Catholic sensory paths are popping up in grade schools across the country, including at St. Thecla School in Clinton Township
CLINTON TOWNSHIP — St. Thecla Catholic School is always looking for new ways to incorporate its Catholic identity into its students' daily surroundings. Beyond the classroom, students — preschool and K-8 — are met with opportunities throughout the day to deepen their relationships with Jesus, including faith-based sensory paths in the school hallways that have enriched the 2025-26 school year.
The sensory paths, which include floor and wall decals that incorporate Catholic themes, give children the opportunity not only to learn about their faith as they walk to different parts of the school, but also to engage their bodies and minds through movement.
The sensory paths were developed by Catholic occupational therapist and mom Trisha Klausing, from the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio, who launched her business, “Sacred Steps Sensory Paths” two years ago.
Klausing, who is contracted to provide occupational therapy services once a week at SS. Peter and Paul Catholic School in Ottawa, Ohio, developed the paths when she noticed children at the school needed a structured way to move and reset their bodies.
“I saw that the kids were very active, and the teachers needed a resource to be able to help them with some functional movement, but also not take away too much from the classroom time,” Klausing told Detroit Catholic.
After searching online for sensory paths with a faith theme and coming up empty, Klausing took matters into her own hands.
“We all know kids need and want to move, and giving them the opportunity for structured movement breaks helps give their bodies that reset or regulation that they need for the classroom,” Klausing explained.
Klausing said the call for structured movement and sensory breaks at schools has increased over time — kids are changing, and schools are learning to adapt to the needs of the teachers and the students.
Schools like St. Thecla are being proactive. In addition to personally installing two paths at the Metro Detroit parochial school, Klausing believes she has installed close to 100 paths in Catholic schools spanning 20 states.
“I love how Catholics and Christians are embracing this concept,” Klausing said. “I think they are realizing the need for resources like this while incorporating the faith. If they are going to put something down on their floors, they like the Catholic faith aspect of it, where they can incorporate it into their whole day and their whole body.”
During the summer of 2025, Klausing installed two vinyl paths at St. Thecla: one in the preschool hallway and another along the wall of the main hallway, where students of all grades walk daily, which should last more than five years.
For the preschoolers, Klausing installed a Noah’s Ark-themed path that engages little learners as they walk by.
“The teachers have been very happy, especially those for the younger ones,” Shannon Rupkus, St. Thecla’s business manager, explained. “The Noah’s Ark one prompts students to flutter like a butterfly and hop like a frog. When the kids are walking in smaller groups and individually in that hallway, they all tend to do it. The older kids may not hop like a frog and do stuff like that, but they still look at it and smile, and I’ve seen older kids in the hallways helping younger kids and teaching them about Noah’s Ark.”
For the older kids, Klausing installed a Holy Alphabet wall sensory path in the school’s main hallway.
“Older kids need movement, too — just as much, if not more, than the younger kids,” Klausing said. “The decals I recommend for them are simpler and not as ‘cutesy’ as the ones for the younger children.”
As students engage with the paths, they are preparing for the classroom by engaging both sides of their brains while simultaneously regulating and calming their bodies so they can be refreshed and re-energized to learn, Klausing said. Some paths invite students to trace a shape while incorporating prayer or learning about the beatitudes.
As Klausing continues to install sensory paths and connect with educators, she has adapted to accommodate the unique needs of each school. She has developed a portable path as well as paths for spaces of all different sizes.
However, no matter which sensory path she installs, Klausing said the paths are for all children.
“Some people think of sensory needs as maybe someone who has autism or has a learning disability, but all students can benefit from these sensory paths,” Klausing said. “I love walking down the hallways at school and seeing the kids coming back from recess, doing the sensory path. They may not realize that they are getting a sensory need met by doing them — they just think they are having fun and learning about the Bible and their faith.”
