The Senses and Perception
- Children learn about the world by using their five senses: sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch.
- Reading is a complete sensory experience for little ones: the sight of the pictures, the sound of your voice as you read, the smell and feel of the pages, and the taste, as young ones are prone to put anything in their mouths!
Science Center -- Instead of offering a craft at the end of your toddler or preschool storytimes, try one of these ideas:
- Taste: Have children draw pictures of their favorite Yummy tastes and their least favorite Yucky ones. If they are too young to draw, enlist the help of their caregivers. Display the Yummies and Yuckies so everyone may see them. Someone's Yummy may be another child's Yucky!
- Touch: Collect small boxes and cut small, hand-sized holes in the side of each one. Group similar feeling objects in each box: smooth rocks and marbles, fluffy faux fur and cotton balls, rough sandpaper and pinecones, etc. Seal the boxes closed with book or packing tape. Write a descriptive word on the top and cover it with a flap of paper. Children may then stick their hand in the boxes, feel around, and say the word that best describes the items in the box. Have them lift the flap and see if they are right. Younger children may reach inside and then caregivers can help them identify the proper word.
- Smell: Collect small, wide-mouthed containers with lids. Place a cotton ball inside each one soaked with a different scent: liquid smoke, perfume, and various essential oils or food extracts work well. Leave an answer key face down on the table. Have the children remove lids from containers one at a time and give a sniff and take a guess!
- Sight: Put out old magnifying glasses, kaleidoscopes, prisms, 3D glasses, binoculars, telescopes, or other items that children may look through to see distorted or altered vision. Encourage children and caregivers to explore the various items and talk about how different things look when viewed through them.
- Sound: Write out different sounds on cards that children can make using their hands, fingers, mouth, and feet: clap, snap, click, stomp, raspberries, whistle, tap, kissy noise, etc. Put the cards in a box or bag. Caregivers may mix up the cards and ask their child to pull one out, then they read the card and the child performs the sound.
Fun to Do Together
Touch Your Nose
Make sure you take time to stop and pretend to sneeze (with covered mouth, of course!) With older toddlers and preschoolers, you may even wish to speed up this chant until no one is able to do it quite right!
Touch Your Nose
Make sure you take time to stop and pretend to sneeze (with covered mouth, of course!) With older toddlers and preschoolers, you may even wish to speed up this chant until no one is able to do it quite right!
Touch your nose, touch your chin
That's the way this game begins.
Touch your eyes, touch your knees;
Now pretend you're going to sneeze...!
Touch your hair, touch one ear;
Touch your two little lips right here.
Touch your elbows where they bend
That's the way this touch game ends.
That's the way this game begins.
Touch your eyes, touch your knees;
Now pretend you're going to sneeze...!
Touch your hair, touch one ear;
Touch your two little lips right here.
Touch your elbows where they bend
That's the way this touch game ends.
*It Feels
What You Need
Sponges
Brillo Pads
Faux Fur
Sand Paper
Leather
Feathers
Thin Wood
Glue
Prepare Ahead
Cut all your various materials into 1 inch squares. You will also need to design a handout with as many hand-prints as you have materials. You may use clip art to do this, or trace a child's hand. Place one handout and one of each of your textures at each spot. Make sure glue is nearby.
What You Do
What You Need
Sponges
Brillo Pads
Faux Fur
Sand Paper
Leather
Feathers
Thin Wood
Glue
Prepare Ahead
Cut all your various materials into 1 inch squares. You will also need to design a handout with as many hand-prints as you have materials. You may use clip art to do this, or trace a child's hand. Place one handout and one of each of your textures at each spot. Make sure glue is nearby.
What You Do
- Children and caregivers feel each piece of material and then glue them on to the hands.
- Children are then asked to describe the material and what if feels like to them. Encourage caregivers to stay quiet and let children explore their vocabulary. (Sandpaper may feel like Papa's face, or faux fur may feel like a family pet.)
- Have caregivers write their description under each corresponding hand.