Topic “Turn taking”  

- a ball

1. Look at your child, say their name and roll a ball to them. 
2. Encourage your child to roll the ball back to you. If your child is unsure how to do this, ask another adult to sit with the child and gently show them how to roll the ball back. As you receive the ball, say your name, or ask the other adult to say your name.
3. Continue rolling the ball back and forth, saying the name of the person who is receiving it, until your child is ready to finish the activity.
4. Once you have taken a few turns and your child knows what to do, you can start adding the word 'turn' after the name, e.g. 'mummy's turn' 'Harry's turn'.
5. It is not expected your child will use the words as this activity can be used with children who are not yet verbal - it is important for them to hear the adult using words. 

Use a small box or bag to collect toys which target different sensory areas

e.g.

Auditory (noisy toys) toys (rattles, squeakers, shakers, musical items, drums etc.)

Visual toys (flags, streamers, Slinkies, spinners, bubbles, flashing items, torches, pop-up toys, windmills etc.)

Tactile toys (toys that feel different) (balls of different textures to squeeze, brushes of different textures to be tickled with, materials e.g. velvet, sandpaper, feathers, pots of rice/macaroni to feel, Play dough to squeeze/cut )

Scented toys (play dough, Plasticine, some rubber toys)

1. Collect some toys from each of the sensory categories described.

2. Store the toys in a container which you use only for this specific activity and is otherwise stored away from children.

3. Find a quiet comfortable place to work either at a table or on the floor. Try to make sure the child cannot easily run off or get distracted.

4. Make a show of shaking the suitcase and seeming happy about the approaching activity.

5. Take out two toys from different sensory categories and place them in front of the child - note which category of item the child chooses/reaches for and put the other item back in the suitcase.

6. Allow the child a short time to enjoy the item chosen then say 'Your name's turn' (e.g. "Mary's turn") and gently but firmly take the item for your turn.

7. Use the toy for a short time then offer it the child again. Say 'Child's name's turn'.

8. Repeat a few times but stop before the child gets bored.

9. Start the process again by offering the child a choice of toys from two different sensory categories and then follow the turn taking routine.

10. Continue with the activity for approximately 10 minutes - stop before the child gets bored.

11. Store the sensory suitcase in a secure place until the next session.

Use a selection of the following:

Paint pots and brushes, felt tips, computer painting programme, pots with different coloured bits of paper to stick and a sheet of paper.

Use, for example, one of the following sets of items:

Sand tray with spades, pots etc.

Water tray with pots, sieves, pourers etc

Rice tray with pots and pourers etc

Sit 2/3 children round a table

Prepare the things to eat in advance e.g. biscuits on a plate broken into small bits and juice and mugs near to hand.

Offer the child the plate of biscuits and support taking one piece only. Say 'Good choosing'.

Move onto next child.

Follow same routine for drinks.

Fun toys

Drum

Group game for a minimum of three people

• Dice and shaker
• Pictures of a variety of different emotions (minimum 6), for example  Google image search;
• Two counters per person (each person needs two counters the same colour, but different from everyone else’s);
• 1-6 grid;
• Game track;
• Phrases cards.

1. Shuffle the emotions cards and put one face up in each of the spaces on the 1-6 grid.

2. Check the children/young person know what each card says and what the emotion is (remove any that are too difficult and put new cards in their place).

3. Let everyone choose a coloured counter. Everyone puts one of their counters on the “start”.

4. Choose one person to start (perhaps the adult should go first).

5. The person who starts shakes the dice in the cup, and puts the cup upside down on the table. Carefully lift up the cup and look at the dice so only you know which number is on top. Look at the emotions cards on the board to see which emotion corresponds to the number on the dice – but don’t say what it is.

6. Pick a phrase card. Read the phrase on the card, displaying the emotion you have been given. Use your voice and gestures. It’s fine to give children help in reading what the phrase is, but not in how to display the emotion!

7. The other players watch the player acting out the emotion. They decide which of the emotions the player is portraying. They put their other counter on the name of the emotion they have chosen.

8. When everyone has voted, the player who acted the emotion lifts up the cup to show which number was on the dice.

9. Check to see who chose the correct emotion. The people who chose correctly move their counter on to the next space

10. The player who acted also moves their counter on the same number of orange spaces as the number of people who guessed correctly.

11. The next player then has a turn to act. Continue until someone has reached the “finish” space.

Larger home-made die with the following on the sides:

1. 1, 2 and 3 spots (each number of spots will appear on two sides), or, alternatively:
2. like a conventional die with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 spots on the sides.

Simple board games (probably best to be home made so they can be simple and adapted to meet your needs e.g. reinforce the colours being taught etc).

1. Take it in turn to roll a die.

2. Count the spots on the side that faces up.

3. Repeat the number a few times - 'ok, you go 3. Number 3; let's count 3 places...'

4. Move the counter forward 3 places, counting each square.

5. Roll again etc.

Action Cards - clapping, jumping, nodding, stand up;

Simple die (as above).

- Washing line

- Pegs

- Selection of pictures 

1. Peg a picture on the line and ask your child to look at it - you could ask you child to choose a picture from a selection.

2. The adult says "It's story time and we are going to make up a story with the pictures" The adult starts the story by using the word on the picture.

3. Encourage your child to take the next turn by choosing a new picture and thinking how they can add to the story that has already been started.

4. Keep going until all the pictures have been used, or the story comes to a natural end.

- Story dice - click here for different dice themes.