A sensory activity for school-age children, often referred to as sensory play, is any activity where a child can play with materials and engage their senses.
Kids naturally explore the world around them using their senses. As highlighted by the definition of sensory play, activities ranging "From playing with blocks and making messes with their food to getting paint all over themselves, kids always use objects around them to learn and develop." This engagement with materials helps them understand concepts, develop motor skills, and process sensory information. For school-age children, sensory activities provide valuable opportunities for continued learning and development in a hands-on, engaging way.
The Importance of Sensory Play for School-Aged Children
Engaging in sensory activities is crucial for school-age children as it supports various aspects of their growth:
- Cognitive Development: Encourages problem-solving, critical thinking, and understanding scientific concepts (like cause and effect, properties of materials).
- Motor Skills: Refines fine motor skills through manipulating materials (like squeezing clay or threading beads) and gross motor skills through active sensory exploration.
- Language Development: Provides opportunities for children to describe textures, smells, sounds, and actions.
- Emotional Regulation: Can be calming and help children process sensory input in a safe environment.
- Creativity: Stimulates imagination through open-ended play with diverse materials.
- Learning & Development: As noted in the reference, using objects around them helps children learn and develop through sensory engagement.
Examples of Sensory Activities for School Age
Sensory activities for school-age children can involve one or multiple senses (sight, sound, touch, smell, taste - though taste is less common in a classroom setting unless using food items safely). Based on the understanding of sensory play as defined, using materials to engage senses for learning and development, here are some examples:
- Tactile Play:
- Working with playdough, clay, or slime.
- Playing with sensory bins filled with rice, beans, water beads, sand, or shredded paper, often with hidden objects to find.
- Exploring different textures of blocks or building materials.
- Water play with various tools like cups, sponges, and funnels.
- Visual & Creative Play:
- Getting paint all over themselves or on paper/canvases (finger painting, brush painting, splatter painting).
- Creating collages with diverse materials (fabric scraps, natural items, paper).
- Using light tables with translucent objects.
- Auditory Play:
- Making simple musical instruments from recycled materials.
- Exploring sounds with different objects (e.g., shaking containers with various contents).
- Olfactory (Smell) Play:
- Guessing game with scented items (spices, herbs, scented markers).
- Creating "potions" with water, natural items, and safe extracts.
- Combined Sense Play:
- Gardening activities (touch, smell, sight).
- Cooking or baking simple recipes (engages multiple senses, can involve making messes with food under supervision).
- Building forts with different textures of blankets and pillows.
Engaging in these activities allows school-age children to continue using materials around them to learn and develop, reinforcing the core principle of sensory play.
