The in-laws were just in town. We took them to Selby Gardens for a day and the Toads collected an interesting collection of nature cast offs from the ground. I thought they'd make an interesting collection of objects for our footy bins. We had seed pods, shells, feathers, and acorns in this one.
There are lots of Montessori blog posts with sensory bins that are meant to be used with your hands. Rarely do they mention you can use the same bin with your feet for a totally different sensory input. I used to have a yoga teacher who included a foot component in every class. Those exercises really emphasized how much we take our feet for granted and how neglected they are.
Footy bins are the same as any other sensory bin but the idea is to retrieve items with your toes instead of your hands. In the past we've done dinosaurs, cars, animals, and shapes. This is our first seasonal or nature themed bin so it was a fun, new thing. I've always used rice as our background material - I keep a bin labeled, "Foot Rice - DO NOT EAT!" There are, of course, other materials you could use for variety. I use a try with high sides to help keep it all together because this is a bit messier than hand bins.
Older Toad is really funny about his feet. He has to touch everything he can with his feet. It's largely unconscious but if we don't pick up the floor well he can get between point A to point B and step on every object. If you were to point it out he'd deny it or agree he stepped on the last thing. It's been a hard thing to break. We have seen improvement, but the one that personally drives me crazy is his need to rub me with his feet when we sit on the couch together. It really bugs me.
This weird quirk is probably related to Sensory Processing Disorder. In the past we saw an Occupational Therapist for sensory issues and we've debated if we should add it to our mix again. For now we're considering his quirks as that and letting him grow up. Homeschooling helps as we can incorporate accommodations as needed . We do try and work some exercises into our lives as part of his 'sensory diet'.
These are activities the therapist suggested that we continue to do, things from the books below, and things from a sensory parenting class I took. Currclick offered a sensory integration class with Christie Berry that I found very helpful. The class was designed to help you customize sensory activities to your child's needs.
I came up with the footy bin because none of the resources mention feet at all. All those posts about sensory bins got me thinking. Remember this activity as something different next time you do a sensory bin. It's fun for kids of all ages!
