Five Senses

Sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste are five senses that every child at a certain age can list.

Since the moment a child is born, he starts exploring the world through senses. Babies touch everything and put things in their mouths. Later on, kids make funny noises with their mouths and “create music” from the appliances found in the home.

Usually, when talking about the sensory experience, we think of activities related to touching like sand and water play or play with other natural materials. However, all 5 senses are important for the child’s development.

Playing with different materials and textures, trying out various tastes helps children to build their understanding of the world. Children broaden their vocabulary through experiences, and suddenly water isn’t just wet, it can be cold or warm, with or without bubbles, or transforming into the ice.

Let’s discover activities with all five senses!

Hearing 

Probably every parent wishes their child could listen better! See what they can hear by asking these questions during the activities:

Do you hear the difference? Is this one louder or quieter? Do they sound the same? Have you heard that sound before?

Try these activities:

• Make some sound sensory jars by putting various things into the jars. Ask a child to describe the sound while shaking the jar.
• Blindfold a child and make a sound out of everyday things. For example, close the door, open the window, slice a loaf of bread, then ask to identify the sound.

Sight

Explore with the sense of sight might be difficult as it is hard to put into the activity terms as we “see” all day long and usually use it as our primary sense.

Here are some ideas for activities:

• Explore the environment with an eye patch. Observe how it is different and what sensation it creates
• Play Look and Remember card games
• Explore how colours are mixing in the water and how new ones appear
• Don’t forget the classics – play hide and seek
• Try “What’s in the box?” game.

Smell

Blindfold a child and give him to smell different food or essential oils. During the activity, keep these questions in mind:

Does it smell good? Can you describe how it smells? Do they smell the same? Can you tell me what is making the smell? 

Taste 

Children can be picky eaters, yet it is worth trying!

Choose some food that would be sweet, sour, bitter, and salty and put on different plates. Taste together and categorize accordingly.

Touch

It is the most commonly used sense when talking about sensory play. There are numerous activities you can try out:

• • Play with sand and water, create the bottom of the ocean with some shells and stones
  • Use Sensory Play Tables to play with different messy and natural materials
  • Put through Squishy Tubes through the holes of Sensory Play Space Divider
  • Decorate the panels with felt balls Pom Poms

All children need help learning how to use their senses. Encourage sensory activities to develop all five senses and improve various beneficial skills along the way!