Exploring The Benefits Of Sensory Play
Our passionate Center Manager , Ms. Priya Sahani talks about, “Importance of sensory play” in the early years of a child and why it needs to be explored.
From birth to early childhood, children use their five senses to explore and try to make sense of the world around them.It’s an important part of early childhood development and providing opportunities for children to actively use their senses as they explore their world through ‘sensory play’ which is crucial for brain development.
Learning through sensory exploration comes naturally to children. As adults, our senses provide us with vital information that we use to inform the brain or make decision thousands of times a day.
We may take this ability for granted and barely notice it but it helps children to learn about their own senses and has various other benefits.
What is sensory play?
Picking things up and feeling their texture is what people often associate with sensory play, but it’s much more than touch. Sensory play includes any activity that stimulates a young child’s senses of touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing, as well as anything which engages movement and balance.
The benefits of sensory play :
Sensory activities, in addition to being fun and interesting for children, encourage children to explore and investigate. These activities support children to use the scientific method of observing, forming a hypothesis, experimenting and making conclusions.
It helps to build nerve connections in the brain, encourages the development of motor skills and Language ,scientific thinking and problem solving. It can involve mindful activities which are beneficial for all children.
The desire to engage with sensory play comes naturally for children and should be encouraged and supported both at home and in early learning environments.
List of sensorial activities:
A. Sense of Touch:
1. Slime
2. Play dough
3. Texture boards
4. Mud or sand
B. Sense of Smell:
1. Smell it and guess
2. Smelling spices
3. Exploring smell with blindfold
C. Sense of Hearing:
1. Sound bottles: by adding rice, beans, rangoli in bottles.
2. Sound treasure basket: musical instruments
3. Sound matching
D. Sense of Taste
1. Sour
2. Sweet
3. Bitter
4. Salty
E. Sense of Sight
1. Exploring sight with eye patch
2. Colour mixing
3. Glowing alphabets or numbers
The only way to enable children to connect, develop is to open the door and let them out to explore the different senses and sensorial activities.
The desire to engage with sensory play comes naturally for children and should be encouraged and supported both at home and in early learning environments!
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A very nice blog. Lots of activities are explained. I myself believe sensory plays are beneficial and are extremely important for the child’s development.
sensory plays are beneficial and are extremely important for the child’s development.
Amazing blog. This gives alot of ideas for teachers and parents and also explains the importance in the correct way.
Sensory play cover all 5 senses hence its is more of fun and learning too. Good tips and games are added in the blog.
Very well written blog. The benefits of sensory play are well explained.Thank you for sharing the information.
Good activity tips are explained and mentioned in this blog. It covers all 5 sences . Very well and informative blog shared which helps teachers and parent’s . Thank you Jumpstart !
All activities explained very well for sensory play kids love touching and playing with the things having different textures, thanks for sharing.
Well explained blog . thanks for sharing.
Great blog. We must include sensory play for the young in their everyday life as it involves mindful activities which are very beneficial for all children. Thank you for sharing such wonderful tips.
Wonderful write up. Great tips shared. Very helpful activities for stimulating children’s creative buds.
Very well written blog
Very true that sensory play is really important
for the child’s development in early age .
Amazing activities and tips are really beneficial for teachers as well as parents.
Thanjs for sharing
Great blog. Thank you for sharing
Very well said in the blog “From birth to early childhood, children use their five senses to explore and try to make sense of the world around them. It’s an important part of early childhood development, and providing opportunities for children to actively use their senses as they explore their world through ‘sensory play’ is crucial to brain development.”
Thank you Jumpstart for this wonderful Blog.
Sensory play is an important part of early childhood development. Sensory activities are fun and interesting for the children plus it can be conducted easily at home also.
The list of activities given are really very helpful. Thank you for sharing