50 Heavy Work Activities For Kids
Need to incorporate some heavy work into your child’s sensory work into your child’s sensory diet? Try this list of heavy work diet? Try this list of heavy work activities for kids as a starting activity for kids as a starting point
As part of our son’s sensory diet, we incorporate a lot of heavy work activities into his day. These activities usually take the form of chores around the house or during play time using heavy objects. These heavy work activities help him focus and/or even calm him if he is headed for a sensory meltdown.
So I’ve compiled a list of 50 heavy work activities for kids that you can try at home and I’ve even included a free printable list so that you can keep it handy at all times.
These activities are great for all kids, even if they aren’t autistic and/or have sensory processing issues.
These activities are great for all kids, even if they aren’t autistic and/or have sensory processing issues.
What Is Heavy Work?
If you have a child with autism and/or sensory processing disorder, then you are likely already familiar with the terms heavy work and proprioception. However, if you are unfamiliar with the term, then heavy work can be defined as:
“tasks that involve heavy resistance for the muscles and joints. It involves proprioceptive input, the awareness of posture, movement, and resistance relating to the body.” – source: Heavy Work Fact Sheet
Basically, heavy work activities are used to calm kids, provide input to a child’s muscles and joints, and help increase a child’s focus and attention.
I also have a list of heavy work ideas for school and a list of heavy work ideas for home…you know, in case this list of 50 activities here doesn’t do the trick for you.
Play Time Heavy Work Activities For Kids
Heavy work activities can easily be incorporated into play time. In fact, a lot of the games and activities that your child is already doing at the park can be classified as heavy work. Here are some play time
suggestions:
- Climb a tree
- Push someone on a swing
- Play on a teeter totter or seesaw
- Build a fort
- Obstacle course
- Animal walks: crab walk, lizard crawl (uses hands only) – grab the free Google Slides deck here
- Pillow fight – You can find more gross motor pillow activities here
- Pull a wagon or sled filled with objects or with a person riding in it
- Play catch with bean bags
- Play catch with a large ball
- Climb up a slide
- Monkey bars
- Climb at the playground (ladders, rock walls, etc.)
- Hang and/or swing on a bar at the park
- Crawl backwards using hands
- Carry bean bags
- Climb a chair or couch
- Carry a pile of books
- Push a bobo doll or punching bag
- Play statue (adult stands as straight as possible and child tries to push adult)
- Carry a bucket of water or sand
- Play tug of war – You can use a rope, blanket, scarf, or even our homemade sensory tunnel or homemade stretchy bands
- Wheelbarrow walking
- Resistance cycling (adult and child face each other, put feet together, and pedal)
- Push a door (adult puts resistance on a door while child tries to push the door closed)
- Army crawl (no knees allowed)
- Hand pushing game (adult and child place hands together and push back and forth)
- Dig in the dirt, garden, or sandbox
- Do pushups
- Squish, knead, and play with play dough or silly putty or theraputty
- Ride a scooter board on your tummy and use hands to move
REACH OUT TO US
Come play, learn, and grow with us at Gentles Kinder Campus, where every day is an adventure!