It’s no secret that I love sensory play in a huge way! Over the years of sharing my teaching and nanny journey on Instagram and with people in my life, I’ve gotten tons of questions on sensory play. I’ve defended the need for sensory play in early childhood education to countless curious administrators and parents for years.
I’m finally breaking down the whys and hows of sensory play so you too can incorporate this important experience in your early childhood classroom or nanny family!
First off let’s start with the WHY.
Why is sensory play so important?
- It’s Fun!
- Kids love to get messy. They love to explore with their entire bodies. How many times have you gone to the park only to find your child gravitate towards the rocks around the edge of the playground? Kids naturally want to interact with the world around them. They want to feel, touch, and yes even taste!
- Sensory play encourages scientific thinking.
- In a single sensory experience your child is experimenting, investigating and hypothesising.
- Visual discrimination skills are being developed in sensory play.
- Your child is learning colors, shapes and sounds in a creative child-led environment.
- Sensory play supports language development, fine and gross motor skills, and problem solving skills.
- Since sensory play uses all senses children are able to make multiple connections fire in their cerebral cortex.
On to the HOW!
Sensory play doesn’t always have to be a thought out bin full of expensive items you’ve curated to be successful! When someone comes to me wanting to add more sensory play into their child’s day, I start them off with the most basic bin ever: Rice or beans, bowls, and spoons in a box or plastic container. That’s it! Seriously, there is nothing more simple for your child than pouring and scooping rice or beans. You’re engaging fine motor with gross motor and practical life skills. It might get messy but I promise it will be worth the extra sweeping you’ll have!
One thing I’ve learned from sensory play is that you’re probably doing more of it than you think! Do your kids beg to stay in the tub longer just to play? Do they love splashing, pouring water over themselves, and covering every inch of their body with bubbles? Guess what? That’s a perfect sensory experience! One of my favorite ways to bring calm to a toddler is filling up a sink with water and bubbles. I let them do the rest!
Sometimes we take it outside and theme our water table or water tub!
My biggest encouragement is to embrace the mess! If you’re a person like me who likes to keep everything neat and tidy, adding messy sensory play may seem a little nerve wracking! However, if you can take a deep breath while teaching your child to keep the mess contained, I think you’ll learn to love messy sensory play as much as your child!
When you’re just starting out embracing the mess, I recommend using smaller trays at tables or outdoors. I have a mom friend who says “Water stays with water” Which I absolutely love! You can use that with everything sensory. Rice stays with rice, shaving cream stays with shaving cream, paint stays with paint. You get it!
Create a clear boundary, such as a table or tablecloth set out on the floor. Your child can make as much mess as she wants in a specific area which makes cleaning up a breeze!
Another question I get is How do I do this with a baby or young toddler who puts everything in his mouth? I’m of the firm opinion that sensory play knows no age! Babies can and should be engaged in sensory play as soon as they are able to have extended tummy time. I love taping bags to the floor while baby is balanced over a boppy!
As baby gets older, simple tubs with familiar household items become great things to explore!
Taste is a part of sensory play, so keeping things baby safe becomes more important as baby teethes. I’ve had two mouthers (babies who put everything in their mouth) and two who were not. With the ones who were, I introduce smaller objects when I knew he could handle them. I also believe that once a child tastes something and realizes that it is not food, the interest goes away!
So now that we’ve discussed the Whys and Hows of sensory play, come back next Tuesday where I’ll get down into nitty gritty of the Whats of sensory play. I’ll explain what I do when I give a child a new box, what she is actually doing while playing, and what I say while playing!
I hope this was helpful to your sensory play journey. Don’t forget to connect with me on Instagram @Rachrunstx or theteachingnannyblog.com
The Teaching Nanny 
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