Floor, Wall, or Portable Sensory Path? How to Choose the Right Option for Your School

When schools begin exploring sensory paths, one of the first questions they ask is:

Should we choose a floor path, a wall path, or a portable option?

It is a great question—and there is not one answer that works for every school. The best choice depends on your available space, the ages of your students, how you want the path to be used, and whether you need a permanent or flexible resource.

As a pediatric and school-based occupational therapist, I created Sacred Steps Sensory Paths to give students proactive opportunities to move, regulate, refocus, and return to learning. Each format supports those goals a little differently.

Here is an easy way to determine which sensory path may be the best fit for your school, church, preschool, or therapy space.

Choose a Floor Sensory Path When You Want Movement Built Into the Hallway

A floor sensory path is a wonderful choice when you want movement to become a natural part of the school day. Students can hop, jump, balance, squat, follow footprints, and complete other purposeful movements as they travel through the hallway.

Floor paths work especially well when:

• You have a dedicated hallway or open floor area.

• You want a permanent, highly visible movement resource.

• Multiple classrooms will use the path throughout the day.

• Your students benefit from whole-body movement and heavy-work activities.

• You want movement breaks to be easily available without gathering extra equipment.

Sacred Steps floor decals are commercially printed for heavy daily traffic and can be waxed over as part of your school’s normal floor-care routine. Once installed, the path is ready whenever students need it—during transitions, scheduled sensory breaks, indoor recess, therapy sessions, or those moments when a child simply needs to move before returning to class.

Before choosing a floor path, consider hallway width, doorways, traffic patterns, and custodial routines. A path does not always need to run in one perfectly straight line. Stations can be spaced out, turned, or arranged to work around the features of your building.

Choose a Wall Sensory Path When Floor Space Is Limited

Do you have a narrow hallway, a busy traffic pattern, or floors that are not suitable for decals? A wall path may be the perfect solution.

Wall activities can encourage students to reach, stretch, push, breathe, trace, pray, cross midline, and complete calming or strengthening movements—all without taking up valuable floor space.

Wall paths are a strong choice when:

• Hallways are narrow or need to remain clear.

• You want activities near a classroom, counseling office, prayer space, or sensory area.

• You would like to add regulation supports at different heights.

• You want a quieter movement experience with less jumping or traveling.

• You have a beautiful blank wall just waiting to do something useful!

Wall-based options can also be especially helpful for older students who may prefer activities that feel a little more discreet. Designs such as Who God Says I Am, Days of Creation, and Beatitudes Blessings combine movement and regulation with meaningful faith-based messages.

Sacred Steps wall decals are removable, making them a practical option for many school and church environments.

Choose a Portable Sensory Path When Flexibility Matters Most

Sometimes the best sensory space is wherever your students happen to be that day.

Portable sensory paths are printed on durable 3' x 10' canvas mats. They can be rolled out in a classroom, preschool room, parish center, therapy space, hallway, or counseling area—and then rolled up and stored when the activity is finished.

A portable path may be the best fit when:

• You need to move the resource between classrooms or buildings.

• You rent your space or cannot install permanent decals.

• You want an easy option for special events, faith formation, indoor recess, or sensory-friendly Mass.

• You have limited space and need to store the path between uses.

• You want to begin with a smaller investment before selecting a full permanent path.

Portable paths are also an easy way for teachers to add purposeful movement to the day without rearranging an entire classroom. Roll it out, let students move, and roll it back up—no construction project required!

For smaller preschool and early-childhood spaces, the Little Steps portable paths offer the same grab-and-go flexibility in a compact 24" x 72" size.

Could Your School Use More Than One Format?

Absolutely! Many schools find that a combination works best.

For example, a school might place a full floor path in a main hallway, add calming wall activities near the counselor’s office, and keep a portable path available for classrooms or special events. A Starter Set can also introduce several permanent activities in a smaller area before the school expands to a full path.

Think less about choosing the single “perfect” format and more about where students need support during their day:

• Where do transitions become difficult?

