Sensory Play

Birth to early childhood is a time when children are growing, learning, and developing at a very rapid pace. It is our job as your children’s caregivers to support them and provide opportunities for them to do this every day. One of the ways we support this is through something called sensory play. Using their 5 senses in an important way for children to explore and learn about the world around them, and sensory play is crucial for healthy brain development. So, what is sensory play? Sensory play is any activity that stimulates one of your child’s five senses, as well as anything that engages movement and balance. Sensory play can happen with any age group and below you will find some ideas for each age group that we have here at the center.

Sensory play for:

Babies: Watching bubbles float and feeling them pop, crumpling paper and listening to the sound it makes, water play, bubble wrap, and playing with velcro.

Toddlers: Mixing paint colors, watching shadows on the wall or ceiling, using scented playdough, or playing with cooked spaghetti.

Preschool and School-age: Playing with water beads, ice cube painting, making and playing with slime, playing I Spy, and exploring magnets.

One of the best ways to explore your five senses is to be in nature, so get outside and see what sensory play activities you can come up with. We’d love to hear about them!