The Importance of Sensory Play

Children learn by touching, seeing, hearing, tasting, and smelling. This is why sensory play is so important. It contributes to brain development and strengthens neural pathways for learning. Stimulating a sense can help a child develop:

·        Cognitive skills to identify objects, describe, compare/ contrast, and classify

·        Motor skills as they scoop, splash, build, mold, and dump

·        Communication skills as the child expresses what they like, dislike, want, and are doing

·        Social skills as they communicate and observe others while playing

It also provides great input for children that will help calm frustrations, nerves, or hyperactivity.

 When participating in sensory play, if a child shows discomfort towards a certain texture, it might be due to lack of exposure. Our therapist tells us to always try things at least ten times allowing the child to be exposed to the texture in different ways. For example: if the child will not touch the object, such as sand, see if the child will use a shovel to pick up the object. If the child will not do that, see if the child will explore the texture in a zip lock bag. Making the sensory experience comfortable and fun is the way to help a child showing aversions to textures.

Since it is getting colder outside, my children wanted to make snow. We easily made pretend snow by cutting open a diaper and putting the inside material into a bowl. We then added a cup of water until we got the desired consistency. My son, who is a sensory seeker, loved this activity and did not want to stop playing in the snow. My daughter, who is an avoider and shows tactile defensiveness, had a hard time. She did touch the snow, but then screamed and wanted her hands cleaned immediately. My son then came up with the idea of the shovel, so they could continue to play together. She had a blast scooping and dumping. I know the more she plays with it and experiences it, the more likely she is to touch it again. I bet the next time she touches it, the experience will not be as hard because she has enjoyed it in other ways. At least that is my hope.

Here are some examples of sensory play:

1.     Sensory bins (see previous blog post “Sensory Bins”)

2.     Sand box

3.     Water table

4.     Play music and dance around (see previous blog post “Music, Motion, and Sensory”)

5.     Go for a nature walk and allow child to touch, smell, and collect objects to make a nature picture

6.     Bake together allowing the child to touch, taste and smell

7.     Create pictures in shaving cream or pretend shave with “kid shaving kit”

8.     Paint with finger paint

9.     Make a mud pie outside in the mud or allow child to play in the dirt

10. Play in real or pretend snow ( build a snow man, make a snow angel, throw a snow ball, make snow ice cream)

Since our society has become more technology based, it is more important than ever to create sensory experiences for our children. I hope these ideas help you get started with some sensory play at home.