How to Introduce Kids to Their Five Senses

From birth, sights, sounds, smells, taste and textures flood your baby̵7;s senses with information about his world. As he grows into toddlerhood and preschool, sensory play gives him the building blocks to make real-world connections that make sense of his experiences. As you introduce your kids to their five senses, you are equipping strengthening their brains for learning concepts such as sorting and scientific discovery; and fine motor skills. The best part is that the learning is disguised as fun sensory exploration games so your kids can learn as they play.

Things You'll Need

  • Water or sand table
  • Plastic tub
  • Sand
  • Dry beans
  • Rice
  • Cereal
  • Measuring cups and spoons
  • Play shovels and scoops
  • Brown paper bag
  • Box with lid
  • Various items to see, taste, touch, hear and smell
  • Small containers with lids
  • Nuts and bolts
  • Paper clips
  • Popcorn
  • Wooden blocks

Instructions

    • 1

      Talk to your baby using descriptive words about her sensory experiences. Describe textures as soft, fuzzy, warm, wet, dry, rough, smooth and bumpy. Point out sights and call them by name. Identify scents as savory, sweet, sour, stale or fresh. Talk about her food as sour, bitter, sweet, salty or nutty. Describe environmental sounds and music as soft, loud, calming or startling; or with onomatopoeia such as "splash.̶1; As your child's verbal abilities develop, encourage her to use the same kinds of words to describe her experiences.

    • 2

      Set up a water or sand table or tub and let your child feel the texture. Practice scooping and dumping to develop fine motor skills. With older children, you may also use dry beans, rice or cereal to expose him to different textures. However, always provide proper supervision to avoid accidental ingestion of inedibles and choking hazards.

    • 3

      Place mystery objects in a bag or box for smelling or feeling without looking. Challenge your child to identify the objects simply by touch or smell. Blindfold your older preschooler or kindergartener and give him a blind taste test to identify various tastes such as fruits, juices, chocolate or bread. Play a recording of mystery animal sounds and let your child guess the animal.

    • 4

      Provide small containers with lids and various small objects, using proper precautions and supervision when using small objects with young children. Let your child experiment with filling the containers with the objects and shaking them to hear the different sounds.

    • 5

      Play a version of "I Spy" where the object of the game is to spot as many things as possible that meet the sensory criteria. For instance, "I spy something purple. How many purple things can you find?̶1; Or "I spy something tall. Can you find something tall?"

    • 6

      Go on a family nature hike or neighborhood walk and turn it into a sensory scavenger hunt. You can search for specific sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touches; or you can just try to identify as many sensory experiences as you can during your walk. Older kids can keep track of what they discovered for each sense, if you wish.

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