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Offline Activities

Below are some offline activities and games to practice self-regulation and play skills. 

Offline Practice

1. Freeze dance. Have a dance party with a small group of kids or family members and tell everyone that when you stop the music, they must hold very still. The first person to move is eliminated for the next round. The winner is the last one dancing.

2. Traffic lights. One kid plays traffic cop and turns to face a wall. The other kids start at the other side of the room—or if they’re outdoors, at a starting line. When the traffic cop shouts “Green!” the kids can advance. If the traffic cop shout “Red!” the kids have to stop, and the cop gets to turns around and see if everyone obeys. If they catch any kid still moving, they can send them back to the start line. The winner is the first person to cross the room (or yard) and tag the traffic cop.

3. Yoga. Yoga reinforces how to regulate emotions through calming yoga poses.

4. Board Games. Play a board game cooperatively with siblings or parents to practice appropriate peer interaction and good sportsmanship. 

5. Problem Solving. Solving a problem doesn’t mean that the problem has to be gigantic or boring. Have some simple materials on hand, like:

  • Paper Straws

  • Cotton Balls

  • Yarn

  • Paper Cups

  • Clothespins

  • White Cord

  • Tape

  • Popsicle Sticks

  • Paper Clips

  • Sticky Notes

Feel free to substitute if you don’t have something. This is meant to be easy to set up, not extra work for you!

Give the child this prompt: Using any of these 10 materials, solve one of the following problems. You don’t have to use all the materials to solve the problem, but they are all available for you:

  1. Devise a slide for mini figures

  2. Create a jump ramp for cars

  3. Build the highest tower you can