Sensory learning is so important for young children. Digging in the garden, splashing in a mud puddle, or playing in the sandbox are all great ways to do this outdoors, but what about on a rainy day? That’s where these beautiful rainbow chickpeas come in! Chickpea Sensory Play Idea These rainbow chickpeas are amazing for…
Sensory
Alphabet Matching – Sensory Play Center
Young children need LOTS of exposure to letters in order to master the alphabet. They begin learning the alphabet by recognizing the first letter of their names and then move on to other letter knowledge. Skilled teachers understand that acquiring letter knowledge is a lengthy developmental process for most children; they need multiple, creative, and…
Unicorn Fizz – A Magical Way to Practice Fine Motor Skills
Fun and learning don’t have to be difficult for the teacher to be effective! This super-simple science experiment takes only a few supplies to set up and will engage your students…all while sneaking in some science and fine-motor skills. It’s truly “magical!” Materials needed: plate, bowl, or foil trays (link to amazon) boxes of baking…
Feel the Music – Teaching Preschoolers about Sound Vibrations
Through music, we learn to listen carefully and to pay attention. We practice cause and effect and trial and error. We compare instruments and sounds. We feel the music in our ears, on our hands, and through our bodies. Music makes us smarter. Feel the Vibe Introduce children to the guitar. Allow them to touch…
Apple Taste Test
The Apple Taste Test is a wonderful way to incorporate the sense of taste into your lesson. Not only that, but it also sneaks in vocabulary, math, and science – all in one delicious lesson! The Taste Test Set Up Begin the lesson by showing the students the whole apples. It can be quite helpful…
Apple Play Dough Tray
Have you tried making our apple cinnamon play dough? We used it in our five senses lesson, but it is also perfect for Autumn and goes great with our apple taste test lesson. Using simple items, you can create an invitation to play that will make your play dough center even more irresistible! Setting Up…
Rice Table Accessories
Sensory centers, like this rice table, serve a very important function in early childhood development. Not only does sensory play engage all of the child’s senses, it also builds language, dramatic play, math, science, and social skills Why rice? It’s extremely versatile. It doesn’t leave a residue on small fingers. It can be colored with…
Calm Down Bottles
One of the most important things that we can teach our preschoolers is how to self-regulate when they get too excited, anxious, or overly stimulated. A strategy that works well to help preschoolers regulate their emotions is to provide a quiet corner or nook that is stocked with “Calm Down” bottles. Here are 4 of our students’…
Rice Bin Scoop & Pour
Hand Eye Coordination is such an important skill for our preschoolers. It affects their ability to build a block structure, throw and catch a ball, and even pick up a book and turn the pages. Practicing coordination can be so simple and fun with this simple rice bin sensory table invitation to scoop and pour. The…
Fall Sensory Bins
There’s really nothing better than the sights, smells, sounds and tastes of Fall, is there?! We get to experience 4 very distinct seasons here in Virginia, and fall is absolutely my favorite. Let’s bring all of the excitement of the season into our preschool classroom with these easy fall sensory bins. We like to change our…