Children have a natural instinct to use their hands whether it is with sand, water, dirt, rice, dry pasta or other substance like play dough.
Through many studies, sensory play has been found to foster the development of many foundation areas of a child from;
- Language development – With language, through sensory play, they are creating different experiences to talk about developing language and increasing their vocabulary.
- Social and Emotional development – Sensory play allows children to use their decision making skills, by choosing what they will create and how they will do it. They take pride in their predications, while making observations and responding to their findings. They can also express their feelings through play which could be a relief of tension through the feeling water, the pounding play dough, testing their boundaries in a safe environment, as well as experimenting with concepts.
- Physical Development – While playing with the sensory materials (water, sand, rice, etc) the children develop their fine motor skills such as pouring, measuring, stirring, whisking and manipulating with their hands.
- Creative Development – Sensory play is open ended; children can express their creativity and how they feel. Again we have to remember that how they use the material is much more important than what they make with it. Developing the fine and gross motor skills is the main aim.