• Where do students wait?

• Where could a child safely take a short movement break?

• Which areas are accessible to the greatest number of students?

• Would a permanent resource be used more consistently, or does your team need flexibility?

Those answers will usually point you toward the best choice.

Are Sensory Paths Difficult to Install?

Most schools install their Sacred Steps Sensory Paths themselves. I provide installation instructions and am available to help with placement and layout before installation begins. Having two or three people makes the process much easier, especially for larger floor pieces.

If your school would prefer installation assistance, travel installation may also be available for an additional fee based on location and travel expenses.

Still Not Sure? Send Me Your Space!

You do not need to have everything figured out before reaching out. In fact, some of my favorite projects have started with a photo of an empty hallway and the question, “What could work here?”

Send me a few pictures, approximate dimensions, the ages of the students you serve, and anything you hope the space will accomplish. I will give you my honest recommendation about whether a floor, wall, portable, or combination option would work best.

Narrow hallway? Awkward corner? Small preschool room? Send it anyway. You may have more possibilities than you think!

Explore Sacred Steps Sensory Paths or contact me to begin planning a path for your space!

Is Your School Hallway Working Hard Enough?

A 5-Minute Hallway Check From a School-Based Occupational Therapist

When we think about preparing a school environment for students, we tend to focus on classrooms.

We arrange desks. We organize materials. We create calm-down spaces. We think about lighting, seating, visual supports, and classroom routines.

But there's another space students use every single day that we don't always think about in the same way:

The hallway.

As a school-based occupational therapist, I spend a lot of time thinking about how the environment affects a student's ability to regulate, transition, participate, and learn.

And hallways are part of that environment.

Students may walk through them dozens of times each day. They transition from preferred activities to non-preferred activities there. They navigate noise, other students, visual stimulation, schedule changes, and expectations—all while being asked to keep their bodies regulated.

So here's a question worth asking:

Is your hallway simply getting students from Point A to Point B—or could it be doing more?

Take a 5-Minute Walk Through Your School

I created a simple Principal's Hallway Checklist to help school leaders look at their hallways through a slightly different lens.

You don't need a formal assessment.

You don't need an OT walking beside you.

Just take five minutes and walk through your building while thinking about a few key areas.

1. Look at the visual environment.

Stand at one end of your hallway and simply look.

Does the space feel organized—or overwhelming?

Can students easily identify important signs and visual cues?

Are bulletin boards and displays intentional, or is every available inch competing for their attention?

For many students, especially those who are easily distracted or overwhelmed by visual input, more isn't always better.

Sometimes creating a more supportive environment starts with deciding what doesn't need to be there.

2. Look for opportunities to move.

We often treat movement as something that happens at recess, in physical education, or during a designated classroom movement break.

But movement doesn't have to be separate from the school day.

It can be built into it.

Could an unused stretch of hallway give students an opportunity to jump, balance, reach, breathe, cross midline, or complete a quick sequence of purposeful movements?

Could a student use that space for a two-minute regulation break and then return to class?

Could movement be used proactively, rather than waiting until a child is already dysregulated?

That's one of the biggest shifts I encourage schools to consider.

3. Pay attention to transitions.

For some students, transitions are easy.

For others, they're one of the hardest parts of the school day.

Leaving a preferred classroom, navigating a busy hallway, remembering where to go next, managing peers and noise, and preparing for an entirely different set of expectations requires a surprising amount of regulation and executive functioning.

As you walk your hallways, ask:

What support is available for the child who struggles here?

It might be a visual cue.

It might be a predictable movement opportunity.

It might be a calming strategy.

Sometimes a relatively small environmental support can make a difficult transition more manageable.

4. Ask whether your hallway helps students return ready to learn.

This is one of my favorite questions.

Instead of thinking only about hallway behavior—Are students quiet? Are they walking? Are they following expectations?—consider what happens after the hallway.

Does the environment help students arrive at their next destination ready to participate?

Purposeful movement can provide opportunities to work on body awareness, coordination, balance, motor planning, regulation, and attention.

