An activity that promotes practical life skills and sensory learning is washing animals with various kind of brushes (materials). The children have been playing with brushes from a treasure basket. I observed their play before offering this sensory opportunity. I wanted to incorporate some familiar events, I thought adding water to a tub with soap could have more meaningful play like enhancing their practical skills – bath time, hand washing, washing the dishes etc.
The various brushes were added for their sensory exploration and vocabulary building.
It’s best to use a drop cloth under the basin if engaging indoors.
This happy brush may be coarse, stiff, hard or spiky – exploring textures.
The penguin needed a good bath, now it is slippery. Children build sentences as they engage in activities (soap on hand, I wash penguin – we know their complete sentence structure comes much later). This is also a great opportunity for small group play. These kinds of play helps to build trust, bond, and more importantly children learn to build confidence which helps their autonomy. They learn that, I am trusting them to get wet indoors while investigating, they understand I am encouraging their curiosity and learning.
Can you describe how this sponge feels? Soft, no hurt – she is comparing this sponge with others she used. This activity has benefits not just for the senses (exploration of textures) but in other areas – mathematics, science, motor skills, and language development.
The materials used for this engagement is in your homes. Items can be substituted, dish sponge, rags, nail brushes, face brush, toothbrush, shoe brush, dollar store brushes – think outside the box. Use what you have on hand (clean items ).
Have fun exploring, creating and being curious.
xoxo- Miss Sue
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