Sensory experiences enable children to use their senses to explore and manipulate objects.
Through touch, smell, hear, seeing and tasting it contributes to a child’s overall learning. When exploring through sensory play children will also begin to classify objects based on different textures, which is an important part of learning.
Listed below are some suggested learning objectives that support a child's overall development.
- Children develop cognitive skills such as problem solving and decision making.
- Begin to understand mathematical concepts such as comparing sizes, counting, one to one correspondence, sorting and classifying.
- Introduced to basic science skills such as cause and effect.
- Start to make predictions and observations.
- Encourages children to use descriptive and expressive language.
- Children learn about co-operation and collaboration.
- Hand /eye co-ordination and small muscle movements develop.
- Supports children’s creativity and builds self-esteem.
- Sensory play enables children the opportunity to investigate materials with no per-conceived knowledge through the use of their senses.
Sensory play facilitates exploration and naturally encourages children to use scientific processes while they play, create, investigate and explore. Spending time stimulating their senses helps children develop cognitively, linguistically, socially and emotionally, physically and creatively.
Linking to the Early Years Learning Framework
- 1.4 Children learn to interact in relation to others with care, empathy and respect.
- 3.1 Children become strong in their social and emotional wellbeing.
- 3.2 Children take increasing responsibility for their own health and physical wellbeing.
- 4.3 Children transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another.
- 4.4 Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies and natural and processed materials.