What's your chewy tube?

Today was chewy tube day.  Whether it should be used not at all or maybe just at oral motor time was up for debate so we decided together to include the chewy tube into oral motor/sensory time for kicks we added toothpaste.  The introduction to oral motor is off to a great start.

At first, there may be apprehension at first to different textures or scents near the mouth, however subtle exposure is helpful for everyone.  The child who may not like chewing on the chewy tube, may really like looking in the mirror.  However, our day started as usual.  We were back to wondering what was in this CIRCLE box.  So as to not develop rigidiness, sensory's main goal is to help develop flexibility to out of routine changes in the schedule, so today there was a box on the table that was in question.  It was a different kind of box, with many different kinds of tools under its top.  After we wondered what was under the box top, we opened it to see textures of balls to roll and pass to our friend.  We sang songs about rubbing our different textured sensory tools on each body part for body awareness and exposure to different textures on the face and arms as we rolled the ball to our friend who has a different texture to rolll on our cheek.

So why after today am  I left thinking about a chewy tube?  What do we chew on to soothe our mood.  Some smoke cigerrets and chew on tobacco but everyone has their own type of chewy tube whether it be gum, food, drinks, to feel the intake of oral stimulation is our most basic function when we learn to stuck our food from our mom.  The sound of the milk going down the infants through, the smell of their mother, the way only their mother looked and felt are our first experiences with a chewy tube.  A chewy tube is the means to an end of soothe and comfort.  Our means to that end change over time but as humans we all basically have a chewy tube.  So what's your chewy tube?

 Chewy tubes(an actual T shaped tube of different textures) were our second activity, and we looked in the mirror to see how our lips, teeth, and mouth move and chew.  We incorporated smell in this activity with tooth paste.  We ended with rubbing antibacterial lotion on our hands for touch and safety before breakfast.  What do you do before breakfast to get yourself ready for the day? Do you brush your teeth before going downstairs to eat breakfast?  My chewy tube has definitley been my Mary Kay skin care regime to put care into my appearance before and now taking care of the breakfast I put into myself as well.  I have a chewy tube that helps calm me down, do you?