WWBBD-Sensory

Sensory is one of the most essential parts of children's learning (and the most fun too). It's proven that the more senses a child uses, the more he learns. You can use sensory to teach math, language arts, science, art...really anything you want to, depending on how you present it. 

Some reasons sensory is so great:

- It's how they learn best

- It's very relaxing

- All ages experience success

- gives a chance for socializing

- It is very non-threatening

-They're not pressured into making a product. It's about process

Some guidelines:

- The best way for you to teach, is to let them do it themselves. Don't interfere.

- Give them things that won't hurt them, even if they put it in their mouths or swallow it. 

- Put things out ahead of time and let them figure out how they want to use it. 

- There is no wrong way! In fact, sometimes the children can think of better ways to use it than the adults can. 

- I said don't interfere, but in some cases, such as the child having no idea how to even start so they don't do anything, you may have to initiate. Do it yourself and they will follow, but DON'T MODEL. 

- Modeling is where you give them an end product to copy. Children's learning is all about process, not product. Remember, there is no one right way.

- Talk through it with the children. Have them explain what they're doing. Get them into a conversation (hence language arts)

- If they are making something, never assume you know what it is. Ask them what it is. You may think it's a dog, when really it's a house. Children make things to reflect how they feel about it.

- Do it with them. Adults can benefit a lot from sensory play. It's so relaxing and you can connect with your child(ren)

- Get messy! Being clean is only important in adults standards. What's it going to hurt if you get messy?  Use things that won't stain so you don't have to worry about that. Use clothes you don't care if they get ruined. (Bev Bos has a two hour meeting with the parents at the beginning of the year to tell the parents about what's going to happen. She tells them to buy thrift store clothes that won't matter if they get ruined. They also bring an extra pair to class to change into if they have to)

What am I talking about when I say "sensory"? A sensory item can be anything a child can manipulate really. Play that engages the senses. Some of my favorites are:

Playdough (the all around perfect sensory item)

Oobleck

Whipped soap

Shaving Cream

Shakers & Contact paper

Moon Sand (my favorite!)

Floam

Sawdust

Colored Sand

Fingerpainting

Edible playdough

Slime

Baking Soda Clay

Playdough surprise

Rainbow stew (Dragon Snot)

You can really do anything like tin cans, anything cooking, lots of painting, cotton balls, etc. Waterplay is a whole other section! There's so much you can do with it.

The only things that you can't make are the floam and moon sand (delta sand). I have the recipes for the others and a few more. I can't decide whether to post them here or a different post or just write them up in a word document. We'll see. 

- One last point i'd like to make: It's really fun for the children if you let them add the color while they play. Then they can experiment and learn about it. It's really great science for them.