Did you know that 18.5% of American children less than 18 years are special needs children?
Children with special needs go through a lot of challenges in their day to day lives. They may have medical issues, behavioral issues, developmental issues and learning issues which affect their education. They face difficulties with reading, vocabulary building, writing, communicating and taking up a spelling test.
It does not make them any less intelligent than other kids of their age. It just means that they need a distinct way of learning. Here are 6 fun learning activities for children who learn differently.
• Turn Lessons into Songs
Music can be a powerful tool to engage with children with a wide range of special needs. It activates every subsystem in the brain, including areas that regulate emotion and motivation. It can help them to cope up with their learning disorder as rhythm and melody can help them improve memory and also understand words. Turning lessons and information into songs can make learning fun and enjoyable.
• Sensory Play
Sensory play is extremely beneficial for children with special needs. Engaging in sensory play like running fingers through rice or flour can calm their senses and help them with their anxiety. It encourages children to explore new textures and objects and they tend to have a verbal response. Thus, sensory play is a great way to work on language development.
• Match the Cards
Memory matching cards is a simple yet interesting game to play. Arrange the pairs of cards facing down in random order and take turns in flipping the cards. You need to flip twice and if you get a matching pair, you can take the cards. This helps in boosting memory, concentration and social skills.
• Technology Activities
The use of technology in learning can simplify the process for children with special needs. It enables them to feel accomplished and empowered. There are many online educational websites like SpellQuiz which help them to learn better. These activities encourage children to be spontaneous and independent and help them with their speech and language delay.
• Arts and Crafts
There’s nothing better to boost the confidence of children than letting them create something by their own. That’s when arts and crafts come into play. Painting with cut vegetables, paper art, finger painting and painting with toothbrush are some of the activities for arts and crafts.
• Block Activities
Playing with blocks is so much fun and can be used in most ways. Block activities might seem like a simple play but they can also be great learning tools. They work on the motor skills of children, their creativity and also help in identifying colors and counting blocks.
Autistic children follow a strict routine and find it difficult to break their repetitive behavior. According to a study, children with Autism Spectrum Disorders were found to use their creativity more after playing with interlocking blocks. By building different structures, children can venture into trying new things and develop creativity.
Final Words
Children with special needs have unique likes, dislikes and fears. Making necessary changes to these activities according to their needs will ensure them to have fun and learn at the same time.
If your child with special needs is still struggling to learn spellings, you can sign up for Spell Quiz where we have spelling tests per grade. For instance – for spelling test grade 5, click on grade 5 and take the test. For more information, visit SpellQuiz.com.
