My child needs sensory exercise every day. This list of sensory activitiesfor all ages helps me provide the input he needs, easily and without too much thought!
It started when my son’s occupational therapist handed me a worksheet describing a “Sensory Diet.”
I went home in tears.
I remember thinking as I sobbed in the parking lot, “How am I going to add this in to all that we are already doing? I feel like I’m failing already.”
It just felt like more.
It took a lot of time, many more tears and some trial and error, but I finally began to figure out how sensory activities not could not only “fit” into our schedule, but actually help contribute to our learning.
For more than five years now, I have been incorporating sensory friendly activities into almost every one of our days. The benefits have been at the very least, noticeable and at best, life changing.
Sensory activity helps to not only calm and “sync-up” a child’s sensory system, it also strengthens the brain’s neural pathways and connections. For example, when my son is able to learn something new through a sensory activity vs. a worksheet, he retains it faster and for longer periods of time.
Sensory exercises and play are not just for out-of-sync children. They can and do enhance learning for all of us!
What are sensory exercises for kids?
Table Of Contents
Sensory activities engage the 5 senses – touch, smell, sight, taste, and sound – as well as the vestibular (balance) and proprioceptive (position and movement of the body) systems.
Specifically, sensory exercises can positively impact language skills, fine motor and gross motor skills, social skills and self-control/self-regulation.
They calm my children like nothing else, and even better, they’re fun! But it can be hard to find sensory activities for all ages.
With this in mind, I wanted to provide a resource that would work for families just like mine.
I can’t stress enough how much incorporating sensory activities and exercises into our days has helped. My boys are noticeably calmer, happier, and better able to focus when I am intentional about their sensory routine.
Supporting brain development, enhancing memory, complex tasks and problem solving. Developing fine motor skills through tactile play (useful when children want to hold a pen or use scissors for example). Supporting language development, communication and social skills. Enhancing memory and observational skills.
Playing with messy sensory materials helps children develop a curious and natural sense of exploration. Finding dinosaurs in taste-safe mud, a fizzy cloud dough experiment, and balloon painting are excellent examples of messy sensory play activities. Edible sensory play activities promote a multi-sensory experience.
In this article, we'll give you some ideas to help early learners explore their sense of touch, sight, smell, sound and taste. While of course we know there are more than five senses, these are the easiest ones to set up inside a classroom. So we'll keep things simple and stick with those.
What is Sensory Play? In essence, sensory play includes play that engages any of your child's senses. This includes touch, smell, sight, sound and taste. But it also covers movement, balance, and spatial awareness.
In general, most children will be able to start engaging in sensory play from around 6 months old. As they get older, they will be able to explore more complex sensory experiences.
Seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling are all ways children learn to think, feel and compare their environment and the objects within it. Using multiple senses at the same time stimulates learning and language development, especially descriptive words.
Sensory input can be anything a person experiences with their senses or within their body from things they see, hear, or smell to things they taste, touch, or experience in their physical body like the sense of being hungry or full, maintaining balance, or being aware of one's body in the physical space around them.
There are the ones we know – sight (visual), taste (gustatory), touch (tactile), hearing (auditory), and smell (olfactory). The three we're not so familiar with are vestibular (balance), proprioceptive (movement) and interoceptive (internal). Let's take a closer look at all eight sensory systems…
Sensory activities for adults are activities that engage any of the five senses. For example, this could be as simple as using sight to read a book or look at colourful photographs, or even using the sense of smell when someone is cooking.
Sensory play is a type of play that activates and stimulates a child's senses. Often, sensory play focuses on stimulating touch, sight, and hearing as those senses are most accessible.
It involves identifying 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. By doing so, it helps shift your focus from anxiety-provoking thoughts to the present moment.
Sensory toys are designed to stimulate a child's five senses: sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. They might include elements such as bright, contrasting colors, sounds, or different textures. These toys are meant to help children develop their senses in a safe and natural environment using play.
Messy play is the open-ended exploration of materials and their properties. Activities like squishing clay, pouring sand, and sorting stones allow children to repeat and experiment as they like. Children are naturally curious, and messy play engages their senses at a developmental level that is appropriate for them.
Sensory tables allow children to actively explore materials using a variety of tools and their hands. Sand and water are frequently used in sensory tables, but there are endless possibilities for materials such as wood chips, leaves, gravel, or fabric swatches.
Through sensory play activities, the child can learn to block out stimulations that are not as important and focus on ones that are, such as social interactions with another child. Sensory play also supports language development, cognitive growth, motor skills, and problem-solving skills.
Through sensory play, kids can explore and communicate how they feel, and learn that their feelings are valid – whether they love the smell of lemons or hate the feeling of slime. This leads to a greater sense of self.
Sensory play helps children understand the world around them through exploring the sights, sounds, textures, and smells. Promoting creative thought and imagination through exploration of the senses. Therapeutic outlet for emotions when a child is struggling to express themselves verbally.
Sensory stimulation can bring joy to people living with dementia or learning disabilities, reducing anxiety and depression and increasing positive social communication. Sensory stimulation activities work best when linked to a person's interests, as it helps maintain a strong connection with their sense of self.
Introduction: My name is Van Hayes, I am a thankful, friendly, smiling, calm, powerful, fine, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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