A hallway can also reinforce skills we want students to carry back into the classroom:

Confidence.

Patience.

Perseverance.

Kindness.

Leadership.

A hallway doesn't have to be wasted space.

5. Look at the space you already have.

This may be the most practical part of the entire exercise.

Look for:

An empty wall.

An unused corner.

A long stretch of hallway.

A small space outside a counseling office.

An area near the intervention room.

A spot where a portable activity could be rolled out when needed.

You don't necessarily need a dedicated sensory room—or a large budget—to create another opportunity for regulation in your school.

Start with the space you already have.

For Catholic Schools: Look Through One More Lens

In a Catholic school, I would add another question to the hallway walk:

Does our Catholic identity extend beyond our classrooms?

Catholic education has a unique opportunity to surround students with reminders of who they are and Whose they are throughout the entire school day.

Faith formation doesn't have to stop when students leave religion class.

Our hallways and shared spaces can reinforce Scripture, prayer, virtues, Sacraments, and reminders of God's presence.

And our sensory and regulation supports don't have to be separate from that mission either.

We can support the body, mind, AND spirit.

That's one of the reasons I created Sacred Steps in the first place. I wanted Catholic schools to have access to purposeful movement and regulation supports without having to separate those supports from their Catholic identity.

Try This Tomorrow

Take five minutes and walk one hallway in your school.

Don't walk it as an administrator thinking about schedules, supervision, or maintenance.

For five minutes, try to walk it from the perspective of a student.

Ask yourself:

What does this space ask of our students—and what does it give back to them?

Then identify one space that could work a little harder.

That's it.

You don't need to redesign your school.

Start with one hallway. One wall. One corner. One opportunity.

Download the Free Principal's Hallway Checklist

I've turned these questions into a simple printable checklist you can take with you as you walk through your building.

Use it yourself, share it with your leadership team, or walk through the building with your OT, counselor, intervention specialist, or facilities staff.

Catholic school? I've created a Catholic version, too, with an additional section on Faith Throughout the Building.

Want to Learn More?

If your hallway walk leaves you looking at an empty wall or unused stretch of floor and thinking, We could do something with that, I'd be happy to help.

Sacred Steps Sensory Paths offers floor-based, wall-based, and portable movement and regulation supports designed specifically for real school environments.

And you don't need to begin with a full sensory path.

Whether you have $300 or $3,000, we can start with the space and budget you have and determine what could make the greatest impact for your students.

Sometimes transforming a school environment doesn't start with a huge project.

It starts by looking at an ordinary space differently.

About the Author

Trisha Klausing, MOT, OTR/L, is a practicing school-based occupational therapist and founder of Sacred Steps Sensory Paths. Drawing on more than a decade of experience working with students and educators, she creates movement and regulation supports designed for the realities of school environments. Sacred Steps offers both faith-based and universal options to help schools create purposeful opportunities for movement, regulation, confidence, executive functioning, and student success.

Before the Wax Goes Down: The Best Time to Install a School Sensory Path

Summer is the perfect opportunity to transform your hallways into purposeful learning spaces.

Every summer, schools are busy checking off maintenance projects before students return.

Hallways are emptied.

Floors are stripped and cleaned.

Fresh coats of wax are applied.

Classrooms are organized.

Teachers begin preparing for another year of learning.

It's also the ideal time to install a sensory pathway.

As a practicing pediatric occupational therapist, one of the most common questions I receive is:

"When should we install our sensory path?"

The answer is simple:

Before the final coat of floor wax is applied.

While Sacred Steps Sensory Paths are commercial-grade and do not require wax to stay in place, many schools choose to install them before waxing because the wax provides an additional protective layer while helping the decals blend beautifully into the floor.

Here's what the installation process typically looks like.

Step 1: Choose the Right Location

Before installation begins, think about how students naturally move throughout your building.

Great locations include:

• Main hallways

• Primary classroom wings

• Counseling areas

• Special education hallways

• Outside the library

• Near intervention spaces

• Waiting areas

• Church or parish education spaces

The best sensory pathways become part of students' everyday routines.

