Discovering Our World through Sensory Play

Exposing children to sensory play helps them develop and refine the use of their senses. Sensory play can be divided into five classifications that, as you may have guessed, correspond to the senses: touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste. Here are a few examples of easy, inexpensive and creative ways to spend time with your children while engaging them in sensory play at home.

Touch

Play games or engage in activities that require the use of muscles: jump on a trampoline or the bed, crab walk, have a three-legged race, make a fort or an obstacle course, play leap frog or hopscotch, try tossing or catching games (use different objects like stuffed animals, water balloons or bean bags) and play tug-of-war.

Include your child in chores that encourage the use of muscles: let him push a laundry basket or grocery cart or clean together (wiping the counters, sweeping, mopping … every parent’s dream come true!).

Sight

Experiment with light around your home: play by candlelight, play flashlight tag, make shadow puppets and wear sunglasses.

Explore with colors: Add food coloring to bath water, paint each other’s faces, or tie-dye clothes or other fabrics.

Test the sense of sight by: playing catch with a balloon, completing mazes or dot-to-dot puzzles, tracing your body or hands, playing “I Spy,” peek-a-boo or a variation of hide-and-seek.

Hearing

Engage your child’s musical side: play or listen to an instrument or sing songs.

Play different listening games: sit very quietly and try to guess the sounds you hear, make a chart of things you hear outside, talk about different animal sounds you’ve heard, play musical chairs.Experiment with volume: play with the stereo dial to investigate loud and soft sounds.

Smell

Utilize your kitchen: cook with strong-smelling scents, i.e., garlic, ginger, cocoa, lemon, vinegar, vanilla, mint, lavender; match scents while blindfolded (in opaque containers).

Make use of the great outdoors: go on a “smelly walk” (wet grass, fertilizer, bakery), plant flowers.

Taste

Experiment with opposites: try frozen foods versus hot foods, salty versus sweet, crunchy versus soft, etc.

Try foods that require a sipping or sucking motion to help calm children, as well as crunchy and chewy foods that increase alertness.