Children rely on their senses to explore and learn about the world around them – from the time they’re born all the way through early childhood and beyond. Touching, tasting, smelling, seeing, hearing, and moving are all ways children make sense of their surroundings and learn how to engage with the world around them.
Sensory + Development
Sensory play is crucial for a child’s development because of how much they engage their senses during those early years. Senses are also directly tied to memories – how many of your own memoriex feature different smells, tastes, and sounds from your childhood?
Providing kids with the opportunity to use their senses for exploring plays a huge role in their brain development, too. The brain’s pathways rely on connections built by the senses. According to Educational Playcare, sensory play leads to a child’s ability to complete more complex learning tasks. It also supports cognitive growth, language development, gross motor skills, social interaction, and problem-solving skills.
The Best Part Of Sensory Play? Letting GO
You’re going to want to make like Elsa and “let it go” when it comes to worrying about messes and clean-up. Because the messier the play, the more fun for the kids – and the more their senses are active and working. That’s what vacuums are for anyway, right?
But seriously, there are so many different activities that qualify as excellent sensory play. You can keep things as contained as you need to or you can just let your kiddos have a full-on ball with paints, rice, water, and measuring cups.
Sensory Engagement Builds Life Skills
Whether it’s through tactile learning or math, children learn many valuable lessons this way. Lessons that will carry them through childhood and the classroom, even.
- Tactile learning means kids get to explore through all their senses, and a great way to accomplish this is through “sensory bins” filled with rice, beads, or even corn meal. They get to feel it, watch the way it moves, and hear the way things sound when they’re moved or poured.
- Motor skills are fully engaged when kids are using their hands to count, pour, stack, and fill different types of containers with various substances. Spooning, dumping, scooping, and pouring are all ways they can work on their motor skills – which are things that help them throughout their entire lives.
- Kids are also learning math this way, too. Whether they’re counting, measuring the volume of different liquids and solids, or figuring out spatial awareness with objects and distance, this is math.
- Sensory play is also independent play. Caregivers and parents take a backseat as kids figure out their sensory activity on their own. Let them explore and find their own delight in what they’re learning – they don’t need to be interrupted or entertained.
- That doesn’t mean you won’t have to teach them a few things, mainly self-control. You don’t want a child putting things in their mouth if it’s dangerous, and you want them to learn how to keep things in the bin, bag, or whatever sensory container you’re using.
Fun Resources For Sensory Play
There are tons of great social media pages you can follow for sensory ideas! Here are some of our favorites on Instagram.