Sensory Play forms a vital part of the healthy development of a child’s brain. This makes your child’s exposure to sensory experiences necessary for the development of their sensory processing capabilities. And apart from sensory development, the play aspect of Sensory Play is equally important to your child’s development.
Here are 5 ways to introduce temperature through sensory play:
Sensory bottles for little hands
Sensory bottles can be a fun and calming experience for young children. Especially for those who are receptive to visual stimulation. For this activity, you will need:
● 2 water bottles (preferably with a wide mouth and smooth surface)
● Ice blocks
● Hot tap water
Simply fill a bottle with ice and the other with hot tap water. Be sure to let the hot bottle cool enough to be handled by your little one. Allow them to investigate at their own pace before introducing the words ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ as they handle the respective bottles
Household temperature labels
With the help of colour-coded sticky notes, you can turn this learning experience into an exciting scavenger hunt throughout the house. Today a large portion of messages, warnings and basic information are recognised through symbols. In this case, red being associated with heat and blue with cold.
Have your little one go around, red and blue sticky notes in hand, and have them ‘hunt’ for hot and cold objects in the house. Once they have successfully identified an object that generates heat have them place a red sticky note on it. Follow this
Tracking Daily Temperatures
Tracking the day's temperatures can lead to the discussion about Hot, Warm, Cold and even introduce superlatives to understand if it was hotter or cooler than a particular day.
Make it a habit to track the temperature twice a day with your child. Perhaps take the daily temperature in the morning and before bedtime. This activity offers you the opportunity to help your child associate their daily lives with temperature. for example, why they may have chosen to wear a sweater instead of a short-sleeved T-shirt on a cold day.
First-hand Experiences
The sense of touch is the first of the senses developed while in the womb and one of the first way your child will begin exploring the world around them.
Children can feel differences in temperature. Offer them objects of varying temperatures to demonstrate the differences between hot and cold. This can also come in handy while teaching slightly older kids about temperatures beyond hot and cold. (i.e warm, room temperature etc)
Using ice, children can make a physical connection to the feeling of coldness. Make this activity extra fun with shaped ice using our variety of silicone moulds. Or if you’re feeling extra adventurous incorporate a sweet treat with some homemade ice cream.
