This month, our All About Water inquiry is All About Sensory Play!
In Early Education, we talk about sensory play all of the time. Unless you’re in Early Education, you may be wondering… what is sensory play and why does it matter?
As young children develop, they learn about the world through their senses:
TASTE is one of the earliest and sharpest human sensations as infants begin drinking milk. Young children understand safety and love through TOUCH. As infants grow, their ability to SEE and HEAR grow… and these are the precursors for communication!
So, all sensory play in Early Education really means is that we create experiences that target and stimulate various senses in such a way that young children learn more about the world around them.
This is Science 101 and taps into every young child’s inner explorer!
In June, we are All About Water… and we can use water to target every sense. Here are some ways we’re facilitating awesome learning moments:
Water TASTING: we can gather and sample water from many different (safe!) sources and compare the taste! Does distilled water taste different than spring water? We can use many new words to describe our experience.
Water SPLASHING: what does water feel like? Let’s feel cold water and warm water: how is that different? What if water gets very cold… and freezes? What does it feel like to swirl or splash in water?
Water SOUNDS: Drip, Drop, Splash, Swish, Echo, Wave… water makes all kinds of sounds! We can investigate what the world sounds like above and below the water… and use non-fiction resources to find out why.
Water SCAPES: Does water always look the same? Does water have color? If not, why not? If so, why? We’re going to compare and contrast pictures and real life field experiences as we gaze upon the wide, wet world around us.
Amazingly, children are able to extract some pretty abstract scientific principles from these simple investigations. DIVE IN with us!