Throughout this month the preschoolers have been engaged in a variety of sensory play. This type of play allows them to explore their senses, be creative and practice skills along the way.
We started with water play. Each day we switched it up with different loose parts being added to the water, focusing on a new interest or exploration. We began by adding rubber ducks to the water that were different colours to help with colour recognition. Letters and numbers were added to the ducks for the children to begin recognizing these. Day after day it was observed that the children engaged for longer periods of time as they enjoyed participating in this particular activity. The following week a provocation with sand was set out, then another time shaving cream, then fall leaves and play dough for the children to manipulate new textures. With each new sensory item and loose part being introduced the children developed and practiced self-help skills and responsibility of washing their hands and keeping their the sensory item as best possible in the container. The children became more aware of their senses and working on their descriptive words.
It was great to see how learning occurred through these experiences. Many preschoolers became curious, asked questions, communicated with their peers about how the items felt, worked on problem solving and enhanced creativity. This was a great way for the children to connect, get messy and have some fun!
Over the past few weeks we have concentrated mostly on the sense of touch, sight, smell and hearing. Due to the allergies in the classroom, the educators have been more aware that the sense of taste has been limited. However, there have been some who have tried to taste. There have been some pretty interesting facial expressions with some curious minds taking a taste test of some of our sensory items.
Pumpkin Cupcakes were made by the group for our Family Social on October 6. Baking allows for the children to help measure, pour, scoop and best of all taste the final product.
As the interest of sensory play continues to grow, I wanted to create a fun interactive exploration using all 5 senses. Maya’s family donated a pumpkin to our classroom and the children have been so excited about it. We carefully opened it with a knife to begin exploring smell, touch, sound, feel and taste.
It was interesting to hear what each child thought while channeling each of their senses, and related it to past experiences or things that it reminded them of. For smell, many thought it smelled like a variety of things. We heard, pizza, orange, pumpkin, and seeds. One by one they each helped spoon out the pumpkin seeds out into a bowl. Once the pumpkin was empty each child got an opportunity to feel the “guts” and the inside of the now hollow pumpkin. “It’s slimy!” Vesper shared with a big smile. “A banana!” Moyosola shouted in laughter as it was between her fingers.
Next, we tested out what a pumpkin sounds like. When tapped, I asked our curious minds if it sounded loud or quiet, they all shouted quiet. I asked if they knew why they thought the sound was quiet. Kimmie shared, “There's nothing in the pumpkin, we emptied it!” Kimmie was right with her observation. It’s hollow now after cutting the top off so it doesn't sound as loud anymore.
Lastly, we cooked the pumpkin seeds in the oven and had a taste test for an afternoon snack that day. Everyone was very excited to see the final product and many tasted them. Many liked and asked for lots more!
We hope to continue to do some more fun sensory experiences. Keep an eye out for more daily documentation to see what the preschoolers explore next. We hope you were able to enjoy the pumpkin muffins at our social.
