Sensory play is a very popular description often used to for messy play - but that is an incredibly narrow use for what is a huge aspect of play that is important for children. Sensory play can also refer to the experience of movement, the sense of pressure, as well as sight and sound. For very young children getting to know the world, almost all play could be considered sensory. As a parent or caregiver, there are so many ways you can incorporate or mix-and-match different senses with different play experiences.
Touch
Touch is the first thing we all think of when it comes to sensory play and this is because most young children love the tactile feedback they get from a variety of objects. Typically ‘touch’ based sensory play involves slimy, gooey gunk, which is great, but it could be so much more. With your one year old, why not try incorporating:
Temperature. In the warmer months, give your child coloured ice blocks to hold and make marks with on paper. In the cooler months, make some playdough and let them play with it while it is still hot (but not too hot!).
Natural materials. Collecting items from outside and bringing them inside is exciting for children, and has the benefit of introducing lots of different textures. Think smooth or pointy leaves (or crunchy, depending on the time of year!), rough twigs and smooth branches, pebbles or dirt clods. Add the natural materials to existing play areas, like the building blocks, or use them for art (paint them or paint with them). For very young children it is important to make sure your natural materials aren’t toxic or poisonous as they will definitely end up in the mouth of your little one.
Textured granules, like rice, tiny pebbles, wheat, sand, packing peanuts. Pouring, squeezing, throwing granules that have different textures, weight and size is a sensory experience that promotes scientific thinking about the physics of the objects being manipulated. To minimise mess, set them up with a big tray and some pouring implements outside.
Smell
Smell is an often overlooked sensory experience for young children. Not only can smells have an effect on your mood and emotional state, but they can have that effect on your babies too. At home you could:
Add scents to tactile play. Put a drop of peppermint essence in your slime, mix in cinnamon with your playdough, use strong smelling vegetables or fruit as dye for art. As always, with young children make sure any scent base you are using won’t harm your child if they ingest it.
Make mystery scent boxes. Use old tissue boxes that have been taped up or jars. Poke a few holes in the top and fill the boxes with different smells. Herbs like rosemary, basil or sage, cloth that has been dipped in an essential oil, flowers from the garden are all possibilities. As your child won’t be able to access the contents, you could be a bit more adventurous with the sources of smells but make sure you are still supervising them.
Fill spray bottles with scented water. On a warm day, spritz the air and you and your toddler can run through it.
Sound
Sensory play is popular with young children as it helps them learn to regulate their emotions. Loud and constant sound can overwhelm children, and have the opposite effect. But when used appropriately sound can be a very calming and soothing sensory activity. Use sound at home by:
Making a sound cave. Close all the blinds and windows, turn off the lights, lie down and listen to different sounds. Weather noises, different types of music like classical or lo-fi, animal noises or place noises, like a forest or the beach. Describe the noises you can hear, or try moving and swaying with the sounds.
Playing music for transitions in the day. Is it pack up time? Have a particular song that you play when it is pack up time. Is it time to wash hands and eat? Play a different song that is the wash hand and eat song. These songs don’t have to be kids songs about the topic, they can be songs that your child likes from the radio, or famous pop songs from the past. The song will help your child feel settled with the routines of the day.
Making or purchasing rain sticks. Let your child experiment with movement and sound through different sizes or materials of rainsticks. Rainsticks are very exciting as the noise builds, and children find these very stimulating.
Sight
Another sense that is overlooked when discussing sensory play, which is surprising as the way that slime looks is almost equally as important as how it feels, to the young children playing with it. Making slime and other ‘messy’ play options look inviting is important, but other ways sight could be used for the sensory needs of you child include:
Kaleidoscopes. Home made or purchased, a short kaleidoscope will excite and fascinate young children.
Transparency and colour. Using cellophane or coloured bottles, have your child investigate the world around them through a coloured film. Make ‘glasses’ with cellophane lenses, or use an old toilet roll with cellophane taped around one end.
Sensory bottles. Filling a jar or bottle with items like glitter, rocks, stars and then one third water with some colouring drops, two thirds cooking or baby oil. Seal the bottle closed, and let your child be enraptured in the movements inside when they move it.
Mirrors. Adding mirrors to play spaces, especially areas with blocks allows your child to see different perspectives.
Movement + Pressure
Another often overlooked aspect of sensory play for 1 year olds is the experience of movement and pressure which are very important for helping children regulate their nervous system, develop muscle strength, and build coordination.
Baby Gyms. Climbing, stepping on uneven surfaces, and carrying heavier blocks to different locations are all an integral part of sensory play.
Movement. Swings, baby bikes, rocking horses all introduce a baby to movement. This helps them develop balance, body awareness, and coordination.
Our senses are subjective, and acknowledging that your child likes one smell, or texture or sound more than another is part of them slowly building their concept of self. Sensory play is also a wonderful platform for language development. Your child is feeling and experiencing different sensations, that you are able to label for them. Children learn from repetition, so make sure to include activities like the ones listed in your day to day routine.