In our Beluga pod this week we wrapped up our apple theme this week playing with green apple- and apple pie-scented play dough, reading many apple-themed books, and even making apple muffins. Sensory play in early childhood is valuable learning time. As children manipulate all kinds of wonderful sensory materials in the bins, they are using their senses explore and have fun, but this kind of play also provides learning experiences and growth several different developmental domains. Children learn best through “hands on” experiences, and though it can be a bit messy at times, the concepts which they learn in this way contribute powerfully to cognitive development, social and emotional development, fine motor development, and creativity. Sensory play helps children develop in their understanding of such science concepts as cause and effect, physical forces (i.e. gravity), classifying and sorting. The also learn all kinds of mathematical concepts such as size, counting, conservation, estimation, matching, etc. It can also encourage children’s’ emotional and social growth. Skills such as decision-making, self-control, sharing of resources, using good manners, and other cooperative skills are all being developed as the children are stirring, squishing, pouring and just enjoying the materials in the bin. One often-overlooked values of these kinds of sensory activities is that they invite the children to explore how the materials make them feel. Many times, children are calmed by sensory play, as it provides a good way for relieving tension. There are many other benefits of sensory play. I invite you to check out this article from the National Association for the Education of Young Children: https://issuu.com/naeyc/docs/meeting_sensory_needs_thompson_0513
Our Apple Bin will be joined next week by a Space Bin, which will have different materials. It will be exciting!
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Melissa SmithMs. Smith has a degree in Early Childhood Education and has taught kindergarten for many years. Alaska has been home to Ms. Smith for 28 years, and she can't imagine living anywhere else! She has four children, a dog and two cats. She loves reading, camping, gardening, and genealogy! Archives
April 2021
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