Regulation Rendezvous: Purposeful Walks and Sensory Jobs

Purposeful walks are calming sensory support strategies that allow a student a brief break from demands of the classroom. They provide a student with the calming proprioceptive and vestibular input needed to help a student calm and refocus before returning to class. Purposeful walks can be scheduled proactively or used as an “in the moment” support. You can incorporate interests, embed activities as part of daily routines, or create sensory jobs that are meaningful for the student. For today's Regulation Rendezvous we have gathered some of the most creative and fun purposeful walk and sensory jobs that we have seen in our districts! 

Hallway Activities

One of the simplest ways to create a purposeful walk for students is to create a matching activity. Hang high-interest pictures in the hallway and have students go on a scavenger hunt to find the pictures and match them to a matching board.

Taylor Ruef
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Stephen Russell
LT Ball, Tipp City/Miami County ESC

Marissa Steinhelfer
Harry Russell Elementary, West Carrollton

Some teams create have students complete heavy work activities by traveling to one location, gathering weighted objects, and then traveling to another location. 

Lauren Bridgens
Driscoll Elementary, Centerville

Driscoll Elementary, Centerville

Bradford Elementary, Bradford

Pretend Play

Make these activities engaging through incorporating special interests and pretend play. In these examples, students practice raking, pushing a weighted bus to gather pictures in the hallway, and shopping. 

Marisa Hatton
Kinder Elementary, Miamisburg

Maria Dickens
Primary Village North, Centerville

Heidi Horner
Miami County ESC

Classroom Centers

If you do not have staff or space to implement a purposeful walk outside of the classroom, you can create a center within the classroom. Activities could include matching paths, 

Mad River Preschool, Mad River

Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

jug matching or sequencing, 

Heather Clark
Saville Elementary, Mad River

and colored object sorting. 

Marissa Steinhelfer
West Carrollton

Denise Campbell and Terri Dinkelaker
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Ashley McCoy
Saville Elementary, Mad River

Routine Activities

Another great way to easily embed this purposeful sensory input is to embed it into routine activities. Students can transport supplies such as lesson materials, library books, or recess toys. 

Briana Rix
West Carrollton High School, West Carrollton

Terri Wheeler
Milton Union Elementary, Milton Union

Greenmont Elementary, Kettering

Or recruit the help of cafeteria staff for students to assist during lunchtime. 

Deanna Hicks
East Elementary, Eaton

For more ideas on incorporating heavy work jobs, don't miss our previous post:

Incorporating Heavy Work into Daily Routines for Resistant Students