Running, jumping, skipping and climbing. Grasping, pulling, buttoning, tying. It may not seem that these skills would be related to sensory play. But they definitely are! Let’s take a look at how sensory play benefits motor development! We all learn about our environments through exploring with our senses. We take everything in as we see, hear, touch,…
No-Mess Glitter Sensory Play Bag
Shaving cream paint is always tons of sensory play fun. But, the ooey gooey stuff can get kind of messy. Actually, more than kind of messy. Add in glitter and you’ve got a recipe for a sparkly disaster. Or, not. Clean Messy Fun You’re all about messy fun. Most of the time. Exploring with sensory…
Interoception and a Sensory Friendly Environment
In the final post in our series about the sensory system we’re discussing possibly the least well known but extremely important sense of interoception. All eight senses (yes, eight!) when working together and functioning properly promote a sense of well-being. Interoception, especially, works closely with vestibular and proprioceptive senses to maintain emotional balance, create a…
Vestibular and Proprioceptive Sensory Activities
I always get confused with terms vestibular and, especially proprioceptive. This is the reason why I have set myself to learn exactly what these 2 terms mean when it comes to sensory play. The last five senses we’ve discussed are stimulated by external factors. There are also lesser-known senses that relate to the body’s internal…
Sensory Play Activities for Sense of Touch
Our skin is our body’s largest organ. So it makes sense that much of what our brains learn and perceive about our world is first communicated to us through our skin. Our sense of touch is so important, in fact, that it is the first to develop in the womb and babies can die from…
Taste and Smell Sensory Play Activities
If you’ve ever had a stuffy nose and not been able to taste anything you understand how closely related taste and smell really are. One greatly affects the other. And if you’ve had young children you also know how much exploring happens with the mouth. How something feels in the mouth is one of baby’s first…
Auditory Processing Sensory Play Activities
“Pick up your shoes and put them by the door.” This seems like a pretty straightforward direction. But for someone with an auditory processing disorder following through with those tasks could present a problem. They may have trouble remembering what was just said or might seem as if they couldn’t hear what was said at all….
Visual Processing Sensory Play Ideas for Kids
When you enter a dark room you’re familiar with you can remember what objects surround you. If you see only part of a familiar object you may be able to still know what it is. You can thank your sense of sight for those skills. Even being able to identify colors, shapes, letters and numbers…
Introduction to the Eight Senses
Yup! You read that title right. Eight senses. You’re probably thinking, “Um, I’m pretty sure I only know about five.” I know that’s what I was thinking when I was introduced to the concept. When I learned that the sensory system really consists of eight senses it actually made perfect sense. Everyone has these eight senses…
How Sensory Play Benefits Cognitive Development
The scientific method generally consists of asking a question, developing a hypothesis, conducting an experiment, analyzing results and making a conclusion. Maybe you’re thinking, “What does that have to do with early childhood sensory play?” Well, everything really! The steps of the scientific method are the basic principles our brains use to figure things out…