Learning occurs when children play and explore. There are many benefits to using the five senses at our sensopathic table. The use of sensory materials allows children the opportunity for hands-on and self-directed play to encourage the development of the following:
Cognitive development
Children develop their cognitive skills through sensory play by observing, experimenting, and formulating solutions to problems that arise while manipulating the sensory materials. They learn to count, group, sequence, construct, measure, etc. Through exploration, children develop an understanding of the world around them, using their five senses. This occurs from birth and once the child is able to communicate, develops their ability to describe similarities and differences in what they see, hear, taste, touch, and smell. In this way, children begin to develop their concepts of the properties of objects and elements around them.
Social skills
While busy at the sensopathic table, children develop skills such as sharing, role playing and learning from peers. The exercising of these skills aids them in all aspects of interactions with others both in the school and in life. They also learn effective ways to resolve conflicts with others.
Physical skills
When squishing paint or play dough around, children exercise the muscles of their torsos, arms, and the very small muscles of their fingers. As the children scoop, mould and manipulate the sensory materials, they develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. These skills will translate to improvements in their drawing, colouring and writing abilities.
Emotional development
Sensopathic play offers our children the opportunity to relieve anxiety and has a calming effect as they enjoy the various textures.
C
ommunication skills
The children are encouraged to share their ideas and thoughts around the sensopathic table. In using a variety of textures and materials, children are exposed to a range of vocabulary and descriptive words, this allows them to think and speak in a more complex way.
Creativity
Sensory play allows the child to experiment with a large variety of materials in new and creative ways. Uninterrupted play allows creativity to flourish. The children are able to use the materials as they see fit and are able to enjoy the process and have no concern for the end product, with no right or wrong way to play.
Self-esteem
Children that experience new things and learn new things gain confidence and allows them to feel good about themselves.
Thank you to our parents for fundraising and collecting resources for our sensopathic area. We are able to offer our children 55+ different combinations of textures and experiences at our new sensopathic table. Thank you for your support and efforts.