Okay, I’ll be honest, I haven’t figured out how to make this ‘therapeutic’ but it can be fun and kids can learn and work on numbers all at the same time. The reality is I just really liked the idea and wanted to share it! My parents every year do a ‘Night at the Races’ activity and they have done many versions of it. When I was a kid it was an actual movie and you had to pick the winner of the race similar to if you were actually at a horse race. Since then they have made it much more interactive. They have used ‘live’ horses (aka people) to move across the race track (a numbered path). Each time their number is called the horse moves forward one place. The number is generated by rolling a dice. This goes until one horse reaches the finish line. You can use broomstick horses like in the photo to make it even more realistic.
They have also made a game board with a set number of spaces (about 10) and used wooden horses that are numbered and move them forward each time their number is called. Same idea as above but with wooden horses and a board instead.
I’m sure as I try this activity (maybe in our group) I’ll have more to say about it because it seems to me like it is a human board game which could have all sorts of fun variations. It also seems like a fun activity to play as a family or for a birthday party or in a classroom.
I’d love to hear of variations or ideas you come up with!