When we talk about Sensory play at Childcare is Fun – we are talking about stimulating and encouraging the development of the senses of sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste.
Many parents may not know how important a role sensory play holds in the all round development of little ones and so here we share our Sensory play ideas and how those simple activities can create a world of sensory-tastic fun.
There really isn’t a need to spend lots of money on sensory toys, as many of the activities we share here on Childcare is Fun can be created by simply using a metal tray or a tough spot (to contain the mess) and items from around the home.
Many think sensory play is all about touch, but it is far more exciting than that! Think smells, taste, touch and sounds – a whole world of sensory play to encourage learning and play.
Did you know that sensory play also encourages language development? by playing with different textures, sounds, smells and sights, you are encouraging your children to talk through their experiences. Even sensory play involving tastes can build your child’s language base! Exciting hey?
Not only is sensory play educational and exciting for littlies, its also very calming. Imagine an hours planned sensory play with Cornflour and water – add some beautiful, calming, music in the background, and you’ve created an hour of calm. Perfect.
Sensory play is also wonderful for fine motor skills – the picking up of buttons, the moving of objects through spaghetti and flour, using small pots to fill with flour, all encourage hand-eye co-ordination and fine motor development.
The majority of our sensory play activities are quite messy and best played outdoors or at a kitchen table with a cleanable floor! We use metal trays that are easily washed, but if you really want to rock sensory play – then it’s worth investing in a tough spot.
Tough spots are big plastic trays that contain pretty much all the mess, they can also be used to create imaginative play areas such as dinosaur play, or mini building sites!
Sensory play is wonderful fun – why not give a few of our activities a go on the right hand side list today?
