Special Needs Playgroup

Sensory play with rocks

Once a week Felix attends a playgroup for kids who need a little bit of extra help. It is only a small group of kids, so they get lots of one on one attention from the lovely Jackie who is there to assist them with their learning.

This morning Felix was very tired (he woke up at 4.45am) due to daylight saving only finishing a couple of days ago. I wasn't sure if he would even be awake long enough for the 9.30am start at playgroup let alone stay awake to play. He surprised me and lasted until 11am!!

Not sure about the Playdough

Felix started his play today with a little bit of painting at the easel. He's quite the little Michaelangelo painting with great gusto! It is interesting to note that if I put the paint brush in his right hand he will change it to his left straight away. He does that with most things, so I think we have another leftie!  He is getting the hang of using side to side strokes with the paint brush and not just up and down now. He still likes to taste the paint when he's finished his masterpiece, and as a result, dribbles in colour for the next hour or so.

I mentioned to Jackie that Felix had been a little bit funny with a few sensory experiences lately; not liking to touch particular things. We noticed today that he was frightened of the baby doll in the cot, and he wasn't too keen on the plastic toy cow either. The poor cow was flung away if it was placed anywhere near him, and he actually moved his whole body away from the doll. Jackie suggested getting a collection of the things that he doesn't like and placing them in a box near his toys so that he can discover them for himself. I think it's a brilliant suggestion, so I will start collecting a few things to try it out. I'd hate his fear to continue when he's older.

Loving the wind

Jackie had a container of smooth river rocks for Felix to play with today to see how he dealt with the introduction of something new to play with. He was so funny. He had to pick up each one and try and fit it in his mouth (and some of them were pretty big!) After he had it in his mouth, Jackie or myself would say 'Ta' and hold out our hand and straight away he would take it out of his mouth and give it to us.

We sat Felix at the table to play with the playdough. He poked his fingers in it and played a little bit, but thought it was more fun to break tiny bits off and throw them on the floor. He was getting quite tired by this stage so he was a little bit grumpy when he wasn't able to pull the star shaped cutter out of the playdough. Usually he would be persistent, but he wasn't in the mood today.

Enjoying the swing

Finally, we went outside to play. As I've mentioned before, Felix loves the wind in his face. It was warm inside today, so he sat by the door for a while and enjoyed the cool breeze blowing on him from outside. Jackie suggested putting him in the swing for a while and he loved it! In typical Felix style, he pulled all his crazy faces as he giggled and smiled and tried to touch me with his feet while he swung out towards me. Jackie and I chatted while he swung and after a few minutes his eyes started to close. I think he would have swung himself to sleep if I hadn't lifted him out.

I'm so thankful for this group. It's great to be able to have a third party watch Felix play and suggest different things to help him become even more confident and capable. I really appreciate the suggestions Jackie gives and the care she shows towards Felix. When you see your own child all the time it's sometimes hard to judge if they are doing as well as they should be, or what areas you might need to focus on some more, so groups like this are such a great help.

Never knew a kid who had so many crazy faces.  No such thing as a dull moment with Felix around!