Fun & Easy Ways to Use Gardens and Greenspaces to Enrich Sensory Integration

Increasingly, we are finding that children are demonstrating sensory integration challenges that present as behavioral challenges, anxiety, and being overwhelmed. These issues can impact learning and play. Learners joined occupational therapist and therapeutic landscape design consultant Amy Wagenfeld and mom, gardener, and garden educator Em Shipman from KidsGardening to learn how to design a garden or greenspace for kids ages 3-5 intended to engage each of the body’s sensory systems. We shared five specific activities to use in a garden or greenspace to help young children integrate and organize their senses, as well as tips and tricks for managing challenging sensory-related behaviors.