Sensory Integration: Learning Through Play

From the time they are born, children use their five senses to make sense of the world around them. When our babies and children taste, touch, hear and smell the world, they develop neural pathways in the brain that allow them to solve more complex problems, develop spatial and body awareness, and complete learning tasks. There are so many ways to encourage sensory play with your kids! Sensory play also encourages fine and gross motor development, encourages language and social growth, and increases problem-solving skills. Here are some of our favorite ways to integrate sensory play into your child’s day!

Outside Time - The easiest and most organic way to encourage sensory play is through spending a lot of time outdoors. Playing in sand or mud, jumping in puddles, crunching leaves, climbing trees, and feeling all of the textures in nature all provide great sensory exposure. Mud kitchens (think play kitchen outside) are also fun and do not need to be fancy. You can achieve this simply by giving your child pots, pans, spatulas, and a big bowl of water to encourage an entirely different kind of outdoor play. They will be able to make mud pies or search for berries and pebbles to make stone soup. When it comes to sensory play, the more time they can spend outside the better!

Playing with Food - As soon as your baby is old enough to begin eating solids (usually at six months), you can begin exposing them to a variety of textures. Baby-led weaning is a method of feeding that encourages babies and toddlers to get messy and explore the tastes and textures of their food. Slimy avocado, crunchy apples, rough crackers -- there are so many textures to explore! 

Sensory Bins - Sensory bins allow you to take playing with food and textures to another level. You will start with a base ingredient and add small toys or objects. Some of our favorite base ingredients include:

• Shaving cream

• Whip cream

• Pudding 

• Jello

• Dried rice

• Beans

• Corn

• Chickpeas

• Flour

• Ground cereal

• Sand 

• Dirt

• Pasta (dry or cooked)

• Kinetic sand

• Water beads

• Water

• Ice

• Soapy water

• Silly putty / Oobleck

• Rocks

• Shredded paper

• Tissue paper (balled up or shredded)

• Cotton

In each of these, you can add magnetic letters and numbers, small animals or figurines, cars and trucks, bells, or any small object you may have. Themed bins, such as the ocean, dinosaurs, space, or construction workers, are also fun!

How should they use the sensory bins? 

• Search for various objects

• Practice sorting and matching

• Spell words with letters they find 

• Letter or number identification

• Pretend play as they drive cars around or play with the animals

• Get items messy in the mud and scrub them clean in the water

• Hammer pasta or ice

• Use tongs or tweezers to remove items one at a time

• Practice counting or adding

• Practice scooping, pouring, using spoons

• Hunt for puzzle pieces to build a puzzle

• Use a syringe, eyedropper, or turkey baster to work on fine motor skills 

Play-Doh - Play-Doh and clay are wonderful for sensory play. As the child plays with Play-Doh, they explore the texture and build hand strength, later improving handwriting. You can encourage them to roll the Play-Doh into balls or snakes, press it flat, or pinch off small pieces to further work out their hands. This also works with bread dough or similar things.

Paint - Finger painting is always a fun sensory activity. Your child can explore the texture of the paint while learning colors, color mixing, and practicing drawing shapes. Shaving cream, pudding, and whip cream are always fun for finger painting, or for younger babies you can use puréed fruits or veggies! Painting in the bathtub is also fun for easy clean-up! There are special bath finger paints that are soap, so it’s cleaning and sensory work at the same time.

Crash Mats - Flipping, tumbling, and crashing into pillows or blanket piles is a great way to get your child’s energy out while also meeting their sensory needs. As they crash into the pillows, they receive a great deal of sensory input while also developing gross motor skills, motor planning, and improving muscle tone.

Bead Work - Grab an assortment of beads and have your child practice lacing them onto a pipe cleaner or string. Each bead will have a unique texture, and while they string them, they will be practicing their pincer grasp to develop their fine motor skills. You can also practice colors, patterns, and sorting with this sensory activity. Of course, you will need to watch closely to ensure the beads do not become a choking hazard if your child still puts things in their mouth frequently. 

Instruments - Instruments provide an auditory sensory experience! As they hold and use the instruments, they will explore how things make different sounds. You can practice being loud, quiet, slow, and fast. They can also explore how some instruments make different noises depending on how you use them (i.e., shaking maracas versus banging them together produces different sounds). If you don’t have access to instruments, you can make them using rice inside a paper towel tube and closing off the ends or by using pots and pans upside down. Almost anything can be turned into a musical instrument with a bit of imagination.

Water and/or Sand Tables - A water/sand table allows your child to play with water, sand, and bubbles while practicing things such as sink/float, hot/cold, pouring, spooning, and cleaning objects. 

Swinging - Swings provide vestibular input to develop body awareness, coordination, visual processing, and motor control. It is a fun, therapeutic, and easy way to help your child regulate their sensory system and get the sensory input they crave! 

Babies - Even infants benefit from sensory play! Playing music, providing toys of various textures, and laying them on a play mat with textures for tummy time are all beneficial. As they use a jumper/saucer or while laying on the floor, you can also place the sensory bin base (mentioned above) on a cookie sheet and let them kick around in it. 

Sensory play doesn’t have to be hard or complicated. It can be easily accomplished through play using basic items in your home or your backyard! Remember to have fun with it, too! It can be a great bonding activity for your child and any caregiver. Sometimes sensory bins are the best way to make the transition to having a babysitter take over a little easier. There’s no right or wrong way to enjoy sensory play!