Importance of Sensory Play
Dr. Surender (Developmental Paediatrician)Sensory play includes any activity that stimulates a young child's senses of touch, smell, taste, sight, and hearing, as well as anything that engages movement and balance. By coordinating all their senses, children try to understand the world around them. Providing opportunities for children to actively use their senses as they explore their world through ‘sensory play’ is crucial to brain development.
1. Sparks an interest in learning
Adding sensory elements to teaching restores a child’s focus and can spark an interest in learning. Children who learn through play get more enjoyment out of it and thus want to do more of it
2. Encourages problem-solving
By experimenting with different objects during sensory play, children develop problem-solving and decision-making skills. They begin to find solutions to obstacles they come across during sensory play – such as ‘how to make sand stick together’
3. Improves fine motor skills
The type of movement involved in sensory play, such as squeezing, pinching, sorting, placing, and scooping, is designed to improve fine motor skills and increase coordination
4. Increases brain development
Kids learn about the world around them and their own senses and body responses through the senses. When the senses are engaged, neural pathways in the brain are being created. These neural pathways are what will help your child in learning throughout their life
5. Better retention
When children use more of their senses while learning, they are better able to retain what they’ve learned. Learning is happening through a multi-modal channel – by touch, smell, and sight. Hence, the information is being received
6. Language development
Sensory play helps children learn new ways of talking about the world. It supports their language development and encourages them to communicate effectively with others whilst playing. During sensory play, a child can describe what they are touching, tasting, hearing, seeing, smelling, or experiencing through their body sensations
Learning descriptive words in relation to their senses, such as “smooth”, “rough”, “soft”, “cold”, “fragrant”, “sweet”, “spicy”, and so many more, expands a child’s vocabulary
7. Independent Play & Pretend Play
Sensory bins are my favorites for independent play and pretend play. Children concentrate and focus during sensory play in a much different way than when they are using toys that tell them what to do or how to do it
8. Pre-Math Skills
Playing with a rice bin, scooping and pouring rice into containers, the toddler is learning about measurement (capacity), about estimating, and spatial awareness (the understanding of one object in relationship to another)
7. Developing Self-Control
When children are playing with a sensory bin, they are following a set of rules/guidelines that we have in place to keep sensory bin play safe and “relatively” mess-free.