Discover the benefits of this game that stimulates the five senses and discover how to make a sensor box for children.
Did you know that virtually all early childhood learning occurs through the five senses: sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch? From the moment a baby is born, your brain makes connections between neurons that transmit and store information. This activity is more intense up to 7 years. Stimulating the five senses in this phase neurons are activated. That is why sensory activities with children are so important.
With that in mind, Dentro da História created the personalized book time of the senses by Galinha Pintadinha, who turns children into characters in a story that encourages explore the world with the five senses and discovering incredible sensations. And to complement this experience, we have a joke suggestion: the Sensory Box!
Then you will understand what a sensory box is, what it is for and how to make your own box to stimulate children’s senses.
What is a sensory box?
A sensory box is usually a cardboard box or other large container filled with selected objects to stimulate the senses. The sensory or tactile box can be filled with a wide variety of materials, from shredded paper, dry leaves, sand and more. This activity is like a world of discovery: it encourages free play and offers endless opportunities for the child to experiment and learn.
What is the purpose of the sensory box?
The sensory box can provide children with the opportunity to stimulate a particular sense or all senses in an integrated way: seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling and even tasting. This homemade toy aims to stimulate fine motor skills while allowing the child to experience different sounds, textures and new ways of seeing.
For what age is the sensor box recommended?
Sensory boxes are a Just kidding wonderful to give as a gift to children up to 3 years. They stimulate sensory exercises that work psychomotor skills, that is, they help develop the ability to manipulate objects and use the hand and fingers accurately. Children of this age are immediately interested in both the box itself and what’s inside: they naturally reach into the box to pick up the objects.
For children of older age groups, more targeted work can be done on the sensory box, stimulate creativity to create in-box scenarios using different types of materials.
What are the benefits of the sensory box?
There are many benefits to playing with sensory boxes. For starters, the ability to learn and retain new knowledge and information is greatest when multiple senses are involved in an activity. That is why sensor boxes are often recommended to stimulate learning.
In addition, free play with the sensory box stimulates imagination, creativity, fine motor skills for manipulating objects and even language, introducing new vocabularies when unfamiliar items are placed in the box.
How do you make a sensory box?
Now that you know what it is, what it’s for, and the benefits of the sensory box, let’s move on to tips on how to make your box at home to encourage kids to explore their five senses.
1. Prepare the box:
To make your sensory box, you can reuse an oversized cardboard box. It’s good that it’s resistant so it doesn’t fall apart right after the first few games.
If the box has a lid, you can make a cut in it in the shape of a circle, through which the child will put his hand to remove the objects. There is no need to glue or attach the lid to the box: the child can play freely and take the lid off to see what’s inside.
Help the child use scraps of fabric, paper, ribbon, stickers, sequins and other materials to decorate the box.
2. Select the objects
Almost anything can be part of your sensory box! The interesting thing is to select objects that stimulate the different senses. Choose together with the child what will be in the box: look at home and it is also worth taking a walk in the neighborhood, looking for parts of nature, such as leaves and flowers. See some tips:
- Objects with textures to encourage touch, such as sandpaper, plush, and various fabrics.
- Objects with different colors and shapes for the child to classify them from the vision.
- Objects that make sounds, such as rattles, whistles, and bells to stimulate hearing.
- Scented items, such as soap and flowers, to develop your sense of smell.
- Edible items such as fruits, to stimulate the palate (in this case, it is recommended to make a whole box of edible items so that the child does not get confused and put other objects in his mouth).
3. Time to play!
The sensory box is an invitation for children to play freely: when they come across the box, they will immediately put themselves in a curious position about what’s inside and start exploring the materials.
If your child needs extra stimulation, you can guide them in a playful way. One idea is to ask the child to close his eyes, put his hand on the box and try to guess the object he picked up. Or you can ask her to only look for objects of a certain color, or objects that make noise, have a certain texture, etc.
More tips for your sensory box:
The best thing about the sensory box is that it offers virtually endless entertainment, skill development and learning. The sensory box is never quite finished, so the fun of making it never ends: the child can always find new items to put in it, make new ones. spell over time as your interests change.
Some points deserve special attention:
- All material used in the sensor box must be cleaned and disinfected. Wash items you’ve collected from the street, such as leaves and flowers, and let them dry before putting them in the box.
- Be careful when using ribbons or threads: don’t use lengths that are too long as they can hang.
- Check whether there is a possibility that the object could hurt the child: if it is large enough not to choke, if it has no sharp edges or splinters, it will break easily.
Another very positive thing about the sensory box is that while the child can make the biggest mess by taking everything out of it, it is also super easy to clean everything up: just put the objects back in the box and the house becomes normally stay in order.
Check out Sensory Box ideas for inspiration:
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