Step 2: Prepare the Floor

Once the existing wax has been removed and the floor has been thoroughly cleaned, you're ready for installation.

A clean surface allows the commercial-grade adhesive to bond properly with the floor.

Step 3: Install the Path

Each Sacred Steps pathway arrives with installation directions and a suggested layout guide.

Simply:

✔ Position the pieces

✔ Double-check spacing

✔ Peel the backing

✔ Apply each decal

✔ Smooth firmly into place

Most schools complete installation in just a few hours.

Even better?

Many schools make installation a fun summer project for staff members or volunteers.

Step 4: Apply the Final Coat of Wax (Optional)

This is the step many schools ask about.

Waxing over the decals is completely optional.

Our commercial-grade decals are designed to withstand heavy school traffic on their own.

However, if your custodial team is already applying the final coat of wax, installing the pathway beforehand allows the wax to provide one additional layer of protection.

Many schools appreciate the finished appearance this creates.

Step 5: Welcome Students Back

This is my favorite part.

On the first day of school, students don't just walk through your hallway.

They interact with it.

They jump.

They balance.

They read.

They pray.

They regulate.

They smile.

What was once an ordinary transition becomes another opportunity to learn.

Why Summer Is the Best Time

Waiting until students return often means working around:

• Classroom schedules

• Hallway traffic

• Lunch periods

• Specials

• Recess

• Daily transitions

Summer provides a quiet building and the flexibility to complete installation without disrupting instruction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Sacred Steps decals have to be waxed over?

No.

They are commercial-grade floor decals designed for heavy school use.

Waxing is completely optional.

How long does installation take?

Most schools complete installation in just a few hours, depending on the size of the pathway.

Can schools install them themselves?

Absolutely.

Many schools install their own pathways using the included layout guide.

Others choose professional installation or coordinate installation while other summer maintenance projects are taking place.

Can Sacred Steps install them?

Yes!

Depending on location and travel schedule, professional installation may be available.

Every Hallway Teaches Something

Whether you're adding your first Starter Set or transforming an entire hallway, summer is the perfect time to create a space that supports movement, self-regulation, and learning from the very first day students walk through your doors.

If your floors haven't received their final coat of wax yet, now is the ideal time to start planning.

I'd love to help you create a hallway your students will remember long after the first day of school.

👉 Request a complimentary sample

👉 Browse our Faith-Based Collection

👉 Browse our Universal Collection

👉 Or simply contact me to discuss your space.

About the Author

Trisha Klausing, MOT, OTR/L is a practicing occupational therapist and the founder of Sacred Steps Sensory Paths. She designs OT-informed movement experiences that help children regulate, learn, and thrive in schools, therapy clinics, churches, childcare centers, and community spaces.

What Is a Sensory Pathway? Signs, Benefits & School Examples

If you've heard the term "sensory pathway" but aren't exactly sure what it means, you're not alone.

Over the past several years, sensory pathways have become increasingly popular in schools, therapy clinics, libraries, hospitals, and community spaces. But many educators and administrators are still wondering:

What is a sensory pathway, and why are so many schools adding them?

As a school-based occupational therapist, I'd love to help answer that question.

What Is a Sensory Pathway?

A sensory pathway is a series of intentional movement activities designed to help students move, regulate, refocus, and return to learning. In schools, sensory pathways can provide proactive movement opportunities throughout the day without requiring a dedicated sensory room.

Students might:

• Hop

• Jump

• Balance

• Stretch

• March

• Cross midline

• Trace shapes

• Practice deep breathing

• Complete gross motor challenges

The goal is simple: provide structured movement opportunities that help students regulate their bodies and prepare for learning.

Many sensory pathways are installed in school hallways, allowing students to use them during transitions throughout the day.

Sensory pathway for schools in Catholic elementary school hallway; https://www.sacredstepssensorypaths.com/store/p/bible-stories-sensory-path

Why Do Schools Use Sensory Pathways?

