Magical Mattress Play!
Gross Motor Play When You're Stuck in the House
All the things you can do with a Magical Mattress!
Do you have a spare mattress at home, or a mattress you can repurpose for the day? Here are some great indoor play ideas that involve the whole body and will help you stay regulated, have fun, and get the kids playing hard (read working hard).
Build a Squishy Fort
Go Sledding
Save a Handsome Prince or Princess!
Roll Like a Snowball
Or a bug | armadillo | hedgehog
Train for Dumbledore's Army
Think Ninjago | Jedi training | Army | Rangers Apprentice
Make Smaller Mountains for Smaller Bodies
(See below for a text only version)
Play like this supports regulation, sequencing and praxis, posture
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Magical Mattress Play!
Maura Mooneyham, OTR/L
Gross Motor Play When You’re Stuck in the House
(image: boy running up mattress positioned at an angle resting on edge of couch)
(Image: boy sitting on couch with a pile of stuffed animals in front of him)
(image: boy pulling up his sister on an inclined mattress on couch using a stuffed animal)
All the things you can do with a magical mattress!
Do you have a space mattress at home, or a mattress you can re-purpose for the day? Here are some great indoor play ideas that involve the whole body and will help you stay regulated, have fun, and get the kids playing hard (read working hard).
Build a squishy fort
(image: two children lay on top of couch cushions with r two different stacks of pillows and couch cushions on top of them smiling)
(image: two children laying together on top of couch cushions under seven stacked pillows and cushions)
Go sledding
(video link: “mattress sledding” little girl sitting on a small mattress or cushion, little boy pushing her down a large mattress ramp)
(video content: adult voice says “go” to tell boy to push girl’s cushion down mattress slide, girl slides down on cushion)
Save a Handsome Prince!
(image: girl standing on couch pulls boy up ramp using a stretchy rope)
(image: boy standing on couch pulls girl up ramp using stretchy rope)
Roll like a Snowball
Or a bug/armadillo/hedgehog
(video link: girl laying at top of mattress ramp with knees tucked to chest, rolls down mattress. Boy says “I have a good idea!” in background)
Train for Dumbledore’s Army
Think Ninjago/jedi training/army/rangers apprentice
(image: boy running up mattress ramp)
(image: boy running down mattress ramp with plastic toy weapon)
Make smaller mountains for smaller bodies
(image: baby smiling and crawling across four pillows stacked together on floor)