Sensory Play in the Early Years

Sensory play allows children to use all their senses, it is great way for children of all ages to learn about different textures as well as using their noses to determine what it smells like.

For children, sensory play is about letting them explore new textures and learning new skills. This type of play can be beneficial for children’s development; this is because when children are investigating materials adults are helping them to develop their cognitive, social & emotional, physical, creative and linguistic skills. It has also been said that sensory play aids children’s brain development.

Here are some sensory play ideas you could use in your setting

• Play dough
• Shaving foam
• Dry and wet sand
• Finger paints
• Mushy peas
• Cornfour and water
• Custard
• Mash potato
• Oil and ice
• Slime

As children are exploring materials observe them during play as you may notice that whilst children are being creative they may also be demonstrating other types of learning for example learning maths concepts along with learning new vocabulary.

As sensory play is important for children development, is this type of play regular added to your planning? It can be tailored and adapted to meet all ages and stages of children’s development. For younger children activities are best offered on the floor using either tuff spot trays or even placed directly on the floor itself, whereas older children can join in table top activities.

Don’t forget sensory play is not all about getting messy, why not create different treasure baskets containing different texture items eg fabric basket, wooden objects, metal objects. Look at your environment more closely could you adapt your cosy area with lights to create a calming sensory area or add a small indoor tent.

Why not re visit your list of sensory play ideas and re introduce some that you haven’t offered for a while, you may be surprised at what else the children will learn from it.