K 12

Exploring the Senses: 10 Everyday Learning Materials to Use with Pre-Schoolers

Published

4 years ago

September 7, 2020

Blake

Small children are naturally orientated towards play that uses all their senses. From birth, their learning happens through their exploration of everyday life through taste, touch, smell, sound and sight.

Watch a young baby and you’ll see how often they grab for everyday items or put a toy in their mouth. This is because babies and young children learn about the world through all five senses. Often as much through smell, feel and taste as by looking and listening.

As parents or educators, we can make the most of these natural instincts. We can provide high-quality, age-appropriate materials for children to explore. By adequately stimulating all the senses, stronger signals are sent to the child’s brain. These help build the vital neural pathways needed for learning.

Other benefits of sensory stimulation include helping the development of language and fine motor skills. Often, children will use sensory play as a springboard for early number skills, emergent literacy, and their first scientific thinking.

Sensory learning experiences are ultimately opportunities for independent exploratory play. The opportunity and materials are provided by adults but activities are otherwise self-guided by the child. Discovery, experimentation, imagination and creativity are all encouraged but not usually explicitly-directed by adults.

Here are 10 examples of everyday materials that will stimulate the five senses:

Contents

Sight

Sight is our primary sense so, in many ways, children are always exploring the world through their sight. However, by changing the way the world looks, we can still provide extra stimulation for this sense in a fun, exciting way.

1. Colored Cellophane

Colored cellophane is so much fun for kids. The colors are so inviting to pick up. Then they can look through it and watch how the world changes. It’s also great for stimulating creative art projects, such as collages or sun catchers.

2. Flashlight

Develop an early love of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with some flashlight play.

Children can explore their everyday areas using it and enjoy a different perspective. Invite them to make a den and perhaps look at their books with a flashlight. Or show them how to make shadow puppets on their bedroom wall.

Sound

Most children love to experiment in making sounds and enjoy music. Fostering musical skills early on will help them with literacy and numeracy skills, too.

3. Drum

A drum is a great starter musical instrument as it is so easy for any child to make a sound. Encourage children to explore ideas of faster and slower, quieter and louder with the drum. You can also play counting games or encourage them to repeat a pattern.

Play lots of styles of music to your child; classical, reggae, samba, and jazz are all stimulating. Or play some music specifically for children. If the drum is nearby, often children will choose to join in and accompany.

4. Recording Device

Any device where children can record sound and then play it back is suitable if supervised. An old tape recorder is perfect for this. They’ll delight in the sound of their own voice, but can also experiment further with making high and low, and loud and soft sounds.

Taste

Sensory play with taste has lots of benefits, includinghelping fussy eaters.

5. Fruits

Fruits are a great food item to play with: they are healthy, invitingly colorful, and delicious. Your child can enjoy playing chef by making a fruit salad. Or they could try mixing different fruits together to make a smoothie with your help.

Cooking together is a great way to explore new vocabulary, too.

6. A Blindfold

Eating in the dark or blindfolded will heighten the taste experience so it’s a great way to explore different flavors. You can have lots of fun encouraging your child with guessing games, too.

Smell

It’s fun to explore nice and some not-so-nice smells, and our likes and dislikes.

7. Petals and Leaves

These are beautiful to look at, but also can be mixed up into amazing potions or perfumes. It makes for amazing experimental play. Herb leaves, like basil or mint, are perfect for sensory play. Add in other items such as lemon or green tea bags to further the range of scents to be explored.

8. Scented Play Dough

This activity strengthens little hands and is sensory play all in one. Homemade play dough is easy and fun to make. Add in scents from spices such as cinnamon, or use food flavorings such as vanilla essence, lemon or cocoa powder.

Touch

Pick out some unusual textures or sensations to really stimulate a child’s sense of touch.

9. Ice

This everyday object is so much fun for children to explore. It has a very strong and exciting sensation. Plus, it changes in their hands by melting. Once again, they can gain some early STEM knowledge with this item during play. It’s fun to freeze small toys or other items inside to be excavated, too.

10. Cooked Spaghetti

Cooked spaghetti is irresistible to small children, especially if you color it with food coloring. Whether they decide it’s a pile of wriggly worms or play chefs, it’s all immersive, creative sensory play at its best.

These 10 items are just a small sample of everyday items that can be explored through at least one of the five senses. With a bit of attention, you’ll soon see that there are plenty of items from the home or garden that are waiting to be discovered. Just remember that the goal is to spark experimentation, imagination, and creativity through the exciting use of the senses.

Explorative sensory play is a powerful learning opportunity that needs to be embedded in everyday play and in early childhood education. Its simplicity is in its beauty: using one everyday item can open so many neural pathways that would otherwise not be built.

Lama Chivi is the CEO of Blossom by Babilou Education in the UAE. She combines the best of international practice and local expertise into this leading British Curriculum Nursery, delivering a top-tier and high-quality offering to the MENA region.

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Exploring the Senses: 10 Everyday Learning Materials to Use with Pre-Schoolers

K 12

Exploring the Senses: 10 Everyday Learning Materials to Use with Pre-Schoolers