Just a few ideas for studying the senses... |
Sensory Table Set up a curiosity table aimed at encouraging children to explore using their senses. Here's a few things that children could explore: Touch * Bubble wrap (fun to pop) * Feathers * Carpet squares * Satin pieces * Sandpaper * Cotton wool, teddy fur scraps and sheep's wool pieces Sight * Coloured cellophane squares * Kaleidoscopes * Small binoculars * Glasses and sunglasses * Goggles and snorkle masks * Mini slide projectors Hearing * Musical instruments - drums, maracas, bells etc * Glass bottle chimes (carefully supervised) * Walkman with ear phones Smell * Fresh flowers * Spices and herbs * Essences eg vanilla, strawberry, peppermint (put a few drops onto cotton wool) Taste Its a bit hard to put items to taste at a curiosity table but doing activities such as cooking and taste tests will cover this area |
Senses |
A few things to make and do... |
Scented Flower Garden Cut out flower shapes from coloured card. Glue cotton wool in the middle of the flower shape. Sprinkle essences or talcs onto cotton wool. Attach the flowers to the wall to make a flower garden children can smell |
Scented Flowers Similar to the flower garden.... trace circle shapes onto coloured card. Each child cuts out a circle and then glues a patty pan in the middle of the circle. Glue a cotton wool ball into the middle of the circle and then sprinkle a few drops of essence onto the cotton wool. Attach a straw to the back of the flower to make a stem. The children then have a yummy smelling flower to take home |
Secret Smells Collect film canisters. Put some cotton wool in the bottom of each canister and sprinkle in herbs, spices, essences or other familiar smelling items such as coffee. Punch holes into the lid of the canister and then tape the lid onto the container so the children can't remove it. Put the canisters onto a tray and encourage the children to smell and guess the scents that are in each in canister. |
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Coloured Windows Let the children see the world through a whole different colour by taping a large square of cellophane over a window. You can also make small windows for the children to walk around with by cutting a window out of card and covering the window with cellophane. Make several small windows with different cellophanes so the children can experience seeing the environment through varied colours. Another idea is to cover the ends of cardboard cylinders with cellophane to make coloured telescopes |
Masquerade Masks Cut mask shapes from card and cut out eyeholes in the masks to enable children to see through them. Have the children decorate the masks with sequins, feathers, confetti etc and then glue cellophane squares over the eyeholes so children can look through coloured masks. Attach a straw to the side of the mask for the children to hold onto, or elastic to enable the children to put the mask over their head. |
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Taste Tests Involve children in taste tests where samples of food are put onto trays. Children are then blindfolded, assisted to take a sample of food and then try tasting it and guessing what the sample is. Try to find a range of foods eg salty, sweet, bitter, sour and talk about the different tastes experienced. Cooking There are lots of simple recipes that can be done with children eg making biscuits, making scrambled eggs, fruit kebabs etc that allow children to participate in the cooking experience and satisfy their taste buds. |
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Textured Wall or Stepping Stones Visit a carpet store and see if they are able to give away squares of carpet scraps or samples. Try to get different ply and materials so that varied textures can be offered. If you want to make a textured wall you could perhaps glue the squares onto card and then blu-tac or pin the squares to the wall so that children can feel the textures with their hands. If you want stepping stones simply place the squares on the floor and allow children to step on them with bare feet and describe how the textures feel on the skin of their feet. Bumpy/Smooth Take the children on a small walk in the school environment to find textures that are bumpy or smooth. Perhaps during the walk, the children can make rubbings of the bumpy textures they find. As an extension collect bumpy and smooth items such as sandpaper, satin ribbon, corrugated card, smooth paper and so on. Provide paper divided into 2 columns - one bumpy, one smooth and encourage children to feel the items and then glue them into the appropriate category on the paper. Textured Playdough Add rice or similar to playdough to give it a textured feel Texture Pictures Provide different textured materials for children to glue with eg sandpaper, sand, rice, wood shavings, packaging foam, bubble wrap |
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Rice/Lentil Shakers These are simple and easy to make and children enjoy having their own musical instrument. Here is some ways to make them: With Bottles: Paint a small plastic drink bottle with poster paints. When dry fill with rice or lentils. Tape on the lid. With Card: Cut medium sized circles out of card. Children then decorate by painting or colouring with textas. Fold the circle in half and staple the open edge leaving a hole to put rice into the shaker. Staple the hole and then check that no rice comes through any gaps Other Musical Instruments Quality art and craft books for children will have other ideas on how to make guitars, drums or chimes from junk materials Other Ideas * Introduce Musical instruments and discuss the different sounds they make * Bring in an electronic keyboard or synthesizer * Play stories that have been taped onto a cassette * Play classical music in the background during lesson times * Allow the children to tape themselves singing or talking and play it back * Play varied types of music eg rock, classical, country and have the children paint to the music. Encourage children to paint what they think the music would look like. * Play listening games such as Musical Statues or Musical Chairs * Tape inside and outside sounds and have children guess what they are. * Tape the voices of various staff members in the school or other children in the class. Play the casette and guess who's voice is speaking * Lie down outside or inside, be very quiet and just listen. Remember the sounds heard and list them on a chart |
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Some graphics courtesy of: |
- Portfolio Activity |
