Sensory fun in the summer

by: Amy Bumgarner
Children thrive through sensory exploration and play.  Not only are the senses affected, but so are play skills, motor skills, and communication skills.  As your child explores through sight, touch, movement, hearing, smells, and tastes, he or she is painting a picture of how the world works together.  This then allows for imaginative play, increased conversations, and learning how to use his/her body in different sensory environments.  Plan to have fun this summer while allowing your child to grow in a sensory world with these ideas:
• Sight – Have fun playing “I spy” inside and outside.  Allow your child to describe what they see.  On road trips, look for all the letters of the alphabet along the way.  Also, you can have fun making an “I spy” bottle.  Fill an empty water bottle with rice and a variety of small objects (coins, paper clips, feathers, small trinkets).  Keep a list of what’s hiding in the rice and see if your child can find all the hidden objects.
• Touch – Take the messy play outside!  Enjoy playing in the sand box, digging in the dirt, playing in the water, blowing bubbles, and collecting creepy, crawly bugs.  On hot, hot summer days, enjoy shaving cream play, finger painting, or making your own play-doh