Jillian Elizabeth Toth

Sensational Sensory Jillian Elizabeth Toth

Why is sensory play important as caregivers and teachers? Sensory play helps to build nerve connections in the brain. Sensory activities prompt children to use scientific processes while they play. It is proven that engaging a child's senses while presenting them with a learning task, helps them to retain information and fully comprehend it. Sensory play is therapeutic on emotional levels and helps to calm and soothe children during difficult times or before bed. Sensory play facilitates language development, problem solving skills, cognitive function, while engaging fine and gross motor skills. Playing with sensory materials helps children to develop their creative process. From birth to early childhood, children use their five senses to learn and make sense of the world around them. Sensory play plays an important role in early childhood development, providing them with these moments is crucial to their brain development. Sensory play is involved in any activity that stimulates young children's senses through touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. It also involves that engages large muscles like movement, dancing and balance. The desire to engage in sensory play comes naturally for children, and should be supported in early childhood environments, as well as home. As early childhood educators, let's make sure we include all aspects of sensory play and sensory motor skills into our daily programming. You're making a difference one child at a time. "They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel." -Dan Dewitt