Requirements
- Space large enough to fit individuals, especially if they require physical support for sitting balance or w/c, cushions, etc
- Colored, textured string or rope large enough to see and feel by individuals with vision problems or fine motor control deficits
- Large beads of different colors
- Music, if desired
Objective
To promote:
- Active range of motion (AROM) through physical activity.
- Engagement of socialization with peers through passing beads, making eye contact with peers, and shaking hands.
- Increased attention span and tolerance while waiting for the bead to be passed.
Description
For the Bead Roll activity have each child sits or is seated in a circle.
- A string is placed around the circle on each child’s lap.
- The leader begins by placing one bead onto the rope and passes it to the child on his/her right.
- That child is instructed to pull/push it across the string to the person to their right and so on around the circle. Beads are continuously placed so that each child eventually has one in their hand they are trying to pass along.
- At the end each child states what color the bead is in front of them they are trying to pass along.
Adaptions for this activity:
- Each child may be helped with hand over hand assistance by counselors to incorporate full hand grip/grasp.
- Each child upon passing the bead to their neighbor may wave to their neighbor or shake hands to promote socialization skills.
- Textured surfaces may be added to the beads such as feathers, sandpaper, etc to enhance sensory perception or desensitize hypersensitivity to tactile stimulation.
- Music may be played only while passing the bead to promote activity performance to stimulate environmental distractions.
