Toddlers love sensory activities. Touching, smelling, hearing, seeing, and especially tasting are all a part of your toddler’s world. It’s also a big part of how toddlers learn. We use senses in the classroom every day. We ask children to touch a variety of objects throughout their day. It might be the texture of an orange, the light weight of a piece of paper, or blocks made out of wood. Even when children are working to put on their shoes they may feel the Velcro or the rubber sole. It’s our job as adults to point these things out by using the language they need to identify all these textures.
When we’re outside we hear the sound of the train and all the children stop to identify what we hear. We point out sounds in the classroom from the music playing to the blender mixing our smoothies. As adults we have to slow down and take the time to point out the sounds of the airplane in the sky or the sound of the wind blowing. These are the wonders of toddlerhood.
Tasting and smelling is a big part of the toddler world. We talk about different foods. We look at it, smell it, and touch it before we taste it. Is our food sour or sweet? Is it crunchy or soft? Can you smell the oranges? Making orange juice in the classroom is fun because we have to use so many senses together.
Looking with our eyes at pictures and books with clear real pictures of fruits, vegetables, vehicles, and people are interesting to toddlers. They are learning the names of everything and will have real experiences with all the objects they’re seeing. Toddlers are making connections between the pictures and what is real.
Toddlers are extremely tactile. They learn through holding many objects and figuring out the shapes of things. They are also learning the weight of things. Most of our work in the toddler room is in a basket or on a tray. This helps them feel the weight and works on balance at the same time. Is the basket heavy? What do the pegs feel like? Are they smooth or are they rough? Learning through the senses is fun and exciting for toddlers. Here’s how you can use senses at home:
1) Make muffins together.
2) Use contact paper, sticky side up to put paper shapes or leaves on.
3) Smell different items at the grocery store.
4) Get a variety of balls. (basketball, football, beach ball…) Have your child put them in different containers. (paper bag, laundry basket, crate) talk about the difference. What’s heavy and what’s light? What are the textures on the ball?
5) Take a nature walk.
6) Take a taste test with a variety of fruits. The next week taste vegetables.
Have fun with the senses and learn at the same time. Your toddler will enjoy the experience.

Sincerely,
Kristy