Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Ideas Please

I’m working on my second book and I’m stuck. The book is a sensory activity book for kids 8-12. I’ve got all of my activities, but I can’t decide on how to structure it. I have two options, the first is to place the activities in chapters by sensory input: tactile, auditory, proprioceptive and so on…

or

The second option is to have activities grouped by activity type: great give away crafts, group games, bet you-can’t, bet you-can and so on. With this option I would have a grid in the back of the book that lists each activity by its sensory modality. My thought is this second style would be attractive to preteens and that they would use it to pick things out to do with their parents or therapists… I have found “dares” bet you can’t do this or that to be highly motivating for preteen boys. They love to practice them and try them out on friends… but that’s a subject for another time…

Currently I’m leaning toward the second option.

Does the second option sound crazy?

Does anyone have a preference?

Help!

7 comments:

kristen spina said...

I like the second option. Here's why: when you are reading a book like this, you want it to be engaging and fun, not clinical and techy, otherwise the activities don't hold any real charm or magic. By organizing under the standard "sensory" headings, it kind of defines itself (to my mind) as clinical. Plus, I can never keep those damn things straight no matter how much I read or study or learn about SPD.

I like the idea of activities grouped by like type. Maybe under each activity you can sort of label what it's good for, i.e. tactile, auditory, proprioceptive and so on as a cross-reference for the grid in the back.

I would, however, think about coining some more user friendly terms for this stuff. Like, tactile = touchy/feely (bad example) or proprioceptive = movement, space, etc.

More than you wanted to know? Sorry. Not sure what came over me.

Jen P said...

I agree with kristen for all the same reasons.

Anonymous said...

I like option number 2.

Katherine said...

Yep, number two also appeals to me. It highlights the fun activity aspect, as opposed to the symptom you're trying to address.

Anonymous said...

If I understand you correctly, I definitely like the kind of chart where you can run your finger along the grid lines to pin point the bit that you want to work on, but that's usually because I'm always in a dreadful rush.
Cheers

Shawn said...

I also like option #2

Francesca Thomas said...

The third choice could be to just list them in alphabetical order. Let the kids decide what activity they want to do.