Do you ever get overwhelmed by how many choices are available in our world today? For me, one of the most difficult parts of putting together a sensory pace is figuring out what to do with all of the great sensory tools that are available.

In those moments, I am very thankful for social media. At the push of a button, we can gather inspiration for outfits, meals, crafts, and even sensory rooms!

As we were thinking through this series on Sensory Spaces, I posted a message in our Facebook group for curriculum subscribers asking to see sensory spaces in subscribers’ churches. It was so special to see the spaces they shared, so we wanted to feature a few on the blog to provide some inspiration to anyone who might need it!

Samuel Bates | Community Baptist Church | Coweta, OK

"We average between 5-10 students on a weekly basis that range from ages 6-40!

Some of our favorite sensory tools are magnetic blocks, kinetic sand and our spinning seat.

The students love the weekly story and bible verse. We send them home with a bookmark and they take so much pride in bringing it to church with them every week!"

Beth Corcoran | Unlimited Ministry | Trinity Baptist Church | Norman, OK

“We’ve had a buddy program for a while, but we just got started with the classroom this last fall.

Our church is not very large, so right now we serve 3 students weekly in the classroom, but we do have some other students come in from time to time if they need to use our sensory area. We also have the students’ friends take turns coming to our class for reverse inclusion. The ages range from 6 to 21. We are praying about starting some other classes, including an adult disability class.

Right now, the two most used sensory tools in our classroom are the trampoline and noise canceling headphones.”

Haley Edwards + Jordan Stark | Exceptional Needs | Central Church | Collierville, TN

“We actually just launched this ministry in January of this year - so it’s all still very new! It is run 100% by volunteers who range from speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, current and previous SPED teachers, and others who have a heart to serve in this special area of ministry.

At this time, we have 11 families involved. All but one of these families did not attend our church prior. God is moving!! We currently serve preschool through middle school students with a hope to expand to all ages with time.

Our students have a wide range of needs including diagnoses of autism, developmental delay, chromosomal abnormalities, ADHD, angelman syndrome, and cerebral palsy. They have all been the biggest blessings! We do have both sensory room and inclusion options; and we utilize the buddy bag system for inclusion.

In our sensory room, each volunteer is assigned a student to care for (also similar to a buddy system). Our volunteers wear lanyards with a card attached that has most of the information the volunteer should need about their assigned child. For example, it’ll list the child’s interests, triggers, specific behaviors, and ways the volunteer can help during any challenging episodes. The hope with this is that anyone - including a substitute volunteer - can come in on a Sunday morning with confidence and support to care for their child.

We love sensory tools! I would argue those that have been most beneficial so far have been our blackout tent, trampoline (with a visual timer for turn taking), and sensory bins. We love all the ideas Awe and Wonder provides for these bins!”