When the twins turned 2, I discovered the magic and benefits of sensory play. Sensory play is any activity that stimulates any of the 5 senses: taste, smell, sound, touch, and sight. It's a great way for kids to learn because it allows them to actively use their senses and explore to understand the world around them.
So why is sensory play beneficial for kids?
- Research shows that sensory play helps build cognitive skills which are important for problem solving.
- It allows children to practice fine motor skills and increase coordination (squeezing, pinching, scooping, pouring, etc.).
- It helps in vocabulary building (Learn words to describe characteristics of objects: sticky, cold, wet, etc.).
- It inspires imagination and creativity when children come up with different ways to play.
- It's FUN!!! Children really enjoy hands-on experiences.
For me, the easiest way to incorporate sensory play into the twins' activities is by creating sensory bins. It stimulates sight, touch, and sound all at the same time. The first sensory bin I made for the twins was super simple: just rice and and some spoons, cups and funnels. They spent about 55 minutes pouring and scooping and later on pretending to sell me some "rice juice." That's a long time for a two year old to stay focused on one thing. They loved running the rice through their fingers, scooping up a handful of it and watching it drop, and even shaking it in a cup because it reminded them of the sound of rain. They even invented their own game: rice foot spa! They took turns pouring rice over each others' feet. Judging by their laughs, it sure sounded like a lot of fun. It was a total win for me! Who knew that a common household item like uncooked rice would be able to hold their attention for more than 30 minutes!?
Rice will always be a favourite sensory bin base for me but I've also started experimenting with different kinds of sensory bins each week. The most successful one to date is our bean scooping and pouring sensory bin which the twins played with for a total of 5 hours in one day! It was a playroom miracle! If you want to see our bean scooping bin (hehe that was kind of a tongue twister), head on over to Instagram and follow @startermama where I document the twins' sensory play activities.
