Sensory play is essentially a hands-on activity that ensures most of a child’s senses are stimulated. These senses include sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste. From birth, children are on a rapid journey to figure out the world around them, with their senses guiding the way. It is one of the most important parts of child development, which makes it crucial for parents to provide opportunities for their little one to explore their senses as much as possible. The easiest way to do this is through sensory play, an activity that can be done by simply playing outside and working with colours, textures and movement. Continue reading for more some advice from this day nursery in London, on why sensory play is important for child development.
Brain and language development
Engaging a child in sensory activities is a great way to help strengthen their brain development, especially when it comes to learning. This is because it improves their memory and capability to complete more difficult learning tasks in the future. It is also well known for helping little ones when it comes to their language development too. It is a unique way to help them learn how to talk about the world. It is fantastic as little ones also develop effective communication skills when playing with others.
Fine and gross motor skills
Fine motor skills involve the use of the smaller muscles that are usually found in the hands to help grasp objects. Gross motor skills involve the use of larger muscles that help individual’s complete movements such as crawling and walking. Through sensory play, which usually involves playing with materials that require squeezing, pushing and pulling, it helps to develop their motor skills and enhance their physical abilities.
At the end of the day, sensory play is a valuable experience for children. By providing them with opportunities to engage their senses, they can develop vital skills that will be used for life.
I used to love doing sensory activities with my children when they were little!
Good post – so important!
My mum was so surprised to hear about this as it was not something she knew about when she was a young mum. With all these new research on children development, it is no wonder why children are growing up so quickly these days and are advancing so quickly