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Ms. O'Brien's Classroom Edit display name

  • Sumner Avenue Elementary School
  • Springfield, MA
  • More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

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All kids need help learning how to use their senses. I want to provide my students with opportunities to explore their senses. Giving them a chance to play with various materials, textures or actions (running, jumping, scooping, burying) in all its messiness immensely helps them discover the world around them and develop into healthy, smart and successful adults. Importance of Sensory Play -It develops physical skills. Shaping, scooping or molding require many muscles to work together influencing the development of fine motor skills. -Cognitive development. Toddlers are not very verbal, but they still discover and learn to understand new things through their senses. For example, every time they touch something cold, wet, sticky etc it confirms their previous understanding of which objects have these characteristics, and they will learn something new, perhaps which objects share similar properties. This is how the brain learns to recognize and sort different things and sensations. -Learning the sense of self. Through sensory play, kids learn about the world around them. However, they also learn to verbalize various sensations they feel. For example, they may say they don’t like their hands wet, or they are cold. Parents or teachers can react to this information by choosing some other sensory play which will make a child feel more comfortable (like playing with sand or flour). This way, kids learn that their feelings are valid. -Developing social skills. If more children participate in sensory play, they will observe how others handle materials they play with, communicate different ways to shape, mold or hold them, discover new ideas etc. -Better communication and language skills. Both verbally and none verbally, kids communicate with others while enjoying or disliking certain sensory play.

About my class

All kids need help learning how to use their senses. I want to provide my students with opportunities to explore their senses. Giving them a chance to play with various materials, textures or actions (running, jumping, scooping, burying) in all its messiness immensely helps them discover the world around them and develop into healthy, smart and successful adults. Importance of Sensory Play -It develops physical skills. Shaping, scooping or molding require many muscles to work together influencing the development of fine motor skills. -Cognitive development. Toddlers are not very verbal, but they still discover and learn to understand new things through their senses. For example, every time they touch something cold, wet, sticky etc it confirms their previous understanding of which objects have these characteristics, and they will learn something new, perhaps which objects share similar properties. This is how the brain learns to recognize and sort different things and sensations. -Learning the sense of self. Through sensory play, kids learn about the world around them. However, they also learn to verbalize various sensations they feel. For example, they may say they don’t like their hands wet, or they are cold. Parents or teachers can react to this information by choosing some other sensory play which will make a child feel more comfortable (like playing with sand or flour). This way, kids learn that their feelings are valid. -Developing social skills. If more children participate in sensory play, they will observe how others handle materials they play with, communicate different ways to shape, mold or hold them, discover new ideas etc. -Better communication and language skills. Both verbally and none verbally, kids communicate with others while enjoying or disliking certain sensory play.

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