Casey Patch - Sensory Play for Toddlers and Preschoolers: Easy Projects to Develop Fine Motor Skills, Hand-Eye Coordination, and Early Measurement Concepts

Copyright 2020 by Casey Patch Photographs copyright 2020 by Casey Patch All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file. Cover design by Daniel Brount Cover photo credit: Casey Patch Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-5601-4 Printed in China To Lilly, Elliot, Audreythe world is your playground! Contents Introduction On a warm, sunny day, I opened the microwave and placed a mud pie inside. Embellished with dandelions and bark from the garden, it was the first tasty treat I had made for my imaginary bakery. I was about seven years old, and this moment will forever be etched in my memory and my heart.

Yes! We had an old microwave, bowls, and mixing spoons readily available in our sandpit to encourage loads of child-led play! I was fortunate enough to be raised by a mother who valued and cherished play. She so thoughtfully created play experiences for my brother, sisters, and me that allowed us to make connections and learn about the world around us through play. I remember when my mother dyed the bath water blue and made us blue pasta for our dinner in an effort to engage our senses and create some magical memories while she was at it. Fast forward many years, Im now a parent, and I think back to my childhood and it gives me all the warm and fuzzy feelings! And THAT is what its all about using sensory play to connect with our little ones while also giving them a wonderful foundation to build future scientific and world-knowledge upon. Sensory play allows our little learners to make connections as they explore the world around them using their senses of sight, smell, taste, sound, and touch. Its the beginning of a lifelong journey of scientific understanding! Youve probably witnessed the wonder and awe on your childs face as they experience something new.

When my daughter started solids, I remember the grin that took over her entire face whenever we gave her a piece of mango. She was so excited to squash it between her fingers and smoosh it into her mouth. But her favorite part? Throwing it straight onto the floor. It was a bit of an experiment and one of the ways she explored cause and effect as a baby. In this book, I hope you find lots of simple sensory play inspiration to support you during this magical time of your life as a parent or educator of little people. Of course, there are many opportunities to explore and learn through our senses in our everyday experiences, like feeling the sand beneath our toes at the beach or running around outside on a rainy day! However, sometimes we all need and want a bit of extra motivation or support to bring more sensory play into our homes.

Throughout this book, youre going to be armed with a multitude of tried and tested sensory play recipes and play ideas to inspire your playtime! So, what are you waiting for? Lets get stuck into some sometimes-messy, often crazy, but always memorable sensory play with your little learners! Play is the way children discover themselvesstarting with their fingers and toes and gradually including their whole body, their emotions and their minds. JOAN ALMON, US ALLIANCE FOR CHILDHOOD Pictured right, Flower Soup, . CHAPTER 1 Getting StartedWhat is Sensory Play? As I mentioned earlier, sensory play is any kind of play that allows our little learners to explore and play using any or all of their five senses of sight, taste, touch, smell, and sound. From birth, our little learners are exploring the world around them, making connections and strengthening the neural pathways to their brains. While they are surrounded by sensory stimulus during their day-to-day, we can also set up sensory play invitations or activities to further support their development and encourage open-ended, creative, messy play! One of the most common misconceptions I hear about sensory play is that its time-consuming and expensive, but that is simply not the case! Sensory play doesnt need to be fancy, and it certainly doesnt need to take you a lot of time to prepare. In fact, the best sensory play experiences are generally the ones we throw together quickly! In general, most sensory play experiences include a base of some kind.

This might be something like rainbow rice, dyed water, cooked spaghetti, or even play dough. The options are only limited by your imagination! Before we move into the quick and easy sensory play ideas, lets first explore why sensory play is so beneficial, some quick tips to ensure your sensory play is successful, and my sensory play staples! BENEFITS OF SENSORY PLAY LIFE SKILLS Your child can learn so much through play! As they scoop and pour sensory bases, theyre developing their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and early measurement concepts. As they learn to pour rice from one container to the next, theyre fine-tuning those skills, which theyll use time and time again as they become older and begin helping in the kitchen, preparing their own snacks, and later learning to write. ORAL LANGUAGE SKILLS While your child explores a sensory tub or activity, theyre developing their vocabulary and oral language as they talk about their play. You might like to facilitate this discussion by talking about things that are sticky, smelly, gooey, cold, warm, wet, loud, and quiet.