SENSORY EXPLORATION IDEAS FOR CHILDREN 0-2 YEARS OLD

Sensory play provides great hands-on fun and learning experience for young children, as they explore and discover more about the world through their senses. Sensory activities can also calm a child, help to focus, and engage.

THE BENEFITS OF SENSORY ACTIVITIES

• Motor Development Skills – Sensory play helps a child explore, discover, and create using motor skills.
• Emotional development – Sensory activities are great for both social and independent play. They allow children to play cooperatively or side by side.
• Language Development – Sensory play increases language development as it leads to great conversations and opportunities to model language.
• Using 5 Senses – Many sensory activities include a few of the senses. Touch, vision, hearing, taste and smell are our 5 senses. For example, a sensory bin of brightly coloured rainbow rice: a child touches the loose grains, sees the vivid colours, hears the sound of sprinkling.
• Calming tools – Sensory play recipes are calming for many children who are anxious or worried. You might find that one works better than another. Some sensory play materials can settle and soothe and some can help keep a child’s attention.

Here are some sensory exploration ideas for 0-2 years old children.

1. Listen to the sounds of musical instruments.
2. Play with balloons filled with water/rice/sand etc.
3. Discover light and shadows.
4. Paint.
5. Touch, roll and pat playdough.
6. Search tressures in sand or mud.
7. Play with bark, leaves and gum nuts.
8. Touch fabric with different textures.
9. Find hidden objects in shredded paper.
10. Paint with bubble wrap.
11. Snap lock bags filled with hair gel, glitter and sequins taped to table.
12. Splash and explore with coloured water.
13. Explore the texture and “stickiness” of hair rollers.
14. Play with sensory bottles.

Photo credit: One Tree Community Services