Sensory play is all about full and well-rounded involvement. When it comes to development, it’s important that children have the ability and freedom to engage their sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste in involved and meaningful activity. Read on to discover the significance of sensory play.
The Dynamics of Sensory Play
The dynamics of sensory play are much more involved than just giving children objects to touch and hold. It’s a fully immersive experience that involves awakening and engaging all the senses. It might involve introducing them to an unfamiliar smell, mixing colors to create a new hue, scratching various textures, or even listening to funny sounds. Sensory play is all about engaging in exploration that turns on a child’s ability to discover, examine, and become more curious about the world.
Sensory Play and Language
Exposure to sensory play helps broaden a child’s language skills. They’ll be looking for new ways to describe their experiences, by learning new words and associating those terms with their sensory experience. It also gives familiar concepts new dimension. For example, through sensory play, they can learn that water can be rough and slippery in addition to being wet. They can discover that not all rocks are rough, but that some are smooth and have rounded edges.
Sensory Play and Motor Skills
Sensory play can help children in the development of their fine motor skills. While gross motor skills are responsible for such activities as walking and jumping, fine motor skills relate to writing, using zippers, and tying shoes. Sensory play helps them develop these skills through the exploration of touch with movements like pinching and pouring.
Sensory Play and Inducing Calm
Children enjoy expelling energy during fun and active play, like running, skipping, and sports. On the other hand, sensory play can help ease children into a more grounded experience giving them an outlet to express the emotions that they may not yet have the ability to express through communication.
The Connections Therapy Center
The Connections Therapy Center serves families of children and adolescents with disabilities and special needs. We are a team of experts in the fields of pediatric speech, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, and behavioral sciences. As a team, we offer intensive hands-on therapy for children and adolescents, as well as informative and useful resources for families. If you are interested in learning more about what we can do to help your family, visit us online or give us a call at (202) 561-1110 (Washington, D.C. office) or (301) 577-4333 (Lanham office). Want to get more information on how to help your child thrive? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and Pinterest.