hello!
Welcome to My Busy Bin. My name is Teri and I am so glad you are here. A little about me... I have two boys, an almost 6 year old and a 1 year old, and we live on the Central Coast in NSW, a beautiful area with stunning beaches and waterways as well as magnificent bushland.
Many moons ago I worked for a short period in Childcare and I think that's when I first came across the idea of sensory play. Since having children of my own I have often set up our own little sensory experiences in the home for my eldest to explore and play with. I found that I would set up invitations to play for my older son only for him to choose to play with it in an entirely different way than I had planned or imagined. It would grow and expand, things would be added to it or not used at all and he loved it, loved making it his own.
what is sensory play?
Sensory play is a simple yet valuable way of engaging children in activities that will heighten their sense of sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing all whilst enriching their learning experiences.
Children start to try and make sense of the world from the moment they are born. They use their senses to try and figure it all out. They LOVE to dive in and explore the environment around them with all of their senses. As children grow, their explorations get bolder, moving away from observation to immersing themselves in the experience; touching, tasting, smelling. They learn how it feels when they touch different sensory mediums. They begin to categorise different objects noting whether something is heavy or light; rough or smooth and as they categorise they expand on their language skills.
Sensory play is an early and crucial step in the brain development process, even as adults we learn at our best and retain more information when we engage our senses. It allows for imagination and creativity to be ignited. Children can play however they choose, there is no wrong or right way to explore and play.
