What is It?
Here at CIDL, we Youth Librarians do our storytimes a bit differently than most other libraries. But different is good, right?! For each of our weekly storytimes for ages 0-5, we incorporate sensory play as a chance for the children to not only have fun, but also to help develop their senses and learn about the world around them. By taking part in this free play, children are able to engage all their senses (smell, taste, touch, sight, hearing) as they explore new textures, colors, sounds, and use their fine and gross motor muscles. Engaging and stimulating their senses allows them to gain linguistic skills, as they hear words such as “smooth,” “sticky,” “rough,” as they are playing. Children also learn valuable social and emotional skills as they interact with others, and have the opportunity to share, predict, cooperate, and much more.
What Do We Use? (And How You Can Do it Too!)
We use so many different materials for our sensory activities it would be impossible to list them all here! Most of them are simple items though, including things you probably already have at home, such as sand, rice, dirt, water, ice cubes, jello, shaving cream, and much more. Typically we use large bins or plastic storage containers to hold the fillers, but at home you could use bowls, trays, or even your kitchen table sometimes! One of the most popular sensory items to use, by far, is surprisingly, water. Fill up a bin or the bath tub with water, add some bubbles if you like, (here at CIDL we LOVE to use Washable Watercolors to make our water extra amazing!) and that’s it! Some other possible items to add include: rubber duckies, measuring cups and funnels, toy boats, and glitter. The Internet is full of so many other ideas, too. Sometimes we find awesome recipes online to make homemade creations for things like slime, “cloud dough,” and “fake ice cream.” These recipes for odd textures (mushy, slimy, sticky!) are always a hit with our little patrons!
Little Explorers
Some days it seems that the most popular part of our storytimes is the second-half, when the kids and parents get to make a craft and play in the sensory bins. We found this to be so popular, that we made a monthly program focused on sensory play, called Little Explorers. At this program, children from babies to preschoolers, can come and explore a room full of different sensory “stations.” There is no real structure to the program, which many patrons and their children love, because it allows them the freedom to explore the stations for as long as they like, and have a laid-back, fun experience with their child. It is also a great opportunity for children and their caregivers to socialize with others and meet new people! Many parents have also commented that the program (and storytimes) gives them ideas for activities to do themselves as home with their family. We Youth Librarians love to hear this!
That’s It!
I hope that this inspires you to try out some sensory play at home, and also to come see our storytimes and Little Explorers program here at CIDL! Come have fun with us! If you’d like to learn more about sensory play and cool activities to try at home, check out these links:
http://www.pbs.org/parents/child-development/sensory-play/developing-and-cultivating-skills-through-sensory-play/
http://www.highscope.org/file/NewsandInformation/Extensions/ExtVol25No5_low.pdf
Here at CIDL, we Youth Librarians do our storytimes a bit differently than most other libraries. But different is good, right?! For each of our weekly storytimes for ages 0-5, we incorporate sensory play as a chance for the children to not only have fun, but also to help develop their senses and learn about the world around them. By taking part in this free play, children are able to engage all their senses (smell, taste, touch, sight, hearing) as they explore new textures, colors, sounds, and use their fine and gross motor muscles. Engaging and stimulating their senses allows them to gain linguistic skills, as they hear words such as “smooth,” “sticky,” “rough,” as they are playing. Children also learn valuable social and emotional skills as they interact with others, and have the opportunity to share, predict, cooperate, and much more.
What Do We Use? (And How You Can Do it Too!)
We use so many different materials for our sensory activities it would be impossible to list them all here! Most of them are simple items though, including things you probably already have at home, such as sand, rice, dirt, water, ice cubes, jello, shaving cream, and much more. Typically we use large bins or plastic storage containers to hold the fillers, but at home you could use bowls, trays, or even your kitchen table sometimes! One of the most popular sensory items to use, by far, is surprisingly, water. Fill up a bin or the bath tub with water, add some bubbles if you like, (here at CIDL we LOVE to use Washable Watercolors to make our water extra amazing!) and that’s it! Some other possible items to add include: rubber duckies, measuring cups and funnels, toy boats, and glitter. The Internet is full of so many other ideas, too. Sometimes we find awesome recipes online to make homemade creations for things like slime, “cloud dough,” and “fake ice cream.” These recipes for odd textures (mushy, slimy, sticky!) are always a hit with our little patrons!
Little Explorers
Some days it seems that the most popular part of our storytimes is the second-half, when the kids and parents get to make a craft and play in the sensory bins. We found this to be so popular, that we made a monthly program focused on sensory play, called Little Explorers. At this program, children from babies to preschoolers, can come and explore a room full of different sensory “stations.” There is no real structure to the program, which many patrons and their children love, because it allows them the freedom to explore the stations for as long as they like, and have a laid-back, fun experience with their child. It is also a great opportunity for children and their caregivers to socialize with others and meet new people! Many parents have also commented that the program (and storytimes) gives them ideas for activities to do themselves as home with their family. We Youth Librarians love to hear this!
That’s It!
I hope that this inspires you to try out some sensory play at home, and also to come see our storytimes and Little Explorers program here at CIDL! Come have fun with us! If you’d like to learn more about sensory play and cool activities to try at home, check out these links:
http://www.pbs.org/parents/child-development/sensory-play/developing-and-cultivating-skills-through-sensory-play/
http://www.highscope.org/file/NewsandInformation/Extensions/ExtVol25No5_low.pdf