Using our five senses strengthens our everyday experiences. The five senses introduce toddlers to methods of exploring the world around them and expanding their view of how things work. Drawing a child’s attention to the five senses and discussing them increases understanding of and communication about the world around us.
We used the all five senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste) to explore a giant marshmallow!
SENSE OF SOUND
Children use their ears to take in information about things around them. Like other skills that children learn, listening takes practice. Indoors and outdoors, there are many opportunities for toddlers to engage their listening skills. The marshmallows were hidden inside the mystery can. We used our ears to try to guess what was in the can. As I shook the can – our class discussed that they made a soft quiet sound.
SENSE OF SIGHT
When children play games that involve sight, they’re practicing early literacy skills! Sight games help children recognize words, patterns, objects…and help them develop their memory! Sense of sight activities help preschoolers learn about their eyes as they explore the world around them. We used our eyes to observe the color, shape, and size of the marshmallow.
SENSE OF SMELL
Over time, children will recognize certain smells as comforting, yummy, scary, exciting, etc. As children are exposed to different smells, they learn more about our environment. They will be able to distinguish between good and bad smells, comfortable and uncomfortable smells. In the toddler room, we used our noses to smell the sweet sugary marshmallows.
SENSE OF TOUCH
Most touch activities involve the hands and feet. Children learn how to communicate with others through touch. Engaging their hands builds their fine motor skills, helping them learn how to do more for themselves, such as writing their names and buttoning their coats. Everyone got to hold a marshmallow. We discussed that it was soft and squishy and sticky inside.
SENSE OF TASTE
Many events in a child’s life involve food. Sense of taste activities teach children that the sense of taste and smell are connected. This was the best part – tasting the giant marshmallow!
