Yesterday I posted a list of preschool activities. I’m sure the list made me sound super organized and efficient.
Unfortunately, I’m not either organized and efficient.
For example: a while ago, I bought a neat calendar that showed day-by-day schedules for preschoolers. It had music time, fun finger snacks, art projects, and play ideas.
I’ve looked at the calendar a few times, but so far, all of our projects have been spontaneous.
A book mentions volcanoes…
“What is a volcano?”
Well, thank you, Youtube and the Hawaiian lava fields, for showing us exactly what a volcano is and does!
(This is what child-lead learning is all about, right?)
Anyway: A few months ago, Munchkin and I started talking about how we see and smell.
The topic seemed rather abstract for preschoolers, so I created a ‘sensory paper’ to show the five senses. This is a really easy craft for preschoolers to do, and I can guarantee you’ve got the supplies already.
So, here’s how to make your own sensory paper:
Supplies:
- One piece of paper (8 ½ x 11, or larger)
- Some crayons
- A second piece of paper (any size), crumbled into a lump
- A cotton ball
- Lemon extract or perfume
- The salt-shaker
- Watercolor paints (or just fill a bowl with a small amount of water)
Assembly:
With the crayons, color a bright picture on your sheet of paper. It can be a square, a rainbow, or anything else as elaborate or simple as you want. This is sight: you see the colors with your eyes.
Glue the crumpled sheet of paper to one corner of your page. This is sound: you can hear the paper crinkle with your ears.
Create a small patch of glue in another corner and the cotton ball onto the glue. For extra texture, you can add sand or cornmeal to another patch of glue. This is touch: you feel the texture with your fingers.
Drip a little of the lemon extract or other scent onto the paper. This is smell: you sniff the odor with your nose.
Spread a small patch of watercolor paint on the paper and sprinkle salt onto it. This is taste: you savor the salt with your tongue.
Note: if you don’t have watercolor paints, you can use plain water. However, the salt creates a faint texture on watercolor paint that can be fun for kids to see.
Bonus idea:
Draw or print out pictures of hands, noses, mouths, eyes, and ears. Then collect a small group of toys, food, and other household items.
Make a game of exploring the items with the chart. Is a toy is smooth or rough? Is a food is salty or sweet? Which senses do you use to find out?
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