Benefits Of Sensory Play
Children who have a variety of sensory experiences, learn to use their senses in different ways. For example, they can feel that something is wet and notice that it feels cold on the skin and that water disappears when it is dry.
The benefits of sensory play in early childhood are immense and there is no right or wrong way to engage sensory activities.
No matter what the child’s age group, child’s development stage or learning style, they will all benefit from sensory stimulation and sensory play based learning.
Let’s take a look at a few benefits of Sensory Play:
Helps build nerve connections within the developing brain’s neural pathways, which triggers a child’s inclination for and ability in competing for more complex learning tasks
- Supports language development, cognitive growth, motor skills, problem-solving skills and social interaction
- Aids in developing and enhancing memory function
- Is great for calming an anxious or frustrated child
- Helps children learn vitally important sensory attributes such as hot, cold, sticky, dry, etc
It’s also worth noting that sensory play can go one step further when involving children who suffer from medical conditions which they’re either born with or develop at a later stage. These include deafness, blindness and a variety of other illnesses or challenges, which can restrict their ability to learn and develop certain skills.
Sensory play includes but is not limited to:
- Water play
- Sand play
- Imaginative play
- Musical instruments
- Using different shapes and different objects
- Finger painting
- Sensory bags
- Interaction with animals