Movement plays a critical role in a child's ability to focus, regulate emotions, and participate successfully in the classroom.

When students are struggling with attention, self-regulation, anxiety, impulsivity, or transitions, a brief movement break can make a significant difference.

Schools often use sensory pathways to support:

Student Regulation

Sensory pathways provide students with opportunities to move their bodies in ways that help them feel more organized, calm, and ready to learn.

Executive Functioning Skills

Many pathways include activities that encourage students to follow directions, sequence movements, maintain attention, and practice self-control.

Positive Transitions

Transitions can be challenging for many students. Sensory pathways create a structured and engaging way for students to move from one activity to another.

Indoor Movement Opportunities

Weather doesn't always cooperate. Sensory pathways give students a way to move throughout the day, even when outdoor activities aren't possible.

Inclusive Support

One of the best things about sensory pathways is that they benefit all students. While they can be particularly helpful for students with ADHD, anxiety, autism, sensory processing differences, or executive functioning challenges, every child can benefit from purposeful movement.

Where Are Sensory Pathways Installed?

One of the reasons sensory pathways have become so popular is their flexibility.

Schools are installing sensory pathways in:

• Hallways

• Libraries

• Counseling offices

• Calming corners

• Early childhood wings

• Resource rooms

• Common areas

• Church and parish spaces

Many schools also incorporate wall-based sensory activities when floor space is limited. Other schools choose portable sensory paths that can be rolled out when needed and stored away when space is limited.

Limited floor space? A wall sensory path is the perfect solution. https://www.sacredstepssensorypaths.com/store/p/beatitudes-blessings-wall-sensory-path

Examples of Sensory Pathway Activities

Every sensory pathway is unique, but common activities include:

• Animal walks

• Hopping patterns

• Balance challenges

• Cross-body movements

• Deep breathing exercises

• Visual tracking activities

• Gross motor sequences

• Mindfulness prompts

These activities encourage students to move in ways that support both physical and cognitive development.

What Makes Faith-Based Sensory Pathways Different?

While many sensory pathways focus solely on movement, some schools are looking for ways to combine movement with meaningful learning opportunities.

This is especially true in Catholic and Christian schools.

Faith-based sensory pathways allow students to engage with:

• Bible stories

• Scripture

• Catholic virtues

• The Sacraments

• Prayer

• Religious education concepts

At Sacred Steps, some of our most popular faith-based options include the Bible Stories Sensory Path, the Who God Says I Am Path, and the Sacred Sacraments Path, each designed to combine purposeful movement with meaningful faith formation.

As students move through the activities, they are not only supporting regulation and focus but also reinforcing their faith in a way that feels active, engaging, and memorable.

How Sacred Steps Sensory Paths Are Different

As both a school-based occupational therapist and a Catholic business owner, I wanted to create something that supported the whole child.

That's why Sacred Steps combines purposeful movement with faith formation.

Our sensory pathways help students:

• Regulate their bodies

• Improve focus and attention

• Strengthen executive functioning skills

• Support positive behavior

• Reinforce Catholic identity

• Engage with Scripture and faith-based concepts

To our knowledge, Sacred Steps remains the only faith-based sensory path company specifically designed for Catholic and Christian schools.

Is a Sensory Pathway Right for Your School?

If your school is looking for ways to:

• Support student regulation

• Improve transitions

• Encourage movement throughout the day

• Create more purposeful learning spaces

• Strengthen Catholic identity

A sensory pathway may be an excellent fit.

The best part? Many schools already have the perfect space.

An empty hallway.

A blank wall.

A transition area that could become something more.

Schools often begin with a full hallway path, a portable path, or even a smaller starter set before expanding over time.

Sometimes the most impactful school improvement projects don't require additional space—just a new way of thinking about the space you already have.

If you're interested in exploring what a sensory pathway could look like in your school, I'd be happy to create a complimentary mockup using photos of your space. You can explore our faith-based sensory paths, portable paths, and starter sets here: https://www.sacredstepssensorypaths.com/