15+ Five Sense Activities For Sensational Learning!

I have been cautious 🧐 while choosing methods to teach my little ones about the five senses. 

I let my little ones explore everything, starting from interesting sounds πŸ‘‚, different kinds of smells or aromas πŸ‘ƒ, the taste of different foods πŸ‘…, the miracles of visionπŸ‘€, and feeling πŸ‘ all kinds of textures.

Analyzing and learning about the miraculous five senses has an influential impact on children’s overall growth 🧠 and development.Β 

My little ones learn how to connect with the various stimuli they receive from the environment.Β 

Moreover, these activities also help them channel their concentration towards one sense at a time βœ…οΈ, boosting their skills to focus.

Ideal Five Sense Activities for Kids 

Here are a few five-sense activities I love engaging with my little ones.

Oobleck Activity 

My little ones love this sense activity where they are able to feel the magic πŸͺ„ of a non-Newtonian fluid known as Oobleck.

All I need to do is mix up a small amount of water with cornstarch in a bowl πŸ₯£, and our magical mixture is ready.

My little preschooler is always curious and delighted to feel this amazing πŸ‘ fluid displaying the properties of a solid as well as a liquid using her hands and fingers.

Pro Tip

Sometimes, we add textured pieces like a sponge 🧽 or rubber bands in this mixture to create a gooey slime for my little preschooler.

Colors Forming Colors 

My little ones love painting πŸ–Ό activities, and this sense activity is their absolute favorite because they are able to see new colors forming from old ones.

I just need to put the primary colors on a plate 🎨 and guide my little painters to prepare a mixture of these primary colors to create vibrant new secondary colors. 

Practicing how to recognize 🧐 colors is a very good way to explore the sight of my little preschoolers. 

Not only do they learn about different colors, but they also get a chance to explore their artistic πŸ–Œ skills.

Read Books About the Five Senses

Even though teaching about the five senses feels more exciting 🀩 through practical activities, theoretical exploration by means of amazing activity books πŸ“š is not less exciting in any way.

Here are a few books πŸ“– my little ones and I like to read to learn more about our five senses:

The Sense of Sight by Ellen Weiss

My Five Senses by Margaret Miller

An Introduction to the 5 Senses 

Noses Are for Picking by Katherine Hengel

I Can See by Julie Murray

Outside Outside by Davena Reynolds-Knight

Super Senses Save the Day by Irene Kilpatrick

The Five Senses by Jennifer Prior

What Can I Taste? by Annie Kubler

Our Amazing Senses by Jodie Lyn Wheeler-Toppen

You Can’t Smell A Flower with Your Ear! by Joanna Cole

Smell by Maria Ruis

Exploring the 5 Senses by Mary Bellis

My Fruit Adventures by Arielle Dani Lebovitz

Me and My Senses by Annette Cable

See, Touch, Feel by Ellie Boultwood 

My Fruit Adventures by Arielle Dani Lebovitz

The Story of My Five Senses by Tonya Lynette Brown 

I See, I Feel, I Hear, I Touch, I Taste! by Baby Professor

The Listening Walk by Paul Showers

Let’s Explore the Five Senses by Candice Ransom

The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses by Joanna Cole 

Can You Smell Breakfast? by Edward Jazz

Curious George Discovers the Senses by H.A. Rey

Textures by Katie Wilson

My 1st Book of 5 Senses by Sara Kale

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle

Something Smells! by Blake Liliane Hellman

The Five Senses by Tinaz Denizmen

The Five Senses by HervΓ© Tullet

Baby Loves the Five Senses by Ruth Spiro

Watch Movies About The Five Senses

Sight πŸ‘€ is one of the five senses that plays a crucial role βœ…οΈ in the life of any individual. 

Moreover, anything taught by means of visual representation through movies 🎬 or pictures has always produced a good impact on my preschooler’s 🧠 mind. 

Therefore, I never miss out on watching any piece of a series, a video song, or a movie that helps my little ones understand the five senses. 

My little ones love to watch The Five Senses Song to learn more about the five senses.

Mosaic Texture Greeting Card

Exploring 🧐 different kinds of textures is a part of discovering the sense of touch. Therefore, this colorful 🎨 activity is a favorite as well as a beneficial one for little ones.

Sheets of various textured papers such as glossy papers, handmade crushed papers, glitter papers, sandpapers, or even kite papers can serve as excellent supplies βœ…οΈ for sensory craft activities.

I create several pieces of these textured papers and place them together in a bowl. 

My little ones feel and analyze 🧐 the textured bits of paper using their hands and stick them on a greeting card πŸ’Œ to create a colorful mosaic greeting card for me.

Pro Tip

You can also stick different items (for example, cotton balls, sponges 🧽, or pieces of wood πŸͺ΅) along with these textured bits of paper on a board and ask your little ones to explain how the texture of each item feels when touched.

Popcorn Activity 

All of us love having popcorn 🍿 while watching our favorite movie 🎬 or series. My daughter loves caramel-flavored popcorn, while my son loves the cheesy πŸ§€ ones. 

Did you know we could also use it to educate our little ones about the five senses?

I put the instant popcorn 🍿 mix in a pressure cooker with the lid placed upside down on top of it.

Within a few minutes, my little ones could hear πŸ‘‚the popcorn pop inside the pressure cooker.

They could also see πŸ‘€ few popcorns popping out of the cooker and observe how their favorite popcorns are taking form.

Moreover, they could also smell πŸ‘ƒthe delicious aroma of the popcorn 🍿 spreading through my kitchen’s air.

Finally, I serve the popcorn 🍿 in a bowl, allowing my little ones to touch πŸ‘ it and analyze its unique shape. 

They proceed to taste it πŸ˜‹ and keep asking for more. 

