senses

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Home : 2002 : September : 20

senses
By cg

Taste: Provide an assortment of safe to taste food items that cover sweet, sour, spicey, etc. All the areas of taste on the tongue. Have the students taste item, then place a picture of it on a grid to indicate how it tasted
(sweet column, sour column, etc.)
Hearing: Sensory bags or boxes with something inside that makes a sound that the children have to identify. Or make the sound behind a screen or something so the children can't see what it is. Use a timer, a see-and-say, wooden blocks tapped together, a bell, crumple a piece of paper, etc. Use sounds they are familiar with in the classroom.
Sight:

Make Magic Wands. Place a piece of colored celophane between a cutout shape of a magnifying glass & have the children look at things. How does the color make them look different? Overlap a red wand with a blue wand; suddenly it's purple! What happens when red & yellow overlap? Use those "Where's Waldo" type of books & go on a character hunt. I have seen a book where you search for Tigger that young kids would enjoy.

Touch: Use sensory bags/boxes again. Have the child stick hands inside & describe the object, then try to identify it. Use common, familiar objects. Make a guessing chart: Item #1: my guess is_____. Item #2: my guess is ______. Have your sensory area full of different textures that they can play with: sand, salt, rice, bird seed, material scraps both soft & scratchy & in between.

Smell: Place "smelly" things into jars with lids that have holes punched into them. Have the children smell them & decide if it's a pleasant smell or unpleasant. Chart results as a class. [5 students thought that box #2, was a pleasant smell, but 3 thought it was yucky. Look what it was...] Use onions, garlic, strong smelling cheese, cloves, perfume soaked cotton ball, soap, etc. Be sure that items are safe to smell & inhale.

Hope that's enough to get you started!