This summer, our campers have been busy exploring, creating, experimenting and having lots of fun through a wide variety of sensory experiences. Our sensory activities have provided many opportunities for discovery and curiosity while allowing the children to
learn through hands-on experiences and enjoy the fun of getting messy!
Throughout the summer, we have explored water play both indoors and outdoors. The children have been experimenting with different ways to move and use water. Outside in the playground, the children enjoy running through the sprinkler, filling buckets of water, using the hose to fill up containers and dumping them into other containers to create mud in the mud kitchen. Inside, the children enjoy using the water table to pour, scoop, splash and move water from one container to another. We have added various materials in the water table to enhance the children’s play with water such as small pieces of pool noodles, animal toys, funnels and cups. Adding various materials to the water table has created many unique opportunities for imaginative and cooperative play for the children. Yuva and Zyaire imagined that the water table was a big pool as they splashed their hands around and used the pool noodle pieces as pretend floaties. Aleah collected the small toy animals in an empty container and slowly poured water in, watching as the animals floated to the top of the container as it filled with water. We explored the difference between items that will sink in the water and items that will float, testing it out with many different methods and materials.
We have enjoyed mud and sand play indoors and outdoors as well. Inside, the children have enjoyed many different activities with a tuff tray full of sand, such as searching for hidden gems under some leaves and vines, pouring sand in and out of seashells, burying rocks and other natural materials under the sand and using dinosaurs and animals in the sand to create footprints and foster imaginative play.
Outside, the children created their own mud using the sand outside and the hose in the mud kitchen. This allowed the children to feel the different textures and experiment with the consistency of the mud by adding a little or a lot of water. Creating mud in the playground encouraged the children to dig, mix, build and mold their own creations outside with natural materials.
The children have been enjoying using cloud dough, play dough, slime and various materials with shaving cream such as pool noodles and blocks to build as well. Different materials provided the children with different experiences. The children were encouraged to try new ideas, make their own predications about what might happen depending on how they choose to use the materials and discover what happened when they experimented. Playing with cloud dough, Kimberly and Rick used the ice cream cone molds and silicone cups to make ice cream, scooping the cloud dough into the cones, and scooping some more into the silicone cups to create cupcakes. They offered the cupcakes and ice cream to their peers, encouraging them to join their play. The children built with shaving cream and pool noodles as
well as shaving cream and blocks and noticed a difference in the way the pool noodles stuck together versus the blocks. Using play dough and slime, the children have enjoyed experimenting with different materials to add in, big and small, such as animals, rocks, gems a
nd seashells.
We also explored an exciting science experiment using vinegar, food colouring and baking soda. The children watched as the ingredients bubbled and reacted very quickly exploding with colourful fizz, making for a fun sensory experience.
These experiences were not only fun and engaging, but they also supported the development of many important skills for the children. Sensory play provides the children with opportunities to explore with their senses and strengthen their fine-motor skills as they scoop, squeeze, mold, pour and manipulate various materials with various textures. As we participated in many activities involving building, mixing, making observations and experimenting, this also supported the children’s problem-solving skills, fostered their creativity and imagination and improved their hand-eye coordination.
Sensory play has also provided many opportunities for the development of the children’s social and emotional development as they played in groups both big and small, practiced taking turns and sharing materials, communicating with their friends and cooperating which allowed the children to build confidence and many positive relationships with their peers.
The children have embraced each sensory opportunity with lots of curiosity and excitement. As the children continue to show such a strong interest in sensory play, we will continue to build on their curiosity by introducing more new materials and opportunities for exploration and discovery. We look forward to seeing where their curiosity leads!
