Sensory Play!
from the AllSteps team
I’m sure most of you have seen the sensory bins that we have in each of our classrooms! The children love it, and the best part about them is that we can fill it with just about anything.
What skills are being developed through this play?
Sensory Exploration: Allowing children to explore with hands on materials and take in information through their senses.
Mathematical Skills: Filling up buckets (large and small), using measuring cups, creating shapes.
Scientific Concepts: Showing the force of motion (ex. Water flowing through a funnel), children will have the opportunity to make predictions (ex. Sink or Float).
Language Development: Children tend to ask questions about what they are playing with, they play alongside their peers and also have conversations about play
Social Skills: Once again the sensory bin is a fantastic place for children to play with one another and develop teamwork skills.
Creativity: Sensory is the center for all open-ended materials that don’t have one specific purpose. They can build, make and design anything they can imagine.A
How do we encourage this play?
A great start to encouraging anything is modelling the behaviour and task you’d like to see.
Make the bin available but in a safe location so that your children can freely choose to play there.
Set up the environment how you’d like it to be but remember this can sometimes be messy. (Messy play is a great thing!)
Join in and have fun!