Pro Tip

I will advise you to use popcorn 🍿 of several flavors so that the little ones can explore their sense of taste over a wide range of flavors. 

Five Sense Scavenger Hunting Adventure 

Scavenger-hunting activities are extremely popular 🀩 and common in all households. 

Moreover, preschoolers love this activity and enjoy themselves to the fullest βœ…οΈ while engaging in it.

I have discovered an excellent way of incorporating the theme of the five senses in this activity, and my kids loved it.

I just take five sheets of paper and label them with instructions as follows:

  • SIGHT πŸ‘€

Spot anything that is white in color (for example, rice).

Spot something round in shape (for example, a ball).

Spot something small in size (for example, an eraser).

Spot something with a colorful texture (for example, a handkerchief)  

Spot something long and slender in shape (for example, a slender bar of chocolate).

  • SOUND πŸ‘‚

Spot anything that makes a snapping sound (for example, a rubber band).

Spot and write down the names of NATURAL SOURCES OF SOUND ( for example- animals, birds, leaves, or insects).

Spot and write down the names of ARTIFICIAL SOURCES OF SOUND ( for example, cars πŸš—, whistles, mikes, loudspeakers πŸ“’, or a ringing smartphone).

Spot something that makes a crunching sound (for example, wafers).

Spot a musical instrument.

  • TOUCH πŸ‘

Spot anything that feels very soft to the touch( for example, cotton balls).

Spot anything that feels prickly to touch.

Spot anything extremely rough to touch (for example, sandpaper).

Spot anything that feels warm to the touch (for example, a warm glass of milk).

Spot anything that feels cold to touch (for example, ice cubes).

  • SMELL πŸ‘ƒ

Spot anything that smells wonderful (for example, flowers πŸ’ or perfume bottles).

Spot an object whose smell you really like.   

Do you like the smell of your favorite food? 

Write the names of fruits that you can recognize by their smell.

  • TASTE πŸ‘…

Spot something sweet to taste (for example, chocolates 🍫 bars). 

Spot something salty to taste (for example, salt). 

Spot something bitter to taste (for example, Indian Gooseberry). 

Spot something sour to taste (for example, tamarind). 

Does water from different sources taste different to you? If yes, explain how it tastes different.

I hand my little ones these sheets along with a basket 🧺 letting them set off on an amazing scavenger-hunting adventure to explore their five senses.

Important Note:

Please keep your little ones under strict supervision during this activity.

Learn About The Five Senses 

I love to teach πŸ“– my little ones about the five senses by means of diagrams πŸ–Ό of their favorite cartoon characters.

I hang my preschooler’s favorite ❀️ character, Shinchan’s portrait, on the wall and ask her to point out the part of the body related to the five senses.

For example, my little one marks the eyes πŸ‘€ as the means of seeing everything around us and the ears πŸ‘‚ as the means of hearing the sounds. 

We proceed to mark the other senses on the portrait as well.

Five Sense Finger Puppets

We stick cutouts of the eyes πŸ‘€, ears πŸ‘‚, nose πŸ‘ƒ, tongue πŸ‘…, and hand βœ‹οΈ on ice cream sticks or on the fingers of a glove to create amazing five-sense finger puppets.

Magnifying Glass Activity 

For this activity, I just need to take a magnifying glass πŸ” and ask my preschooler to observe πŸ‘€ objects through it. 

The change in dimensions and appearance of the object through the magnifying glass πŸ” sparks the interests of these little scientists. 

Analyze the Sounds 

I find this five-sense activity extremely interesting βœ…οΈ for my little one.

I take a sheet and put the following explanations of the sounds πŸ“’ in one column:

  • The sound of a door opening or closing.
  • The sound of drops of water falling in a bucket.
  • The sound of a smartphone ringing.
  • The sound of a siren.
  • The sound of thunder β›ˆοΈ or rain. 

I ask my little ones to analyze these sounds πŸ”Š and proceed to write what they are supposed to do πŸ€” on hearing these sounds beside each row.

For example, the sound of a door πŸšͺ opening means someone is entering the room. Similarly, the sound of thunder β›ˆοΈ means it might start raining soon, so we need to carry an β˜‚οΈ umbrella.

Smell Testing Activity 

I love this amazing five-sense activity as much as my preschooler does. 

I take some cotton balls and soak them in different essential oils. My little ones are instructed to smellπŸ‘ƒ these cotton balls and recognize the essential oil it was soaked in.

You can also hide πŸ” these cotton balls in different locations in the house. Ask your little ones to smell a particular essential oil and look for the cotton ball carrying the same smell around the house.

Sensory Walk Activity

Now, making a sensory box is a very popular activity, and kids all around the globe love it. 

Doesn’t the idea of a sensory walk sound even more wonderful?

I take a number of plastic buckets πŸͺ£ and fill them up with different materials. For example, I place cotton balls in one bucket, water πŸ’§ in another, sand in the next, and so on.

I place these buckets in a line and ask my little ones to walk πŸšΆβ€β™‚οΈ from one bucket to another while feeling the different materials using their feet.

Learning The Importance of The Five Senses

The five senses are extremely important βœ…οΈ , and people who possess all of them should consider themselves extremely fortunate. 

This activity is a very suitable way of teaching 🧐 little ones about the value of possessing the five senses.

I cover my preschooler’s eyes πŸ‘€ and ask them to move around so that they can realize the importance of the sense of sight.

Similarly, I cover their ears πŸ‘‚ so that they can understand how it feels not to be able to hear their favorite sound.

These activities teach my little ones about the blessing πŸ˜‡ of possessing the five senses.

Conclusion 

The five senses are extremely important βœ…οΈ and parents need to pay attention to ensure the proper development of the five senses during the preschool years.

Don’t forget to tell me πŸ˜‡ which five sense activity your preschooler liked the most.

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