It was evident that the children needed some good sensory time today and we were lucky enough to be in zone 5 with the sandbox! Most of the children went running into the sandbox and immediately started digging or running sand through their fingers.
Sensory play is such an important part of a preschoolers learning! By encouraging the use of all of a child's senses through play we are supporting social emotional development, cognitive growth, language development, gross motor skills, and fine motor skills! I love seeing children dive in and explore new materials using all of their senses, it is one of the most natural and basic ways for them to learn about the world around them!
Immediately children began filling, scooping, and pouring sand into (and out of) any container that they could find!
Some friends began working together in order to move sand from one part of the sandbox to another! This process caused them to really think through what they were doing. Every time one child let their side down the sand would fall out and if they weren't to the spot that they were trying to get to they lost all of their sand and had to start over. At first this got very frustrating and then they began to communicate. I heard JD say, "we have to keep both sides up." WM replied, "ok my side is up!" Once they started communicating with each other the process got much easier!
Some friends were really excited to dig their toes in the sand. ZW said, "it's kind of cold on my feet" and ZG said, "it's really soft, I like it!"
I have had some requests for painting lately so I brought out the droppers and we did some beautiful dropper art this morning as well! This is a great fine motor and color mixing activity. The kids loved it!
We love finding something new and collecting beautiful materials. FD found some little flower buds that she admired. She began to pull some of them off of their stems and collecting them. She later took them over to the sidewalk chalk that was out and spent some time coloring each one. They were beautiful and she was very proud of them!
We'll do plenty more learning through sensory play throughout the year!
Be Happy, Be Happy, Be Kind, Be Kind
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