Sensory Play

 First, lets start with some basics so we’re all on the same page. So what exactly is sensory play? It’s name tells you the everything…play that incorporates your senses. Any form of play that combines touch, taste, smell, sight, or hearing to develop cognitive skills can be classified as sensory play.

From the moment a child is born they are trying to figure out the world around them and they use their five sense to do so. They do this by touching, tasting, smelling, seeing, moving and hearing. Providing opportunities for children to actively use their senses as they explore their world through sensory play is crucial to brain development because it helps to build nerve connections in the brain’s pathways. And guess what…children (and even adults) learn best and retain what they learn when their senses are engaged.

Sensory activities facilitate exploration and naturally encourage children to use scientific processes while they play, create, investigate and explore. The sensory activities allow children to refine their thresholds for different sensory information helping their brain to create stronger connections to process and respond to sensory information.

Here are 5 reasons why sensory play is beneficial:

1. Sensory play builds nerve connections within the developing brain’s neural pathways, which trigger a child’s inclination for and ability in competing more complex learning tasks

2. Sensory play supports language development, cognitive growth, motor skills, problem solving skills, and social interaction

3. Sensory play aids in developing and enhancing memory functioning

4. Sensory play is great for calming an anxious or frustrated child

5. Sensory play helps children learn vitally important sensory attributes (hot, cold, sticky, dry, etc)

Let’s dive into these benefits of sensory platy a little more

Building Connections in the Brain

Research demonstrates that as children actively use their senses in conjunction with one another, this helps to build pathways between nerves within the brain. When it comes to the importance of sensory play, this is a crucial factor because it establishes a foundation for preschoolers to be able to work towards more complex tasks, strengthens language development, improves problem-solving skills and supports cognitive growth.

Language Development

Through the exploration of new tastes, smells and textures through sensory play, children will discover new ways to describe objects they find in the world around them. For example, a rock will become much more than a rock as they feel it – it is now smooth or rough, or perhaps cool to the touch. Foods begin to be described as sweet, salty, spicy or crunchy.

During sensory play with their peers, preschoolers will watch how others use the same materials they are playing with. Children communicate amongst each other different ways that they can use the material and together will uncover new ways to shape, move, hold or manipulate a substance or object.

Children also use their imaginations a lot during sensory play and often want to share their play with peers. This leads to lots of communication happening between children.

Memory Enhancement

Think about any memory you have. How many senses are involved in this memory? Chances are a lot! The more senses you use during the creation of a memory, the more likely you are to remember it for a long time! to learn something

Calming

You may have noticed that your child is calmer after bath time or that, after a particularly rough session of jumping around the room, banging into furniture, crashing onto his bed or into pillows, your child seems more grounded. This type of sensory play is calming for kids, as it helps them regulate their internal discomfort, whether that discomfort was boredom, restlessness, or some other type of agitation.

“By providing students with materials that they can physically manipulate, play with and explore, teachers help them learn more about the world and develop crucial skills that they will utilize later in life.” – Caitrin Blake of Concordia University Nebraska

Sensory attributes

Preschoolers first learn to understand new things via their senses. Each time that they encounter something that is cold, sticky, or wet, for example, it reinforces their understanding of which types of objects typically have these characteristics. A child will then begin to form connections between things that have similar properties.

See!??! Sensory play does so much for your kids (and it’s also fun for adults…seriously…try it!) and their little developing minds. So get down on your kids’ levels, get dirty, and play!