable space to interact with the world.
You’ll need these materials to make a weighted fidget tool:
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- One knit, stretchy glove
- Dry beans (or corn, rice, split peas, etc.)
- String and needle
- Spoon
diy weighted stuffed animal
A DIY weighted stuffed animal could be made in the same manner:
- Tear apart the stitching of a stuffed animal plush.
- Insert a glove filled with beans, plastic pellets, etc.
- Sew up the stitching along the seam.
Use these materials to make a calming weighted fidget toy for helping kids attend and focus, with a calming weight. This is a great tool to use for kids who fidget during homework. I love that this attention tool is a DIY fidget toy option that would work in the classroom or in the home.
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How to make a DIY weighted Toy
- To make the weighted fidget toy, provide the kids with one cup of dry beans (or other material) and a single glove. This time of year, you can often times, find gloves on clearance. These are available in dollar stores as well.
2. Show the children how to use a spoon to fill the glove with beans. Scooping the beans into the glove is a great motor planning activity that encourages motor control, visual motor skills, and bilateral coordination.
3. Then, sew up the opening of the glove. This can be a job of an adult or teen.
And with that, your weighted fidget toy is complete.
Use this tool on a knee under a desk to provide some heavy weight input through the calf. Kids can place it on one knee and then the next. Adding the weighted input through the knee provides proprioceptive input that is calming for some children.
To use the weighted glove as a fidget toy, work the beans up and down the fingers of the glove. This is a calming and mesmerizing motor skill that is calming for some kids.
Combining the weighted input along with the fidget activity can be a powerful source of attention for children.
Fidget toys are an excellent way to boost so many important skills during school or at home. Try this pencil topper fidget toy for use when writing. It might be nice to combine with the weighted fidget toy.
Give this fidget toy a try! Let me know how it works for you!
Looking for more easy fidget toys? These keychain fidgets are perfect for kids in school or on-the-go!
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The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook is not just about creating a sensory diet to meet sensory processing needs. This handbook is your key to creating an active and thriving lifestyle based on a deep understanding of sensory processing.