One of the earliest science lessons you learn is about the five senses; sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell.  We often take our senses for granted such that we are so accustomed to them being a part of our everyday lives and does not require much thought, but what if you were able to help your child advance their learning by taking advantage of these five senses?

Sensory play is exactly how it sounds, it is play that involves any of our five senses.  Sensory play can be as simple as zipping a coat or as complex as riding a bike.  Some of the most common types of sensory play used with children includes finger painting, sand boxes, and even playing with dry pasta.  

Sensory play can shape your child’s learning because it physically helps build nerve connections within the brain’s pathways which can later help when completing various tasks.  This type of play can result in profound growth in language development such that children are forced to expand their vocabulary when trying to describe what they are doing and how it feels as well as learning new ways to communicate their emotions and needs when engaging in this play with others.  Growth can also be seen in fine motor development as the small muscle groups of the hand are strengthened by touching and physically manipulating the object they are playing with.  Cognitive growth has been seen as children are allowed to express curiosity and experiment with the experiences they are provided.  Often when presented with types of sensory play, they are able to participate in trial and error to figure out how things work and ask questions about their experiences.  

Sensory play can have profound effects on child development in various aspects.  For more information and how to incorporate sensory play into your child’s routine read the whole article:

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/benefits-of-sensory-play-ideas/

 

Marissa Robarge

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

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